One Renewable Energy Enterprise (OREEi) is a social enterprise based in the Philippines that focuses on clean energy access through the installment of solar panels. Nexus was originally attracted to OREEi due to the social impacts and scale that they had achieved through their solar irrigation pump projects delivered to low-income, and rural communities.
The Pioneer Facility has worked with OREEi to directly finance a project that replaced over 140 diesel generated irrigation pumps with over 250 solar-powered pumps. The beneficiaries and end-users of the solar energy solution were small cooperatives of farmers based in several areas of the Philippines, such as Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Our mandate is to select projects and implementers that generate impact for local populations while applying a lens to ensure additionality. By connecting the population to clean energy, OREEi is fully meeting these impact expectations.
Economic impacts
Energy access – Less dependency on fuel availability and prices
Job creation – Additional skills from training technicians in the community to do the installations
Extra Income –
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- Increased revenue for farmers thanks to the ability of the pumps to double the productivity of farmland. Increased productivity of farmland from half year to full year crop rotation. − 2,100 hectares of land irrigated from 264 solar pumps
- Increased availability of water will allow farmers to raise livestock to augment their family income
- Increased time savings for additional economic activity for the beneficiaries
Reduced economic migration. Families can remain together – Usually the head of the family will go to the city and work on constructions during summer months, with solar irrigation they will be busy in their farm. Reduces negative impacts associated with urbanization.
Environmental impacts
Emission Reductions − CO2 avoidance is achieved by switching from diesel or gasoline generators to solar panels. 1,122 tCO2e offset with only 143 solar-powered pumps
These projects in the Philippines are part of the National Renewable Energy Program that aims to increase the share of renewable energy from 24% to 30% by 2030.
OREEi required financing to cover the upfront costs of a government project, which only allowed for payment upon the achievement of specific milestones. And this is where, for the implementer, the additionality of the Pioneer Facility is concrete. Without this investment, the project wouldn’t have been possible. The first loan which was disbursed in July 2018 was used to finance the first contract for the installation of 62 solar pump systems. OREEi’s successful delivery of this contract then resulted in the company winning a follow-on contract from the Department of Agriculture for 81 solar pump systems.
The Pioneer Facility fund was exactly what we needed, when we needed it. The loan allows us to engage in bigger projects that will fuel our growth.
Erel B. Narida, President and CEO, One Renewable Energy Enterprise, Inc.
As part of the Pioneer Facility design, the financing was offered as a senior unsecured loan to be more accessible than traditional financing options. The debt provided allowed OREEi to develop a track record of project delivery for the Department of Agriculture of the Philippines.
More recently, OREEI has formed a joint venture with ANTECO (Antique Electric Cooperative) awarded by ADB with USD 200K in grant funding, which led them to provide people with 24/7 electricity service on Malalison Island, a tiny island of 55 hectares in Antique Province, south of Manila.
We are also thrilled to see OREEI initiating discussions with OKRA, another project we’ve been supporting with a KIVA loan.