About AREU
Afghanistan Renewable Energy Union (AREU) was established in 2013 as a non-profit trade association to represent the private-sector companies and firms’ active sector. The main purpose of the union is to promote the use of Renewable Energy (RE) in Afghanistan. AREU’s mandate is to act as a lobbying union to establish Renewable Energy as a permanent pillar of Afghanistan’s national energy industry. The union tries to do this by encouraging, supporting, and assisting national and international investors and members of the union by taking advantage of tremendous investment opportunities available in the sector of this country. The union guides the stakeholders to utilize the country’s trade policies and procedures on Renewable Energy sector. The union represents over 100 companies in the energy sector of the country. They are active in project development, developing new initiatives, project management, provision of energy related services, energy equipment production, and construction intervention in the Solar, Hydro, Biomass and Geothermal sectors.
AREU was established under ACCI (Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment) in 2013 as a not-for-profit trade association, representing Afghanistan’s renewable energy stakeholders such as the available resources, the producers, and promoting the use of renewable energy in the country.
AREU helps our members build commercially and environmentally sustainable businesses whilst increasing the contribution of renewable energy to Afghanistan’s electricity needs. AREU endeavors to accomplish the right Renewable energy regulatory framework for renewables and organics waste recycling to deliver an increasing contribution to cope with the increasing energy demand.
- To establish facilities, expertise and to do research for developing suitable technologies.
- To assist the members in their engagement towards the development of the RE industry in Afghanistan.
- To produce materials, devices, and applications in the field of renewable energy.
- To determine policies and develop short-term and long-term plans.
- To promote renewable technologies in the country through research and development.
- To be a premier outreach and communication agency for spreading information and knowledge about Renewable Energy.
- To organize conferences, seminars and workshops for promotion of the technologies.
- To establish national and international liaison in the field.
- To advise and assist the government and relevant industries in the area.
Board of Directors
A dedicated Board of Directors led by the chairman directs the AREU’s activities. AREU has 7 board members who are elected by the AREU members in the General Assembly. The board is representing the General Assembly/AREU members for two years after their election. AREU has only internal board members who are coming from permanent AREU members
Honorary Board Members
AREU has five honorary board members who are giving technical advice to the AREU. The Honorary board members are coming from outside AREU and are experts in their fields.
Executive/Management Team
A full-time executive team handles operational, policy and communication issues, based at our conveniently located office in Kabul. The executive and administrative team are led by a General Manager or CEO who is reporting to the AREU Board of Directors.
Technical Working groups
AREU has 8 different technical working groups which are specialized in various fields. The technical working groups are supporting the management and Board of Directors in policy development and implementation. Each technical working group is chaired by a member of the Board of Directors. The overall objectives of AREU technical working groups are to increase AREU efficiency, promote mobility and synergy among the members. The technical working groups’ main responsibilities are lobbying and advocacy, networking and relationship management, capacity building, resource mobilization, and AREU publicity. Each technical group is consisting of 3-7 members nominated by the executive/management team and approved by the Board of Directors based on their background experience, skills, and specializations. Each technical working group will have a chairman, deputy chairman and a secretary who are elected based on internal voting among the technical working group. The technical group’s service duration will be one year. There is no restriction in the re-nomination of the technical group members for a second round or more. A detailed TOR is developed for each technical group members with detailed duties and responsibilities. The existence of AREU technical working groups are as follows:
- Media Relationship
- Lobbying
- Capacity Building
- Fundraising and Donors Relationship
- International and Regional Relationship
- Publication and Translation
- Legal Advisory
- Industry and Local Product Promotion Committee