IRENA Renewable Costing Alliance Webinar

The business case for increasing renewable energy investments globally depends on gathering more  and more accurate  data on the costs and performance of different technologies. The IRENA Business Forum hosted three webinars on 28-30 May 2013 to engage the private sector and inform companies about the work of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on costing and how to contribute to such activities. The aggregation of more, and more accurate, data enables IRENA to promote a compelling business case for the accelerated deployment and use of renewable energy globally.

The webinars introduced participants to IRENA’s costing analysis to date, gave an overview of continuing work, and examined the rationale and goals of costing work, methodological issues and boundaries, and data collection challenges. The discussions were intended to give participants a greater understanding ahead of the latest results from the on-going study, Renewable Power Generation Costs, to be released later in the year. The session ended with an exploration of how the IRENA Renewable Costing Alliance aims to add value to the industry and the plans to achieve this.

The webinars, timed for three different regions (Asia and Oceania, Americas and Caribbean, and Europe, Middle East and Africa), included the following components: Insights and the Agency’s Perspective (Frank Wouters, IRENA);  High-level Trends (Dolf Gielen, IRENA); Approach of Industry Partners (Regional Partners);  In-depth Look into IRENA’s Costing Analysis – Past, Present and Future (Michael Taylor, IRENA).

The IRENA Renewable Costing Alliance
Renewable energy is secure, reliable and increasingly affordable, contributes to improved electricity access, promotes development and reduces energy price volatility. However, the lack of accurate, reliable data on the cost and performance of renewable energy technologies is a significant barrier to their uptake. The IRENA Renewable Costing Alliance will bring together companies, industry association, governments and researchers to share, confidentially, their date for real-world renewable energy networks, helping to build further on IRENA’s costing work to date, including the extensive study Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2012. Meeting participants will discuss the goals of the Costing Alliance and provide an opportunity to discuss its proposed structure and workings of the group.