Procurement Opportunities

The process of cooperative procurement enables a scale up of in market development of new technologies, due to economy of scale and effective quality control. Improved cost-benefit ratios and improved quality facilitate the acceptance and dissemination of new technologies.

Procurement through leading, future-oriented buyer groups and users can lead to a scale up in production technology and steady sales volumes reducing risks for manufacturers, and strongly supporting market acceptance and growth of new technologies.

In early stages of the market development of new technologies, like solar water heaters, high quality leads to consumer confidence, which is a primary condition for stable market growth. Procurement processes for large buyer groups enable the definition and implementation of high quality demands.

The crucial elements in cooperative procurement are to:

• Articulate the needs of future buyers;
• Create a group of buyers;
• Formulate quality criteria for tendering;;
• Make manufacturers more interested in improving product quality and reliability;
• Provide the right combinations of market and policy instruments.

Successful innovative technologies developed throught procurement include:

• Clothes drier with the energy use reduction of 50%;
• Electric motors with energy losses reduced by 20-40%;
• A 'copier of the future' which uses 75% less energy than normal photocopiers.

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International Energy Agency Solar Heating and Cooling Programme