GVEP International has just published a Policy Briefing on innovative finance mechanisms and how they could be used to scale up investments in low carbon technologies in Africa. The two case studies examined were presented at a DFID sponsored policy conference at Chatham House in London on 28th January.
Large investments will need to be made [...]

In February 2008, the Egyptian Supreme Council of Energy approved an ambitious plan to produce 20% of total electricity from renewable energies by 2020, including a 12% contribution from wind energy. This translates into more than 7,200 MW of grid-connected wind farms. The plan gives enough room for private investors to play a major role [...]

In 2008 donor countries have pledged over US$6 billion to the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) that were designed as an interim measure to strengthen the global knowledge base for low-carbon and climate-resilient growth solutions by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change The money will be used for demonstration projects that will implement climate change [...]

The United States could save about USD600 billion in energy costs by 2020 if it hiked annual efficiency spending about five-fold, McKinsey and Co said in a report, according to Reuters. Governments, businesses and the general public would have to boost annual spending on existing energy-saving measures from about USD10 billion annually to 50 billion per year or in all 520 billion by 2020. The upfront costs would pay off by saving USD1.2 trillion by 2020, according to the report. The reduction in energy use would also result in the abatement of 1.1 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions annually – the equivalent of taking the entire U.S. fleet of passenger vehicles and light trucks off the roads. Such savings will be possible, however, only if the U.S. can overcome significant barriers, which require an integrated set of solutions – including information and education, incentives and financing, codes and standards, and deployment resources well beyond current levels.

The EBRD is providing an equity investment of €18.85 million to Freenergy AS, a leading Estonian investor in renewable energy in eastern Europe, to boost the volumes of green energy generated in the Baltic states.
By taking a 35 percent stake in Freenergy, the EBRD will support the company’s plans to upgrade and further develop the [...]

There’s a new roadmap that looks interesting for helping China improve energy efficiency in buildings.  According to UNEP buildings apparently account for 42% of Chinese energy consumption, and China already has done a lot of legislating on energy efficiency — current building codes demand that new residential buildings are 50% more efficient that those built [...]

A huge amount of money is allocated by governments all over the world to stimulate the economy which represents a unique opportunity for green businesses. The question is: how much will governments spend in accelerating the shift from fossil energy to renewable energy and help to create a more energy efficient future?
HSBC Climate Change created [...]

The EU Commission published last week the 2009 call for project proposals which contribute to a wider spread of energy efficiency practices and to a greater use of renewable energy sources under the Intelligent Energy – Europe funding programme. Overall € 65 million will be available to fund projects which can help deliver a cleaner, [...]

Yes Bank Limited (YBL) is in process of establishing its first ever private equity fund for clean energy. The South Asia Clean Energy Fund (SACEF) is hoping to raise $200 million by this summer. According to YBL they have already raised $125 million, even with the constraints of a global recession.
The fund is targeting renewable [...]

I attended and spoke at the 3rd Renewable Energy Finance Forum on Central and Eastern Europe in Prague. The event was attended by about 120 delegates including project developers, bankers, private equity financiers, lawyers, renewables manufacturers and consultants.
The overall sense I had was that prospects are still positive but this is a difficult region to [...]