Another will assist the National Lighting Test Centre in formulating testing methods for LED lighting. Projects in India will include the implementation of a national framework for Tradable Renewable Energy Certificates (TRECs) with the Indian government agency IREDA and federal and state energy regulators. A microfinance project with the Foundation for Development Cooperation will support renewable energy systems in Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu.
“REEEP projects concentrate on the two areas where small-scale interventions can have a huge knock-on effect: in helping establish clear regulatory and policy frameworks for renewables and energy efficiency, and in creating finance and business models to attract private players to these sectors,” says Dr. Marianne Osterkorn, REEEP’s director general . “Given the financial crisis, this year’s roster is weighted slightly towards the policy side, but even so, we also have some very interesting financial projects in the mix.”
“REEEP projects are not selected solely for the significant benefits they deliver, but also for their potential replicability, up-scaling and learning effects. These projects are helping to create the national and regional environments required to transition to robust green economies,” notes Morgan Bazilian, REEEP’s Programme Board Chair and Irish Government representative to REEEP. Irish funding is focussed on the least developed countries of Africa and among other projects will cover the expansion of the Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN), a potent mechanism for financing clean energy technologies, to Mozambique and Uganda.
This year saw Australia join the governments of the UK, Norway, Ireland, Italy and New Zealand as REEEP programme donors. AusAID states that “REEEP’s approach in working closely with AusAID and providing technical expertise through its Regional Secretariat enabled priority projects to be identified in an effective manner. AusAID is keen to further explore how best REEEP and AusAID can work together in the Pacific region to address important renewable energy and energy efficiency issues.”
