NOTE NOTE The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) Learning Note 4 4 Embedding Climate Resilience into Energy Projects The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) Learning Note 1. Why is resilience important for energy projects? While electricity is required for almost all modern economic activity, in Sub-Saharan Africa access to power is limited: over 640 million are not connected to power supplies (African Development Bank 2019). Continuation of a business as usual pace, alongside population increase, will see 530 million people still without electricity in 2030 (90 percent of global number). The overall goal in Africa is therefore to increase energy access as a critical enabler of resilience, which will generate economy wide benefits and harness the abundant renewable endowments in the face of falling prices of renewable energy (World Bank 2020). Additionally, in places where there is access to electricity, supply is often poor and failures can be exacerbated by changes in climate. For example, unusual recent extended droughts in the Zambezi River basin have resulted in prolonged periods of power shortages from its hydropower plants, which causes heavy economic losses (World Bank 2023b). Resilience is thus important in all networked infrastructure projects, and electricity services specifically — and particularly those that The Africa Climate Resilience governments, planners, and private of projects that received catalytic Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) is developers in integrating climate funds from AFRI-RES. It draws a partnership between the Africa resilience in project planning and from application of the Resilience Union, African Development Bank, design, thereby attracting funding Booster Tool to specific projects, the  United Nations Economic from both development and climate as relevant, Compendium Volume on Commission for Africa (UNECA), and finance sources.​ Climate Resilient Investment in Sub- the World Bank Group, established Saharan Africa (World Bank (2023a) with support from the Nordic This note summarizes lessons and and Guidance, Standards, and Good Development Fund (NDF). The practices deployed in embedding Practice Notes developed under partnership seeks to assist climate resilience into the design the program. Embedding Climate Resilience into Energy Projects 1 NOTE The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) Learning Note 4 deliver critical services in the context of a power annually in low- and middle-income countries. In system. Resilient service delivery means that end many parts of Africa, losses from reduced use of users (businesses, homes, community infrastructure) disrupted infrastructure exceed 0.8 percent, higher see minimal disruptions to electricity services even than most other regions globally. The climate hazards if certain aspects of the system suffer damages that can affect the energy sector include changes in or failures. Resilient energy projects are designed air temperature, precipitation, radiation, wind speed, to continue delivering services even in the face of humidity, and in turn runoff, cloudiness, wind density, climate hazards such as floods, landslides, cyclones, biomass yield, water temperature, and air temperature. and storms, and other stressors. If not accounted for These may occur over short high intensity events. in project design and operation, the impacts of such A hailstorm may destroy solar panels for example. events may result in the loss of electricity and revenue At the same time, they may occur over prolonged and costly repairs. Ultimately, integrating resilience periods, such as the gradual increase of temperature early in project design and implementation protects over decades. Once parts of a system are damaged, investments and delivers lasting benefits. especially transmission and distribution assets, coordination across other infrastructure sectors, such The threat to infrastructure assets from natural as telecommunication and transportation, is required hazards and climate change, which will increase to access and repair the damaged assets. the frequency and magnitude of natural hazards, is widely recognized.1 The direct costs from reduced Furthermore, energy systems and their constituent power use and lost sales—not to mention lost lives supply chains can be impacted not only by their and livelihoods—are estimated at US$120 billion physical construction but also by how the system 1 This section was converted from Shweikert, Ramstein, and Nicolas (2022), which draws on the following works: Albert, Albert, and Nakarado (2004); Cervigni et al. (2015); CIMA Research Foundation (2019); Comes and de Walle (2014); Fekete, Hufschmidt, and Kruse (2014); Hallegatte, Rentschler, and Rozenberg (2019); Karagiannis et al. (2017); Loggins et al. (2019); Murphy et al. (2020); New York Power Authority et al. (2017); Nicolas et al. (2019); Oguah and Khosla (2017); Panteli and Mancarella (2015); Schweikert and Deinert (2021); and Sebastian et al. (2017). Embedding Climate Resilience into Energy Projects 2 NOTE The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) Learning Note 4 is operated and managed. Typically, integrated power of parts, access to trained personnel, and secure system chains are designed to include ‘reserve margins’, access to sites. All of these measures increase the which help increase their ability to withstand hazards. resilience of critical power assets and systems. However, these margins, as well as their design and operation, can struggle under current climatic change The World Bank created and deployed the Resilience and geopolitical conditions. Rating System2 because proactive resilience planning and investments can have positive impacts Fortunately, opportunities abound to incorporate across project lifetimes for both financial return resilience in new infrastructure projects. In most and service delivery. The first part of resilience rating cases, engineering and systems-level solutions can relates to the project: how it performs under stress reduce the vulnerability of power assets to stressors from discrete events like a cyclone or flood, as well and increase the overall reliability of service. For as ongoing stresses from climate change. The second example, system assets can be built to withstand part is the resilience created by a project to the sector hazard conditions, known as hardening. A system or beneficiaries. In the energy sector, strengthening can be designed for redundancy to, for example, a project’s resilience might include asset hardening, quickly reroute power or include backup options such siting considerations, emergency planning, supply as batteries, diesel generators, or other technologies. chain considerations, and more. Projects that add When damages exceed operational levels, repairs can resilience include ones that increase electricity access be accelerated if disaster management protocols and reliability, build capacity, or improve maintenance include repairs and recovery plans such as stockpiling and emergency procedures. 2. How do you build resilience into an energy- system project? For energy infrastructure, resilient investments can be times in the planning, construction, and operation classified into four categories, those that (a) reduce of an energy system (Figure 1). Asset hardening, asset vulnerability; (b) reduce liabilities and hazardous operations and maintenance (O&M), and efficient conditions created by infrastructure; (c) enhance disaster response and recovery plans can increase the reliability and service delivery of the electricity resilience. After identifying the greatest threats and network; or (d) reduce the response time and increase gathering information on the local context, including the capacity to respond when natural hazards institutional capacity and resources, one can proceed occur. Each investment type can occur at various with investment planning. 2 The Resilience Rating System methodology is detailed in World Bank Group (2021). Many of the projects are part of pilots applying these concepts. Embedding Climate Resilience into Energy Projects 3 NOTE The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) Learning Note 4 Figure 1. Framework for enhancing the resilience of energy sector projects at different phases of implementation Design Construction Upscaling Operation Step 1. Geospatial Step 2. Step 3. Step 4. vulnerability Reduce liabilities Increase system Emergency analysis created by redundancy response planning and resilient infrastructure in and readiness structural design hazardous locales to respond to emergencies Figure 2. Sample Hazard Assessment Highlighting Step 1. Reducing asset vulnerability. Grid Assets Vulnerable to Flooding Assets can be made less vulnerable by siting them outside the highest-risk regions and by hardening infrastructure. For example, project design can include specifications that ensure it can sustain natural hazards of greater intensity than historical conditions may indicate. Geospatial analysis can identify high- risk regions (see figure 2. Systematic assessment of proposed infrastructure locations can help identify the expected historical stressors and projected climate change impacts. This is crucial with climate change because many design standards are based on historical conditions that may not encompass the range of extreme events expected. In many locations, climate change is expected to exacerbate the frequency or severity of flooding, for example, and may increase the expected damages to infrastructure. Several adaptation and mitigation strategies may be employed. If possible, not siting assets in high-risk regions may be Source: Shweikert et al, 2022. the most cost-effective approach. If this is not possible, adaptation options might include elevating photovoltaic (PV) panels and other infrastructure assets, building systems. Inevitably, some assets cannot fully avoid flood walls, or waterproofing key components (see figure high-risk locations. Therefore, identifying expected 2). Planners should assess the direction and speed of stress from natural hazards and climate change can strong wind events, especially for rooftop-mounted PV inform design decisions. Embedding Climate Resilience into Energy Projects 4 NOTE The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) Learning Note 4 Step 2. Reduce liabilities and in January 2019 owing to an estimated liability of US$30 billion from wildfires caused by power lines hazardous conditions created it owned and operated. The fires killed over 100 by infrastructure. people, burned thousands of acres, and required Reducing the liability or risks that infrastructure poses compensation of billions of dollars. Designing lines to the environment and communities it serves is part with aerial bundled cable and conductors in high-risk of resilient siting, design, and operations. Transmission regions could reduce the likelihood of such risks but and distribution systems can pose a risk of wildfires, requires an additional investment of up to 60 percent especially during hot, dry periods. It typically involves of construction costs. Less expensive options include the arcing, or contact, of transmission or distribution vigilant vegetation management and turning the lines wires with very dry vegetation. For example, the US off at times of extreme risk, such as during periods of Pacific Gas and Electric Company filed for bankruptcy high winds and drought. Figure 3. Adaptation Measures to Protect Infrastructure Assets from Flooding Source: Shweikert et al, 2022. Note: PV = photovoltaic. Embedding Climate Resilience into Energy Projects 5 NOTE The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) Learning Note 4 Step 3. Enhance the reliability Step 4. Reduce the response time and service delivery of the and increase the capacity to respond electricity network. when natural hazards occur. Routine maintenance, emergency backup generation The final component of a resilient power system is an options, and redundant systems can enhance the emergency response plan. This should consider trained reliability of service delivery. Regular maintenance for personnel, access to infrastructure, communication, PV panels includes inspection for damages and dirt to available supplies, and broader system capacity. In ensure the arrays are delivering their full generation regions that contain critical assets, the siting of a potential. This requires access to the infrastructure warehouse stocked with supplies can help ensure and raises the question of panel placement (for that parts are available. Equally important are example, rooftops can be difficult to access). Elevated trained personnel to implement needed repairs. Their temperatures can increase the rate of battery successful deployment relies on access to damaged degradation. Therefore, for battery storage, ensuring regions, requiring functional roads and equipment, that ventilation systems are clean, free of debris, and as well as telecommunication and other services. adequate for cooling during times of high demand An emergency response and preparedness plan that supports proper system operation and minimizes includes these considerations can enhance system damages. Completely avoiding all damages from resilience and broader institutional capacity. Many of climate change and natural hazards is not possible— the power projects in Sub-Saharan African countries and trying to achieve it would be extremely costly. have components for institutional capacity building, Increasing resilience is instead about finding the right including a disaster risk management plan. Table 1 balance of redundancy, hardening, and readiness to summarizes intervention areas for integrating climate respond and rebuild rapidly when a disaster hits. resilience into energy sector projects. Embedding Climate Resilience into Energy Projects 6 NOTE The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) Learning Note 4 Action Areas for Integrating Climate Resilience into Energy Sector Projects Step Intervention area Purpose Examples Siting of infrastructure in Identifying expected historical Systematic assessment of less-exposed areas/adapting stressors and projected climate proposed infrastructure locations; location design change impacts by location geospatial analysis Adapting infrastructure to Elevate PV panels and other local geographical and climate infrastructure assets, build flood risk factors walls; design siting of solar panels with wind direction in mind Design lines with aerial bundled cable and conductors in regions with high winds/fire risk 1. Resilient infrastructure design Designing infrastructure and use of Provide appropriate anchorage and construction materials that increase resilience to support; deepen foundation and extreme weather conditions size of footings to adapt against extreme weather conditions; elevate control rooms and critical equipment to reduce flood hazard potential; use steel, concrete, or composite towers to resist high winds, floods or fires; use light- duty steel poles; waterproof key components Reduce liabilities and hazardous Mitigating risk to communities or Designing lines with aerial bundled conditions created by infrastructure. external assets created by energy cable and conductors in high-risk 2. infrastructure under hazardous regions; vegetation management conditions and turning lines off at times of extreme risk. Increasing system redundancy Providing alternative outlets if one Densify and extend connection fails distribution networks 3. Routine maintenance, Enhancing system readiness Ensure access to the infrastructure and emergency backup to respond and that ventilation systems are generation options. clean, free of debris, and adequate for cooling Emergency response plans Enhancing system resilience and Readily available trained personnel, broaden institutional capacity for access to infrastructure, 4 emergency response communication, available supplies, and broader system capacity Embedding Climate Resilience into Energy Projects 7 NOTE The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) Learning Note 4 3. Case studies from the AFRI-RES–supported energy resilience sector projects on integrating resilience into designs This section describes two projects3 supported Benin Electricity Access by the AFRI-RES fund. The first one, in Benin, will Scale-up Project conduct a vulnerability analysis study financed by the AFRI-RES fund which will inform project design, The Benin Electricity Access Scale-up Project (US$ including the detailed engineering design, location, and 200.00 million) is designed to respond to many environmental management plan. The second, in the of the sector challenges described previously. Democratic Republic of Congo, used the Resilience Energy poverty contributes to Benin’s high level Booster tool to aid project design. The Resilience of vulnerability to the effects of climate change. Booster is an interactive, step-by-step tool for Reducing energy poverty and inequality in the development practitioners to embed climate resilience provision of energy services will reduce vulnerability through a set of resilience attributes into project to natural disasters and climate change and has designs. It helps teams to think through, specify, important links to the climate change actions and and design project activities that build resilience by policies in Benin’s Nationally Determined Contribution integrating resilience attributes. We report the results (NDC). The project will support the Benin PROSPERE of the application of the Resilience Booster at the end plan to expand distribution network to connect of the project description if available.4 780,000 households, 1,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises, and 500 public facilities. It will improve Energy poverty and access inequality make it more network resiliency by incentivizing the adoption of difficult for countries to achieve socioeconomic grid technical norms and standards through the targets in health and education, and realize the full use of performance-based conditions. It will boost potential of human capital. It also increases their network resiliency to climate risks by identifying vulnerability to climate change, natural disasters and risks and ensuring the infrastructure includes pandemics, because energy is an important input for resilience measures (see figure 1). Thus, a climate water supply, sanitation, and broadband, as well as vulnerability and resilience assessment for Benin will economic activity. be considered in the project’s engineering design to elaborate solid bidding documents for electrification works. The project will build on this analytical work by financing the identification and implementation of complementary civil works to ensure that the distribution networks to be densified and extended under the project are resilient to climate risks, such as seasonal flooding. Examples of possible resilience measures include (a) provision of appropriate anchorage support; (b) deep foundation and size 3 Greater Accra Climate Resilient and Integrated Development Project, Senegal Stormwater Management and Climate Change Adaptation Project II, Cameroon Douala Urban Mobility Project, Tanzania Development Corridors Transport Project, Tanzania Roads to Inclusion and Socioeconomic Opportunities (RISE) Project 4 See also Rigaud, Arora, and Singh (2023). Embedding Climate Resilience into Energy Projects 8 NOTE The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) Learning Note 4 of footings to adapt against extreme weather climate change and adaptation planning will be conditions; (c) elevation of control rooms and critical integrated into development of planning, policy, equipment to reduce flood hazard potential; (d) use legislative, and monitoring instruments and of steel, concrete, or composite towers; and (d) use performance improvement measures. of light-duty steel poles. Vegetation management will be considered during site selection to avoid risk of The use of resilient infrastructure will help to prevent wildfires. Although the incremental cost of resilience climate change–induced damage. Steel or concrete measures can vary and can be properly estimated only poles for grids (and possible isolated conductors) will after local assessments, it can range from 4 percent increase their resistance to damage from flooding, to 14 percent for some low-hanging measures. The high winds, wildfires and other hazards. Elevation of recommendations of the Benin climate vulnerability substations or other protective infrastructure will and resilience assessment will inform the elaboration reduce the likelihood of inundation and resulting of these norms. damages from flooding. Other measures include waterproofing electrical connections and elevating vulnerable equipment, such as panels. Democratic Republic of Congo Electricity and Water Access and Applying the Resilience Booster tool in its design, the project has increased robustness by its use of Governance Project resilient infrastructure, including choice of materials The Democratic Republic of Congo Electricity and for construction of assets, infrastructure siting, Water Access and Governance Project (US$ 634.00 and O&M schedules. This in turn contributed to its million) will address climate vulnerabilities through adaptation and absorptive capacity. Through its developing climate-resilient power infrastructure. capacity building on risk management and resilience It will (a) enhance the design and protect power of the central and provincial governments and the infrastructure from flooding and erosion (landslides); utility, it has increased response speed and its (b) support utilities with business continuity and adaptation. Setting up mobile electricity bill payment preparedness measures; and (c) provide households from customers and digitizing government agencies’ and productive users with energy services, increasing bills have increased the system’s flexibility and its adaptive capacities. Through provision of electricity adaptation and absorptive capacity (figure 4 below). access, community and households’ resilience to extreme climate events will be improved. Through institutional strengthening and capacity building, Embedding Climate Resilience into Energy Projects 9 NOTE The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) Learning Note 4 Figure 4. Resilience Booster Tool Attributes. Source: World Bank AFRI-RES webpage at: https://resiliencetool.worldbank.org/#/home Embedding Climate Resilience into Energy Projects 10 NOTE The Africa Climate Resilience Investment Facility (AFRI-RES) Learning Note 4 References Branca, G., and C. 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World Bank. 2023b. Next Generation Africa Climate Business Plan. First Progress Report: Forging Ahead on Development- Centered Climate Action. Washington, DC: World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/39767. © Copyright 2023 International Bank for The World Bank does not guarantee the Attribution: Please cite the work as follows: Reconstruction and Development/The accuracy of the data included in this work. World Bank 1818 H Street NW Washington, Schweikert Amy., Ramstein Celine., D.C. 20433 Rights and Permissions The material in Nicolas Claire, Alcaraz Marco, and Rigaud this work is subject to copyright. This work Kanta Kumari (2023) Embedding Climate This work is a product of the staff of the may be reproduced for the dissemination Resilience into Energy Sector Projects World Bank with external contributions. The of knowledge, in whole or in part, for AFRI-RES Learning Note. 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