Regulatory Requirements and Guidance to Boost the Use of Renewable Energies

International Policy Workshop
Gelsenkirchen, Nov 29th – Dec 03rd, 2004


Rationale and Scope of the Workshop

This high level follow-up workshop to the renewables2004 conference is jointly organized by InWEnt – Capacity Building International, Germany on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and Science Park Gelsenkirchen on behalf of the Government of the State of Nordrhein-Westfalen (NRW).

The workshop will bring together decision-makers from InWEnt- and NRW-partner countries and international experts to analyze and discuss questions relating to regulation in their countries and/or options to optimize implementation strategies. The priority objective of the workshop is to identify solutions which foster a rather economic use of renewable energies and which are consistent with the policy goals which have already been defined for sustainable energy supply by the respective governments.

The analysis of regulatory requirements may lead to a review and, where appropriate, to the fine-tuning of goals adopted for rural energy supply as well as for centralized systems feed-ing into the grid. One goal could be diversification of power supply in order to reduce de-pendence on fuel imports; another could be generation of income for business - and thus fiscal revenue for the state - through in-country production of renewable energy systems or system components. Further key questions include the form in which the energy sector could be controlled by the state, whether it should be re- or deregulated, and who should be responsible for energy supply in rural areas (e.g. organized by concessionaires or private en-terprise vs. reorganized governmental structures).

Laws and regulations as well as implementation strategies depend upon the political and economic conditions of each specific country. Consideration must be given to possible resis-tance associated with each implementation strategy. Therefore, the German Renewable En-ergy Sources Act - EEG may rather serve as an important point in order to discuss concep-tions of possible regulatory or implementation strategies than just as a best practice which only needs to be copied.

There is no doubt, that some countries have already successfully designed and implemented their strategies and could share valuable experience. Our invitation therefore, is directed to such countries which are still in the process of formulating or implementing or even revising such regulations and is thus addressing key persons responsible for the formulation and/or implementation of such regulation in their country and their technical, economic and juridical advisors. In the preparing process of the workshop there will be an intensive exchange of ideas in order to realize a consecutive planning, an appropriate selection of international experts and, finally, to fine-tune the regulatory requirements which will be discussed in Gelsenkirchen.