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More funds for promoting energy projects abroad
Bern, 14.06.2012 - Switzerland is consolidating its international commitment to sustainable development. In the spirit of the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, SECO and the SDC are together allocating an additional CHF 2 million to the REPIC Platform.
REPIC – Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Promotion in International Cooperation – is an interdepartmental platform for the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency in developing and transition countries. It was established at the initiative of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE).
The REPIC Platform supports projects in renewable energies and energy efficiency with the participation of Swiss businesses and organisations. As such, its work supplements the strategic efforts and existing instruments of the federal offices involved.
This additional CHF 2 million can provide funding for at least another 15 projects, all of which concern renewable energy sources (photovoltaics, solar heat, biomass, small-scale hydropower, wind, geothermal energy) and energy efficiency.
For example, Swiss engineering firm Amstein & Walthert is drawing on its expertise to plan an energy and cost-efficient house for a pilot project in Senegal. This house design, integrating local materials and renewable energy sources, demonstrates a sustainable construction model for the urban African context.
In another project, which combines poverty reduction with climate protection, Caritas Switzerland is working to recycle used cooking oil from hotel kitchens and restaurants in Bali’s tourist districts and turn it into biodiesel fuel. A not-for-profit social enterprise has been set up to train and employ socially disadvantaged people in the project.
Since the REPIC Platform was first created, the number of applications and projects funded has increased steadily. As at end-May 2012, a total of 72 projects had received funding in excess of CHF 6 million, triggering investments of some CHF 22 million in projects in 24 different countries in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, and in Eastern Europe.
The 2011 annual report on REPIC’s activities provides details about the projects that were in progress or completed in 2011. It is available on the REPIC website.
Laurent Widmer, SECO, Economic Cooperation and Development, Programme Manager, Tel. 031 324 08 22
The REPIC Platform supports projects in renewable energies and energy efficiency with the participation of Swiss businesses and organisations. As such, its work supplements the strategic efforts and existing instruments of the federal offices involved.
This additional CHF 2 million can provide funding for at least another 15 projects, all of which concern renewable energy sources (photovoltaics, solar heat, biomass, small-scale hydropower, wind, geothermal energy) and energy efficiency.
For example, Swiss engineering firm Amstein & Walthert is drawing on its expertise to plan an energy and cost-efficient house for a pilot project in Senegal. This house design, integrating local materials and renewable energy sources, demonstrates a sustainable construction model for the urban African context.
In another project, which combines poverty reduction with climate protection, Caritas Switzerland is working to recycle used cooking oil from hotel kitchens and restaurants in Bali’s tourist districts and turn it into biodiesel fuel. A not-for-profit social enterprise has been set up to train and employ socially disadvantaged people in the project.
Since the REPIC Platform was first created, the number of applications and projects funded has increased steadily. As at end-May 2012, a total of 72 projects had received funding in excess of CHF 6 million, triggering investments of some CHF 22 million in projects in 24 different countries in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, and in Eastern Europe.
The 2011 annual report on REPIC’s activities provides details about the projects that were in progress or completed in 2011. It is available on the REPIC website.
Address for enquiries:
Stefan Nowak, REPIC Coordinator, Tel. 026 494 00 30Laurent Widmer, SECO, Economic Cooperation and Development, Programme Manager, Tel. 031 324 08 22
Publisher:
- State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
- Internet: http://www.seco.admin.ch
- Federal Office for the Environment FOEN
- Internet: http://www.bafu.admin.ch/en
- Swiss Federal Office of Energy
- Internet: http://www.bfe.admin.ch
