ABSTRACT
Small-scale renewable energy projects under 15MW can be broken down into two categories: (1) those funded by for-profit entities for the purpose of feeding electricity into the grid or to sustain a factory’s operations; and (2) those sponsored by donations or grants that provide off-grid energy for rural communities. The latter of these projects rarely earn Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) credit because of their size, even though they almost always promote sustainable development. In fact, in Latin America there are no off-grid CDM projects. Also, if a non-profit entity provides a grant for a project, that grant usually precludes the project from being proven financially additional. It is for these reasons that it is particularly important to investigate the barriers to small-scale projects.
