New information paradigm: The renewable energy age

October 8, 2015 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

Technology solutions to support renewable energy integration are already available, but challenges to widespread global deployment remain.

Credit: Bordei Liana Monica

To develop a successful national strategy on power sector transformation, policymakers must anticipate the effects this transformation will have on economic development, energy security and the environment -- ensuring data collection and energy planning tools are in place, examine existing flexibility options, and secure human capacity to develop and adapt technologies to local conditions. That is according to "The Age of Renewable Power," a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

"There is enormous growth potential for solar photovoltaics and wind power in almost all countries, but we are still at a relatively early stage in global deployment" said IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin. "The development of national roadmaps for power sector transformation can ensure that measures are adapted to local conditions, stakeholders are aligned at an early stage, and ambitious renewable energy targets are realized."

Stakeholder engagement, like that of utilities, is critical in the development of national roadmaps. Utilities are a central stakeholder in the power sector with vast experience in managing generation assets and power flows, and dealing with sudden events. However, the power sector transformation will attract new stakeholders, and the role of existing stakeholders will change.

The need for more distributed control systems will also introduce a new information paradigm, according to the report, with impacts on data processing capabilities, data sharing, privacy laws, communication protocols, and data security measures.

The report is part of IRENA's support to the G20 commitment to renewable energy, and supports the Ministers of the Clean Energy Ministerial, who announced their intent to establish national roadmaps to achieve a power system transformation last week at the G20 Energy Ministers Meeting in Istanbul. Participants endorsed an 11-point Communiqué, including the adoption of a renewable energy toolkit, which provides options for G20 countries to take a long-term, integrated and sustainable approach to enhanced deployment of renewable energy. This is the first time renewable energy is on the G20 agenda.

"The G20 countries hold 75 percent of total global deployment potential and 70 percent of total global investment potential for renewable energy between now and 2030," said Amin. "With this tremendous market opportunity before them, concerted and coordinated action undertaken by G20 countries to advance renewable energy can really move the needle on global deployment as we transition to a clean energy future."

In addition to the focus given to renewable energy in the Communiqué, ministers also placed high importance on energy access, international cooperation, market transparency, energy security, energy efficiency, clean energy innovation and climate change.

Emphasizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for embracing renewables, and that policy frameworks should be customized to align with domestic context and national sustainable development priorities, the toolkit adopted by the G20 has five focus areas: driving down technology costs; exchanging good practices on enabling policy frameworks and power system integration; mobilizing finance through risk mitigation; technology potentials and roadmaps; and accelerating the deployment of modern bioenergy.

"Renewable energy has made incredible progress in recent years and there is no doubt of its potential for long-term growth and ability to contribute to a path of sustainable development," said H.E. Ali Rıza Alaboyun, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey. "We welcome the adoption of the renewable energy toolkit as it is in line with the Turkish G20 Presidency's 'three I' priorities of inclusiveness, investment for growth and implementation."

Already hosting 80 percent of existing renewable power generation capacity around the world, G20 countries will be the main drivers for the power sector in the next decade. In this respect, G20 countries are well-placed to develop and deploy good planning practices to accommodate higher shares of variable renewables and develop possible options for power-sector planning. This requires incorporating the full suite of flexibility options -- including demand side management, smart grid technologies, electricity storage and the use of other fuels -- in order to seamlessly, and at least cost, integrate higher shares of variable renewable electricity into the system and fill the gaps caused by output variability.

For more:
- see this report

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