Consultancy National/International: Business Plan Development for Dual Land Use (Solar PV and Agriculture) in Vietnam

Terms of Reference

Consultancy national/international

Business Plan Development for Dual Land Use (Solar PV and Agriculture) in Vietnam

SNV

SNV is a not-for-profit international development organisation that applies practical know-how to make a lasting difference in the lives of people living in poverty. We use our extensive and long-term in-country presence to apply and adapt our top-notch expertise in agriculture, energy and WASH to local contexts. SNV has an annual turnover of €130 million, over 1,250 staff in more than 25 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. We are proud to be a not-for-profit organisation that uses project financing to implement our mission. This requires us to work efficiently and to invest in operational excellence.

In its new Strategic Plan period (2019 – 2022), SNV will more explicitly aim for systems change during project preparation and implementation - by strengthening institutions and kick-starting markets that help many more to escape poverty beyond our projects. We will continue to position ourselves as a premium organisation, with decentralised management. Our Global Support Unit (70 staff) backstops our teams around the world.

SNV Vietnam

SNV has been working in Vietnam since 1995, and currently has over 40 national and international staff. SNV Vietnam operates from a head office in Hanoi and projects in over 50 provinces in the country, including in the poorest and most remote areas.

Scope of work

Vietnam’s rapidly growing economy is creating an increase in energy demand forecast to grow by 10% per year until at least 2035. A significant, and growing percentage of this energy need is being met by coal-fired power plants, leading to increased carbon emissions and air pollution and the well documented impacts of these. SNV Vietnam is supporting efforts to assist Vietnam in a shift towards a more sustainable energy development pathway. Endowed with ample solar radiation, solar power is one of the renewable energy sources that offers great opportunities to Vietnam.

No fewer than 332 solar PV farms projects have been designed using public and private finance, of which 127 projects have been approved in provincial power plans, and a further 205 projects are pending approval.

Among those that have been approved, over 80 solar PV farms with a total capacity of 5,404 MW are already in operation, and around 40 PV farms are under construction.

Unfortunately this positive energy transition that is taking place is also often accompanied by costs such as social disruption, land allocation conflicts, reductions in food security and agricultural production and risks of landscape degradation.

The concept of “Dual land use” is an approach that allows local communities to partake in the energy transition, while also continuing their agricultural livelihoods on their land. See more on the concept in this link: http://bit.ly/2Q3qPmp

SNV is working with relevant stakeholders to explore the current status in Vietnam and to identify the entry points to play a role in the Energy sector as a broker and facilitator towards an equitable energy transition.

SNV Vietnam is therefore looking for an expert with a background in energy economics and business development, to support the creation of innovative intervention modalities.

SNV is working in close partnership with Green ID http://en.greenidvietnam.org.vn/ and Climate Sense in the development of Dual Land Use solutions for Vietnam.

Main responsibilities

This assignment aims to assess the existing and potential dual-land-use application and Agri-Photo-Voltaic (APV) solar farming in Vietnam through desk study, field trips, attending relevant workshops & meetings and information collection and assessments.

The consultant will work with the SNV Energy team of SNV Vietnam to further develop the concept of APV along the description below:

To identify the business opportunities for dual land use solar farms.

• Review by desk study the current practices of “Dual use of land for PV farms and Agriculture” around the world and analyse successful cases.
• Focus on the selected provinces in Mekong Delta, and possibly also Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan which already have large Solar PV projects running. Conduct an economic analysis from the perspective of land use using different scenarios and agricultural options (e.g. crops).
• Through modelling develop different scenarios that lead to bankable investment propositions for Solar-PV investments that integrate dual land use approaches.
• Quantify the value proposition from the perspective of farmers in different scenarios by taking different modalities of ownership, tenure and investments into account, and compare this to the ‘business as usual’ scenario.
• Identify the role and added value that SNV and partners can play in intervening to improve the integration of PV projects with agriculture, landscapes and society.

Deliverables

In cooperation with the SNV team, the consultant will produce the following deliverables:

• Desk study report and a (excel based) model on dual land use practises and (primary and secondary) literature.
• Business plan for possible investors that aims to quantify the cost-benefits scenarios and risks of dual land use (PV and agriculture) compared to business as usual. This should prove or disprove the viability of the concept.
• Two presentations will be provided to the SNV Energy team and partners about the study progress and findings of business plan development.
• One final presentation for an external audience.

Timeframe

The assignment will take place from mid September 2019 - to November 2019 with a total of 30 days.

Requirements

The consultant will have the following profile:

• Professional background in the PV solar sector, preferably in Vietnam
• Experience in the execution of PV solar project preparation and or implementation, preferably with dual land use approaches
• Demonstrable skills in economic analysis of investments
• Deep understanding of relevant regulations in Vietnam on Energy and land use
• Ability to link and evaluate agronomical data and economic analysis
• Knowledge and Experience in financial modelling and analysis
• Acquainted with social and environmental safeguarding processes

How to respond

Interested candidates can submit their letter of interest (1,000 words max) and their CV (4 pages max) and your budget by 6th September 2019 THIS LINK.

In the subject header state “Consultancy application APV”.

For more information on SNV, please refer to our website: www.snv.org