by Jbs020209 i3 — February 4, 2009—The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) was founded on January 26 in Bonn, Germany, and 75 nations have already signed a compact to join the new agency, according to a report from the US Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE).
IRENA was proposed in 1990 by Herman Scheer, president of the European Association for Renewable Energies and chair of the World Council on Renewable Energy (WCRE).
IRENA is an intergovernmental organization for renewable energy, and it aims to become a driving force in the promotion of a rapid transition towards the widespread global use of renewable energy in both developing and industrialized countries.
While the WCRE already exists to promote renewable energy policies, IRENA is a political institution that is intended to act as a counterbalance to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the International Energy Agency, which represents only 28 industrialized, democratic nations (that is, most members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).
The 75 founding nations of IRENA include Germany, Spain, France, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, all of which are IEA members, as well as Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, India, Nigeria, Kenya, Chile, and Colombia, among others. The US has not yet joined the agency, but an invitation to join has been sent to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was sworn into office on January 21.
According to the IRENA Web site, the new organization will facilitate access to reliable data on the potential of renewable energy, as well as information about best practices, effective financial mechanisms, and the state of the art in renewable energy technologies.
The agency will also develop and promote renewable energy policies on the local, regional, and national level. In addition, it will consult and cooperate with organizations and networks already engaged in renewable energy to complement and pool their resources, while drawing on input from the energy industry, academia, institutions, and civilians.
