Power systems need to be increasingly flexible to accommodate rising solar and wind shares. This brief examines the uses of demand-side flexibility, outlines solutions to achieve these, and highlights examples in actual power systems.

With the energy systems of many African countries dominated by fossil-fuel sources that are vulnerable to global price volatility, regional and intra-continental power systems with high shares of renewable energy can provide least-cost option to support continued economic growth and address the continent’s acute energy access problem. Unlocking Africa’s huge renewable energy potential could help to take many people out of poverty, while ensuring the uptake of sustainable technologies for the continent’s long-term development.

Colombia engaged with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to assess the flexibility of the electricity mix proposed in their latest national expansion plan which pointed to VRE penetration exceeding IRENA’s Renewable Energy Roadmaps (REmap) estimates.

Este informe de la Agencia Internacional de Energías Renovables (IRENA) describe un método para potencial la flexibilidad del sistema eléctrico desde el punto de vista de la planificación, específicamente para acomodar la mayor participación posible de energía renovable variable (solar y eólica).

This report examines Paraguay’s energy institutions and their governance, long-term energy planning practices, and the socio-economic benefits of promoting renewable and low-carbon technologies in the end-use sectors.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) presents two reports demonstrating its ground-breaking renewable energy resource-assessment tool, concentrating on the region of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS):

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has conducted quantitative assessments of the prospects for renewable energy deployment in Africa’s five regional power pools. This synthesis report summaries the findings of those five regional power studies, adding a consolidated outlook for the continent. The report also explains the energy-modelling approach employed and suggests the way forward for promoting renewable energy in Africa.

East and Southern African countries possess vast potential for renewable energy development. This report assesses the prospects for the power sector in the countries of the ACEC through 2040.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) have examined the potential for renewable power generation based on resource availability all over Africa.

Panama engaged with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to carry out a flexibility analysis for the power system considering a high penetration of Variable Renewable Energy (VRE).

A FlexTool study on Thailand's power system suggests cost-efficient investment options and provides a sensitivity analysis to find ways to reach high shares of renewables.   

This white paper, developed by the IRENA Coalition for Action, explores the role of energy utilities in the energy transition and outlines the achievements and implementation strategies of national, regional and local utilities switching to 100% renewable energy. The paper also includes an updated global mapping of national and sub-national 100% renewable energy targets.

This REmap study, prepared in co-operation with the European Commission,  identifies cost-effective renewable energy options for all EU Member States, spanning a wide range of sectors and technologies.

This report examines various scenarios for accelerated renewable energy uptake, based on a modelling tool developed by IRENA and tested with assistance from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

This report identifies useful regulatory practices for the era of rapidly improving renewable energy technologies. It draws key insights from experiences with integrated resource planning (IRP) in South Africa and the US.

A collaborative campaign, launched at the 9th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) in May 2018 and co-ordinated by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), calls for wider adoption and improved use of model-based LTES. This brochure highlights findings from the first-year of the LTES campaign.

Low-cost renewable energy, especially from solar photovoltaic (PV) installations, has become an increasingly important part of West Africa’s electricity supply. This report outlines three broad scenarios for the growth of renewables in the region’s power systems, particularly in relation to key national and regional targets.

The municipal authorities for Zhangjiakou City, in co-operation with the China National Renewable Energy Centre (CNREC) and IRENA, have adopted an ambitious 30-year roadmap to phase out coal-fired power generation and scale up solar and wind power instead.

This report outlines a planning approach to boost flexibility, specifically to accommodate the largest possible shares of variable renewable (solar and wind) energy sources. 

Scenario modelling has become an essential tool to lay the groundwork for clean, reliable, sustainable future energy systems.

This policy paper, presented by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in collaboration with the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC), investigates indicators used to evaluate renewable energy deployment policies. Focusing on effectiveness, efficiency, equity and institutional feasibility, it analyzes the literature associated with these four key success criteria in depth, with a specific focus on lower income countries.

The report outlines recommendations to help Tunisia achieve its 30% renewables goal while boosting growth and development.

This report builds on input from a regional long-term planning workshop to address the challenges of scaling up solar and wind power in Arab countries.

IRENA’s new spatiotemporal data atlas, AfREP-Hydro, covers all existing and several hundred committed, planned and potential future hydropower plants across Africa.

This report evaluates Thailand’s options for power generation, transport development, thermal and bioenergy use, and identifies the key challenges in scaling up renewables.