Phnom Penh, August 2008
Jan Lam, Biogas adviser for SNV Cambodia, has been invited to join the Energy Dialogue in New Delhi. He will lead the discussion on SNV’s experience in building the national biogas sectors in Asia.
The dialogue in New Delhi, with a focus on “Access to Energy in India” (September, 18) is to be organised by The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD) India. This forms a part of the ‘Energy for Development’ workstream of the WBCSD. This workstream aims to explore sustainable and replicable business models and to expand access to energy services in developing countries - including the deployment of renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency measures.
The two main objectives of the dialogue are: to identify the key issues and challenges for providing energy services to all people of India and to discuss government policy and implementation vehicles, including the role of the private sector in providing sustainable energy services in the Indian energy market. The take back of the dialogue should help companies identify the critical issues and priorities for the provision of affordable and reliable energy services for currently underserved populations in India and beyond. The dialogue will bring together representatives from governments (national and regional), businesses (international and national) as well as NGOs, multilateral banks and academia.
Joining the event as a select panellist on Exploring Business Solutions for sustainable energy services, Jan Lam will share SNV’s experience in developing viable and market-oriented biogas sectors in Asia. Starting with our successful biogas experience in Nepal, SNV biogas advisors are working in five Asian countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal and Vietnam. In 2007, 30,000 households in Asia gained access to biogas through programmes supported by SNV. So far, 1,300,000 people in Asia have access to renewable energy through biogas, improved cooking stoves and water mills, a result SNV has achieved in collaboration with many partners including national and local governments in 5 countries, private sector companies, the Netherlands Government, and the German Development Bank (KfW).
During the implementation of a national programme, SNV follows an integrated approach in strengthening the capacities of all required clients in the sector and in optimising institutional arrangements. SNV aims to involve a maximum of organisational and institutional capacities already available in the country and to strengthen these capacities through local capacity building organisations. This is the multi-stakeholder sector development approach, which SNV will share at the Energy Dialogue in New Delhi. The lessons learned from SNV in Asia will be a useful contribution to the Dialogue.
To learn more about the event, see