Consultant – Competitive Mechanisms for Energy Access Access

                                               Vacancy Announcement

                     Secretariat of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)

                                   Knowledge, Policy, and Finance Centre (KPFC)

Publication Date:                                23 January 2025

Deadline for Application:                   13 February 2025 (at midnight, Abu Dhabi Local Time)

Title:                                                    Consultant – Competitive Mechanisms for Energy 

                                                            Access

Contract Type:                                    Individual Contractor /Consultant

Duration of Contract:                         One Year 

Location:                                              Remote 

Expected Date for Entry on Duty:    As soon as possible

Introduction

The International Renewable Energy Agency is an inter-governmental organisation headquartered in Abu Dhabi, mandated to promote the widespread and increased adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity. IRENA’s mission is to play a leading role in the ongoing transformation of the global energy systems as a centre of excellence for knowledge and innovation, a global voice of renewable energy, a network hub for all stakeholders and a source of advice and support for countries. At present, IRENA has 170 Members (169 States and the European Union) that acceded to its Statute, and 14 additional States in the process of accession and actively engaged.

Within this mandate, the focus of the Knowledge, Policy and Finance Centre (KPFC) is on collecting data, developing knowledge tools, and conducting analyses to support the creation of enabling environments for investment in and growth of renewables. This entails analytical work, capacity building and tailored advice on policy and finance, as well as socio-economic benefits.

IRENA supports countries’ capacity to design long-term enabling policy frameworks through providing analyses of policies and measures, including trends in their adoption, best practises and the lessons learnt in their design and adaptation to changing market conditions. In addition, IRENA supports countries in maximising socio-economic benefits of their energy transitions. Towards this end, IRENA plans to carry out an analysis of the delivery models that can be used to scale up finance and investments towards distributed renewable energy (DRE).

The deployment of DRE technologies plays an important role providing first time access to electricity as well as providing electricity reliability. DRE technologies (including stand-alone solar systems, mini-grids, etc.) have been recognised as cost-effective and quickly implementable solutions for addressing the access gap in areas where grid expansion is not economically feasible. For areas where the grid is present but is unreliable, leading to issues of electricity reliability, DRE technologies can effectively supplement the grid to provide reliable power for households, businesses, and more.

Scaling DRE deployment effectively requires support through public policy and funds. Competition-based mechanisms are an effective way to channel public funds, enabling the strategic scaling of distributed renewable energy (DRE) deployment while advancing broader policy objectives. These mechanisms are considered successful if they lead to a transparent and fair way to allocate support for or deploy DRE solutions in a cost-effective way while achieving socioeconomic goals. 

Scope of work of the project

IRENA is undertaking a series of analyses on delivery models for the distributed renewable energy sector, with the goal of scaling up investments to achieve universal energy access. The first phase of this series is the analysis business and financing models in the DRE sector. The next phase, which is the focus of this consultancy, designing competition-based mechanisms for deploying distributed renewable energy (DRE) technologies. This study aims to present the different options for competition-based mechanisms (e.g. results/outcomes-based/performance-based financing, minimum subsidy tenders, market scale-up challenge funds, etc.), detail the design elements of such mechanism and present the pros and cons/trade-offs of each option, and provide recommendations regarding the broader policy needs beyond the competitive mechanism to achieve the desired outcomes and address specific challenge.

1. Tasks and responsibilities

To support this work, the consultant will collaborate with the IRENA Secretariat to undertake the following tasks:

• Conduct a comprehensive review of the use of competition-based or tendering mechanisms in the DRE sector, highlighting country-level and program-level examples. The review will focus on implementation strategies, projects completed, beneficiaries, and other key outcomes. 
• Identify the key stakeholders involved in competition-based mechanisms for DRE deployment, including implementing agencies, government bodies, private developers, financiers, investors, and regulators, and analyse their roles in ensuring the success of these competition-based mechanisms.
• Identify and define the design elements of competition-based deployment mechanisms for distributed renewable energy (DRE), drawing on frameworks such as IRENA's auctions framework for large-scale projects or similar approaches relevant to the DRE sector.
• Analyse the trade-offs for each element using country examples to the extent possible.
• Provide guidance on policy measures necessary to complement competitive mechanisms in achieving key goals and addressing specific challenges, including but not limited to: 
  • Achieving cost effective deployment of DRE solutions – to ensure that pricing for DRE solutions is affordable for end-users while maintaining financial viability for service providers.
  • Accelerating implementation – to fast-track the deployment of DRE technologies by creating a transparent process that reduces barriers to entry and provides a clear pipeline of support.
• Maximising impact – to maximise the socioeconomic benefits (such as access to reliable and affordable clean energy, job creation, productive uses of energy, healthcare, education, gender, skills) in DRE technology implementation by targeting areas with the highest need and potential impact.
• Enhancing local developer participation – to foster greater and more diverse involvement in DRE project implementation by actively supporting local entrepreneurs and developers, while also encouraging collaboration with international developers to leverage expertise and promote inclusive growth. 
• The consultant is responsible for data processing and analysis and ensuring that publication datasets and case studies are made available in a user-friendly format.

The consultant is also expected to:

• Suggest external reviewers for the report who are experts in the field and address the comments from internal and external peer reviews.
• Review the draft publication analysing the DRE business and financing models currently in development.
• Support IRENA in organising dissemination activities related to the study’s findings.

1. Deliverables, and milestones 

1. Required profile

IRENA is seeking a consultant with substantive proven experience and capacity to provide the required content, analyses and support as outlined above. In particular, the consultant is expected to have:

• An advanced University degree (Master’s or equivalent) in economics, energy, social sciences, or other fields related to renewable energy.
• At least 15 years of work experience in the fields of energy markets, regulatory policies, economic analysis and/or financing of energy systems.
• Experience in researching and/or designing public procurement mechanisms and programmes related to the off grid/ DRE sector is required.
• Strong knowledge of DRE sector policies is required.
• Ability to write clearly and concisely.
• Language: Excellent command of written and spoken English.

1. Budget 

The indicative budget for this assignment is a lump sum of USD 18,200, payable upon the completion of key milestones, which will be determined and agreed upon after the contract is awarded.