Financial support platform for Sustainable Circular Local Economy

Research Collaborator
Funded by Toyota Foundation D21-N2-0072 | Project Leader: Keiichi N. Ishihara

Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) could be used to satisfy needs that could improve the quality of life as these technologies could provide food, clean water, energy, and, ultimately, income. However, the considerable capital cost hinders communities from pursuing Community Renewable Energy (CRE) projects. Communities could loan the capital cost, but financial institutions are often unwilling to provide financing to the communities since these projects are often perceived as risky endeavors. Without proper financial evaluation of the projects, the reluctance of the financial institutions is justifiable.

Therefore, this project aims to provide assurance to financial institutions by developing a framework that outlines the financial viability of the CRE projects. The framework could serve as a guide for needs assessment, technology evaluation, and profitability calculation. With this information, communities could persuade financial institutions to provide loans for their project.

The proponents of this project decided to focus on supporting the agricultural sector first since RETs could improve the quality and quantity of their products, thereby increasing their profit, which could be used to justify the implementation of the CRE project. In the end, the final goal of this project is to improve the quality of life of rural communities through additional income.

This project is a collaborative project between Kyoto University (Japan), Chiang Mai University (Thailand), and Ateneo de Manila University (Philippines) and will focus on communities in Thailand and the Philippines. The project proponents hope to learn from each other by comparing the situation of the agricultural communities under study. It is necessary to explore the situation in at least one developing nation since best practices from each country could also be adapted to improve the case of the partner country. Differences in the circumstances of each country will help the members to learn from each other. By sharing and exchanging ideas gained from addressing the individual communities’ specific issues, a more comprehensive framework could be developed with the flexibility to adjust to specific scenarios.

The project is currently in the first phase, where the efforts are focused on gathering data centered around communities and their need. The researchers will then visit the community to assess the technical and economic viability of CRE in the selected communities.