Online workshop on disruptive innovative solutions enabling 100% renewable power systems by mid-century

The workshop on ‘Disruptive innovative solutions enabling 100% renewable power systems by mid-century’, held online, was the fourth and last activity performed under the ‘Experience-sharing programme on innovative solutions for very high shares of renewable power by mid-century’ taking place throughout 2019. The workshop was informed by insights gained during the previous workshops. Past activities focused on:

• Mapping common challenges in achieving 100% renewable-powered systems by mid-century (Online workshop of 6 June 2019);
• Investigating the strengths of countries to fully harness opportunities arising from the renewable energy transformation (In-Person workshop of 17 July 2019, Montevideo, Uruguay);
• Sharing and discussing countries’ experiences in applying innovative solutions and pilot projects in a national or regional context to achieve renewable-powered futures (Online workshop of 10 October 2019 ).

The objective of this online workshop was to connect representatives from countries that are exploring the most disruptive innovations enabling the rapid uptake of a high share of (variable) renewables in power systems by mid-century. During this workshop, country representatives were given the opportunity to discuss the most disruptive innovations to achieve renewable-powered futures, with a focus on technologies for direct and in-direct electrification of end-use sectors, as well as sector-coupling. The workshop further invited participants to consider various dimensions of innovations, including ‘social innovation’ and ‘regulatory sandboxes’, to achieve successful and inclusive renewable energy transitions. Insights gained will greatly assist IRENA’s members in driving their energy-system transformations towards very-high or 100% renewable power systems in the coming decades. Gathering such information is also valuable for IRENA when designing tools and activities to help deliver IRENA members' renewable power objectives.

This online workshop targeted mid-level officials, as well as experts who have a role in advising officials from countries that have similar policy ambitions in terms of decarbonising the power system in the next two or three decades. Representatives from the following countries, which have accepted to participate in previous activities, were invited to attend this workshop, as these countries have policy targets to achieve between 80%-100% renewable power by 2030, 2040 or 2050, in addition to frontrunners in the operation of power systems with very high shares of renewable power (98%-100%).

Output

The slides used during the online workshop can be accessed here.
The minutes of the online workshop can be accessed here.