Brief History
From Village Power…
The origins of the Global Village Energy Partnership lie in the Village Power Conferences hosted by the World Bank (ESMAP), USAID, the US Department of Energy, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Winrock International and several private companies during the 1990s. These events brought together hundreds of international participants from 60 countries to share lessons learned, best practices, and new approaches to meeting rural energy needs.
…to a Global Partnership
After the Village Power 2000 Conference, numerous organisations including DGIS, the World Bank (ESMAP), UNDP, bilateral donors, NREL, Winrock and private companies, collaborated to set up a 10 year programme to increase modern energy access: the "Global Village Energy Partnership." An E-Village Consultation was carried out involving over 100 organisations worldwide to gain input on objectives and a work programme for the Partnership.
From being hosted by other organisations…
ESMAP was initially established as the Interim Technical Secretariat to coordinate, broker and facilitate Partnership activities, and, together with Partner organisations, launched GVEP as a Type 2 Initiative at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002, along with over 30 other Partnerships dedicated to energy. Today GVEP actively collaborates with a number of WSSD Partnerships which can be found in the Energy Gateway. In 2004, the hosting of the Partnership was taken over by Practical Action based in Rugby in the UK, with ESMAP remaining as one of GVEP’s most active Partners.
…to the creation of an independent legal entity
In 2005, the GVEP Partnership Board decided to create a new legal entity called GVEP International to increase funding opportunities. A new management team took over in November 2007, and in February 2008 , GVEP International's offices were relocated to 150 Minories in Central London. Please click here for our contact details.