Background

In 1997, DOE initiated the conduct of a national workshop in Subic, Zambales to mainly assess the government’s National Renewable Energy Program. The workshop identified major barriers to RE development in the country.

Subsequently, UNDP conducted another workshop in 1998 in Tagaytay City, which validated the results of the Subic Workshop. Said assessment identified the need to formulate a national program that would reduce, if not eliminate, the barriers to RE development. The Tagaytay workshop resulted to the development of a Project Development Facility – Block B (PDF-B) Project under the GEF Operational Programme No. 6 entitled “Capacity Building to Remove Barriers to Renewable Energy Development in the Philippines”.

The implementation of the PDF-B Project officially started in October 1998. Its major objective was to develop a full GEF Project that would implement activities towards the removal of barriers to RE development and to co-finance RE projects that would demonstrate innovative strategies and delivery mechanisms. It involved the conduct of analyses and formulation of strategic activities and programs for the removal of RE barriers such as in the aspects of capacity building, institutional strengthening, promotion and advocacy, market development, financing mechanisms, technology standards development, and innovative delivery mechanisms for RE projects.

Thus, the PDF-B Project generated various proposed programs and activities to address specific issues relative to RE development. In the process, a Full GEF Project Brief was developed and proposed (with the same title as that for the PDF-B Project) for submission to the GEF Operational Programme No. 6. Using “Incremental Cost Analysis” approach, the proposal contained the salient program strategies and activities (using GOP regular RE activities and programs as the baseline) that were deemed necessary towards the removal of the barriers. The Project Brief was submitted to the GEF Secretariat, which, in turn, endorsed it to the GEF Council in New York.

Upon approval of the Project Brief in October 2001, a detailed Project Document was formulated to define, among others, the activities and overall strategies for the implementation of the Full GEF Project. In a similar manner, the Full Project Document was submitted to the GEF Secretariat and was later approved by the GEF Council in September 2002. On November 4, 2002, the UNDP Country Office signed the approved Project Document signaling the official commencement of the Full GEF Project.

The CBRED Project is expected to be completed by the middle of year 2008. Based on UNDP Guidelines, a project impact assessment (i.e., final external evaluation) shall be undertaken at least one year after the Project’s termination.