Renewable energy technologies can address trade-offs between water, energy and food, bringing substantial benefits in all three key sectors. This report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) looks at how adopting renewables can ease trade-offs by providing less resource-intensive energy services compared to conventional energy technologies.
Like many countries in South East Asia, the Philippines faces twin challenges of population growth and rising energy demand. Dependent on imports for nearly half its primary energy supply, the country is highly exposed to oil price volatility. Frequent tropical storms, meanwhile, adversely impact its energy infrastructure.
The United States (US) has the potential to lead the global transition to renewable energy. It has some of the best wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, and biomass resources in the world. It also has a vibrant culture of innovation, plentiful financing opportunities, and a highly skilled workforce, alongside an agile and entrepreneurial business sector.
Cyprus, a European Union member state since 2004, is at the crossroads of determining how its energy sector, and particularly the power sector, should develop in the coming decades. The island country currently depends on imported oil to meet most of its growing energy needs. At the same time, cost reductions on renewable energy technologies, coupled with abundant renewable energy resources, provide the chance to reduce dependency on fossil fuels while complying with EU renewable energy targets for 2020 and fulfilling the country’s own targets for 2030.
Over 5.7 million people are employed directly or indirectly in renewable energy – a figure that could triple by 2030 with the scale-up needed to ensure global energy sustainability. As policy makers look beyond energy security and environmental aspects, the comprehensive Renewable Energy and Jobs report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) examines wider socio-economic benefits, and specifically job creation.
The Africa Clean Energy Corridor initiative aims to transform the continent’s energy mix by promoting the development of clean, indigenous, cost-effective renewable power options. A comprehensive report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) examines the evolving infrastructure of Eastern and Southern Africa for the generation and transmission of electricity, highlighting challenges and opportunities for the rapid scale-up of renewable energy.
L’Agence internationale pour les énergies renouvelables (IRENA) vient de publier le rapport L’Afrique et les énergies renouvelables : la voie vers la croissance durable.
Renewable energy targets can reinforce Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), providing a key element for countries to pursue more ambitious climate pledges under the Paris Agreement.
These briefs highlight ground-breaking ways to use distributed energy resources, accommodate uncertainty and reduce the need for grid reinforcement with rising shares of solar and wind power.
This brief by China Water Risk and IRENA examines the expected impact of China’s power sector on water and climate in 2030. Building on plans announced at the COP21 climate change conference in Paris, and earlier analyses by China Water Risk and IRENA, it assesses the impact of different options for China’s power mix in 2030 on water use and carbon emissions. As the findings show, decarbonising the power sector through renewables would also yield benefits in areas related to water.
This study examines the policy, regulatory, financial and capacity-related challenges to overcome in pursuing Lebanon's energy transition plans.
This report aims to inform discussions on the role of power system organisational structures in facilitating and accelerating the energy transition.
IRENA produces comprehensive, reliable data sets on renewable energy capacity and use worldwide. This is the 2019 edition.
Japan, holding the G20 presidency in 2019, asked the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) for a report on the implications of the global energy transformation for climate and sustainability in a broad sense.
This collection of country profiles takes stock of the latest developments in renewables around Asia from 2009 until 2012.
This report explains how IRENA approached the challenges of data collection to produce the estimates of off-grid energy production and use. An overview of the data collected and detailed tables are provided.
The working paper makes a series of recommendations, including the development of clear and stable policy frameworks that enable the private sector to invest with confidence.
This report examines various scenarios for accelerated renewable energy uptake, based on a modelling tool developed by IRENA and tested with assistance from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
A FlexTool study on Thailand's power system suggests cost-efficient investment options and provides a sensitivity analysis to find ways to reach high shares of renewables.
This brief provides a high-level overview of priorities to accelerate technological and systemic innovation and highlights priorities for increased government action and international co-operation.
Grenada, like many Caribbean islands, is dependent on costly oil imports for its energy needs, including the generation of electricity. The transition to renewable energy could potentially support price reductions and improve the overall competitiveness of key sectors of the economy, particularly tourism.
This study assesses the potential for manufacturing renewable energy components and examines each country’s supply chain, existing industrial structure and export opportunities for technology components in each sector.
Offshore wind projects create ample opportunities for local value creation. This report examines how income and jobs can be maximised by leveraging existing economic activities and building upon domestic supply chains.