March 29, 2006—The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) today announced 32 new projects for funding. The funding round, REEEP’s fourth, represented the largest funding round in REEEP’s three-year history.
“More projects have been funded in the areas of financing models and energy efficiency, than in previous rounds,” stated Morgan Bazilian, REEEP Programme Board Chair. “REEEP has also expanded its priority countries from six to twenty countries and we are engaging some countries for the first time, such as Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Liberia and Tunisia.”
Ten of the thirty-two projects are in Africa as the continent has been targeted as a key REEEP region in 2006. The majority of projects are focused on identifying business models, whether that be for solar water heating, small hydro in the tea industry or in developing biofuels across the region. “Financial barriers to renewable energy and energy efficiency in Africa are significant,” stated Glynn Morris, REEEP Southern Africa Regional Secretariat Director. “By working with financial institutions, the carbon market and local government we’re hoping to build the business case from the bottom-up.”
The built environment is another area of focus in this year’s funding round and a number of energy efficiency projects target the APEC region, most notably China, as well as Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
REEEP is a public-private partnership launched by the United Kingdom along with other partners at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in August 2002. For more information, visit the Web site.
