REthinking Energy: Towards a new power system

The first edition of REthinking Energy, the flagship series from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), analyses the transformation of the global power sector while reviewing progress in the transition to a sustainable energy future. An alignment of economic forces, global population growth, the threat of climate change and rapid technological advances has set in motion a transformation of the global energy system. A new system based on renewables would enhance energy access and security, create jobs and safeguard health and the environment, IRENA’s report argues.

• Renewable energy has moved from the margins to the majority in both investment and new capacity additions.
• It now represents a major portion of the global power supply – and is growing at unprecedented scale.
• Financing renewables is becoming cheaper and easier.

Now, however, we need to rethink the mechanisms that first brought renewables into the mainstream. REthinking Energy: Towards a new power system suggests new approaches to:

• electricity-systems planning and market design;
• policy frameworks and funding;
• training and education in the fast-growing sector.

All these are needed to take the energy transformation to the next level.

Executive Summary

Excutive summaries are also available in Arabic (عربي), German (Deutsch), Japanese (中文), English, Spanish (español), French (français), Chinese (日本語) and Russian (Русский).

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Presentation, September 2014

Read the latest REthinking Energy: Renewable Energy and Climate Change (2015)