The Energy Sector is Being Transformed
A virtuous cycle is unlocking the economic, social and environmental benefits of renewables
The need for cost analysis
Rapid transformation poses challenges for policy makers:- Rapid deployment and high learning rates
mean costs can change rapidly- Changes in supply and demand can be rapid- Systematic data to support policy not the norm- Result can often be poor/inefficient policy
The need for cost analysis
- Renewable energy can meet policy goals for secure, reliable and affordable energy.
- Lack of objective and up-to-date data from trusted source is a barrier
- Decisions often based on old data and opinions - IRENA aims to become the source for cost data:
- Assist governments to pursue more ambitious policies- Fill a significant information gap- Provide powerful communication messages about the
competitiveness of renewable energy
The IRENA cost database
Power: data for 9000 utility-scale projects and 750,000 small-scale solar PV installationsSmaller dataset on biofuels/EVsPower database is concentrated in non-OECD countries, where there is more publicly available information (e.g. multi-lateral financing, development projects, etc.)
The IRENA cost database
A range of variables are collected with the aim of calculating levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) and other measures
The IRENA cost database
Power generation database, by location:
Additional data used to ensure cover of all major markets
IRENA cost analysis
Contributions to REthinking
Analysis and datafor REmap 2030
New webpages and launching Costing Alliance
2014
IRENA cost analysis
Highlights:- The relentless improvement in
competitiveness continues- Renewables now competing with fossil fuels- Integrating variable renewables doesn’t
change the conclusions- Future cost reductions will be more
challenging, policy driven
Costing alliance mechanism:- Based on sharing real world RE project
data, confidentially with IRENA- Supports higher quality analysis- Allows IRENA to deepen the analysis- Supports evidence based decision making
and successful deployment of renewable energy technologieshttp://costing.irena.org/irena-renewable-costing-alliance.aspx