The NAMA is being developed as an activity within a broader UNDP-GEF project, "Promoting Utility-Scale Power Generation from Wind Energy" (GEF Project Management Information System - PMIS - number 4745).

The cost figure of US$250,000 is indicative and includes activities associated with the development of the feed-in tariff itself (e.g. estimation of regional (intra-Sudan) electricity generation costs so as to allow geographical differentiation of the FiT tariff) as well as the NAMA structure around the FiT (e.g. institutional arrangements, capacity development, MRV).

The $300,000 figure is indicative and includes support to the Ministry of Water Resources & Electricity (MWRE) and the Higher Council for Environment & Natural Resources (HCENR) to build their internal capacities to design and implement a FiT NAMA.

The $200,000 figure is indicative and includes support for:

- Designing a guarantee mechanism for IPPs, so as to reduce counterparty payment risk in the context of the FiT.
- Designing a carbon/climate finance 'window' for the FiT, so that - in the context of CDM, NMM, GCF and other potential future sources of climate mitigation finance - standard FiT payments can be augmented by additional premium payments that do not directly burden the Government of Sudan.
- Undertaking a technical review of the FiT after 2-3 years of operation to assess its impact in catalysing renewable energy investment and to propose design changes (e.g. introduction of a degression schedule) if required.

Capacity development for staff and units within MWRE on integration of intermittent renewables into the grid; and for HCENR on the design and oversight of NAMAs.

1.    Renewable Energy Master Plan (REMP) 2005 : Approximately 27 million people in Sudan lack access to electricity and the country as a whole has a 36% electrification rate. Sudan has set itself the target to increase electrification to 75-80% by 2020. The Master Plan, prepared under the UNDP-GEF ‘Barrier Removal for PV Market Penetration in Semi-Urban Sudan’ project, recognises that Sudan is endowed with diverse energy resources, ranging from biomass to hydro, solar, wind and geothermal, and calls for the use of these renewable energy sources to ensure the energy security of Sudan and to enhance access to electricity. In particular, REMP recommends the development of large-scale wind power over a near-term time horizon, highlighting the potential of the Red Sea coast in particular, based on the experience of wind farm installations on the Red Sea coast in neighbouring Egypt.

2.    National Strategic Vision 2001-2025: The Government of Sudan has formulated a 25-year strategic plan for the period 2001-2025, setting overall goals for economic development. The Vision is operationalised through rolling 5-year strategic plans. The Vision and NSP recognize the supportive role of the renewable energy sector in achieving the goals for economic development, both in terms of increasing the capacity of existing technologies (hydroelectricity and thermal) and through the addition of new renewables (e.g. wind, solar, geothermal and renewable biomass). Emphasis is placed on diversification of the electricity mix to ensure energy security and to enhance electricity access.

3.    Second National Communication (SNC) to the UNFCCC: The SNC specifically identifies wind energy as being a high-potential climate change mitigation technology.

4.    National CDM Strategy 2011: The Higher Council for Environment and Natural Resources (HCENR) has endorsed a national strategy to promote low-carbon projects through the CDM. This strategy states that wind energy is the most promising renewable energy option (over CSP and geothermal) in the short-term (i.e. within the next 5 years), a finding that is aligned with Sudan’s current strategy to develop wind farms in Nyala (West Sudan), Dongola (North Sudan) and the Red Sea region.

6.    Sudan’s National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA, 2007) observes that disruptions to hydroelectric power generation - in terms of both the absolute quantity and reliability of electricity generation - will take place due to reduced precipitation arising from climate change, as well as increased variability in precipitation.  The diversification of the electricity mix using utility-scale wind energy is seen as a viable means of enhancing the energy security of Sudan. Further, diversifying the renewable electricity base of Sudan with wind energy will provide the added global environmental benefit of avoiding future adaptation costs in the power sector. High levels of sedimentation in Sudan’s large dams due to upstream land degradation are a severe threat to hydro-electric power generation.