Clean energy aid leadership from Norway
Norway has continued to live up to its clean energy reputation by publishing its first annual report on the Clean Energy for Development Initiative. This details nearly $130m worth of funds spent by the Norwegian Government on clean energy projects across the developing world in 2008-9, double the amount budgeted by USAID for a variety of issues including clean energy aid.
Key to the initiative’s approach has been the electrification of small villages in remote areas and over 44% of the money has been spent on building transmission and distribution infrastructure. The largest type of generation deployed has been hydroelectric, with 15% of expenditure going on these projects, some of which have been large scale but many of which have been small and localised.
Other forms of generation considered include wind, geothermal and biomass, each depending upon the particular needs of the country and neighbourhood within which the initiative is operating. Rather pointedly, the report states that it spent 0% of its money on power generation from non-renewable sources.
