At EREC European policy makers welcomed news of reegle, a "renewables google" that allows users to search pre-selected databases to access relevant information providers without the large variances in quality, reliability and information sources associated with broader search engines.

Brussels, January 29, 2007

The German government has assumed the EU Presidency and in its first month sponsored a renewable energy policy forum in Brussels to discuss how best to accelerate the marketplace for renewable energy. Germany has been a leader in policy frameworks in support of renewable energy as evidenced by its leadership in installed wind and solar capacity in Europe.

Speaking at the EREC European Renewable Energy Policy Conference, Sigmar Gabriel, Federal Minister for the Environment, Germany stated "A key prerequisite for a speedy global expansion of renewable energies and the efficient use of energy are supportive framework conditions and easy access to up-to-date and high quality information."

European policy makers attending EREC welcomed news of a unique project created as if in response to this statement called reegle. It is a "renewables google" that allows users to search pre-selected databases to access relevant information providers, such as the World Bank or the International Energy Agency (IEA), without the large variances in quality, reliability and information sources associated with broader search engines. "What reegle will do is bring together all the information that you need to know about laws, jurisdiction, investment, finance and about policies and measures", stated Henry Derwent, Director - Climate Energy Environment at the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Work on reegle began a year ago, when the governments of Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom decided that access to quality information was a key barrier to increased uptake of renewables worldwide. This project was implemented by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), a global policy network that provides a forum for international leadership on renewable energy, and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), a global public-private partnership that structures policy and regulatory initiatives for clean energy and facilitates financing for energy projects.

Each country requires a series of policy and legislative frameworks that will lower investment risk into the clean energy sector. In order for finance to flow, financiers are constantly evaluating the "friendliness" of government policies towards wind, biomass and small hydro project development. "There is capital available to enter the renewable energy and energy efficiency market, but these markets are at an early stage and there are still significant risks involved. If you have good access to information, you can reduce that risk and financiers will be more likely to invest in the market", said James Cameron, CEO of London based Climate Change Capital.

"Access to quality information will play a key role in accelerating the renewable and energy efficient market by allowing access to reliable information. Improving the availability of information will help draw in additional funding to support entrepreneurs", commented Richard Gledhill, Partner for Climate Change at PricewaterhouseCoopers.