US Hydropower
Council For International Development
1500 K Street, NW, Suite 330 Washington, DC
20005 t 202.383.2536 f 202.383.2555
US Hydropower Update
September 2003
· Outcomes of Hydropower Session at World Bank
· Outcomes of Meetings at the United Nations
· Mexico and Central America Activities
Hydropower
Session at World Bank
US Hydropower coordinated a panel presentation on hydropower development and investment issues for World Bank on Wednesday, September 10. The presentations included:
· The need for World Bank support to governments on developing or updating watershed, regional, and/or national master plans for water resources development (including hydropower and other energy elements in all plans). These plans would include activities to complete the early development phase including feasibility studies for priority projects and detailed EIAs.
· The need for the World Bank Group and its clients to identify multipurpose needs for projects and value their benefits.
· The need for World Bank to provide long-term technical assistance and capacity building among local private sector and government policymakers.
· The need for World Bank to work on a long term debt financing vehicle on a regional basis which will provide long-term low interest project finance.
· The need for World Bank to work to address creditworthiness and other types of financial risk in markets.
Member companies participating in this event included: Curtis Thaxter, DLZ Corporation, East Indies Consulting, HCI Publications and Montgomery Watson Harza and Pan American Energy Services. There were several significant outcomes of the session. The most significant outcome was agreement that hydropower is a critical component for development in emerging markets. Another significant outcome was agreement by World Bank staff and industry that a stakeholder-working group be created. US Hydropower will continue to work with World Bank to discuss these issues in more detail.
Outcomes of Meetings with the United Nations
Debby Stone, US Hydropower Director of Trade Promotion met with the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships September 16. The UN program is interested in working on a program to maximize ancillary development benefits associated with hydropower projects in emerging markets. Follow-up meetings with the United Nations Foundation and the Global Environment Facility are being scheduled for late October.
Mexico and
Central America Activities
US Hydropower is working to organize a Mexico visit for the late October/November timeframe. The visit will include meetings with several agencies including USAID and SENER in Mexico City, and visits to Veracruz and Chiapas to discuss hydropower development opportunities. The USAID Mexico Mission will support these efforts under the partnership program which has been established with US Hydropower.
India
Activities
US Hydropower participated in an Indian delegation visit last month from the state of Uttar Pradesh, and several near term activities are planned in this market. These include:
· Working Group visit to India, this will include meetings with USAID India Mission, U.S. Asia Environmental Partnership (USAEP) (September 22-26, 2003)
· Meetings with IREDA on new finance mechanism (September 24, 2003)
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Your comments or requests for more information are welcome. Please contact US Hydropower’s Director of Trade Promotion, Debby Stone 202.383.2536 or by Email: debbys@us-hydropower.org
Debby Stone
US Hydropower
Council for International Development
1500 K Street NW #330
Washington, DC 20005
Tel: 202.383.2536
Fax: 202.408.5406
www.US-Hydropower.org