World Energy Council and Bloomberg New Energy Finance sign landmark deal

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London - The World Energy Council (WEC) and Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) have signed a partnership agreement to collaborate on the development of a comprehensive survey on the costs of new, renewable and conventional energy technologies.

The study will build on the WEC's existing flagship Survey of Energy Resources, the prime compilation of global energy resources and reserves. Since 1934 the WEC's survey has provided the core data used by many other compilers of energy information, such as the United Nations, the International Energy Agency, and the energy company BP for its Statistical Review of World Energy. Last year the WEC's 2010 Survey of Energy Resources was downloaded over 3 million times from www.worldenergy.org. The new report, entitled "World Energy Survey of Resources and Technologies", will be published in October 2013 during the 22nd World Energy Congress in Daegu, South Korea.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance runs proprietary indices tracking equipment prices for solar PV, wind turbines, batteries, and other technologies, while also closely tracking the costs of capital associated with financing clean energy projects through an extensive global network of financial and energy sector clients. By combining these two elements - equipment costs and costs of capital - the firm produces, on a quarterly basis, the definitive estimate of levelised costs of electricity for clean energy technologies worldwide.

The World Energy Survey of Resources and Technologies will bring together the expertise of the two organisations to produce a complete view of the global energy resource and technology landscape.

Christoph Frei, Secretary General of the World Energy Council, comments: "Robust policy measures are essential to answer the world's changing energy needs. With fast changing and ever more globalised energy markets, we recognise that effective decision-making requires not only a detailed understanding of resources but also how energy technologies are used to provide energy.

Sustainable energy can only be achieved through the combination of robust policy frameworks and a strong, competitive energy industry. Both require a strong evidence base. For over 80 years the WEC has been drawing on our extensive global network of member organisations to provide the data to help governments and industries make informed energy decisions. Our forthcoming World Energy Survey of Resources and Technologies will be stronger than ever as we draw on the partnership with Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Our two organisations' complementary skill sets will provide a deep knowledge of resources, energy finance, and insights into relevant and emerging technologies."

Michael Liebreich, Chief Executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, comments: "Energy prices are in a period of unusual flux: on top of the usual market volatility, we have seen a dramatic fall in US gas prices due to the breakthrough 'fracking' technology. We have also seen extremely rapid reductions in renewable energy costs, in particular for wind and solar. It is absolutely vital that policymakers, investors and energy industry executives have access to robust, up-to-the-minute data on the price landscape. Between Bloomberg New Energy Finance and the World Energy Council we have unparalleled access to data right across the energy spectrum, new and conventional. I believe this is going to be a very important collaboration; it will give decision-makers the information they need to optimise the world's energy systems for the coming decades."

Christoph Frei and Michael Liebreich will meet to lay out the first steps of the study during the meeting of the UN Secretary General's Sustainable Energy for All High-Level Group on 24 April 2012 in London.