The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) has opened its 8th programme cycle with a call for proposed clean energy projects targeting Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa. The Partnership expects to fund approximately 30 projects with €4.5M contributed by the Governments of the UK and Norway. The level of funding available per project has been increased by 50% to €150,000.

Preference will be given to proposals that address key barriers to the uptake of renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE). Proposals covering one of the following four programme priorities will have funding priority: the promotion of successful and innovative business models for clean energy solutions; supporting innovative financing approaches including clean energy finance facilities and instruments; clean energy policy support for national and regional governments to accelerate the development of the RE and EE markets; and strengthening of energy regulatory mechanisms and standards such as building codes, grid codes and appliance standards and labeling.

“Through our projects, we are aiming to provide an evidence base for global public policy for transition towards a green economy,” notes Binu Parthan, REEEP’s Deputy Director General in charge of programmes. “In addition to the key low-carbon energy technologies of renewable energy and energy efficiency we also plan to support several projects that address smart grids, low-carbon transportation and fossil-fuel subsidy reforms.”

Marianne Osterkorn, Director General of REEEP says: “Thanks to the generous financial contributions from the UK and Norway, REEEP is in a position to launch its 8th programme cycle and to pursue its work in low-carbon energy with its partners in developing countries and emerging markets.”

This year the application process is being streamlined and the final project selection will take place by the end of June. The application process is exclusively online via the REEEP Project Management Information System (PMIS) which includes live support for applicants. Deadlines and exact procedures depend on the type of project application.

Most new projects are asked to make preliminary concept submissions by 15th April. A shortlist will be made by the end of April, and those who are successful will then be asked to submit full proposals by 27th May.

Proposals for replication and scale-up of earlier projects as well as proposals from governments, regulators and development financial institutions follow a one-stage process, with the deadline for detailed proposals in full being 27th May 2011.

Finally, bidders for specific commissioned projects that REEEP has already pre-defined should submit a pre-qualification request by 15th April, and full proposals will be invited from pre-qualified firms, also by May 27th.

More detailed information on application procedures as well as the link to the PMIS system can be found on the REEEP website: http://call4proposals.reeep.org