The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) will fund 21 new clean energy projects in 17 countries, aimed at widening access to modern energy and supporting low carbon development in emerging markets and developing countries. A further 7 projects are waitlisted for review and possible support.
In line with 2012 being proclaimed the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All, a total of eleven projects will target South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the two regions where energy poverty is most acute. Just under half of all the funded projects support the development of policies and regulations that aim to create the basic market conditions for clean energy. “Energy efficiency standards and labelling are an especially cost-effective tool for governments in increasing end-user energy efficiency”, notes Marianne Osterkorn, REEEP’s Director General, “so our policy and regulation projects include 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.”
The transport sector offers huge potential for low-carbon energy, so policy measures will also include support for optimising the bus rapid transit system in Jakarta; a project bringing Indonesia onto the roster of REEEP beneficiary countries for the very first time. 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.
“This year we have increased the level of scrutiny of the proposals and have decided to support a lower number of projects than previously announced. The emphasis is on a smaller but quality portfolio which can provide an evidence base for global public policy on low-carbon development and the green economy,” notes Binu Parthan, REEEP’s Deputy Director General. “We are also pleased to add Indonesia to our portfolio and see considerable opportunities for low-carbon energy in that country.”
In this cycle, four of the 21 selected projects replicate or scale up successful initiatives previously funded by REEEP. One success story in up-scaling is the Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN), a coaching and investor matchmaking service that assists small clean energy project developers. A previous REEEP-funded initiative transferred this potent model to Mozambique and Uganda, and a follow-up effort will now coach a further 4-8 entrepreneurs in attracting more than 6 million in private funding, as well as hold a second Africa Forum for Clean Energy Financing to bring developers face-to-face with willing investors. Another replication example is SELCO Solar Light, which provides clean lighting, cooking and other income-generating devices to entrepreneurs in poor rural areas of India, targeting women in particular. Further REEEP funding will now allow this concept to widen its scope from southern Karnataka to Bihar, southern Gujarat and northern Karnataka.
This funding cycle is REEEP’s eighth, and is made possible by donations from the governments of the United Kingdom and Norway. REEEP previously disbursed €4.7 million in 2009, €3.2 million in 2007, €2.2 million euro in 2006 and €1.1 million in 2005.
