Synopsis

Part of the “10 Questions to Ask Series” which aims to build the capacity of electricity sector stakeholders—government agencies, regulators, utilities, the private sector, civil society, and others —to design and participate in policy making and implementation processes.

Executive Summary

This working paper was co-written with Shantanu Dixit, Coordinator of Prayas, Energy Group. By the end of 2012, 138 countries worldwide had introduced renewable energy (RE) targets, and investments in new RE capacity totaled US$244 billion that year. Globally, RE is gaining momentum, with over 480 gigawatts (GW) of installed renewable power capacity. RE is now at the forefront of many national energy development plans.

The progress made in many countries has also highlighted the complexities of increasing the rate of RE deployment at the national level. Deploying renewable energy on an economy-wide scale requires solutions to a range of short- medium- and long-term challenges. These include resolving economic questions about how the costs of new RE generation will be distributed among electricity consumers, investors, taxpayers, and other stakeholders, and technological challenges such as accommodating intermittent supply, upgrading or adding transmission and distribution grids, and addressing knowledge gaps.

"10 Questions to Ask About Scaling On-Grid Renewable Energy" provides a framework to help stakeholders—including decision-makers, investors, civil society, and others—engage with each other to resolve common questions.

The 10 Questions to Ask Series, or the 10Qs Series, is an initiative of the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) Electricity Governance Initiative (EGI) and Prayas Energy Group. Upcoming working papers in this series include: "10 Questions to Ask About Integrated Resources Planning" and "10 Questions to Ask About Electricity Tariffs".