Renewable Energy Program #1 - Solar Mongolia

The evaluation assesses the performance of the Sumber Solar Power Plant (SPP) in Govisumber aimag, Mongolia. The project, funded by a USD 8.65 million GCF loan and USD 8.9 million in equity, was completed in 2018 and became operational in March 2019. The evaluation concludes that the programme's results were "Satisfactory," noting that the SPP reduced 29,722 tCO2eq of greenhouse gas emissions between 2019 and 2020 and produced 35,076 MWh of electricity. Despite the project's technical success and alignment with Mongolia's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets, the evaluation highlights shortcomings in gender mainstreaming and the lack of a formal Theory of Change. The programme closed prematurely in December 2020 due to the project developer refinancing the loan with a lower-interest arrangement from their co-investor.

• The programme's impact and outcomes are fully aligned with Mongolia's national climate priorities, specifically the goal to reduce GHG emissions by 22.7% by 2030 under the NDC and the State Policy on Energy (2015-2030) target to reach a renewable energy installed capacity of 30% by 2030.
• The Sumber SPP successfully reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 29,722 tCO2eq from March 2019 to the end of 2020. The actual cost per tCO2eq was USD 47.49, which is 10% lower than the expected cost of USD 52.37.
• The 10 MW Sumber SPP exceeded its electricity production targets, generating a total of 35,076 MWh by the end of 2020, which is 12% higher than the annual target of 15,395 MWh.
• The programme's gender mainstreaming was only moderately successful. Annual Performance Reports lacked adequate sex-disaggregated data, and the early closure of the programme resulted in the incomplete implementation of Gender Action Plan (GAP) activities.
• The project demonstrated innovativeness by using GCF funds to finance bankable projects through specific financial instruments, serving as a pilot for greening Mongolia's energy sector and building local competency.
• The programme is considered a success story with high potential for replication in other regions of Mongolia, where there is a remaining need for over 200 MW of renewable energy sources.
• The evaluation identified that the absence of a formal Theory of Change (ToC) in the original Funding Proposal created difficulties in identifying the linkages between activities and outputs.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2022). Renewable Energy Program #1 - Solar Mongolia. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp046-final-evaluation-report-pub_0.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Renewable Energy Program #1 - Solar Mongolia. 2022. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp046-final-evaluation-report-pub_0.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Renewable Energy Program #1 - Solar Mongolia |date=May 2022 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp046-final-evaluation-report-pub_0.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2022renewable, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Renewable Energy Program \#1 - Solar Mongolia}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp046-final-evaluation-report-pub_0.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }