Experiences from a Regional Research and Dissemination Project on Renewable Energy Technologies in Asia S. C. Bhattacharya 1 , S. Kumar and M. Augustus Leon Energy Program, Asian Institute of Technology, P. O. Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand Fax No. (+662) 524 5439, e-mail: bhatta@ait.ac.th ABSTRACT Although many countries in the Asian region are endowed with abundant renewable energy (RE) resources, most of these countries suffer from severe and widespread energy deprivation, as the best use of available resources is not being made. Various teething problems, inherent to developing almost any new technology, encountered during the process of implementation of renewable energy projects often lead to abandoning these projects. These include lack of trained manpower, lack of co-ordination among various agencies involved (government agencies, R&D institutions, entrepreneurs and users), lack of consistent government policies, etc. Regional collaborative approach is an excellent approach to foster promotion of renewable energy technologies (RETs) in developing countries. With these considerations, to develop and to promote selected mature and nearly mature renewable energy technologies, a five-year regional research and dissemination programme, 'Renewable Energy Technologies in Asia' involving six Asian countries has been sponsored by the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (Sida). The countries involved are Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Nepal, the Philippines and Vietnam, and the renewable energy technologies studied are photovoltaics (PV), solar drying, and biomass briquetting. This paper describes the first phase of the programme, its achievements so far, and overall impact in the countries involved. Details regarding the adaptive research conducted so far have been presented as well as the various dissemination methods adopted to promote these RETs in the selected countries. 1. INTRODUCTION In order to promote selected mature and nearly mature RE technologies, a regional research and dissemination programme on 'Renewable Energy Technologies (RETs) in Asia' was initiated by Sida in 1997. The programme is coordinated by a senior faculty member of the Asian Institute of Technology, a Thailand-based international postgraduate institute. The first phase of the programme (RETs in Asia-I) involving 12 National Research Institutions (NRIs) from six Asian countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Nepal, the Philippines and Vietnam) covered the period of 1997-1998. The RE technologies involved were photovoltaics (PV), solar drying, biomass briquetting and briquette stoves. A three-year second phase of the programme started in 1999. The programme attempts to address the country-specific requirements of these technologies. The activities and achievements of the first phase are being described in this paper. 1 Corresponding author