The knowledge and support technical assistance (TA) will increase the readiness of the Government of Aba Prefecture for investments in climate-resilient distributed heating based on renewable energy in Barkam County in Sichuan Province. The TA will assist the local government in developing knowledge about and preparing a pre-feasibility study on renewable energy-based climate-resilient distributed heating systems.
The TA is in the country operations business plan, 2018 2020 of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the People's Republic of China (PRC). It fully aligns with ADB's country partnership strategy, 2016 2020 for the PRC's priority on managing climate change and the environment for an ecological civilization. It will support the strategic priorities of Strategy 2030 to build climate resilience and enhance environmental sustainability.
Project Name | Advanced Renewable Energy Technology Demonstration | ||||||||||||||||||||
Project Number | 51421-001 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Country | China, People's Republic of |
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Project Status | Active | ||||||||||||||||||||
Project Type / Modality of Assistance | Technical Assistance |
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Source of Funding / Amount |
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Strategic Agendas | Environmentally sustainable growth Inclusive economic growth |
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Drivers of Change | Gender Equity and Mainstreaming Knowledge solutions Partnerships |
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Sector / Subsector | Energy / Energy utility services |
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Gender Equity and Mainstreaming | Some gender elements | ||||||||||||||||||||
Description | The knowledge and support technical assistance (TA) will increase the readiness of the Government of Aba Prefecture for investments in climate-resilient distributed heating based on renewable energy in Barkam County in Sichuan Province. The TA will assist the local government in developing knowledge about and preparing a pre-feasibility study on renewable energy-based climate-resilient distributed heating systems. The TA is in the country operations business plan, 2018 2020 of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the People's Republic of China (PRC). It fully aligns with ADB's country partnership strategy, 2016 2020 for the PRC's priority on managing climate change and the environment for an ecological civilization. It will support the strategic priorities of Strategy 2030 to build climate resilience and enhance environmental sustainability. |
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Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy | Barkam County is the city seat of Aba Prefecture in Sichuan Province, which lies in a high-altitude-cold region in southern PRC. Barkam has an average elevation of 2,650 meters and is an alpine-gorge city with an annual average temperature ranges from 8 Celsius degree (C) to 9C. Its heating season lasts for more than 6 months but the county is not equipped with district heating system because of (i) historical reason and (ii) a lack of fossil fuel endowment. Historically, the PRC has been bisected into northern urban heating area and southern no heating area by the Qin-Huai line. Aba is situated in the southern no heating area. In recent years, PRC has started to support application of urban heating in high-altitude-cold areas, and most supported heating projects are powered by coal-fired 3. Barkam County is the city seat of Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, which lies in a cold, high-altitude region in southern PRC. Barkam has an average elevation of 2,650 meters and is an alpine-gorge city with a heating season that lasts more than 6 months. Its annual temperature ranges from 8 C to 9 C and its winter temperature often drops to 10 C. Heating services are therefore essential for public health and well-being and for the sustenance of people's livelihoods. However, the county does not have a central heating system as it lacks fossil fuels, faces high fuel transportation costs, and has low fuel combustion efficiency because of the low density of oxygen associated with high altitude. As in other regions in southern PRC, space heating in Barkam relies on independent systems such as electric heaters, biomass burning, and coal-fired stoves. Such heating systems are generally energy inefficient and costly and present potential safety hazards and health concerns. Developing an energy-efficient and affordable space heating system is one of the highest development priorities in Barkam, which is facing rising heating demand from its growing population. Aba has abundant renewable energy resources. Its electricity supply is fully dependent on renewable energy power plants, mainly from hydropower, which comprises 96.6% of installed capacity and generated 18.8 terawatt-hours of power in 2017. The recoverable potential is 5.5 gigawatts for solar power and 2.3 gigawatts for wind power. Aba's electricity supply exceeds demand and surplus electricity is exported to neighboring regions. To meet rising heating demand, improve energy efficiency, and reduce air pollutant emissions from heating, the Government of Barkam County has been seeking sustainable heating systems that use rich renewable energy resources and targeting to develop a renewable energy-based distributed heating system, as reflected in its urban development plan approved in 2017. A renewable energy-based distributed heating system can meet space heating demand in commercial buildings and apartment complexes using heating technologies that supply carbon- and pollutant-free sustainable services. In general, renewable energy technologies for heating include ones that can directly convert renewable energy into heat, such as solar thermal energy storage; and ones that use power generated from renewable sources, such as electric thermal storage or shallow-ground thermal storage-coupled heat pump. The renewable energy-based distributed heating solution will be the first of its kind in a high-altitude region in the PRC, with large potential for scale-up and duplication in other regions in the country. It could particularly provide valuable experience to existing heating system renovations in northern PRC. Heat loss from buildings in Barkam is high due to building vintage. In general, air leaks from doors and windows contribute 40% 50% of total building heat loss in rural housing in the PRC. Improving building thermal efficiency is an efficient approach to reduce heat loss and save heating costs. The city is vulnerable to climate change and has a fragile ecosystem because of high altitude. Developing a renewable energy-based distributed heating system requires finding technically feasible, commercially viable, affordable, and sustainable solutions with an adequate degree of flexibility and robustness that would allow adaptation to uncertainties related to climate change and socioeconomic development. Failure to consider the potential impact of climate change in the heating system's design could lead to inefficiency and underperformance of the underlying investment, compromising mitigation efforts. Among the uncertainties to consider are: (i) Renewable energy generation. Long-term grid power supply could be affected by a possible change in available water resources because of climate change, given the dominant role of hydropower in the energy mix. If the security of hydropower is projected to be uncertain in the future, proposed technology options need to be less dependent on grid power supply. (ii) Technology operations. Different technologies are exposed to specific climatic variables. For example, for underground thermal energy storage, climate change will influence its performance through changes in annual mean air temperature, permafrost melt, and aquifer availability. (iii) Heating demand. Heating demand uncertainties can emerge from extreme weather conditions because of climate change and socioeconomic development. For example, a severe cold spell, elongated winter seasons, or unexpected rapid urbanization can increase heating demand. If those uncertainties were not factored into the project design, technological design would be locked and the investment's environmental and financial sustainability might be compromised. There are valuable experiences and lessons from several activities on renewable energy-based heating systems that ADB has supported in the PRC. The TA will draw from such experiences and lessons from existing activities to improve the design of the renewable energy-based heating system and cross-fertilizing the knowledge. |
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Impact | Renewable energy-based climate-resilient distributed heating in high-altitude regions in the PRC developed |
Project Outcome | |
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Description of Outcome | Readiness for investments in renewable energy-based climate-resilient distributed heating in Barkam increased |
Progress Toward Outcome | |
Implementation Progress | |
Description of Project Outputs | Pre-feasibility study on renewable energy-based climate-resilient distributed heating prepared Knowledge of renewable energy-based climate-resilient distributed heating system disseminated |
Status of Implementation Progress (Outputs, Activities, and Issues) | The inception meeting was held in June 2019 and the inception report has been submitted. The TA has been extended until 31 May 2022. |
Geographical Location | Maerkang |
Summary of Environmental and Social Aspects | |
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Environmental Aspects | |
Involuntary Resettlement | |
Indigenous Peoples | |
Stakeholder Communication, Participation, and Consultation | |
During Project Design | A MOU has been signed among EA, IA, and ADB |
During Project Implementation |
Business Opportunities | |
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Consulting Services | A firm will be recruited using quality- and cost-based selection method with a 90:10 quality cost ratio. ADB will engage the consultants and carry out procurement following the ADB Procurement Policy (2017, as amended from time to time) and its associated project administration instructions and/or staff instructions. |
Responsible ADB Officer | Lu, Xuedu |
Responsible ADB Department | East Asia Department |
Responsible ADB Division | EASI |
Timetable | |
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Concept Clearance | 22 Jun 2018 |
Fact Finding | - |
MRM | - |
Approval | 31 Aug 2018 |
Last Review Mission | - |
Last PDS Update | 30 Sep 2020 |
TA 9577-PRC
Milestones | |||||
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Approval | Signing Date | Effectivity Date | Closing | ||
Original | Revised | Actual | |||
31 Aug 2018 | 20 Oct 2018 | 20 Oct 2018 | 31 May 2020 | 31 May 2022 | - |
Financing Plan/TA Utilization | Cumulative Disbursements | |||||||
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ADB | Cofinancing | Counterpart | Total | Date | Amount | |||
Gov | Beneficiaries | Project Sponsor | Others | |||||
1,900,000.00 | 200,000.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2,100,000.00 | 31 Aug 2018 | 43,246.57 |
Project Data Sheets (PDS) contain summary information on the project or program. Because the PDS is a work in progress, some information may not be included in its initial version but will be added as it becomes available. Information about proposed projects is tentative and indicative.
The Access to Information Policy (AIP) recognizes that transparency and accountability are essential to development effectiveness. It establishes the disclosure requirements for documents and information ADB produces or requires to be produced.
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In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of, or reference to, a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.
Title | Document Type | Document Date |
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Advanced Renewable Energy Technology Demonstration: Technical Assistance Report | Technical Assistance Reports | Aug 2018 |
Safeguard Documents See also: Safeguards
Safeguard documents provided at the time of project/facility approval may also be found in the list of linked documents provided with the Report and Recommendation of the President.
None currently available.
Evaluation Documents See also: Independent Evaluation
None currently available.
Related Publications
None currently available.
The Access to Information Policy (AIP) establishes the disclosure requirements for documents and information ADB produces or requires to be produced in its operations to facilitate stakeholder participation in ADB's decision-making. For more information, refer to the Safeguard Policy Statement, Operations Manual F1, and Operations Manual L3.
Requests for information may also be directed to the InfoUnit.
Tenders
Tender Title | Type | Status | Posting Date | Deadline |
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TA implementation consulting service | Firm - Consulting | Closed | 29 Jun 2018 | 13 Jul 2018 |
TA implementation consulting service | Firm - Consulting | Closed | 27 Jun 2018 | 26 Jul 2018 |
Contracts Awarded
Contract Title | Approval Number | Contract Date | Contractor | Contractor Address | Executing Agency | Contract Description | Total Contract Amount (US$) | Contract Amount Financed by ADB (US$) |
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Research and Developme | Technical Assistance 9577 | 23 Apr 2019 | NAREE International Limited (HONG KONG, CHINA) in association with NAREE Consulting Limited, China (CHINA,PEOPLE'SREP.OF) | Unit N, 5/F, 4 Cho Yuen Street, Yau Tong Kowloon, Hong Kong, China | People's Government of Aba Tibetan & Qiang Aut Pre | Consulting Services | 605,546.00 | — |
Procurement Plan
None currently available.