Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership

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The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) is a Vienna-based non-profit organisation that aims to accelerate the marketplace for renewable energy and energy efficiency with a particular emphasis on the emerging markets and developing countries.

The organisation funds small-to-medium scale projects and other strategic activities that address the two main barriers to sustainable energy development: first, the lack of long term, stable government policies and regulations to support renewables and energy efficiency, and second, the corresponding lack of finance.

REEEP was launched by the government of the United Kingdom along with other partners at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in August 2002. Its official goals are to:

  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
  • Deliver social improvements to developing countries and countries in transition, by improving the access to reliable clean energy services, and by making renewable energy and energy efficiency systems more affordable
  • Bring economic benefits to nations that use energy in a more efficient way and increase the share of indigenous renewable resources in their energy mix.

To date the organisation has been funded primarily by governments including: Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom, The United States and the European Commission.

Contents

[edit] History

In 2002, accelerating the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies was one of the priorities of a large group of countries at the WSSD. The REEEP was initiated by the UK together with other committed governments, businesses and NGOs to deliver WSSD commitments and beyond, in particular to take forward the key recommendations of the G8 Renewable Energy Task Force. From January 2003 until May 2004, the REEEP was housed within the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) where it continued following the UN Type II partnership[1] process of stakeholder consultation. In June 2004, the REEEP obtained formal, legal status as an international NGO and has since been located at the UN complex in Vienna, Austria.

[edit] Project activities

Since its inception as an independent entity, REEEP has offered funding to a total of 150 projects. The most recent 21 of these were announced on 30th June 2011. The majority of projects have targeted emerging markets such as India, China, South Africa and Brazil. REEEP projects are concentrated in two key areas of low-carbon energy development:

  • Policy and regulation: promoting clear government policies and favourable, transparent and stable regulatory frameworks that will encourage long-term investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency
  • Innovative finance and business models: supporting new forms of financing, risk mitigation and investment funds to make small-sized renewable and energy efficient projects bankable.

[edit] Policy and regulation

REEEP finances projects which promote policy and regulatory frameworks that provide stable, long-term conditions for market development, but does not promote a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Examples of projects funded in this area include:

  • a UNDP initiative to formulate a renewable energy law in Kazakhstan (passed in June 2009)
  • the drafting of an Energy Framework for Namibia that includes favourable provisions for renewable energy and energy efficient technologies
  • establishing the mechanics for the interstate trading of renewable energy certificates (RECs) in India
  • a roadmap showing what proportion of China's 2030 energy needs could be met with renewables

[edit] Innovative financing and business models

The economics of renewables and energy efficiency - the size, the cost structure and the longer return of investment - make it necessary to develop special finance mechanisms, particularly in emerging markets and developing countries. REEEP supports projects that create new sources of finance with local institutions, as well as projects that develop ways to bundle small projects to a bankable size, leverage local capital markets, reduce transaction costs and manage risk. Examples of projects funded in this area include:

  • the creation of the E+Co West Africa Modern Energy Fund to mobilise $12 million in investment in 76 clean energy small and medium sized enterprises in Ghana, Mali and Senegal.
  • training of local experts in Brazil, China, India and South Africa in Gold Standard high-quality Verified Emissions Reductions (VERs), to open carbon finance income streams for clean energy projects in these markets
  • the establishment of a retail supply chain for clean energy appliances such as solar-powered LED lanterns in rural villages of Karnataka state in India
  • the expansion of the Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN), a coaching and investor matchmaking service for small clean energy entrepreneurs, to include Mozambique and Uganda

[edit] 8th Programme Cycle

On June 30th, 2011 REEEP announced the funding of 21 new low-carbon energy projects in its eighth programme cycle, making for a total of 150 REEEP-funded projects to date. A further seven projects were waitlisted for review and possible support. In line with 2012 being proclaimed the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All, 11 of the new projects target South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the two regions where energy poverty is most acute.

Just under half of the newly funded projects support the development of policies and regulations, including support for creating performance and labelling standards for LED lighting in Ghana, and for a regional initiative to establish household appliance energy labelling programmes in eight West African countries including the Ivory Coast, Niger and Senegal.

Five projects specifically target low-carbon development in China, including a study on a national-level carbon trading framework with the Energy Research Institute of the NDRC, and a smart grids study on how to integrate an increasing share of renewables into the Chinese electricity network, led by the China Electric Power Research Institute.

Four of the 21 new projects replicate or scale up successful initiatives previously funded by REEEP. The eighth programme cycle also includes support for optimising the bus rapid transit system in Jakarta, the organisation’s first project in Indonesia.

[edit] Strategic initiatives

To complement its project activities, REEEP supports several major strategic initiatives.

[edit] REIL

In line with the emphasis on policy and regulation, REEEP also supports The Renewable Energy and International Law (REIL) sub-network of legal and technical experts in providing analysis of the barriers and opportunities in international law. REIL has ongoing commissioned work on marine issues, climate change, biodiversity, waste, investment and trade law, grid connection, and Tradable Renewable Energy Certificates (Green certificates).

[edit] SERN

To facilitate sharing amongst regulators on policy and regulatory mechanisms, REEEP supports the Sustainable Energy Regulators Network (SERN) which comprises regulatory bodies, government departments, energy companies, NGOs and researchers. A best practice policy compendium on renewable energy and energy efficiency has been developed to share U.S. state and local level practices with emerging markets[2]. In cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), SERN has also developed training courses and seminars for regulators.

[edit] EEC

The Energy Efficiency Coalition (EEC) is a network of stakeholders established by REEEP to help draw together initiatives in the diverse energy efficiency field and to promote real action on the ground. Its priority area of focus is on buildings, which account for 40% of world energy use, according to the WBCSD Energy Efficiency in Buildings project.

In Spring 2009, the EEC brought together the major energy efficiency stakeholders in Mexico to sign a joint MoU committing the organisations to the development of a joint action plan to implement energy efficiency in buildings at state and municipal level across Mexico. The signatories include The National Commission for Energy Efficiency (CONUEE), the National Network of State Energy Commission (RENACE), and the Association for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (AEAEE). This approach could form a model for other countries such as Brazil in promoting energy efficiency in buildings.

[edit] reegle

reegle (with a lower-case r) is a clean energy information portal designed to provide easy access to highly reliable information on renewable energy and energy efficiency. The website draws information from eight different open data sources such as the World Bank, UNdata, OpenEI, the CIA Factbook, and the REEEP Sustainable Energy Regulation Network publications to provide deep understanding of energy issues.

The portal has four main components:

  • country energy profiles that bring energy statistics together with current policies, regulations and stakeholder contact information together in one single dossier for each nation
  • a climate change glossary and thesaurus covering the broad fields of climate change mitigation, adaptation, international development, incorporating 1700 terms with links to synonyms as well as broader and narrower terms.
  • a clean energy web search which offers a "mind map" based search refinement
  • a catalogue of key stakeholders involved in renewable energy and energy efficiency. This contains information and links to governmental ministries, companies and other green organisations, cross-referenced by geographical area and subject matter.

reegle was developed by REEEP in collaboration with REN21, and was funded by the governments of Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom.

[edit] Partners

Currently REEEP has 400 partners, 45 of which are governments, including all the G7 countries and key government agencies from India and China, other emerging markets and the developing world. Partners also include a broad range of businesses, NGOs and civil society organisations.

REEEP operates in a "universe" of many players, and collaborates with many other international structures and organisations to maximise replication and minimise duplication of efforts. Among many other organisations, REEEP is actively engaged with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the International Energy Agency (IEA), MEDREP, the Global Village Energy Partnership [3] (GVEP), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), CLASP, the Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition (JREC), GNESD, EREC, NAIMA, EURIMA, e-parliament and GFSE.

[edit] Regional Secretariats

REEEP has five Regional Secretariats around the world which ensure that the partnership's activities are relevant to and driven by local/regional demands. These Secretariats are hosted by organisations that share REEEP's commitment to clean energy development. They also serve as a coordinators of regional capacity building initiatives, function as information clearing houses, and identify key project opportunities for REEEP.

[edit] See also

Portal icon energy portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ United Nations Division for Sustainable Development - Partnerships for Sustainable Development
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ http://www.gvepinternational.org

[edit] External links

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