Topic: solar

Power Almanac of the American Midwest

Kevin Lustig — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 14:07:40 -0400

WRI Summary of the Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012, S. 2146

Nicholas Bianco — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 17:18:53 -0500

This summary provides an overview of S. 2146, the Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012 (CESA), introduced by Senator Bingaman and 8 cosponsors on March 1, 2012. The CESA establishes a standard for clean energy generation in the U.S. through 2035.

Download the Complete Summary (PDF, 141 Kb) (includes footnotes and references)
More WRI Bill Summaries

1. What is the Clean Energy Standard Act?

Beginning in 2015, each utility covered under the bill must obtain a certain amount of electricity from “clean” sources. That obligation increases each year, so that in 2035 covered utilities must supply 84% of their total annual sales of electricity from clean sources.
Covered utilities can generate electricity from clean sources to meet the electric demands of their consumers, or they can purchase tradable credits from other clean sources.
Covered utilities that do not generate electricity from clean sources or purchase credits from other clean sources may also comply by paying a fee, known as an alternative compliance payment. That payment starts at 3 cents/kWh in 2015, and annually increases by 5% plus the rate of inflation. Use of revenues collected through this fee is discussed under question 7. (Read more >>>)

ADVISORY: WRI's 9th Annual Stories to Watch

Michael Oko — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:23:18 -0500

The World Resources Institute will host its 9th Annual Stories to Watch event on January 10, 2012, looking ahead to the big environmental and sustainability stories for 2012. The event will feature Manish Bapna, WRI’s Interim President, who will explore key potential media stories and trends facing people, business, and the planet.

Topics will include: What does the U.S. presidential election mean for key environmental issues, including the future of the EPA? What will be the key drivers for renewable energy in 2012? What does China’s upcoming leadership transition mean? How will the expanding global population impact scarce natural resources, including forests? What will happen at the 2012 Earth Summit in Rio?

The event will take place at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

A continental breakfast will be served.

WHAT
World Resources Institute’s 9th Annual Stories to Watch

WHO
Manish Bapna, WRI’s interim president, has been with the organization for five years, previously serving as its managing director. Bapna is an internationally recognized expert on environmental and sustainability issues, with a background in international development, rural poverty, and natural resources.

He is a frequently published author, with recent pieces in the Washington Post, McClatchy-Tribune News, Bangkok Post and Huffington Post.

WHERE
National Press Club
The Holeman Lounge
529 14th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20045

DIAL-IN INFORMATION
U.S. (Toll-Free): (888) 606-9536
Int’l (Toll): + (212) 547-0412
Passcode: WRI

WHEN
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
9:00 – 10:30 a.m. ET

RSVP required to press@wri.org

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.

Download PDF (PDF, 920 Kb) (includes additional references)
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.

Download Fact Sheet (PDF, 920 Kb)

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. ↩

Is the Fit Right? Considering Technological Maturity in Designing Renewable Energy Policy

Kevin Lustig — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:20:52 -0400

Recent studies suggest that the United States can greatly expand its deployment of renewable energy resources beyond current levels. This would reduce emissions of harmful pollutants and enhance energy security by diversifying the nation’s domestic energy supply. This brief describes a number of policy tools that can be employed to drive investment in renewable energy technologies and discusses which policy options may be the best fit based on the commercial maturity of a targeted technology. We examine several policy tools to describe where they have been most effective to advance technology progress along the innovation chain. The findings and recommendations presented are based on a study of the literature on technology innovation and policy best practices, as well as on discussions with experts in the field, policymakers, and private sector companies involved in renewable energy projects.

Key findings:

Grants can be used to fund technologies in their earliest stages—research and development (R&D) and early-stage demonstration. The R&D stage involves significant uncertainty as to whether the concept will ever lead to a viable technology application. Grants help overcome this risk because they provide an important cost share for investment to research and develop the technology further. Technologies in the demonstration stage typically have difficulty accessing commercial investment due to uncertainty on technical performance and the inability to provide performance warranties. It is unclear whether they will eventually be financially profitable, particularly in the near-term. Demonstration grants allow commercial investors time to pilot and evaluate a new technology with appropriate due diligence. This can reduce risk perception and facilitate further investment.
Loan guarantee programs are well suited for technologies in the commercialization and early deployment stages. In these stages, project performance remains uncertain, making it difficult to attract investors. Loan guarantees help attract private investors by sharing the risk of technical failure with a financially secure and credible entity (namely, a government agency).
Tax credits and feed-in tariffs (FITs) can help advance technologies in the later stages of innovation, namely commercialization and early deployment. These policies allow projects to earn more profit for electricity produced so that they earn the revenues needed to offset higher upfront investment costs.
Renewable electricity standards (RES) are most effective for more mature technologies that are in early deployment. An RES creates demand for renewable electricity and allows the market to determine how to most efficiently supply it; thus the market sets the premium paid to renewable resources. RES mandates can allow for open competition among a range of different technologies, or can be tailored with a carve-out to promote specific technologies that are not yet cost competitive with other renewables. The carve-out option can be a good fit for technologies that are still in the commercialization phase.
A favorable regulatory environment is important to ensure that renewable energy technologies do not face inherent disadvantages due to interconnection standards, utility pricing structures, and other legal hurdles. Failing to address regulatory barriers to renewables can increase their cost of deployment and reduce the effectiveness of incentive programs.

PRESS RELEASE: San Francisco Launches Solar@Work

Lauren Zelin — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:17:43 -0400

San Francisco Launches Solar@Work: Innovative Model Creates Breakthrough in Solar Affordability for Small Businesses

More than 2 Megawatts of new solar installations expected, making solar power accessible to businesses in the Bay Area without local rebates

Registration open July 13, 2011 through October 14, 2011 - http://www.wri.org/solar-at-work

The City of San Francisco launched Solar@Work, a new program that offers solar energy systems to businesses in the Bay Area through an innovative group purchase model. The new program makes it possible, for the first time, for small- and mid-sized businesses and commercial property owners to pay less for solar power than they pay for electricity from the grid, without local rebates. This can allow some business owners to save hundreds of thousands of dollars over the lifetimes of these solar power systems. As the first major commercial group purchase of solar power in the United States, Solar@Work will bring together interested participants to buy more than 2 Megawatts (MW) of solar power over the next 6 months.

The Solar@Work model was developed by the City and County of San Francisco’s Department of the Environment (SF Environment), in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Optony. SF Environment found that the main barriers keeping San Francisco businesses and commercial property owners from purchasing solar energy were upfront costs and lack of access to affordable financing. With American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar America Cities program and support from U.S. DOE SunShot Initiative, SF Environment proposed the Solar@Work “aggregation” approach, which combines multiple participants into one solar purchasing group, along with a standardized solar equipment lease. To help make this a reality, the program’s stakeholder group, led by the World Resources Institute (WRI), negotiated with solar vendors who could address the unique needs of businesses and property owners in San Francisco, and selected winning vendor, SolarCity.

“The city has the ambitious goal of meeting its electricity needs with 100 percent renewable energy, so we need to do everything we can to make sure our local and regional building owners have the ability to install renewables with minimal up-front investments,” said Melanie Nutter, Director of San Francisco’s Department of the Environment. “Solar@Work represents a major evolution in the available funding options and will result in a cleaner, healthier environment while creating new jobs across the Bay Area.”

“Programs like Solar@Work will boost our economic competitiveness, create American jobs, and help reach the President’s goal of doubling our clean energy in the next 25 years,” said Ramamoorthy Ramesh, Program Manager, U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative. “The SunShot Initiative will help spur American innovations to reduce the costs of solar energy and make solar an attractive energy solution for commercial buyers nationally.”

SolarCity, a national solar integrator with more than 15,000 projects completed or underway, is headquartered in the Bay Area, and is an approved installer with the San Francisco GoSolarSF program. SolarCity expects to hire more than 400 new workers in the second half of 2011, including 100 in the Bay Area. “We believe Solar@Work will provide the most affordable solar options available to small and medium-sized businesses in San Francisco,” said Erik Fogelberg, SolarCity’s director of commercial projects. “SolarCity is honored to have been selected for this important project.”

WRI, with technical assistance from NREL and Optony, used its Collaborative Solar Procurement model to create a suite of highly competitive financing options with SolarCity, including an operating lease that can eliminate the upfront cost of going solar. Solar@Work is expected to create more than 2 MW of solar power capacity through installations in San Francisco and the surrounding areas. As a group discount model, the more businesses that sign up, the lower the prices will be for the entire buying group. All participants will receive a significant pre-negotiated discount, and the largest reductions will be available if the group purchases more than 3 MW by the end of 2011.

“Solar@Work is a major milestone in bringing down the cost of solar power for previously underserved small- and mid-sized businesses by leveraging companies’ combined buying power,” said Alex Perera, Director, Business Engagement in Climate and Technology, World Resources Institute. “WRI has piloted collaborative group solar purchasing and found that this model can significantly lower costs and minimize time spent navigating the complex process, which is why it was an ideal solution for San Francisco.”

Several options for installing solar power are available to businesses and commercial property owners through Solar@Work: cash purchase, solar lease, capital loan, as well as others. Participants may not be eligible for all options, however the program will help match the buyers with appropriate financing.

“This program was rigorously designed and implemented to create a market-leading solution that has support from the solar industry, government and most importantly the potential buyers of solar systems. We look forward to increased adoption of solar power through this innovative model around the USA,” said Ben Foster, Vice-President, Optony.

The Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative is targeted at one of today’s major challenges: making clean solar energy cost-competitive without subsidies in all market sectors. Solar@Work supports the SunShot goals as a scalable model for replication nationwide.

For more information visit http://www.wri.org/solar-at-work or email renewables@sfgov.org.

About City and County of San Francisco, Department of the Environment
SF Environment creates visionary policies and innovative programs that promote social equity, protect human health, and lead the way toward a sustainable future. We put our mission into action by mobilizing communities and providing the resources needed to safeguard our homes, our city, and ultimately our planet. www.sfenvironment.org

About SolarCity
SolarCity®—a national leader in solar power design, financing, installation, monitoring and energy efficiency services—was founded with the mission to help millions of homeowners and businesses adopt clean power, protect themselves from rising gas and electricity costs and protect their environment from polluting power sources. SolarCity’s 24 operations centers serve Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai’i, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington, D.C. Additional information about the company is available on the Web at www.solarcity.com.

About WRI
WRI is a global environmental think tank that goes beyond research to put ideas into action. WRI works with governments, companies, and civil society to build solutions to urgent environmental challenges. www.wri.org

“DISCLAIMER: The City of San Francisco Department of the Environment’s Solar@Work program is not in any way connected to the American Solar Energy Society’s e-bulletin of the same name, Solar@Work. For more information on ASES visit http://www.ases.org.”

MEDIA ADVISORY: City of San Francisco Launches Solar@Work Program for Local Businesses

Lauren Zelin — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:35:30 -0400

Announcing the first major group purchase of solar power for commercial buyers

San Francisco’s Department of the Environment (SF Environment), in cooperation with the World Resources Institute (WRI), invites you to the launch of “Solar@Work,” an exciting new program to bring solar power to companies across the Bay Area.

The initiative is an innovative group purchasing program for solar energy that will dramatically reduce the cost of installing solar power. Solar@Work will allow commercial businesses and property owners in the Bay Area to purchase solar installations at a reduced cost that will be available for 2011 deployment.

As the first project of its kind in the U.S., Solar@Work will serve as a model for cities and businesses across the country to invest in clean energy. For more information: wri.org/solar-at-work

When:
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
10:15 a.m.

Where:
Intersolar North America 2011 Conference
Moscone West Convention Center – Innovation Exchange
747 Howard Street, 2nd Level
San Francisco, CA 94103

Who:
* Ms. Melanie Nutter, Director, City and County of San Francisco, Department of the Environment
* Mr. Jonathan Bass, Director of Communications, SolarCity
* Mr. Benjamin Foster, Vice President, Optony Inc.
* Mr. Rafael Reyes, Executive Director, Bay Area Climate Collaborative

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

Technology Transfer

Kevin Lustig — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:02:40 -0400

Technology transfer refers to the manner in which technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and aid climate adaptation efforts are developed and shared across borders. Developing countries will need more than financial investment to address climate change; they will need new technology for reducing emissions, such as wind and solar power, and adaptation. Technology transfer also requires collaboration and the sharing of knowledge and skills to ensure that emerging economies have the capacity to follow best practices and use the technology to greatest effect.

Technology transfer is key to reaching a global agreement on efforts to fight climate change because it will facilitate emissions reductions and adapting to a changing climate. WRI works with decision makers in both developed and developing countries to ensure that the benefits of innovative clean technology are available around the globe.

Renewable Energy & Efficiency

Kevin Lustig — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:43:14 -0400

Open Climate Network

The Open Climate Network (OCN) is an independent, international partnership that tracks and reports on the progress of key countries on climate change. OCN partners will be tracking clean technology policies, investment, jobs, and more in countries around the globe.

Read more

A variety of technologies, including wind power and solar power, exist today to provide low-cost, low-carbon power to nations and communities of all sizes, and a variety of policies and incentives can make renewable energy both effective and economical everywhere. WRI works to help stakeholders navigate the technical, financial, and policy issues surrounding renewable energy and energy efficiency, and promote those actions that make clean power available to everyone.

Wind and Solar Power

Clean electricity produced by the power of the wind and the sun is key to efforts to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change. WRI provides resources to help key groups identify the right mix of policies, strategies, and incentives to maximize the benefits of these technologies. Read more

» See all WRI resources on wind power | solar power

Renewable Energy in Developing Countries

The majority of new electrical capacity around the world in the coming decades will be built in developing countries–the same countries that are at greatest risk from the impacts of climate change. WRI works with partners around the world to identify the right mechanisms for growing renewable energies in developing countries. Read more

» See all WRI resources on renewable energy in developing countries

Energy Efficiency Financing in China

The China Energy Efficiency Financing project seeks to help remove one of the principal barriers to implementing energy efficiency projects in the industrial sector in China – lack of access to financing sources under reasonable terms. Read more

PRESS RELEASE: New Paper Lays Out Smart Policies for Renewable Energy Growth

Lauren Zelin — Tue, 24 May 2011 14:15:18 -0400

Offers six principles of smart energy policy for developing countries

A recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said that 77 percent of the world’s energy could come from renewable sources by 2050, as long as governments adopt the right policies. A new working paper, Grounding Green Power, outlines the key components of smart renewable energy policy in developing countries, focusing on the electrical power sector. The paper, from the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), in cooperation with the Heinrich Böll Foundation, suggests priorities for international donors looking to make the most efficient investments in clean energy.

“Helping to build a wind farm is a good thing, but when donors support policies that bring down the cost of renewables, they lay the groundwork for many more wind farms and exponentially more renewable energy projects,” said Lutz Weischer, lead author of the paper and Research Analyst at WRI. “Smart renewable energy policies can drive private investment and create the right environment necessary for long-term growth.”

Grounding Green Power identifies the key components of smart energy policies and draws conclusions from on-the-ground experiences in 12 developing countries. The recommendations were based on a workshop with representatives from Brazil, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Tanzania and Thailand.

Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff, GMF Senior Director for Policy Programs said, “No two countries are the same, but by convening actors from so many developing countries we have been able to discern best practices that apply across countries. This paper should help the international community as it seeks simultaneously to achieve the goals of development cooperation and reduce the risk of climate change.”

The working paper outlines six principles of smart renewable energy policy that are necessary to achieve transformative deployment at scale, based on the 12 international case studies. According to the authors, a smart renewable energy policy should be:

Comprehensive – strives to create an enabling environment including power sector regulations, investment and financing conditions, suitable electric grid infrastructure, and technical capacity.
Based on clearly defined objectives – includes technology deployment, energy access and economic development goals, in addition to added power generation.
Welcoming to private investment – leverages private investment by promoting attractive and predictable market conditions.
Cost-effective – calls for careful policy decisions that avoid over subsidization of renewables, while removing incentives for fossil fuels.
Supportive of innovation – improves performance, reliability, safety and cost of renewable technologies, to take innovation beyond the lab.
Transparent, accountable and participatory – takes into account the principles of good electricity sector governance, including transparency, accountability, and stakeholder participation.

The paper is intended for audiences including bilateral and multilateral development agencies (the World Bank, bilateral financial institutions, and export-credit agencies); existing multilateral climate funds (Global Environmental Facility and Clean Technology Fund); as well as the new Green Climate Fund; and other international organizations like the International Renewable Energy Agency.

The full working paper is available here.

“Grounding Green Power; Bottom-up perspectives on smart renewable energy policy” was co-authored by Lutz Weischer, Davida Wood, Athena Ballesteros, Xing Fu-Bertaux, of the World Resources Institute and published by the German Marshall Fund of the United States in cooperation with the Heinrich Boell Foundation and WRI.

# #

The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a global environmental think tank that goes beyond research to put ideas into action. We work with governments, companies, and civil society to build solutions to urgent environmental challenges. (www.wri.org)

The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a non-partisan American public policy and grantmaking institution dedicated to promoting better understanding and cooperation between North America and Europe on transatlantic and global issues. GMF does this by supporting individuals and institutions working in the transatlantic sphere, by convening leaders and members of the policy and business communities, by contributing research and analysis on transatlantic topics, and by providing exchange opportunities to foster renewed commitment to the transatlantic relationship. In addition, GMF supports a number of initiatives to strengthen democracies. Founded in 1972 through a gift from Germany as a permanent memorial to Marshall Plan assistance, GMF maintains a strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition to its headquarters in Washington, DC, GMF has six offices in Europe: Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, Ankara, and Bucharest. GMF also has smaller representations in Bratislava, Turin, and Stockholm. (www.gmfus.org/)

The Heinrich Böll Foundation is affiliated with the German Green Party. As part of the Green political movement it has developed worldwide as a response to the traditional politics of socialism, liberalism, and conservatism. The main tenets are ecology and sustainability, democracy and human rights, self-determination and justice. HBF places particular emphasis on gender democracy, meaning social emancipation and equal rights for women and men. As a green think tank and an international policy network, the Heinrich Böll Foundation is active in ecology, democracy and human rights worldwide with 30 offices across the globe. (www.boell.de/service/home.html)

Grounding Green Power: Bottom-Up Perspectives on Smart Renewable Energy Policy in Developing Countries

Maggie Barron — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:51:13 -0400

Watch the summary interview with Lead Author Lutz Weischer

This paper was published by the German Marshall Fund of the United States in cooperation with the Heinrich Boell Foundation and the World Resources Institute.

Developing Countries in the Renewable Energy Transformation

In order to meet the intensifying climate challenge, the global energy system must undergo a fundamental transformation, with a rapid increase of renewable energy worldwide. Developing countries are at the forefront of this challenge, since they are expected to add around 80 percent of all new electric generation capacity worldwide in the next two decades.

The deployment of energy from renewable sources is accelerating in developing countries, and already accounts for a higher percentage of electricity generation than in the developed world. In 2008, non-OECD nations generated 21 percent of their electricity from renewable sources including large-scale hydroelectric power (compared with 17 percent in OECD countries), according to International Energy Agency (IEA) statistics. However, this figure must more than double by 2035, to 46 percent, in order to meet the IEA’s “450 scenario,” which outlines a climate friendly pathway for meeting global energy demands.

Transforming the energy system on this scale will require significantly increased support from developed countries, channeled through both bilateral assistance and multilateral institutions, as well as philanthropic initiatives. Our conclusions, derived from a series of case studies and a comprehensive review of existing literature, suggest that donors should deploy financial support more effectively by moving beyond a project-by-project approach to one that creates the right environment for investments in scaled-up, nationwide deployment.

This working paper seeks to assist in this process, by identifying key components of smart renewable energy policy in developing countries, focusing on the power sector. It also provides recommendations for maximizing the effectiveness of international support for deployment of renewable energies, drawn from these on-the-ground experiences in developing countries.

About this Working Paper

Chapter 1 introduces the approach and methodology taken in this paper and describes the key concepts we address. The second chapter discusses what developing countries are already doing to deploy renewable energy sources, and how they can be supported in scaling up such efforts. It also introduces a set of principles of smart renewable energy policy to propel such a transformation, developed by the World Resources Institute. These are based on insights drawn from case studies of existing renewable energy policies in 12 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America as well as from existing literature.

The following five chapters each examine one key element of smart renewable energy policy, discuss lessons learned, and identify needs for international support. These cover planning and strategy (Chapter 3), well-designed generation-based incentives (Chapter 4), an enabling policy and regulatory framework (Chapter 5), attractive financing conditions (Chapter 6), and the necessary technical environment (Chapter 7). Our findings and recommendations are summarized in Chapter 8.

Principles of Smart Renewable Energy Policy

We define smart renewable energy policy as the set of rules, regulations, and government actions that lead to an increased share of renewables in total electricity consumption in line with a country’s development objectives. Smart renewable energy policy encourages private investment, achieves its objectives in a cost-effective way, promotes continuous innovation, and is designed through transparent, accountable, and participatory processes.

Presentation

Download Slides (PDF, 839 Kb)

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. ↩

PRESS RELEASE: New Group Purchasing Model Slashes Cost of Solar Power

Lauren Zelin — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 20:05:54 -0400

12-step guide makes solar power accessible to small businesses and local governments

Editor’s note: Experts will be attending DOE’s Solar America Cities Annual Meeting, April 26-28, and are available to comment on the report and related issues.

As the solar market in the United States surpasses $6 billion, a new report demonstrates how governments and businesses can save money by joining together to buy solar power. The report, “Purchasing Power: Best Practices Guide for Collaborative Solar Procurement” was issued by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network (Joint Venture) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar America Cities Annual Meeting. Collaborative solar purchasing allows governments, businesses or universities in the same region to collectively negotiate solar power contracts.

The “Purchasing Power” guide presents an innovative approach to solar power purchasing that can yield 10 to 15 percent lower costs and save 75 percent of administrative time and fees, while helping participants negotiate better contract terms to save money in the long run.

“This is the ‘Groupon’ model of solar purchasing,” said Jenna Goodward, Associate, WRI, and co-author of the report. “It provides the tools small businesses and local governments need to save time and money by flexing their collective purchasing power. Our goal is to make it easier to buy solar power, help interested groups save money, and promote greater adoption of renewable energy nationwide.”

The 2011 Solar America Cities Annual Meeting, April 26-28, 2011, will focus on two themes: reducing key barriers to solar market penetration and removing administrative costs and hurdles. The “Purchasing Power” guide provides a straightforward solution to these challenges. A 12-step strategy walks public and private sector users through the process from recruiting regional participants to procurement, to negotiating deals, and finally to celebrating success.

“It is crucial to break down barriers that keep small businesses and local governments from gaining access to renewable energy,” said Rachel Massaro, Associate Director of Climate Initiatives for Joint Venture and co-author of the report. “The new ‘Purchasing Power’ guide offers an easy-to-follow, 12-step process that can lead to much broader market penetration for solar power.”

WRI and Joint Venture developed the guide after piloting the first collaborative solar procurement projects in California. In Santa Clara County, the Silicon Valley Collaborative Renewable Energy Procurement Project represented nine local government agencies and 70 solar installations across more than 40 locations, totaling more than 14 MW of power at peak capacity.

“As we learned through our experience in Santa Clara, this approach is practical and achievable,” said Lin Ortega, Utilities Engineer and Program Manager for Santa Clara County. “We believe the best practices will be very helpful to other organizations looking to invest in solar power or other renewable technologies across the country.”

The “Purchasing Power” model is increasingly gaining popularity as several groups in California and Washington, D.C. begin collaborating toward group solar purchases.

The full report is available here; and a summary of the 12-step process is available here.

“Purchasing Power: Best Practice Guide to Collaborative Solar Procurement” was authored by Jenna Goodward, Rachel Massaro, Benjamin Foster, and Caroline Judy.

Purchasing Power: Best Practices Guide to Collaborative Solar Procurement

Maggie Barron — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 13:30:59 -0400

Executive Summary

Background

Solar photovoltaics (PV) is a commercially proven technology and, in markets with incentives, can compete with traditional fossil fuel-based power. Wider adoption and decreases in manufacturing costs are driving down the cost of solar electricity. As the industry grows and matures, it will optimize and standardize its practices to further reduce costs and make solar energy accessible to a mainstream market. The crucial role of policy in accelerating this industry growth and maturation cannot be understated. Today, however, several barriers remain to bringing solar PV to scale:

Transaction costs can be high. Because the industry is fragmented and installation processes are not standardized around the country, each developer has different procedures and negotiated contracts. Allocating internal staff resources to research solar power and to negotiate fair contracts for each potential site can be expensive.
Learning takes time and effort. Potential buyers have to learn on their own about the solar market, financing, and technology, while building internal consensus for moving forward.
Demand is fragmented with many individual sites being developed opportunistically. The current patchwork approach of designing, permitting, contracting, and installing systems for one facility at a time is inefficient.

These barriers help explain the slow pace of solar PV adoption among commercial and government consumers. However, collaborative purchasing can help overcome these barriers and scale up solar PV deployment. By organizing interested consumers (and their potential installation sites) into groups, collaborative purchasing can reduce transaction costs, educate potential buyers, and aggregate demand so that solar panels can be installed at lower-than-average costs.

Purpose

This Best Practices Guide is intended to assist commercial and government entities in the process of organizing and executing a collaborative solar purchase. A measure of success will be the number of readers who use this guide in purchasing solar power to meet their electricity needs more sustainably and at an affordable price. The guide outlines a list of best practices, which together constitute a 12-step process to capture the economic and practical benefits of a joint purchase. The starting point for participating in such an effort is simply an interest in purchasing solar electricity. The best practices are intended as a resource for project planning and decision making. They provide specific actions in chronological order, with milestones to indicate when to move from one step to the next. The end goal is that regional groups of participants will have solar PV installed on their facilities at competitive prices.

Experts in the solar energy field, including those specializing in regional collaboration, helped to develop the best practices presented here. They are based on extensive research and real-world experiences, and are supported by case studies (one a private sector collaborative and one with public-sector participants). These two cases were unique models of regional collaboration, among the first in the country at this scale. Like all new approaches to a problem, both efforts encountered challenges along the way. Throughout the guide, we illustrate the lessons learned from these challenges, point out pitfalls to avoid, and highlight ways to streamline the process. We also provide resources, such as solicitation and procurement documents, participant questionnaires, and evaluation criteria.

By promoting the use of this guide and sample documents, we hope to encourage the use of these models for regional collaborative efforts. Successful collaboration can lead to lower costs, increased competition and vendor performance, and better projects with higher visibility.

Twelve Steps for Collaborative Solar Purchasing

1 Early regional recruiting

RESULTS: Initial participants indicate interest and agree to proceed with site identification and assessment in next stage.

2 Initial participant questionnaire

RESULTS: List of potential participating organizations with site opportunities and considerations documented.

3 Solar project workshop

RESULTS: All participants share common understanding about the basics of collaborative purchasing, key metrics to evaluate, timeline, and expectations of them. Lead organization has been identified.

4 Consolidated analysis of sites

RESULTS: Compelling technical overview of total purchase size and individual bundles. This initiative overview is consolidated into packet including talking points explaining expected benefits for participants and lead organization.

5 Internal decision maker consultation

RESULTS: Buy-in to proceed in procurement process to drafting RFP is obtained from decision makers in each participant/lead organization.

6 Design of procurement process & documents

RESULTS: All participants agree to procurement process, template contracts, and standard terms with understanding of risks and opportunities.

7 Request for proposals

RESULTS: RFP issued with compelling bids received from potential vendors.

8 Proposal evaluation

RESULTS: Winning bidder is selected for each bundle through competitive process that ensures best-value vendor selection.

9 Negotiations and award

RESULTS: Negotiations are complete with successful award and signed contracts with a qualified vendor for each bundle, within agreed timeline.

10 Installation project management

RESULTS: Solar PV systems are properly built to meet or exceed specifications and safety standards.

11 Commissioning and operations

RESULTS: Successful solar installations demonstrate energy production and savings as planned for 25 years or more.

12 Celebration of success

RESULTS: Participants’ internal and external stakeholders, regional community, and government are aware of the positive impact of this effort and support future projects.