Promoting Renewable Energy

This Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report (IPCC-SRREN) assesses the potential role of renewable energy in the mitigation of climate change. It covers the six most important renewable energy sources - bioenergy, solar, geothermal, hydropower, ocean and wind energy - as well as their integration into present and future energy systems. It considers the environmental and social consequences associated with the deployment of these technologies and presents strategies to overcome technical as well as non-technical obstacles to their application and diffusion. SRREN brings a broad spectrum of technology-specific experts together with scientists studying energy systems as a whole. Prepared following strict IPCC procedures, it presents an impartial assessment of the current state of knowledge: it is policy relevant but not policy prescriptive. SRREN is an invaluable assessment of the potential role of renewable energy for the mitigation of climate change for policymakers, the private sector and academic researchers.

The United States and China are the world's top two energy consumers and, as of 2010, the two largest economies. Consequently, they have a decisive role to play in the world's clean energy future. Both countries are also motivated by related goals, namely diversified energy portfolios, job creation, energy security, and pollution reduction, making renewable energy development an important strategy with wide-ranging implications. Given the size of their energy markets, any substantial progress the two countries make in advancing use of renewable energy will provide global benefits, in terms of enhanced technological understanding, reduced costs through expanded deployment, and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to conventional generation from fossil fuels. Within this context, the U.S. National Academies, in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), reviewed renewable energy development and deployment in the two countries, to highlight prospects for collaboration across the research to deployment chain and to suggest strategies which would promote more rapid and economical attainment of renewable energy goals. Main findings and concerning renewable resource assessments, technology development, environmental impacts, market infrastructure, among others, are presented. Specific recommendations have been limited to those judged to be most likely to accelerate the pace of deployment, increase cost-competitiveness, or shape the future market for renewable energy. The recommendations presented here are also pragmatic and achievable.

This book answers questions such as: How do you market green electricity or bio-methane? What is the right price for renewable energy? How do the legal framework and customer preferences influence marketing strategies? Is direct marketing or online marketing the key to success? Answers to these and many other questions can be found in this volume, which gathers contributions from leading researchers and respected practitioners. Employing an easy-to-follow, clearly structured format, it combines the latest research results and concrete case studies to help readers understand the fundamentals of marketing for renewable energies and new business models from different countries.

. . . this book is a timely and significant read for anyone with an interest in the operation of the energy sector. Karen Morrow, International Energy Law & Taxation Review This is a timely and comparative assessment of initiatives to promote renewable electricity sources (RES-E) in eight European countries. Carried out by the ProSus research programme at the University of Oslo in cooperation with leading research institutions in each country, the book focuses on the promotional schemes used to foster RES-E in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden. The book is unique in that it monitors progress on implementing the EU RES-E Directive in relation to the impact of the dominant energy systems in each country. Employing notions of path dependency/path creation , the analysis demonstrates that crucial lessons for promoting RES-E are to be found in the contextual conditions of national and regional settings; conditions that qualify the effects of more general, market-oriented schemes. The conclusions reached are of direct relevance for the ongoing debate as to the most effective policy instruments for achieving sustainable energy and climate policies in Europe. Promoting Sustainable Electricity in Europe will be of interest to academics and researchers involved in environmental management, energy studies, technology and sustainable development. Furthermore, it will be of interest to policymakers and bureaucrats both at the EU level and among EU/EEA member states concerned with climate change, renewable energy and sustainable development at large. The book should also be of relevance for business organizations and NGOs concerned with the promotion of sustainable electricity.

In order to promote the sustainable development of renewable energy and renewable-energy-driven technologies, Renewable-Energy-Driven Future: Technologies, Modelling, Applications, Sustainability and Policies provides a comprehensive view of the advanced renewable technologies and the benefits of utilizing renewable energy sources. Discussing the ways for promoting the sustainable development of renewable energy from the perspectives of technology, modelling, application, sustainability and policy, this book includes the advanced renewable-energy-driven technologies, the models for renewable energy planning and integration, the innovative applications of renewable energy sources, decision-support tools for sustainability assessment and ranking of renewable energy systems, and the regulations and policies of renewable energy. This book can benefit the researchers and experts of renewable energy by helping them to have a holistic view of renewable energy. It can also benefit the policymakers and decision-makers by helping them to make informed decisions. Presents the advanced renewable-energy-driven technologies and the innovative applications of renewable energy sources Develops the models for the efficient use of renewable energy, decision-making and the investigation of its climate and economic benefits Investigates the sustainability of renewable energy systems Features the regulations and policies of renewable energy

Renewable energy has enjoyed relatively good - and sometimes extraordinary - growth in recent years, in particular photovoltaics and wind; but it will be difficult to sustain such rates of diffusion on a global basis. A more complete transition to renewable energy is required on a demanding timescale set by climate change and fossil fuel depletion. This book analyses strategies for promoting renewable energy within the context of a rapid energy transition, using case studies from different countries over the past 30 years. Having described the global context in detail, covering oil and gas depletion, climate change, third world development and the potential for renewable energy, the authors evaluate support mechanisms at national and international levels, offering readers a clear understanding of the regulatory framework and an opportunity to promote renewable energy effectively. This book offers energy policy makers, renewable energy professionals, energy consultants and students a platform for development and an invaluable research text. Contributing authors include: Jorg Schindler and Werner Zittel, Ludwig Bohlkow-Systemtechnik, Germany; Ian Rowlands, University of Waterloo, Canada; Giulio Volpi, WWF Europe; Kristian Hvitfelt Nielsen, Aarhus University, Denmark; Staffan Jacobsson, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden; Peter Connor, University of Warwick, UK; Ole Langniss, Centre of Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research in Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany; Ryan Wiser, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, US; David Elliott, The Open University, UK; and Frede Hvelplund, Aalborg University, Denmark

Energy is one of the main determinants of economic growth, but the high dependence of electricity production by fossil fuels could be a brake for the development of countries which do not have a sufficient level of richness and/or which possess a high level of environmental sensitivity. Countries tend to contrast these limits to growth using a higher percentage of renewable sources for electricity generation, though the technological limits still suffer. Renewable energy sources are appreciated worldwide for their ability to limit significantly the impact of anthropic activities on energy production and counter the gradual appreciation of the raw materials used in the process of traditional generation based on gas and/or oil power plants. Moreover, renewable generation can encourage off-grid generation in the underdeveloped countries.The attention to environmental issues has led several countries to ratify international agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol, Durban Protocol and, more recently, the Paris Agreement; these mandates pledge to reduce emissions of pollutants and to increase the share of energy produced through the use of renewable sources, but the results obtained so far are not encouraging.The relevance of the renewable energy generation and the increase in the investments in a newly installed capacity lead many scholars to investigate the relationship between economic growth and the key factors of the investments in RES. With this volume, the authors want to explore and analyze the causes and consequences of fragmentation and discussing policy responses on promoting renewable energy generation by shedding light on the policies proposed to promote the renewable generation and enhance energy efficiency, their effectiveness in reducing environmental degradation and the promotion of decarbonization, and discussing how developing countries do and should continue to invest in green generation.