New renewable energy fund in 
Asia leaves out solar

The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), a Vienna-based non-profit collaboration of European governments targeting development of 3,000 MW of new capacity by mid-2008 (see PI 9/2004, p. 12), on July 5 announced seed funding of $100,000 for a planned $50 million fund, to be operated out of Bangkok, Thailand.   

According to Herkko Lehdonvirta, a managing partner of Emerging Power Partners (EPP) in Finland, who will head Private Energy Market Fund 2, the fund will be used for 10 to 15 projects in Asia. Many of these are already selected – none yet, however, involving PV. »Currently we are not looking at solar projects,« he said.

However, REEEP specifically is seeking to promote funds that enable small-scale renewable energy development through bundling, and envisions the Private Energy Market Fund 2 as a model for future funds that could support bundled PV projects, said REEEP spokesman Peter Richards.

Garrett Hering
© PHOTON International, August 2005