Partners for Euro-African Green Energy (PANGEA) and the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) Announce New Partnership to Support the Development of Decentralised Renewable Energy Systems
Brussels, 29 September 2014 – Partners for Euro-African Green Energy (PANGEA) and the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) today announced a partnership under the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All initiative (SE4ALL) to support the development of biomassbased decentralised renewable energy systems and the off-grid renewable energy market.
Brussels, 29 September 2014 – Partners for Euro-African Green Energy (PANGEA) and the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) today announced a partnership under the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All initiative (SE4ALL) to support the development of biomassbased decentralised renewable energy systems and the off-grid renewable energy market.
This partnership, developed under the auspices of SE4ALL and supported by a Memorandum of Understanding, is created to establish a mutually beneficial collaboration focused upon decentralised renewable energy solutions using biomass applied in developing and emerging countries. It will support the on-going role of PANGEA, as Secretariat for the African HII for the High Impact Opportunity on Sustainable Bioenergy, and of ARE, as Secretariat for the High Impact Opportunity on Clean Energy Mini-Grids—to achieve greater energy access.
For the past six years PANGEA has been working on behalf of the African bioenergy industry, whilst ARE has been working to unite all relevant actors along the whole value chain for off-grid technologies. In joining forces, the two organisations will work together to create and disseminate knowledge and experiences on decentralised renewable energy-based solutions and utilise synergies to optimise results in improving clean energy access and services in rural areas of developing and emerging countries with a focus on bioenergy.
Key to the partnership will be attracting and implementing projects that provide biomass-based off-grid power for lighting, cooking and productive use such as agricultural processing and manufacturing. By integrating biomass-based technologies into ARE’s already extensive work, the partnership will serve as a focal point for those looking to add value to existing and future biomass supply chains. The work will be supported by PANGEA’s existing agreement with Embark Energy and Everest Energy working to train energy entrepreneurs in Africa and seeking funding—from seed funds through scale-up—to deploy off-grid biomass-based solutions.
The partnership aims to ensure sound, stable and long-term policies and regulation for increased private investment and to stimulate the development of the off-grid renewable energy market. In the coming months, PANGEA and ARE will collaborate to jointly implement a biomass-focused campaign to be launched during the first half of 2015 starting with the establishment of a taskforce in October 2014, and will explore the possibility of developing and implementing an SE4ALL Rural Electrification roadmap as part of the programming for the African HII.
“We have long seen a place for biomass-based power in the off-grid sector, so we’re very excited to sign this agreement with ARE—global leaders in the off-grid power space—to attract more attention to these opportunities to add value to biomass, scale up these opportunities and ensure increased access to energy for those in areas not serviced by traditional grid infrastructure,” said Meghan Sapp, Secretary General of PANGEA.
“This new cooperation with PANGEA comes as a timely and important step in ARE’s strategy to launch a biomass campaign in the first half of 2015. In the strong belief that biomass will play an increasing role to cross-link the agricultural sector with consumptive and productive use of electricity, we are confident that with PANGEA’s expertise on sustainable bioenergy in Africa, our partnership will spur the right synergies to generate a successful campaign to support the development of biomass-based decentralised renewable energy systems and the off-grid renewable energy market,” said Marcus Wiemann, Secretary General of ARE.
About PANGEA
Partners for Euro-African Green Energy (PANGEA) is a non-profit membership association that promotes sustainable African bioenergy production, investment and policies. Based in Brussels, PANGEA engages with governments, provides a network for the industry, and shares knowledge on best practices in both the EU and Africa. Its members produce, blend, trade, research and support the development of sustainable bioenergy in Africa and beyond. For further information, www.pangealink.org
About ARE
The Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) is an international business association representing the decentralised energy sector working towards the integration of renewables into rural electrification markets in developing and emerging countries. It enables improved energy access through business development support for more than 80 members along the whole value chain for off-grid technologies by targeted advocacy and facilitating access to international and regional funding. Its aim is to attract and unite all relevant actors in order to speak with one voice about rural electrification with renewable energies. ARE serves as a global platform for sharing knowledge and best practices to provide for rapid implementation of available and advanced renewable energy technologies and services. For further information,
www.ruralelec.org
Press contacts:
Kerry O’Donoghue, Programme Director, PANGEA: kerry@pangealink.org +32 2 851 6477
Ling Ng, Communications and Marketing Officer, ARE: l.ng@ruralelec.org +32 2 709 5542