WRI Stories Feed: Two Degrees of Innovation

For Clean Energy, Taking Risks to Reap Rewards

Jennifer Morgan — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:56:52 -0500

This post originally appeared in the National Journal Energy & Environment Expert Blog. The question was, “Where Can…

2012: A Breakthrough for Renewable Energy?

Manish Bapna — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:58:39 -0500

In his annual State of the Union address, President Obama declared: “I will not walk away from clean energy.”

His words were a sharp rebuttal to critics harping on the Solyndra bankruptcy and others making dire predictions about the…

Fact Sheet: The Power of Innovation: Meeting our Energy Challenges through Accelerated Innovation

Micah Ziegler — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 12:44:38 -0500

Innovation can close the gap between the low-carbon technologies of today and the low-cost, high performance technologies the world needs.

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More WRI Climate Fact Sheets
Read more on WRI Insights: Want Low-Cost Clean Energy? Bank on Innovation

This fact sheet is based on the WRI working paper Two Degrees of Innovation — How to Seize the Opportunities in Low-Carbon Power.

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We are facing two urgent energy challenges. We need to maintain modern energy services and expand energy access to another 1.4 billion people.¹ We also need to mitigate further climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning.² Low-carbon technologies such as wind and solar power exist and have the technical capacity to meet global energy needs,³ but they are expensive compared to high-carbon alternatives and face performance challenges like requiring large quantities of water or land. They are new to the energy system and can create integration headaches. Innovation—improvements in cost and performance—will close the gap between the low-carbon technologies of today and the low-cost, high performance technologies the world needs.

These infographics demonstrate how innovations in solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind power over the past thirty years have dramatically improved performance and reduced cost, creating the technologies we recognize today. They also project the target costs that experts estimate are necessary to reach our energy goals, highlighting how much more we need to innovate.

For example, if we built the solar PV installations necessary by 2050 using technology from 1982, we would spend US$53.5 trillion (2010$). Building the same solar capacity with 2008 technology would only cost US$8.46 trillion. If we meet the cost goal set by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) we would spend just US$1.58 trillion. Similarly, between 1982 technology and ARPA-E’s goal technology, the total land area required for solar panels would drop by 64 percent.

Innovation is a powerful, cumulative process but it does not happen automatically in a highly regulated sector like electricity. It is critical that policymakers support innovators by building a robust, dynamic innovation ecosystem. This goes beyond investing in public research and development and creating markets through subsidies. It also includes building collaborative networks, creating stable regulatory environments, providing infrastructure, supporting innovators’ needs for finance, and building capacity in the workforce.

To achieve a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (compared to 2005 levels) the International Energy Agency estimates that 3,155 GW of photovoltaic capacity will be required by 2050, enough to provide 11 percent of global electricity production. Over time, innovations have made reaching this target easier.⁴ Innovations like new materials and improved methods of production, including improvements through learning-by-doing and finding economies of scale, made solar photovoltaic cells significantly cheaper and more efficient between 1982 and 2008. While many factors—such as commodity prices—also impact costs, future innovations can continue to improve solar cells and push toward a competitive cost of equipment, estimated in U.S. electricity markets to be US$0.50/Wp by the U.S. Department of Energy.

To achieve a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (compared to 2005 levels) the International Energy Agency estimates that 2,000 GW of installed wind capacity will be required by 2050, enough to provide 12 percent of global electricity production. Over time, innovations have made reaching this target easier.⁵ Between 1985 and 2010, innovations like new materials and improved methods of production, including improvements through learning-by-doing and finding economies of scale, made wind turbines more capable and their electricity cheaper. While many factors—such as commodity prices—also impact costs, future innovations can continue to improve wind turbines and farms and push toward a competitive position in electricity markets, estimated in U.S. electricity markets to be a levelized cost of electricity of US$.069/kWh by the American Wind Energy Association.

International Energy Agency, “Access to Electricity,” World Energy Outlook, 2010, http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/electricity.asp. ↩
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Groups I, II and III, Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report, IPCC Assessment Report (Valencia, Spain, 2007), http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr.pdf. ↩
Ottmar Edenhofer et al., IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation - Summary for Policymakers (Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2011), 7, http://srren.ipcc-wg3.de/report/IPCC_SRREN_SPM. ↩
These calculations focus on crystalline silicon photovoltaic technology only, assume photovoltaic cells operate at peak capacity, and only consider module cost. For simplicity, this excludes many other factors that can make solar photovoltaic installations more efficient and cheaper, such as careful siting, improved operations, and reduced maintenance costs. This analysis includes only the solar module cost and omits installation and maintenance costs. ↩
The graphic slightly understates the story; the difference in number of turbines needed is so large that it was necessary to round up to make the comparison visible at all. Each turbine in the graphic represents approximately 1 million turbines. The 50% reduction goal could be met by 1.25 million 1.6 MW turbines and 200,000 10 MW turbines. In addition, these calculations focus on horizontal-rotor, onshore wind turbines and treat the 2,000 GW target as “nameplate” capacity. The cost calculations use estimates of the levelized (or lifecycle) cost of energy (or electricity) and compute the cost of producing 5,200 TWh of wind energy, which is stipulated in the IEA Blue Scenario Wind Goal. ↩

Want Low-Cost Clean Energy? Bank on Innovation

Letha Tawney — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:45:39 -0500

In the United States, there is a heated debate about how much government should support renewable energy innovation. While you won’t find anyone…

Seizing Economic Opportunities in the Low-Carbon Power Sector

Letha Tawney — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:19:40 -0400

In these turbulent economic times, leaders around the world are looking to strengthen their economies and create jobs. They are grappling with how to…

The Right Mix: The Philippines Achieving its Renewable Energy Goals

Lutz Weischer — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:44:06 -0400

This piece, by Pete Maniego and Lutz Weischer, originally appeared in the Manila Bulletin.

The global energy…

WRI Experts on Asia's Clean Energy Future

Maggie Barron — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 10:44:50 -0400

Why is Asia such an important region for clean energy deployment? WRI experts respond.

From June 22-24, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) will co-host the premiere knowledge-sharing platform for clean energy investment in Asia, the 6th Asia Clean Energy Forum (ACEF). Taking place in Manila, Philippines, the event brings together energy leaders from around the world to discuss clean energy policy, regulation, financing and innovative business models.

I sat down with WRI experts who will attend the events in Manila and asked each of them, what is unique about Asia’s path to low-carbon development?

Opportunities of a Low-Carbon Economy

Large and small countries in Asia understand the opportunities of a low-carbon economy. We’re seeing these countries transition rapidly to renewable energy, and in doing so driving global markets. China, for instance, is leading the world in renewable energy investment, and others are looking to follow its lead. These successes may help drive even greater ambition among Asian countries, allowing countries to reap the economic, environmental and development benefits of a low-carbon economy.

— Jennifer Morgan, Director, Climate and Energy Program

Global Leadership and Innovation

The low-carbon transformation will be very different from technological transformations of the past because many of the innovations will come from developing countries, in particular countries from Asia.

These are the countries making large scale investments in energy infrastructure. They are transforming their economies to be competitive participants in the global clean energy value chain, as they make the transition from low cost, low skill manufacturing to high skill, high value-added manufacturing. They see the potential to become global leaders in the clean energy sector while meeting domestic energy challenges.

— Letha Tawney, Senior Associate, Two Degrees of Innovation

The Meaning of “Clean” Energy

Asia is home to a large proportion of the world’s poor, who either have no or very limited access to energy. And it’s also home to some serious gaps in governance. That’s why when we say “clean energy” we need to make sure we’re talking about both a type of fuel and an absence of corruption. There is no reason why vested interests will not become entrenched in the clean energy space, just as they have in the energy sector in the past.

So governments need to strive for more transparency, inclusive decision-making, and accountability. Business as usual will allow inefficiencies to continue, with little if any regulatory oversight.

Countries that exclude people from decisions about clean energy deployment run serious governance risks. To a farmer whose land is taken over without due process, it’s of very little consequence whether it’s for coal or for a solar PV plant. The governance challenges in the energy sector don’t go away just by calling it “clean.”

— Bharath Jairaj, Senior Associate, Electricity Governance Initiative

Scaling Up Smart Renewable Energy Policies

Asian countries are providing more and more examples of smart policies that lead to increased deployment of renewable energy in line with their broader development objectives. And they are learning from each other, instead of looking only to developed countries or international institutions for advice.

These countries can develop good models of what we refer to as “smart renewable energy policy”, but if they want to scale them up to the level that is necessary to meet the huge energy challenge Asia faces, they will need international financial support. For example, both India and Thailand pay guaranteed prices to renewable energy producers, paid for with a surcharge on electricity. They are supporting renewable energy with their own resources. Yet their resources are limited, so their support for renewables can only go so far. Donors need to step in, build on existing successes and help bring them to scale. A meeting like ACEF brings donor institutions and in-country experts together and provides an opportunity to form the partnerships necessary to expand on countries’ successes so far.

— Lutz Weischer, Research Analyst, Two Degrees of Innovation

A Role for Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs in Asia are taking on the issue of energy access. There’s a lot of talk about large solar installations, but those come with their own storage and distribution challenges – how are you going to expand the grid to get that solar energy to a remote village? That’s why there is so much potential for decentralized clean energy, like solar lanterns, microhydro plants, and biomass gasification.

For the first time we’re starting to see a critical mass of companies that are selling these kinds of electricity products, and prices keep coming down. So it’s no longer an issue of technology, or price. It’s now about getting these technologies to consumers. That’s a really important shift, and entrepreneurs are coming up with creative solutions to tap into this very significant rural market.

— Saurabh Lall, Research Officer, New Ventures

Energy Efficiency Brings a Competitive Advantage

In Asia, there’s very real pressure for companies to invest in energy efficiency, both from governments and from large customers who want to squeeze carbon out of their supply chains.

So there’s this confluence of very strong policy drivers, very strong demand drivers, and industries that recognize the opportunity to gain a competitive advantage. These all create the conditions for a good market for energy efficiency technology.

The challenge now is that a lot of the low-hanging fruit for energy efficiency projects has already been achieved. The next step is for companies to make longer term investments, and for that many of them need external financing. If Asian countries can help companies address some of the financing and capacity barriers, they can jumpstart a lot of new technology and continue to drive costs down.

— Xiaoyu Shi, Associate, Climate & Energy Program

An Urgent Necessity

Right now Asia is at a crossroads. Energy demand in the region continues to grow rapidly and is expected to rise at a rate well above the global average. Asia must decide whether to meet this demand using traditional carbon-intensive technologies or switch to clean energy and enable the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Asian countries face serious threats from the potential impacts of climate change on their economies, their ecosystems and their people. This combined with rising prices for food and fossil fuels make the case for low-carbon future. This is no longer a matter of choice - it’s an urgent necessity. With Asia leading the charge on massive investments in wind, solar, biomass and geothermal, it has the opportunity to become a major hub for clean energy investments.

— Athena Ballesteros, Project Manager, International Financial Flows and Environment

IPCC Study: Renewable Energy Could Provide Majority of World’s Energy by 2050

Lutz Weischer — Mon, 23 May 2011 09:09:17 -0400

Recently, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a comprehensive study on renewable energy, entitled Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation. The report finds that by 2050, nearly 80 percent of the world’s energy supply could be provided by renewable energy sources. WRI Analyst Lutz Weischer, who works on renewable energy policies, sat down to talk about the report’s implications.

Why is this report significant?

IPCC reports have a credibility and legitimacy that few other sources can match. Because this report draws upon the analysis of preeminent scientists, economists and engineers engaged in climate and energy research, the conclusions have considerable weight. This particular report looks at 164 peer-reviewed energy scenarios to find common themes about what the world’s energy supply will look like in 2050. They also assessed the literature on the technical potential of renewable energy sources, the benefits they can bring beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the barriers that stand in the way of broader deployment. The report will be the go-to place for anyone who wants to get a credible and comprehensive view on the global potential of renewable energy.

What are the report’s primary findings?

The report predicts renewable energy, excluding traditional biomass¹, to grow three to ten times by 2050. Not all of the 164 scenarios analyzed in the report predict significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions; but those that do show a massive expansion of renewables. In other words, you can’t solve the climate crisis without renewable energy. Depending on how ambitious countries are, nearly 80 percent of the world’s energy supply could be provided by renewables in 2050. The best news is the report finds that we would have enough wind, water, sun and biomass resources available to meet all of the world’s energy needs with today’s technologies. However, it highlights several political and financial challenges to reaching those numbers.

Many fear that cost is the biggest barrier to large scale deployment of renewable energy. What’s your take on that?

People shouldn’t have to chose between affordable and clean energy - but in most cases fossil fuels are still cheaper than renewables. One reason is that most countries heavily subsidize fossil fuels. The IPCC report suggests that if fossil fuels were not subsidized and reflected their true costs – taking into account externalities like their impact on health and the environment – renewables would be much more cost-competitive.

The world needs cleaner energy, but we also need to find ways to increase energy access for the hundreds of millions of people who currently go without. At WRI, we try to reconcile these two goals. We’re studying ways to drive down the cost renewable energy and also improve its performance, so that it can become available to more people.

One strategy is for countries to phase out fossil fuel subsidies while adding incentives and subsidies for renewable energy that are designed to encourage innovation. In the long run, this would allow renewable energy to be competitive with traditional sources of power, and countries could phase out those incentives as well.

It’s important to note that in some regions of the world, such as rural regions in Africa, renewable energy is already a cost-competitive source of power.

What other policies are needed to tap into our renewable energy potential?

WRI’s research shows that it’s not enough to just create financial support for renewable energy. Smart renewable energy policy should also include targets (such as a renewable energy standard that sets a renewable generation requirement), improvements to a country’s regulatory structure (to ensure that rules are in place to integrate renewables into a country’s energy system), and incentives to encourage community participation in energy decisions. To accelerate the transition to clean energy, you also need companies that are willing to invest in renewable energy projects, and banks willing to back those projects. In developing countries, that support may need to come from bi- and multilateral development banks.

What does the IPCC report say about how renewable energy can meet development goals?

The report suggests that renewable energy may be a good way to increase energy access. In many areas of the world that lack advanced grid systems, electricity is best produced locally. Rather than importing and transporting diesel fuel to a rural area, for instance, a village could create a micro-grid based on the solar resources they have and save money in the process. In many remote areas, decentralized projects can be cheaper and cleaner than grid expansion, as well as providing energy security.

Much of the growth in renewable energy is predicted to come from developing countries. Why?

The report highlights that 53 percent of current renewable electricity generation capacity is in developing countries, and that the majority of future renewable growth will also be in developing countries.

Developing countries are interested in renewable energy for several reasons: energy access, energy security, economic development opportunities, and even the health benefits that renewable energy have over fossil fuels. These countries are acting in their national interests.

How does the IPCC report relate to WRI’s work?

WRI examines how to realize the full potential of renewable energies that is presented in the IPCC report. For example tomorrowk we will release a paper titled Grounding Green Power, that draws lessons learned from developing countries on smart renewable energy policy and provides guidance to donors who are looking for the most efficient ways to support the clean energy transition. In a recent report, High Wire Act, we looked at one of the key barriers identified in the IPCC report, integrating renewables into the power grid, with detailed case studies of the United States, China and the EU. We also conduct research on issues related to governance and finance and how they influence renewable energy deployment. At the upcoming Asia Clean Energy Forum in Manila, we will present the full spectrum of our renewable energy analysis.

The report looks at six renewable energy sources: Direct solar, geothermal energy, hydropower, ocean energy, wind energy and bioenergy. ”Traditional biomass” is a form of bioenergy and mainly refers to burning wood for cooking and heating purposes in many parts of the developing world. In most scenarios, a decrease in the use of traditional biomass is predicted, as people switch to more modern energy sources. To get an accurate idea of the growth in all other renewable energy sources, traditional biomass was excluded when calculating these growth rates. ↩

How to Design a Clean Energy Standard

Kevin Kennedy — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:53:10 -0400

WRI’s response to the Bingaman-Murkowski White Paper on the design of a clean energy standard in the United States.

In response to President Obama’s goal of generating 80 percent of the U.S. electricity from clean energy sources by 2035, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Bingaman and Ranking Member Murkowski issued a white paper posing six basic questions and 36 clarifying questions on the design of a Clean Energy Standard (CES).

A CES would require electric utilities to purchase a minimum amount of clean energy as a percentage of the total electricity they deliver annually. While what would qualify as “clean energy” has yet to be defined by Congress, a CES could include renewables and nuclear, as well as natural gas and fossil fuel generation equipped with carbon capture and storage technology. A CES would specify what would qualify and what level of credit qualifying technologies or fuels could receive.

Senators Bingaman and Murkowski are now reviewing responses and exploring options for a process to generate legislation. It is anticipated that hearings on CES design could be held in May. WRI has submitted a response to a majority of the questions posed by the senators’ white paper. WRI’s complete response is available here (PDF, 2.4 Mb). In the submission, we make the following points:

A Clean Energy Standard is first and foremost a clean energy deployment policy

A CES can enhance the diversity of energy use in the United States
While a CES can contribute to other national goals such as climate change mitigation and cleaner air, it is not a substitute for policies that specifically address these critical issues
If a CES is enacted, revisions to some related energy statutes may be warranted but environmental statutes such as the Clean Air Act should not be revised

A well designed Clean Energy Standard can minimize costs to utilities and consumers

Program costs can be minimized by:
- the development of a robust national energy credit market
- the establishment of long-term targets to provide investment certainty, and
- through limited use of flexible compliance mechanisms such as the banking of credits for future use
An alternative compliance payment (ACP), setting a limit on the price of clean energy credits is unlikely to be necessary and could undermine national clean energy goals

A target of 80 percent electricity from clean energy by 2035 should be achievable and can benefit U.S. manufacturing

The target will be more achievable if a variety of technologies are eligible to meet the standard and complementary policies aimed at reducing energy demand are in place
Technologies that clearly meet certain emissions benchmarks should be allowed, though eligible technologies that produce emissions should only receive partial credit towards the standard
A CES could also include tiers to provide added market certainty for subsets of eligible technologies
Improving energy efficiency is critically important but is best supported through a separate standard and through other complementary policies; energy efficiency should not be eligible for credit under a CES
Stable, long-term policy support through a CES should result in greater domestic manufacturing of clean energy technologies as has been the case in other countries around the world that have similar policies in place

States’ ability to innovate should be preserved

A federal CES should preserve in full the states’ ability to generate innovative policy approaches to clean energy technology deployment
A federal CES should establish a minimum standard to which all states must adhere but may exceed
Options are available to preserve state programs while minimizing complexity and costs

To further inform the congressional CES discussion in the months ahead, WRI plans to publish a working paper based on this response. The paper will dive deeper into these and other CES design elements providing an analysis of the implications of policy choices on issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, clean technology deployment, program costs and effects on U.S. manufacturing.

Download WRI’s full response here (PDF, 2.4 Mb)

High Wire Act: Improving the Grid for Renewable Energy

Letha Tawney — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:22:58 -0400

China, the United States, and the European Union take on transmission upgrades

The European Union, China, and the United States have all made significant commitments to renewable energy deployment, at either the central or regional levels. But they all face a major challenge: how to integrate this power into the existing grids. As a new WRI report shows, policies to help transmit renewable energy have not kept pace with renewable energy ambitions.

Despite its potential, renewable energy puts new pressure on transmission infrastructure as it scales up. Excellent sources of sun, wind, and wave power are rarely conveniently located next to industrial centers and cities. The energy generated in remote places must be transmitted to heavily populated areas.

Renewable energy is also intermittent–that is, dependent on the sun shining or the wind blowing. Typically the most cost-effective way to manage intermittency is to draw energy from a large geographic area. This requires moving electricity across a more widely integrated grid than has historically been necessary.

Read the Report

Today’s transmission infrastructure is simply not up to the job. But just adding new wires will not resolve all of the obstacles to integrating renewable energy in the grid. Transmission policy, such as how electricity markets incorporate planning for intermittent sources and operations that keep the power flowing smoothly, must also evolve.

A new report from World Resources Institute, High Wire Act examines the relationship of renewable energy and transmission in the European Union, China, and the United States. Supported by the HSBC Climate Change Centre of Excellence, the research highlights how, in all three markets, transmission is currently a bottleneck to maximizing renewable energy’s cost-effective contribution to the power mix.

The main message for policy makers crafting renewable energy policies and for investors seeking to be a part of this $240 billion a year market is a simple one. Transmission constraints have to be addressed upfront to improve the chances of reaping the long-term rewards of a future powered by renewable energy.

As the report highlights, transmission policy has not kept pace with clean energy ambitions, largely as a result of concerns over associated costs and reliability. Transmission decisions are also shaped as much by complex politics as they are by economics. A deep tension between locally borne costs and national or supra-national benefits emerges over and over again. Local communities are reluctant to accept large infrastructure when most of the benefits are seen at the national level rather than locally. Each region examined in this report is uniquely grappling with this “local” versus “larger society” tension, based on its own political and regulatory norms.

The European Union

The renewable energy market is large and growing in the European Union, stoked by both EU-wide goals and national incentive programs. Recognizing that transmission policy and infrastructure has to evolve, the EU is in the midst of implementing the 3rd Legislative Package on Energy Markets, which is pushing towards more integrated electricity markets by 2014 and assistance for transmission projects that have an EU-wide strategic importance. However, it is unclear how much authority the countries will cede to the EU-wide bodies or whether they will remain largely advisory instead. The wide range of transmission cost policies across countries is also shaping the renewable energy market – driving projects to locate where the transmission costs are lower, rather than where the best renewable energy resources are.

China

China’s renewable energy growth – particularly through wind farms in the remote North and Northwest of the country – poses transmission companies with a large physical challenge. For this reason, among others, China is investing heavily in groundbreaking research into ultra-high voltage transmission, which will allow more efficient transmission over far larger distances.

However, the dramatic growth in new wind turbines has yet to translate into growth in renewable energy in the grid. A lack of connection standards for generators to follow, a lack of coordination between wind farm planning and transmission planning, inflexible electricity dispatching, and a lack of financial incentives for grid operators to buy renewable energy power have all contributed to the problem. As a result, many of these wind turbines are not contributing as much as they could to the national grid. The central government attempted to resolve several of these issues through the 2009 Amendments to the Renewable Energy Law, but it will take time for the effects to be widely felt.

The United States

While Congress is considering President Obama’s proposed Clean Energy Standard, currently renewable energy goals are set at the state level in the United States. This state-by-state approach is also reflected in very strong state control of transmission decisions, which has made large-scale projects or coordinated planning very challenging to accomplish –. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is considering new federal rules for cost allocation, but substantial reform would likely face both legal and legislative challenges.

**Table 1. Incentives Driving Transmission Action**
	RE Goals	Coordination Efforts	Innovations
European Union	EU Renewable Energy Directive (June 2009) sets goal of 20 percent power from RE sources by 2020 and mandates grid connectors to provide access to new RE to achieve EU climate policy	The European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) and the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) have transmission coordinating missions	EU Priority Projects defined and assigned an EU coordinator to push the project forward
China	Renewable Energy Law (2005, 2009) obligates power grid companies to connect all RE generation sites that fall in their grid coverage	Renewable Energy Law Amendments (2009) require coordinated RE and transmission planning	Development of UHV infrastructure with $59.7 billion in investment
United States	Thirty-one state Renewable Portfolio Standards	Federal efforts encourage regional transmission planning, though there are no requirements	Innovative cost allocation resolutions such as the Tehachapi and Southwest Power Pool projects

**Table 2. Roadblocks to Sufficient Transmission Action**
	Local Interests	Costs
European Union	Transnational coordination and enforcement powers of EU institutions remain unproven while local opposition to large-scale infrastructure projects is significant in some areas	Transmission investment will be difficult in an era of austerity and slow economic growth
China	Disagreement between the grid operators and wind developers on technology standards and planning complicate RE generation connection	Vast distances between generation and load sites and chronic grid congestion necessitate massive transmission expansion
United States	Weak jurisdictional coordination in the transmission siting and approval process slows or stops transmission projects	Transmission cost allocation issues remain largely unresolved or are resolved at local level, reflecting narrow local interests

Going Forward

In a time of austerity, the issues raised by this report are all the more pressing. Public subsidies for renewables are under pressure and raising consumer costs to pay for renewable energy is even less palatable. Meeting renewable energy goals in the most cost effective manner is critical to the industry’s long-term success. But if the transmission issues highlighted by this research continue to fester, achieving competitive pricing with fossil fuel electricity will be all the more difficult and the goals themselves may fall by the wayside.

The lesson from this report is clear: if renewable energy investors and policy makers are to build a vibrant global renewable energy industry they must first transform the transmission landscape.