1. Daphn BARBOTTE Filire Gnrale Internship supervisor: Eva OBERENDER Internship mentor: Charles TENENBAUM Handing in of report: 26 September 2011 International mobility year Internship report Melbourne, Australia 1 July 2010 31 March 2011 RREEEEEEPPss wwoorrkk iinn tthhee SSoouutthheeaasstt AAssiiaa aanndd PPaacciiffiicc rreeggiioonn:: AAnnaallyyssiiss ooff aann NNGGOOss ssttrraatteeggyy ttoo bbeeccoommee aa kkeeyy ddeevveellooppmmeenntt ppaarrttnneerr 2. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 1 - Acknowledgments I would like to thank Eva Oberender and Maaike Gbel for taking a shot at me and trusting me as their co-worker for nine months. Thank you for being such great mentors and giving me so many incredible opportunities; I had an amazing work experience. Thank you also to Ron Steenbergen for introducing me to REEEP and helping me get the internship. Additionally, thank you to the REEEP International Secretariat for agreeing to the internship and to the Vienna team for its assistance during the year. Thank you to the Clean Energy Council team for its warm welcome and support. Finally, I would also like to thank Charles Tenenbaum for its tutoring and advice-giving during the nine months. 3. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 2 - 4. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 3 - Contents Introduction: a choice for the future................................................................................................... 7 a. Why an internship? ..............................................................................................................................7 b. Why the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP)?...........................................7 1. REEEP, an innovative approach to sustainable energy and development......................................... 8 a. REEEP international..............................................................................................................................8 b. REEEP Southeast Asia and Pacific.......................................................................................................10 c. Internship scope: initial presentation of activities.............................................................................12 2. A policy expert for the region ....................................................................................................... 14 a. The Sustainable Energy Regulation Network (SERN).........................................................................14 b. The Encyclopedia of Energy 2012.......................................................................................................15 3. Fostering renewable energy and energy efficiency through innovative projects............................ 17 a. Introduction to project management ................................................................................................17 b. Case studies: why are REEEP projects successful?.............................................................................20 i. The Pacific Micro Energy Service Companies (PMESCO) project, local involvement and innovation as keys to success .................................................................................................................................20 ii. The establishment of energy efficiency policy instruments in Pacific Island countries: how flexibility leads to success.....................................................................................................................22 c. Common challenges against project implementation.......................................................................23 4. Information sharing ..................................................................................................................... 24 a. Website ..............................................................................................................................................24 b. Newsletter..........................................................................................................................................25 c. reegle..................................................................................................................................................26 d. Local awareness raising......................................................................................................................27 e. Others.................................................................................................................................................29 5. Regional alignment ...................................................................................................................... 30 a. Regional collaboration and engagement...........................................................................................30 i. Development partners coordination mechanism: Energizing the Pacific........................................30 ii. Pacific Islands Energy Advisory Group (PEAG).................................................................................31 iii. Bringing the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to the Pacific region......................31 b. Advocating the role of energy in development .................................................................................32 i. The Framework for Action on Energy Security in the Pacific (FAESP) & its associated Implementation Plan (IP)......................................................................................................................32 ii. The Tonga Energy Road Map (TERM)..............................................................................................34 6. Visibility on the international stage.............................................................................................. 36 a. Assistance in organising key international conferences ....................................................................36 i. Strategic preparations for the Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference 2010 ...............36 ii. Innovative workshop at the Inaugural Regional Meeting of Ministers for Energy, ICT and Transport ..............................................................................................................................................38 b. Invited speaker at various international events ................................................................................39 c. Large involvement in Clean Energy Council national events.............................................................41 i. ATRAA, an access to the solar industry............................................................................................41 ii. Clean Energy Week, the biggest Australian sustainable energy gathering.....................................42 Conclusion........................................................................................................................................ 44 Sources ............................................................................................................................................ 46 Appendixes ...................................................................................................................................... 47 5. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 4 - Appendix 1: REEEP brochure ...................................................................................................................47 Appendix 2: SERN review contributions..................................................................................................48 Appendix 2a: Australia..........................................................................................................................48 Appendix 2b: Cambodia........................................................................................................................57 Appendix 2c: Indonesia.........................................................................................................................63 Appendix 2d: Lao PDR...........................................................................................................................70 Appendix 2e: Malaysia..........................................................................................................................76 Appendix 2f: Philippines........................................................................................................................85 Appendix 2g: Singapore........................................................................................................................93 Appendix 2h: Thailand ..........................................................................................................................99 Appendix 2i: Tonga .............................................................................................................................109 Appendix 2j: Vietnam..........................................................................................................................118 Appendix 3: Articles written for the Encyclopedia of Energy 2012.......................................................126 Appendix 3a: Australia........................................................................................................................126 Appendix 3b: Fiji..................................................................................................................................129 Appendix 3c: Marshall Islands ............................................................................................................131 Appendix 3d: Nauru............................................................................................................................133 Appendix 3e: Palau .............................................................................................................................135 Appendix 3f: Philippines......................................................................................................................137 Appendix 3g: Singapore......................................................................................................................139 Appendix 3h: Solomon Islands............................................................................................................141 Appendix 3i: Tonga .............................................................................................................................143 Appendix 3j: Tuvalu ............................................................................................................................145 Appendix 4: Initiation to project management.....................................................................................147 Appendix 4a: Overview of a REEEP funding cycle...............................................................................147 Appendix 4b: Role of the Regional Secretariats in Project Management ..........................................149 Appendix 4c: Presentation of the Programme Management Information System (PMIS) ................152 Appendix 4d: PMIS tutorial (see USB drive)........................................................................................152 Appendix 5: The Sustainable Energy Industry Association of the Pacific Islands (SEIAPI) project........153 Appendix 5a: Project description........................................................................................................153 Appendix 5b: Cleaning up energy in the Pacific Islands ..................................................................154 Appendix 5c: SEIAPI launch press release...........................................................................................155 Appendix 6: Pacific Micro Energy Service Companies (PMESCO) project.............................................156 Appendix 6a: PMESCO project description .........................................................................................156 Appendix 6b: Commodities exchange brings renewables to South Pacific.....................................157 Appendix 6c: Energy Globe award for REEEP project in Solomon Islands.......................................159 Appendix 7: PICs Energy Efficiency, Auditing and Appliance Labelling project ....................................160 Appendix 7a: Project description........................................................................................................160 Appendix 7b: Standards and Appliance Labelling Project Tender...................................................161 Appendix 8: Articles written for the REEEP SEAP website ....................................................................162 Appendix 8a: Special Forum Energy Ministers Meeting, Brisbane..................................................162 Appendix 8b: REEEP SEAP Advisory Committee Meeting................................................................163 Appendix 8c: Suva host to international talks on PICs energy future ............................................164 Appendix 8d: REEEP contribution to the Encyclopedia of Energy 2012 ..........................................165 Appendix 8e: Country spotlight - Indonesia ....................................................................................166 Appendix 8f: The Philippine Renewable Energy Market .................................................................168 Appendix 8g: Gender and energy in developing countries (Draft)..................................................170 6. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 5 - Appendix 8h: Other: The importance of renewable energy in Small Island States.........................173 Appendix 9: REEEP SEAP Newsletters ...................................................................................................174 Appendix 9a: July Newsletter .............................................................................................................174 Appendix 9b: September Newsletter..................................................................................................178 Appendix 9c: October Newsletter.......................................................................................................181 Appendix 9d: December Newsletter...................................................................................................184 Appendix 9e: January Newsletter.......................................................................................................189 Appendix 9f: February Newsletter......................................................................................................192 Appendix 9g: Events listing.................................................................................................................194 Appendix 9h: March Newsletter.........................................................................................................195 Appendix 10: reegle...............................................................................................................................197 Appendix 10a: reegle features............................................................................................................197 Appendix 10b: Method to add reegle actors to the database ...........................................................198 Appendix 10c: Excerpt of the final database for the Pacific region....................................................200 Appendix 11: Presentations for local awareness-raising (see USB drive).............................................201 Appendix 11a: Papua New Guinea..................................................................................................201 Appendix 11b: Fiji............................................................................................................................201 Appendix 11c: The Pacific Island Countries.....................................................................................201 Appendix 12: REEEP regional involvement............................................................................................202 Appendix 12a: The Framework for Action on Energy Security in the Pacific (FAESP) (see USB drive)202 Appendix 12b: Achieving energy security in the Pacific thanks to the FAESP ....................................202 Appendix 13: DIREC2010 preparations .................................................................................................203 Appendix 13a: Stakeholders questionnaire ........................................................................................203 Appendix 13b: Pre-DIREC report (see USB drive)................................................................................204 Appendix 13c: REEEP-IRENA side event flyer......................................................................................204 Appendix 14: Flyer for the REEEP workshop on energy efficiency at the Inaugural Regional Meeting of Ministers for Energy, ICT and Transport................................................................................................205 Appendix 15: ICRECC .............................................................................................................................206 Appendix 15a: Presentation: The Tonga Energy Road Map (see USB drive) ..................................206 Appendix 15b: Presentation: Gender and Energy (see USB drive) ..................................................206 Appendix 15c: Follow-up paper: The Tonga Energy Road Map ......................................................206 Appendix 15d: Follow-up paper: Gender and Energy in the Pacific................................................210 7. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 6 - 8. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 7 - Introduction: a choice for the future a. Why an internship? Since all Sciences Po Lille students have to spend their third year overseas to study or work, going abroad on an internship appeared to me as a great opportunity for a future career. An internship is source to a valuable professional experience, and presents the opportunity to create a contact network as well as getting major recommendations to support future job applications. Moreover, an internship appears to me as the best way to see a practical and concrete side of what I learn at Sciences Po. I saw this international mobility year as an opportunity to get out of the student universe to enter the workforce. This process will give me another approach to my studies when I will start my master, and will very likely provide me with a new motivation to go on and succeed. b. Why the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP)? The climate change issue was globally tackled for the first time in 1992 with the development of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international environmental treaty aiming at stabilising greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous interference with the climate system. Although this treaty was enforced by the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, climate change concerns strongly started reaching public audience a few years ago only. Presently scientists agree that climate change is largely the consequence of human activities, and most of all developed countries. However, although the 100 developing countries are responsible for as little as 3% of the global greenhouse gas emissions, they are the ones suffering most from climate change consequences extreme weather events, sea level rise, storm surges and ground water pollution to name a few. Small island developing states (SIDS) for example, numerous in the Pacific, are being seriously threatened by rising sea levels. Developing countries are thus the main victims of climate change, although they contribute little. One step forward is to help them mitigate the effects of climate change, by assisting them in reducing their own emissions in order to provide them with a sustainable development and the means to adapt to climate change. Since I have always wanted to work in the development sector, and became concerned by the climate change issue pretty young, REEEP naturally caught my attention. As a development partner working towards mitigation of climate change effects in developing countries, REEEPs goal is to reduce the level of greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries, by fostering the development of renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency measures. An internship with REEEP therefore appeared as a valuable opportunity to increase my knowledge about renewables and energy efficiency, while discovering a development partners work on the ground. Working with REEEP was a way to get a better idea of a development partners work, and realise whether I do really want to work in this field once my studies completed. The aim of this report is to analyse, through my internship activities, REEEPs strategy to become a key development partner in the Southeast Asia and Pacific region. 9. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 8 - 1. REEEP, an innovative approach to sustainable energy and development a. REEEP international See Appendix 1. The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) is an active, global public-private partnership that works to reduce the barriers limiting the uptake of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, with a primary focus on emerging markets and developing countries. REEEP is a Vienna-based international organisation that was launched by the government of the United Kingdom (UK), along with other partners, at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in August 2002. First housed at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, REEEP became an independent Austrian legal entity (non-government organisation NGO) in May 2004. Managed by 18 staff worldwide, it is now comprised of more than 350 partners, 53 of which are governments, including all the G7 countries and key government agencies form China and India, other emerging markets, and the developing world. Partners also include a broad range of businesses, NGOs and civil society organisations. Approximately 4 000 individuals are also registered as `Friends of REEEP. Figure 1: Global distribution of REEEP government partners REEEP collaborates with many other international structures and organisations to maximise replication and minimise duplication of efforts. Among many other organisations, REEEP is actively engaged with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the International Energy Agency (IEA), MedREP (Mediterranean Renewable Energy Programme), the Global Village Energy 10. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 9 - Partnership (GVEP), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition (JREC), the Global Network on Energy for Sustainable Development (GNESD), the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC), the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA), the European Insulation Manufacturers Association (EurIMA), the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), e-parliament, and the Global Forum on Sustainable Energy (GFSE). REEEP is financially supported primarily by the governments of Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom as well as the European Union, while some contributions come from the private sector. REEEPs initial force relies on this public-private partnership format, ensuring that the policies and regulations developed by governments include the private sectors interests, ensuring its support. REEEEP therefore addresses two main barriers to sustainable energy development: first, the lack of long term, stable government policies and regulations to support renewables and energy efficiency, and second, the corresponding lack of finance. REEEPs mission is to facilitate the transformation of energy systems by accelerating the uptake of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, as a means of reducing carbon emissions, increasing energy security, and improving access to sustainable energy for the poor worldwide. The over-arching objectives of the Partnership are thus to: stimulate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through a significant increase in the uptake of renewable energy and energy efficiency; contribute to global sustainable development, bringing economic benefits to nations that use energy in a more efficient way and increasing the share of indigenous renewable resources in their energy mix; improve access to reliable and sustainable energy for the poor, contributing to wealth creation, social improvements, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). REEEP actions are demand-driven and regional. REEEP relies on its partners voluntary contributions and the value they add through their willingness to share finance, experience and knowledge, in order to fund small-to-medium scale projects and other strategic activities. Since its inception REEEP has funded 129 projects in more than 65 countries, of which 38 are currently on-going. The majority of these are located in emerging markets such as India, China, South Africa and Brazil. Moreover, REEEP has a robust and transparent governance structure comprised of three acting bodies: the Governing Board, the Programme Board and the Finance Committee. At the original meeting in Bonn, the core delivery structure including a network of Regional Secretariats and the International Secretariat was agreed. The diagram below shows the resulting current structure, including Regional Steering Committees added in 2005-2006. 11. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 10 - Figure 2: REEEP structure REEEP has five Regional Secretariats around the world operating in Latin America and the Caribbean, Southern Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia and the Pacific, as well as two focal points for West Africa and Northern Africa. The Regional Secretariats ensure that the partnership's activities are relevant to and driven by local demands. These Secretariats are hosted by organisations that share REEEP's commitment to clean energy development. They also serve as coordinators of regional capacity building initiatives, function as information clearing houses, and identify key project opportunities for REEEP. My internship with REEEP took place within the Southeast Asia and Pacific Regional Secretariat. b. REEEP Southeast Asia and Pacific The Southeast Asia and Pacific (SEAP) Regional Secretariat was established in 2006. It covers Australia, New Zealand and the following developing countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Cook Islands, East Timor, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, Lao, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Vietnam. The Secretariat collaborates with national governments, financial and business professionals, and non-government organisations across the region to promote access to reliable clean energy services for developing countries and countries in transition in the region. The regional network established by REEEP SEAP facilitates dialogue among regional players. Technical expertise and assistance is available to ensure capacity building in the region. The Secretariat also acts as a clearing house for best practice in policy and finance to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency, and a service centre to support its partners in making renewable and energy efficient power a reality. 12. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 11 - The Regional Secretariat addresses the policy, regulatory and financial barriers to the uptake of sustainable energy in the region, with an emphasis on the Pacific Island Countries (PICs). REEEP SEAP focuses on the development of clean energy markets and increased private sector participation to ensure country and project readiness for increased investment in clean energy projects. This is achieved through addressing policy, regulatory and financial barriers to the uptake of sustainable energy in the Southeast Asia and Pacific regions through: enhanced regional engagement and collaboration; facilitation of investment and appropriate finance, trade and clean energy market development; facilitation of policy environments; sharing of regional clean energy policy expertise; advocating the role of access to energy in development as well as information sharing. Established thanks to funding from the Australian Greenhouse Office, the SEAP secretariat is hosted by the Clean Energy Council (CEC), Australias peak clean energy industry association. This alliance strengthens the gateway for private sector participation, ensuring industry outreach and a conduit for government departments to engage industry in complex multilateral clean energy-related policies and programs. REEEP provides a number of services for the CEC including international market development, representation of the Australian clean energy industry internationally, and running the CEC International Directorate; while the CEC provides support to the REEEP Advisory and Steering Committees and expert advice and consultation. Figure 3: REEEP SEAP Regional Governance Structure (2010) 13. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 12 - REEEP SEAP is principally funded by the Australian Government, with additional support by the New Zealand Government, the banking sector and the clean energy industry. The leadership role of the Australian Government within REEEP is recognised at over 80 world leading events each year (such as the ADB Asia Energy Week, UNFCCC meetings and the International Renewable Energy Conferences (Beijing 2005, Washington 2008 & New Delhi 2010). REEEP SEAP has formed strategic partnerships with the Australian and New Zealand Governments, APEC, ADB, ASEAN, Council of Regional Organisations of the Pacific, banks, cleantech companies, and the Governments of Fiji, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The REEEP SEAP Secretariat has been recognised as the benchmark of practice within the REEEP partnership. This is due to its value in facilitating effective dialogues between regional players as well as its ability to leverage further funding. Efforts are being made to use the model for operation of other REEEP Regional Secretariats. The Regional Advisory Committee meets on a regular basis, bringing together partner representatives from the private sector and from governments in order to go through the latest REEEP developments. The Regional Advisory Committee is a concrete way for REEEP to create a strong link between the public and private sectors. REEEP's linkages to the private sector have been recognised on the regional level as a particular distinguishing point of practice from other development partners. Through its public-private partnership status and its context of creation, REEEP has therefore been granted an important legitimacy from the inception. Moreover, its expanding network of partners, globally as well as regionally, continually enforces the organisations global recognition. c. Internship scope: initial presentation of activities As soon as the agreement was set for my internship with the REEEP SEAP Secretariat, Eva Oberender, REEEP SEAP regional director, submitted me a work plan to give me an idea of the work I could accomplish, requesting my comments on it. Focus Organisation Core Activity Description Southeast Asia & Pacific REEEP Policy Updates on country analysis of renewable energy & energy efficiency policies and market opportunities Pacific REEEP Programme Cycle Project management & implementation - liaison with implementing agencies - financial management of projects - problem solution Pacific REEEP Programme Cycle Assist with REEEP 8th funding round - management of call for projects - selection criteria - liaison with stakeholders Southeast Asia & Pacific REEEP Knowledge Exchange Best practice studies - research and drafting of best practice studies from the region 14. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 13 - Southeast Asia & Pacific REEEP Communication Contribute to selected publications with articles on REEEP activities, projects and advocacy (energy poverty, Millennium Development Goals, market development) Southeast Asia & Pacific REEEP Communication Publish regular REEEP newsletters, blogs for reegle, and updates for website Southeast Asia & Pacific REEEP Events Assist with preparation, logistics and execution of strategic and core internal events Global CEC/REEEP UN Engagement Assist with preparation for COP16 meetings (UNFCCC) - research into UNFCCC processes - synthesis of Bonn meetings June 2010 - development of industry position - preparation of activities during COP16 Australia CEC Policy Assist the Policy Team with research of Australian clean energy industry and markets in support of renewable energy and energy efficiency policy development and carbon markets Australia CEC Industry Development Assist the Industry Development Team in accreditation of solar PV installers One month after arrival, Eva gave me the opportunity to formulate new requests regarding matters I would like to work on. I therefore showed my interest for the following topics: What is the role of renewable energy in development issues? Examples of current successful policies and their impacts. An approach to fundraising and sponsors finding. Development of an awareness programme on renewable energy and energy efficiency. How to choose a particular technology for a particular country? Learn about project implementation and possibly follow a project. Upon completion of the first tasks my role became clearer in the organisation. Working mainly on communication outreach and policy analysis, I was given the title of Junior Policy and Communication Officer. 15. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 14 - 2. A policy expert for the region One aspect of REEEPs work is the development and support of policy-maker networks. First, the Energy Efficiency Coalition (EEC) is a network of stakeholders established by REEEP to help draw together initiatives in the diverse energy efficiency field and to promote real action on the ground. Its priority area of focus is on buildings, which account for 40% of world energy use, according to the WBCSD Energy Efficiency in Buildings project. In collaboration with Yale University (USA), REEEP also supports the Renewable Energy and International Law (REIL) sub-network, composed of legal and technical experts, in providing analysis of the barriers and opportunities in international law. The network I had the opportunity to work on was the Sustainable Energy Regulation Network (SERN), comprised of regulatory bodies, government departments, energy companies, NGOs and researchers. This initiatives goal is to facilitate sharing amongst regulators on policy and regulatory mechanisms, in collaboration with the Warwick Business School of Warwick University (UK). a. The Sustainable Energy Regulation Network (SERN) The SERN facilitates exchange of experience and knowledge between regulators and government officials on policy and regulatory mechanisms that promote and accelerate the development of sustainable energy. Its aims are to: secure greater understanding of the benefits of renewable energy and energy efficiency amongst energy regulators and government departments; secure regulatory mechanisms (e.g. price controls, network development incentives etc) that incentivise energy efficiency, renewable energy and distributed generation. The SERN acts as a focal and link point for information on renewable energy, energy efficiency and distributed generation geared to the needs of energy regulators and others with an interest in energy regulation. The network developed a training package on sustainable energy and regulation and case studies of regulation as it affects sustainable energy; and runs training courses and seminars in collaboration with REEEP Regional Secretariats, partners and others. Moreover, a literature review and a glossary of key terms in sustainable energy regulation have been developed, and a newsletter is sent on a regular basis to more than 850 individual members from energy regulatory agencies, government departments, consultants, academics and other stakeholders with an interest in regulation. Most of all, the SERN coordinates a worldwide energy policy and regulatory review presenting updated information for each country. Part of my work with REEEP SEAP was to complete this review for ten of the countries located in the SEAP region, including: Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, and Vietnam. The SERN then published the 2010 review comprised of the latest energy policy and regulation information for each country part of the REEEP network. See Appendix 2. This task was a lengthy project that required an important amount of research and analysis work. The diversity of the SEAP region countries appeared very clearly while doing the research. There are critical differences regarding economic and energy situations between Southeast Asia and Pacific countries, as well as among Southeast Asian countries themselves. Generally, the economic development level of a country is going to influence strongly the efforts made nationally towards an uptake of clean energy. Poorest countries are less likely to spend time and 16. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 15 - money on clean energy developments since their priority is more likely going to be economic development. As a country gets richer it is then going to gain some interest in clean energy and sustainable development. This situation will heavily influence the way REEEP approaches the various countries in order to help them go clean energy. Most of the countries composing the sample are not very developed, if not remote in the case of Tonga. Therefore, finding information regarding clean energy, an emerging sector, with the sole tool being Internet, appeared pretty difficult. It was for example impossible for me to find Thailands exact electrification rate, as well as Vietnams energy capacity concerns, or the extent of competition of Cambodias energy market. Yet, some information, difficult to find on the web, were provided to me by REEEP contacts on the ground, working for energy utilities or governments in the relevant countries. This exercise clearly emphasised the major role played by networks when working in poor, remote countries. By providing and updating this important amount of information annually through the SERN, REEEP has built a strong credibility in the region, and is now a reference regarding national clean energy developments. The SERN gives REEEP the opportunity to be visible on a policy level, while enforcing its legitimacy as a development partner. REEEP is aware of the energy situation and needs of each country it is working in. This policy work grants the organisation a key adviser role for the SEAP national governments, as illustrated by the Tongan governments request to have REEEP draft its Energy Efficiency Act. Another key project I had the opportunity to work on and which will contribute to enforcing REEEPs policy expert reputation is the Encyclopedia of Energy 2012. b. The Encyclopedia of Energy 2012 At the end of 2010 REEEP SEAP, among other academic editorial contributors, was asked to contribute to a new reference work on the role of energy in society. Initiated by Golson Media, the comprehensive Encyclopedia of Energy will be published by Salem Press in 2012 and marketed and sold to high-school, college, public, and academic libraries. Presented in 4 volumes in an A-to-Z format, the Encyclopedia of Energy is described by Golson Media as an unprecedented and unique resource. The General Editor for the encyclopaedia is Dr. Morris A. Pierce, from the University of Rochester, USA. As a part of this project, I wrote articles about the ten following countries in the Southeast Asia and Pacific regions: Australia, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Philippines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu. See Appendix 3. Being part of this project was very exciting form the start, and although it constituted an important load of work I really enjoyed accomplishing it. I first developed a general structure for the articles in order to make sure each of them would give a complete overview of the renewable energy and energy efficiency situation of each country. Once my mind was set on what I wanted to talk about in each article, I started doing the research about it. My first tool was the SERN database I had contributed to. It was very helpful and a huge gain of time to have all the basic policy and regulation information available right away. The SERN review allowed me to set the framework which directed the development of the renewable energy and/or energy efficiency projects I was going to talk about in each article. The main task was then to research information about 17. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 16 - those projects and analyse their establishment and results. Once again, having access to the large REEEP SEAP network appeared very helpful in order to confirm data or get latest information about the projects. Moreover, this project gave me the opportunity to go deeper into some of the matters I had been working on, which I probably would not have done otherwise. On the other hand, being part of such an initiative adds rules to your writing, which can be frustrating. In that case, the word count appeared quite difficult to stick to at first. Most of the countries I had to write about are small, remote PICs that no one ever hears of. I was thus limited to 800 words per article, probably because the Encyclopedia developers assumed there was not much to write about anyway. However, being part of an organisation working particularly in those countries, I obviously had a lot more to expose. It was thus frustrating to be limited in the information I was able to spread, especially since there is a burning need to raise public awareness about the PICs situation regarding climate change consequences and energy security issues. Yet this constraint put to the test my capacity to synthesise, and made even more rewarding the completion of each article. After fulfilment of the ten articles, REEEP SEAP got authorized by Golson Media to publish them before the printing of the Encyclopedia. I therefore customised each article in order to make them more attractive to the general public, adding pictures and hyperlinks to increase the amount of information available. The articles were then published on the REEEP website (http://www.reeep.org/index.php?id=443&special=showHotTopic&iHotId=861&sQuiteName=news&iQ uiteId=498), the reegle blog, and distributed to the REEEP groups network via our various means of communication (see section 5 about Information sharing). Overall, being contacted for such an important project underlined REEEPs international recognition in the clean energy sector. In addition to spreading REEEPs name and giving the organisation the opportunity to reach new people, the Encyclopedia project officially and durably establishes REEEP as a major development partner and clean energy stakeholder. In addition to its policy work, REEEP fosters renewable energy and energy efficiency measures through innovative projects. 18. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 17 - 3. Fostering renewable energy and energy efficiency through innovative projects a. Introduction to project management REEEPs projects aim to create favourable market conditions for renewable energy and energy efficiency in developing countries and emerging markets. The goal is to create a market demand, by enhancing awareness of renewables and energy efficiency and their role, and improve national energy security. The final result of these projects is to alleviate poverty through clean energy, allowing a sustainable development of the relevant countries. REEEP conducts regular programme funding cycles every 1218 months, funding targeted interventions in the two specific areas that offer the greatest potential for developing the market for sustainable energy: assisting governments in creating favourable regulatory and policy frameworks; promoting innovative finance and business models to activate the private sector. REEEP selects projects which can be replicated and scaledup, and have a real impact on the development of the market for renewable and efficient energy and innovation. As the programme funding cycles constitute the base of REEEPs project development I was introduced to its structure and development. The process concerns three levels which are REEEP, its partners, and the donors, and is composed of 4 phases: Phase I: Review of Programme Framework (priorities, procedures, call for independent experts) Phase II: Selection of Projects Phase III: Project Implementation and Project Monitoring 1. Implementation 2. Controlling 3. Progress reporting and payment 4. Project completion 5. Project evaluation and impact assessments 6. Feedback 7. Communication of the results Phase IV: Project and Programme Evaluation (feedbacks, reports, programme, International Secretariats performance) See Appendix 4a for a more detailed overview of a funding cycle. The Regional Secretariats intervene during the third phase, in order to implement and monitor the projects selected during the second phase. See Appendix 4b. The aim of this task is to reduce the risks threatening the project and increase its likelihood of success. This was therefore the opportunity for me to be initiated to project management, through the monitoring of the Sustainable Energy Industry Association of the Pacific Islands (SEIPAPI) project, started in June 2010 by Global Sustainable Energy Solutions (GSES), also referred to as the implementing agency. 19. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 18 - The aim of the project is to establish a Sustainable Energy Industry Association for the Pacific Islands, along with a Certification Scheme for renewable energy and energy efficiency practitioners in the following countries: Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The expected impacts are an increased focus and drive toward quality of renewable energy products and installations, energy efficiency services and products, and training of technicians through accredited training programs, standards and regulations; a better profile for the renewable energy industry in the Pacific Islands, and coordinated promotion by all members of the association; and indirect benefits in cutting CO2 emissions thanks to increased renewable energy and energy efficiency potential. See appendix 5 for more about the SEIAPI project. As the REEEP project manager, I was the link between REEEP and the implementing agency. I was thus responsible for the monitoring of the project progress reports, prepared and submitted electronically by GSES to the Regional Secretariat every three months, using the REEEP Programme Management Information System (PMIS). See Appendixes 4c and 4d for more details about PMIS. The Progress Reports must contain: the details of the financial expenditure showing actual expenses against budgets and the foreign exchange rate calculations during the intervening period with supporting documentation and a financial summary; an original invoice specifying the main items of funds requested in accordance with the grant contract budget; a documented summary of progress by outputs. The PMIS carries out a number of basic verification checks, including that of completeness of the report, internal data consistency, actual expenses reported within overall budget and budget planned for the reporting period, reporting or re-planning of due outputs, and attachment of the original invoice. Only upon completion of these checks will the PMIS allow the applicant to submit a report to the Regional Secretariat. As the Secretariats project manager for SEIAPI, I was then responsible for ensuring that the progress report was complete and correct. First I had to check it was being implemented according to the plan established during the call for proposals. I thus made sure the project timeline clearly specified the beginning (June 2010) and end (June 2012) within which the deliverables must be achieved, and checked the activities were undertaken as planned. Some of them had not been completed by the decided date due to difficulties in the decision-making process, which led to a review of the timelines of some activities. This did not impact the global final end date, which would need a written approval from the International Secretariat for any change. Second, I had to make sure the project was progressing according to its budget. The project must not exceed its budget as REEEP will not pay more than contracted. As I was confronted to an exceeding budget six months after the start of implementation, I was forced to organise for the REEEP Financial Officer of the International Secretariat to review a budget reallocation with the GSES manager. A solution was found on common ground and thus did not affect the development of the project. 20. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 19 - Additionally, it was my responsibility to verify activities were undertaken as described and the desired outcomes were achieved using the resources allocated to the project at the start. There was no problem regarding this point. Finally, as uncertainties always remain in the implementation of a project, they must be assessed by the implementing agency beforehand, and risk management strategies must be proposed. One of the main risks threatening this project was the possible exchange rate fluctuations between the Euro used by the International Secretariat for the funding, the Australian dollar used for the budgeting, and the US dollar granted by a co-funding entity. The implementing agencys strategy to overcome that possible risk was to absorb an exchange rate variation up to 5%. Were the fluctuations to be higher, GSES planned to absorb it by reducing expenditures regarding non-critical activities such as the printing of brochures. The budget had been based on. At the end of 2010 the exchange rate did fluctuate, from the chosen base of AUD 1=0.51 to AUD 1=0.76. As indicated, this rise requested the elimination of an output in order to save funds. It was decided to cancel the placement of advertisements about the project in newspapers, as this output was the easiest to eliminate. In exchange, the executive committee pledged to have the press release sent to as many papers as possible for no cost. After discussing the project with the implementing agencys manager, reviewing and commenting on the report, the expenses, and the attached documentation, and once everything was correct, I would transfer the report to the International Secretariat with a recommendation for payment. After checking the report for completeness, the Financial Officer would then approve the report and release payments to the implementing agency for the reporting period. By February 2011, the project had progressed well with the Articles of Association completed and a decision made to have offices in both the South and the North Pacific. This approach to project management gave me a broad experience allowing me to cope with project timeline and budget work plan management, communication engagement with various project stakeholders in addition to the implementing agency, as well as project troubleshooting. However, it also highlighted the difficulties to develop clean energy projects in remote developing countries, especially in the case of SEIAPI as it involves 13 different island nations. Indeed, communication remains very difficult between the various stakeholders because of poor telecommunication networks. Moreover, the distances between countries are non-negligible and make it difficult to gather all decision-makers when needed, therefore slowing the process. The size of this project also weighed on the implementing agencys efficiency: the progress reports were never submitted on time due to numerous project-related trips to the various islands and poor internet connections in the relevant countries, making the progress reports difficult to complete online and to submit on time. Nevertheless, I reckon those barriers will not prevent completion of the process. From the insight I got into this project, I can tell it is being greatly supported by all the stakeholders and involved countries, and major steps have been made already. The SEIAPI project responds to a critical need of the PICs to foster the clean energy industry in order to reach energy security and alleviate poverty, which is why in my opinion it will be added to the list of REEEP successful projects. 21. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 20 - b. Case studies: why are REEEP projects successful? In 2009, an Analytical and Synthesis Study of the REEEP Programme was conducted by Consortium Le Groupe-conseil baastel lte and Econoler International as part of the sixth cycle, through funding from the governments of Norway, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy and New Zealand. The aim was to carry out an analysis of the outputs and outcomes of the REEEP projects, identify the lessons learned, and gauge the contribution of these projects towards clean energy market development. The report was based on an analysis of the outputs and outcomes of 47 REEEP-supported projects in the emerging markets and the developing world, for the purpose of presenting the big-picture of REEEP projects funded from 2005 to 2007. According to the study, REEEP activities achieve proportionately high results for the level of funds disbursed. 90% of REEEP projects in 2005-2007 were highly successful, successful or moderately successful in achieving their stated goals, thanks to the partnerships careful and well-targeted project selection process, as well as the efforts of the Regional Secretariats in engaging with local stakeholders. As stated in the study report: REEEP projects did contribute to changing practices in policy, regulation, business and finance by supporting changes in practices *+. REEEP projects have also been successful catalysts that have achieved significant follow-on effects. The study also assessed how REEEP projects contributed to REEEP goals, by reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, directly or indirectly; by contributing to social improvements through access to clean energy; and by increasing the share of renewable resources within the energy mix. The study concluded that given the specific nature of REEEP projects, overall lessons learnt are quite varied. However, there are three broader lessons related to REEEP programming that can be derived: REEEP is a relatively small player in most of the countries and sectors in which it acts, but has managed to have proportionally very high results for the level of funds disbursed; creating environments conducive to renewable energy and energy efficiency within developing countries takes a significant amount of time that is often beyond the realm of REEEP projects; although REEEP projects are small, they have often contributed as a catalyst to market development in renewable energy and energy efficiency. It thus appears interesting to analyse the development of two major REEEP projects implemented in the SEAP region: the first ever completed REEEP project, the Pacific Micro Energy Service Companies (PMESCO), and the Pacific Island Countries Energy Efficiency, Auditing and Appliance Labelling project, finalised in 2011. Let us try and understand what permitted their success. i. The Pacific Micro Energy Service Companies (PMESCO) project, local involvement and innovation as keys to success One successful example of creative innovation is the Pacific Micro Energy Service Companies (PMESCO) project, jointly developed by REEEP and the Secretariat of the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) in Kiribati and the Solomon Islands. Implemented in 2007-2009, the aim of the PMESCO project was to create a market demand for solar photovoltaic (PV) home systems powering LED lighting to replace kerosene use in remote rural areas in 22. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 21 - both countries. The systems were bought with a micro-credit facility and repayments were done with assistance of the local cash-for-crop centres. See Appendix 6a. Because Kiribati is a less remote country than the Solomon Islands, its people are wealthier and their fuel dependency does not constitute as much a burden as for the Solomon Islanders. Therefore, the PMESCO project, aiming to relieve the people from their fuel dependency thanks to clean solar systems, had a bigger success in the Solomon Islands than in Kiribati. The success of the project in the Solomon Islands relies on three important innovative components. Firstly, the MESCOs were incorporated into existing businesses. This way, the project was able to tap into an established network of customers of an established local entrepreneur, who agreed to add renewable energy to his business. The entrepreneur then received training on how to install and maintain the solar home systems. Secondly, an inventive solution to the cost of the equipment was found to enable rural poor people to purchase the solar PV household systems, in the form of an innovative microfinance facility. As the villagers live in very remote areas without access to any banking system, it would be very difficult for them to receive, and pay off, a credit granted by a regular bank. In this project, the villagers bring their agricultural produce, such as cassava, banana or coconuts, to a "cash-for-crop" centre. The employees then put the crop value into the bank account on the villagers behalf, allowing them to pay off the loans contracted for the purchase of the solar PV systems. Effectively they barter their local produce for clean energy. Engaging with a local entrepreneur who has business as well as the prosperity of his people at heart was one of the keys to the success of this project. As a result, the micro-credit scheme has been extended to many other communities on different islands, and the spread of the solar energy systems throughout the communities is encouraged. Lastly, the strong involvement of women has been instrumental to the success of this project. The tiring and time-consuming daily activities, such as collecting wood or walking great distances to purchase kerosene, and having to endure the effects of heavy indoor air-pollution, caused by burning kerosene, as well as the dangerous and sometimes life-threatening burns from exploding lamps, inspired women to acquire clean energy. Moreover, in the Solomon Islands, women have a high standing in society and no-one would steal their possessions, unlike the belongings of a man. Women were thus designated as the owners of the solar home systems, guaranteeing the PV panels permanence on the villages roofs. Thanks to its focus on integrating the solar systems into the local lifestyle, through the cash-for-crop centre, and on including the populations knowledge throughout the whole process, rather than trying to change their entire way of living, the project has been successful in installing 35 systems in the Solomon Islands, as well as in Kiribati. It further provided the opportunity to demonstrate and assess the viability and potential of high efficient low power solar energy lighting through the establishment of rural micro energy services and also to identify avenues for possible participation of the project in the voluntary carbon trading market. This pilot project thus forms an excellent opportunity for scaling-up and replication in other rural and remote areas worldwide. The PMESCO achieved an 18fold scaleup in the Solomon Islands, and the 23. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 22 - local entrepreneur is now further supported by the World Bank's Sustainable Energy Financing Project to continue delivering solar home systems to rural areas of the Solomon Islands. See Appendix 6b. Additionally, REEEP won the National Energy Globe Award for 2009 for the Solomon Islands thanks to that project. See Appendix 6c. The success of the PMESCO project finally relies as much on its innovative aspect as on the local populations role during its implementation. This project is thus a perfect illustration of REEEPs effort to respond to local needs while promoting renewable sources to allow social improvements and economic developments. Additionally, its large replication emphasises REEEPs credibility as a development partner, enhancing its recognition. ii. The establishment of energy efficiency policy instruments in Pacific Island countries: how flexibility leads to success Over the past few years, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Samoa and Vanuatu have developed and adopted energy policies and energy action plans as part of past regional assistance provided by the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) through the Pacific Islands Energy Policy and Strategic Action Planning (PIEPSAP) project. See Appendix 7 for more about the project. One area identified and prioritised in the respective member country strategic energy action plans are the development and application of energy efficiency and energy conservation programmes. However the implementation of these plans and strategies has been an on-going challenge for the selected PICs. REEEP therefore launched the Pacific Island Countries Energy Efficiency Auditing and Appliance Labelling project in all four countries in order to accelerate the implementation of their national energy action plans, taking into account previous and on-going regional activities on energy efficiency. The project is also a way to contribute to the reduction of the PICs reliance on fuel imports, while improving energy security and bringing the added environmental benefits of reducing greenhouse gasses. As of February 2011, energy auditing and awareness-raising campaigns had taken place in Palau, the Marshall Islands & Vanuatu, while Standards and Appliance Labelling Studies had been completed for Samoa & Vanuatu. Yet, in 2009, the Government of Tonga developed an energy policy of its own: the Tonga Energy Road Map (TERM). The TERM is a 10-year plan aiming to reduce Tongas vulnerability to oil price shocks and achieve an increase in quality access to modern energy services in an environmentally sustainable manner. Throughout the process, it appeared that energy efficiency improvements were the most cost- effective way to end fuel dependency. In view of those conclusions, the Government of Tonga contacted REEEP SEAP and requested to be included into the Pacific Island Countries Energy Efficiency Auditing and Appliance Labelling project. REEEP reacted immediately to the TERM process and, given such a request, agreed to include Tonga into the energy efficiency labelling project, conducting Standards and Appliance Labelling Studies similar to the ones for Samoa and Vanuatu. The Government of Tongas request to be included into the REEEP project highlights the progress that has been made in the region towards a better awareness of energy issues and the need to switch to clean energy sources and foster energy savings. Moreover, the inclusion of Tonga into a project it was 24. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 23 - not originally part of strongly underlined REEEPs flexibility and ability to adapt and respond to changing key situations. Nevertheless, some barriers remain against the implementation of clean energy projects in the SEAP region. Although most of REEEP projects are successful, it remains challenging to develop them. c. Common challenges against project implementation Most challenges REEEP is facing are due to the fact that the projects are operated in developing, and often remote, countries. Because they run developing countries, political leaders focus on ways to increase the national wealth. Renewable energy and energy efficiency issues do not appear as priorities, as most people do not realise how critical a tool energy security is in achieving economic developments. If REEEP wishes to implement a project in a country, the national leader can impeach it. The political will is therefore a paramount component REEEP needs to get in order to successfully implement a clean energy project. To that end, it is necessary to make PICs leaders aware of renewables and energy efficiencys roles in achieving a sustainable development of the country. However, as the analytical study underlined, once the will exists another common issue is the lack of stakeholder capacity, depending once again on the level of development of the relevant country. Yet, REEEP projects have proved quite successful at dealing with this issue, thanks to the unique selection mechanism for REEEP implementing agencies: the choice of an implementing agency is not limited to the nationality or type of agent, but rather relies on the degree to which the chosen agency is suited to undertaking the project. In the case of the SEIAPI project, the implementing agency is thus an Australian company, seen as best suited to implement the Industry Association in the PICs compared to local organisations and businesses. Another challenge is the limitation in time and amounts of funding provided by REEEP. These limitations have a larger impact on public entities than on local agencies, due to the public institutions multiple mandates and shifting priorities, which provoke delays in starting projects. In addition, REEEP projects target the renewable and energy efficiency sectors, which are not mainstreamed, making the task challenging in the global energy context in two ways. One is the limited ability of many projects to move into the implementation phase following the design work, thus resulting in a lack of sustainability. This is especially the case for written policies or frameworks. The second challenge is the third-party intervention from new stakeholders that are not natural players in the sector, which introduces a higher risk of failure due to their lack of experience. Nevertheless, REEEP projects managed to take root and picture the organisation as a development partner aware of the realities on the ground, able to work with those realities with flexibility and responsiveness, while also capable of coping with the various barriers inherent to working in developing countries in relation with such a new field as the clean energy sector. Finally, another key to the success of REEEP projects is the effort made on information sharing. 25. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 24 - 4. Information sharing In order to allow the biggest possible impact of its findings, permit replication of successful projects, as well as prevent others from making similar mistakes, REEEP developed numerous ways to disseminate and replicate its learnings. a. Website The first tool REEEP uses to share information is its website: www.reeep.org. It is composed of a global REEEP page, which presents the organisation, highlights global news and events, as well as lists all past and on-going projects. The REEEP website provides a large amount of information regarding the way the organisation works, the procedure to get involved, as well as its current partners. It is possible for any individual to register as a Friend of REEEP and receive regular electronic updates. Then, each regional secretariat has its own page, which they administer themselves. During my internship, I was responsible for the SEAP website page. First, I had to upload key documents in our Useful Document section so as to make them easily accessible to the general public. I also regularly advertised upcoming regional events in our Events section, in order to make sure most people would be aware of the key meetings occurring in the region with regards to renewable energy and energy efficiency. Most of all, I had to write articles about REEEP-related developments, in order to publish them in the Hot News section. I therefore wrote three articles about meetings REEEP either attended or organised, introducing them or drawing their outcomes (see Appendixes 8a, 8b and 8c); one presenting our contribution to the Encyclopedia of Energy (see Appendix 8d); as well as two country articles. The first country article dealt with Indonesia (see Appendix 8e) and its recent increase in electricity tariffs. The purpose of the article was to analyse the consequences of such a rise on the status of clean energy in the country, and to show that it could actually foster efficient energy consumption on the long-term. This news trigger also gave me the opportunity to expose Indonesias new Electricity Law passed in 2009, which introduces new incentives to expand the use of renewable sources in the country. Additionally, the article presented the chance to mention one of our partners, Gikoko Indonesia, successfully contributing to a reduction of the level of greenhouse gas emissions through its various waste-to-management projects. The second country article tackled the Philippines renewable energy market current situation (see Appendix 8f). The initial project was to have a conversation with Frederick LaCroix, CEO of PowerSource, in order to get some input for the Encyclopedia article I was writing about the Philippines. PowerSource being a private company working towards the Philippines rural electrification through clean energy, Mr LaCroix was a very reliant and updated source to get information from. After the interview, I actually had so much information that Eva and I decided to put them together in another article, different from the Encyclopedia article. This second article, to be published on the REEEP website, was meant to go deeper in analysing the Philippine renewable energy market as of early 2011, taking a step back on the outcomes of the Renewable Energy Act passed in 2008. This article was different from the other ones as the angle was more critical, based on Mr LaCroixs point of view. I thus had to be careful and remain objective. To that end I made sure that, although he was a trustworthy source who gave me lots of accurate and useful figures, I was not using his judgement 26. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 25 - as such: I checked that the statements I was using were relying on objective evidence and logical cause- to-consequence links. Using that method I ensured my article was professional as well as reliable, although setting the light on the renewable energy situation in the Philippines. Whilst the article seems to be criticizing the governments behaviour regarding renewable energy developments, its aim is first of all to explain the intricate mechanisms which regulate the Philippines in that field, so as to go beyond the initial impression that renewables are taking off. It is essential for the industrys in-country future to make sure all stakeholders are aware of the current situation in order to act towards a positive evolution. Those articles were all published in the SEAP section of the REEEP website. Some of them were also promoted on the global website as well as on the reegle blog (see 4.c), thanks to the website manager of the International Secretariat with whom I kept in touch during the nine months for anything regarding the website. Additionally, I started working on an article about gender and energy issues in the Pacific, to be widely published. However due to lack of time we were not able to finish it before the end of my internship. Eva and Maaike will thus continue working on it and acknowledge my contribution when publishing it. See Appendix 8g. On another note, I wrote a short article about the importance of renewable energy in small island states, aiming to support the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). See Appendix 8h. In the end, the REEEP website constitutes a key tool to information sharing, making its learnings and advice available to everyone possessing an internet access. It is a key element in bringing the clean energy stakeholders and amateurs together. b. Newsletter The REEEP International Secretariat publishes a monthly newsletter, NewsREEEP, in order to present the REEEP-related developments that occurred in the past month. NewsREEEP is sent to the whole registered REEEP network, including partners and Friends of REEEP. Additionally, the SEAP Regional Secretariat sends its own newsletter in order to detail the developments happening in the region. The regional newsletter is a key element in developing and strengthening REEEP SEAPs relationship with the regional stakeholders. See Appendix 9. Before I arrived REEEP SEAP newsletters were sent very sporadically because of the large amount of time needed to prepare them. When I started working with REEEP I was allocated this task in order to relieve Eva and Maaike. Because I had fewer tasks to do than them, I was able to accelerate the frequency of the newsletters publication. First Eva asked for one every two or three months. Then it appeared I was able to prepare the newsletters in a shorter timeline, which is why they started coming out on a monthly basis. For the second newsletter I sent out, we included a new section called Country spotlight, bringing the focus on a new country each month to expose their latest renewable energy and energy efficiency developments. At the start we featured stories that were not necessarily in direct relation to REEEPs work, but related more broadly to climate change mitigation actions in the SEAP region. We were combining news 27. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 26 - about critical projects around the region, publications, and events. The REEEP community facilitator however pointed out it would be better to focus our newsletter on REEEP activities only, sending the reader to the REEEP website rather than, e.g., mentioning an Asian Development Bank (ADB) project and referring it to the ADB website. Our newsletters therefore shortened, focusing on REEEPs work in the SEAP region with projects updates, events attendance and organisation, as well as global REEEP developments. Nevertheless, we kept including a few external stories when considered of global interest e.g. the publication of the Poor people's energy outlook 2010, as well as specific stories featuring some of our partners. Each month the SEAP newsletter is sent to approximately 2,000 contacts working with REEEP around the region, and the database keeps on growing. Two main actions are responsible for the expansion of the database: first, event attendance always allows an important networking and therefore a large collection of business cards to add to the contact list. Second, word-to-mouth increases the number of people aware of REEEPs work, which is why we often receive emails from individuals or organisations requesting to be added to the database in order to receive the REEEP SEAP regional newsletters. The positive feedback I, each time, got on the newsletter from readers, as well as the growing number of registered people, underlines the effectiveness of REEEP SEAPs stakeholder relationship management through its newsletter. c. reegle Access to the latest high quality information on renewables, energy efficiency and climate change is fundamental to the acceleration of the clean energy marketplace, facilitating investments, promoting new legislation and regulations and broadening interest and knowledge in the sector. This is the reason why REEEP, in collaboration with the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st century (REN21), developed reegle (www.reegle.info). reegle acts as a unique state-of-the-art search engine, targeting specific clean energy stakeholders including governments, project developers, businesses, financiers, NGOs, academia, international organizations and civil society. reegle was designed to provide easy access to the worlds best databases and information on renewable energy and energy efficiency, by only accessing those data sources with the most accurate and up-to-date information. In addition to being a clean energy search engine, reegle offers a number of other features such as the reegle maps, a tool to display energy-related information about a country via a global geographical context (Google maps); a clean energy blog; as well as a data portal. As an ever evolving enterprise, reegle also recently introduced three new features: a country profile portfolio; a key stakeholders database, the Actors Catalogue; and an Energy and Climate Change Glossary. See Appendix 10a for more about reegle features. As part of my work for REEEP, I had the opportunity to contribute to a number of these tools. Firstly, the articles I wrote for the Encyclopedia of Energy 2012 were uploaded to the relevant Country profile folders available on reegle. Additionally, I worked with the reegle team on the Actors Catalogue, a directory of organisations involved in clean energy (http://www.reegle.info/actors). It contains information on, and links to, more 28. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 27 - than 1700 initiatives, partnerships and organisations involved in the renewable energy and energy efficiency fields, including the International Energy Agency (IEA) Implementing Agreements. The Catalogue also includes information about the focus, geographical reach and projects of the various Actors. It is a key element in making publicly accessible the most information possible about renewable energy and energy efficiency stakeholders. My role was to complete the database with the relevant stakeholders for the Pacific region. See Appendixes 10b & 10c. Once again, the lack of information available online made the task difficult. An actor would only be accepted to the catalogue if enough information were filled in including an email address or a website. For some of the stakeholders in remote PICs, those were inexistent. Overall, I managed to add most of the actors, once more thanks to an extensive use of the REEEP network to get the required contact details. This activity illustrates another aspect of stakeholder relationship management. By adding stakeholders to the Catalogue, REEEP showed them its recognition for the work accomplished. Being into the Catalogue is a great opportunity for those stakeholders, which becomes more likely to be contacted by potential partners. Additionally, by linking all relevant stakeholders and gathering them into a unique spot, the Actors Catalogue makes it easier for anyone to get information about organisations and institutions working in the clean energy area therefore constituting a major improvement in information sharing towards an expansion of the sector worldwide. Finally, I also got the chance to contribute the reegle blog (http://blog.reegle.info). Current and informative, the reegle blog provides on-site reports from the worlds leading events, as well as commentary on key clean energy issues and informed debate on related subject matter. Some of REEEP SEAPs articles have been picked up for the blog, including all the articles written for the Encyclopedia of Energy, as well as the Philippine renewable energy market article. During the COP16 meeting in Cancun, Mexico, in December 2010, Eva and Maaike contributed the blog with numerous posts giving updates on the discussions and presenting the outcomes of the summit. The reegle blog thus constitutes another key tool for REEEP to spread information and updates about renewable energy and energy efficiency. Overall, the development of reegle and its multiple features underlines REEEPs will to take advantage of the new available communication technologies to spread information and work towards the development of the clean energy sector worldwide. d. Local awareness raising In order to complete the information sharing practiced by REEEP on a global scale, REEEP SEAP developed ways to locally raise awareness about the importance of clean energy to establish energy security and foster a sustainable development of developing countries. As presented earlier, REEEP SEAP is hosted by the CEC. The REEEP team therefore also composes the International Policy team of the CEC, but its work is not very well known from the other staff members. A few months before I arrived, Eva and Maaike had given the CEC staff a first presentation about REEEP, explaining why it was staying with them and what it was doing. After I started we continued this tradition by giving presentations on our work whenever the opportunity presented itself. 29. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 28 - The first presentation, in August 2010, was about Papua New Guinea (PNG) as Eva and Maaike were just coming back from the Pacific Power Associations 19th Annual Conference in Port Moresby, PNG. See Appendix 11a. The second one was about Fiji, early 2011, as I was myself coming back from the International Conference on Renewable Energy and Climate Change which took place in December 2010 in Suva. See Appendix 11b. Both presentations were done on a quiz mode in order to make the audience participate and capture their attention. For each presentation, I did some research on the country to introduce basic facts about it. To make it more exciting than just a plain introduction of data, I turned everything into questions to which the staff had to answer to. Each good answer gave the respondent a candy, to keep them motivated. In the end, the person with the most candy won a bottle of wine. This method proved good results as almost everyone tried to answer at least one question, while sometimes we had to find a bonus question to decide between the respondents. The difficulty of the PNG presentation lied in the fact that I had not attended the conference and therefore reduced the presentation to general facts about the country, without being able to add elements and outcomes of the meeting. I therefore had to be even more creative in finding questions in order for the presentation to be both exciting and instructing. On the other hand, the Fiji presentation was about a conference I had attended myself. I was therefore able to extend the presentation beyond basic general facts, and include personal experiences I had had at the meeting and by staying in the country. I personalised the presentation, in order to add a concrete side to it. This was done through sharing my experience as a delegate, presenting the local customs I was introduced to, and talking about the people I met there. The staff was really interested in that concrete aspect and asked a few questions about the topics I mentioned, going deeper into the matter. Making the audience participate fostered the listening and had a larger impact on the amount of information they would remember afterwards. This kind of presentation is critical in order to raise peoples awareness about the energy situation in the Pacific region. Our co-workers representing the Australian clean energy industry, it was a great opportunity to broader their knowledge of the subject by extending it to the neighbouring region. Hopefully, by making them aware of the difficulties related to energy in developing countries, it will make them more sensitive to their role and maybe foster the development of new measures for domestic or international energy issues. Additionally, REEEP SEAP was invited by Green Energy Trading, one of Australia's largest environmental certificate agents, to come and present to the staff under a Lunch and Learn session. After I prepared the power point presentation, Eva, Maaike and I jointly presented on the PICs and their global energy situation, in order to introduce REEEPs work in the region. The presentation was in the same quiz format as for the CEC presentations, with the same rewards. See Appendix 11c. As there were a few people originally form the PICs in the audience, they were pretty active and seemed to enjoy the presentation. However part of the audience remained quiet and did not seem to be as interested in the topic. This is probably due to the fact that it was quite far from their day-to-day job and their field of expertise the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) market. This did not impact our way of doing the presentation as the three of us were very enthusiastic about it. 30. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 29 - e. Others There are a few other tools that REEEP made available to share its learnings. As many regional and national governments are now moving forward with complex energy programmes, which include renewables and energy efficiency, many of them still lack capacity and expertise, as well as shortterm answers and support. REEEP has a reputation as a reliable problem solver, seen as the hotline assistance to governments. Another online tool developed by REEEP to spread information is the toolkit website. All the outcomes of REEEP projects are made publicly available online, which forms a valuable resource for project developers and other stakeholders. Finally, REEEP supports the clean energy project analysis tool RETScreen, which seeks to build the capacity of planners, decisionmakers and industry to implement renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. It is made publicly available, free of charge, by the Canadian government, and REEEP has helped support its translation into 35 languages. Pacific regional workshops showcasing and teaching RETScreen occurred in 2010 and some more are planned for 2011, in partnership with Greenlight Technology Group. In the end, REEEP has developed a large number of tools in order to raise awareness about energy poverty, renewable energy, and energy efficiency. Spreading the information REEEP gathers through its experience and projects is key to a better coordination among the stakeholders, preventing duplication of efforts and allowing effectiveness of the actions taken. To that extent, REEEP largely contributes to the strengthening of the clean energy sector worldwide. Thanks to its efforts in information sharing, REEEP has become a reference regarding sustainable energy issues, especially in developing countries. Such communication is vital to enable the infant clean energy market to grow, develop and consolidate. On a regional level, this ability to communicate with the stakeholders has granted REEEP SEAP a key role in regional alignment. 31. Internship Report, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), 2010-2011 - 30 - 5. Regional alignment a. Regional collaboration and engagement One billion people in the AsiaPacific region do not have access to modern energy services for basic cooking, heating and lighting. REEEP has thus actively promoted the role of renewable energy as well as energy efficiency in achieving sustainable economic development. In large developing cities, particularly in Asia, sustainable energy is vital to reducing air pollution, improving energy security and decreasing longterm operating costs. In the Pacific, where on average only 10% of the region has access to energy, clean energy access is vital for health, education, economic independence and development. Given those facts, access to clean energy has now become a priority of regional aid organisations. The Pacific region has thus seen an increase in energy issues interest among development partners over the past few years. Within the Pacific region, there is a multitude of active players, which include bilateral and multilateral donor organisations, development banks, consultancy organisations and local, regional and international NGOs. Over the last cou