CTO Assessment - European Commission

The following actions were the core
of the Campaign for Take-Off:
CTO Renewable Energy Partnership:
the major tool to reach CTO objectives
The Renewable Energy Partnership
has been developed to involve key
actors in the Campaign. A Renewable
Energy Partnership also strengthens
the necessary co-operation at Community
level.
Though not entailing legally binding
obligations, joining the Partnership
required strong commitment and a
substantial contribution to the objec-
tives of the CTO. Joining proceeded
through a Declaration whereby the institution,
organisation or company in
question stated its willingness to contribute
to the CTO and described the
substance of its contribution.
Depending on the nature of the Partner,
contributions may have taken the
form of investment or promotional programmes
in the key renewable energy
sectors forming part of the Campaign,
or other support measures aimed at
raising interest among industry, investors
and the public and increasing
the market penetration of RES.
Eligibility criteria:
In principle, every institution, company or organisation, both
public and private, that contributed to the Campaign had the
possibility to join the Partnership. Administrative procedures
and guidelines were such as to allow a wide membership of
serious contributors to the Campaign.
However, in order to maintain the credibility of the Partnership,
the following criteria have been followed:
General guidelines:
1. The “programme” put forward had to focus on RES, exclusively
or partly, and on the key sectors of the CTO.
2. The “programme” had to be approved and launched or at
least a deadline for launching fixed.
3. Although size was not a determining factor, the “programme”
should have nevertheless made a substantial local, regional,
national or international impact.
4. The “programme” had to be proposed by the main promoter.
The “promoter” could be municipalities, regional or national
authorities, private organisations, associations or companies
or a group of them.
5. The Partnership “promoters” had to submit a detailed description
of the “programme” they wished to propose as a
contribution to the Campaign. From this description it must
have been clear that the planned actions fulfilled the criteria
contained in the guidelines.
CTO RENEWABLE ENERGY PARTNERSHIP
6. As regards the verification of whether the declared projects
in fact materialised, a reporting requirement (relatively light)
was foreseen for the “promoters”.
7. Compliance with Community, national and local regulations
were compulsory for any action and project to be undertaken in
the framework of the “programme”.
Partnership proposals submitted directly to the Commission:
Proposals for a RE Partnership arriving directly to the Commission
were assessed and approved or rejected according to
the principles agreed (guidelines see above).
The Commission sent new RE Partnership candidates lists to
MS representatives in the RES Working Group. The lists were
updated on a regular basis (six months).
Participation:
During the period 2000-2003, 125 renewable energy programmes
and projects involving more than 700 partner organizations in
the European Union – municipalities, agencies, technological institutes,
regional authorities, national institutions, universities
and enterprises – joined the Campaign as Renewable Energy Partners
and thereby expressed openly their willingness to contribute
to its objectives. Organisations and authorities from the Accession
Countries joined the Campaign at an early stage with successful
initiatives at local level or through joint initiatives with
other European Union organizations.
Industry
National
Promotion
Regional
Local communities
Developing Countries
100% Communities
3%
5%
10%
13%
16%
25%
28%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
8
The Campaign