Deploying Renewables : Best and Future Policy Practice

Description

The global energy system faces urgent challenges. Concerns about energy security are growing, as highlighted by the recent political turmoil in Northern Africa and the nuclear incident in Fukushima. At the same time, the need to respond to climate change is more critical than ever. Against this background, many governments have increased efforts to promote deployment of renewable energy - low-carbon sources that can strengthen energy security. This has stimulated unprecedented rise in deployment, and renewables are now the fastest growing sector of the energy mix. This "coming of age" of renewable energy also brings challenges. Growth is focused on a few of the available technologies, and rapid deployment is confined to a relatively small number of countries. In more advanced markets, managing support costs and system integration of large shares of renewable energy in a time of economic weakness and budget austerity has sparked vigorous political debate. The IEA's new report, Deploying Renewables 2011: Best and Future Policy Practice: · Provides a comprehensive review and analysis of renewable energy policy and market trends; · Analyses in detail the dynamics of deployment and provides best-practice policy principles for different stages of market maturity; · Assesses the impact and cost-effectiveness of support policies using new methodological tools and indicators; · Investigates the strategic reasons underpinning the pursuit of RE deployment by different countries and the prospects for globalisation of RE. This new book builds on and extends a 2008 IEA publication, drawing on recent policy and deployment experience world-wide. It provides guidance for policy makers and other stakeholders to avoid past mistakes, overcome new challenges and reap the benefits of deploying renewables - today and tomorrow.  Read more... Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Executive Summary -- Background -- Market developments -- RE competitiveness and economic support -- Policy indicators -- Policy principles and priorities -- Key challenges -- Recommendations -- Chapter 1. Introduction -- Background -- Context -- Progress -- Novel challenges -- This publication -- Chapter 2. Market Development for RE Technologies -- Technology portfolio -- Deployment and cost trends: electricity -- General deployment trends -- Regional deployment trends -- Cost trends and scope for improvement -- Deployment and cost trends: heat -- General and regional deployment trends -- Cost trends and scope for improvement -- Deployment and cost trends: transport -- General and regional deployment trends -- Cost trends and scope for improvement -- Recent global investment trends -- Current trends and the IEA WEO 450 Scenario -- RE technologies within the WEO 2010 450 Scenario -- Electricity -- Heat -- Transport -- Opportunities for expanding deployment -- Key challenges -- Electricity -- Heat -- Transport -- Priorities -- Chapter 3. Policies for Deploying Renewables -- Introduction -- Renewable energy: drivers and benefits -- Energy security -- Reduction of CO2 emissions and environmental impacts -- Economic development -- Innovation and industrial development -- Mapping policy drivers: the energy security/GDP matrix -- Barriers to RE technology deployment -- Economic barriers -- Non-economic barriers -- Barriers in the electricity sector -- Barriers in the heat sector -- Barriers in the transport sector -- Tackling economic barriers to deployment -- Why provide economic support for technologies? -- Objectives of economic support policies -- Support policy options for the electricity sector -- Support policy options for the heat sector -- Support policy options for the transport sector -- Tackling non-economic barriers -- The price of policy risks: empirical evidence -- The deployment journey -- Stages on the journey -- Developing a national market Overarching policy requirements -- Market inception -- Take-off -- Market consolidation -- Market design -- Chapter 4. Economic Support Policies for Electricity: Impact and Cost-Effectiveness Indicators -- Methodological approach -- Regional and technology coverage -- Policy impact indicator (PII) -- Remuneration adequacy indicator (RAI) -- Total cost indicator (TCI) -- Indicator analysis for onshore wind -- Policy impact indicator -- Remuneration adequacy indicator -- Total cost indicator -- Indicator analysis for solar PV -- Policy impact indicator -- Remuneration adequacy indicator -- Remuneration adequacy versus impact analysis -- Total cost indicator -- Conclusions about electricity support policy tools -- Chapter 5. Going Global -- Market trends -- Renewable electricity -- Renewable heat -- Renewable transport -- Regional investment trends -- Policies -- General trends -- Policy developments by region -- Accelerating deployment in a broader range of countries -- Role of international cooperation -- Sharing costs -- Sharing experience -- Facilitating global deployment expansion -- Chapter 6. Conclusions and Recommendations -- Market developments -- RE competitiveness and economic support -- Policy indicators -- Policy principles and priorities -- Inception -- Take-off -- Consolidation -- Key challenges -- Electricity -- Heat -- Transport -- Recommendations -- Annex A. Definitions, abbreviations, acronyms and units -- Annex B. References.