Assets like power plants can become “stranded” by unanticipated or premature write-downs, devaluation or conversion to liabilities. This will happen to some degree in the transition to a low-carbon economy. However delaying action to address climate change would result in significantly more severe asset stranding, according to this analysis by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). This raises concerns for investors and companies, as well as policy makers and regulators. 

This technology brief examines the potential of bioethylene for the production of clean bio-ethanol and reduced impact of the chemical industry on the environment.

The Global Atlas for Renewable Energy provides access to a vast range of solar and wind resource maps created using different methodologies, with different spatial coverage and resolutions. Several datasets may overlap a single territory, and users can choose among several data sources. Yet this very versatility can pose a dilemma for the end-user over the main strengths and weaknesses of the available datasets, and which data is the most suitable to use.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is working with the geothermal community (a network of institutes, experts and the private sector) to extend the services of the Global Atlas for Renewable Energy to cover geothermal energy.

Switching to biogas as vehicle fuel can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector between 60% and 80% compared to fossil-based fuels like gasoline and diesel.

This report explores how African countries can achieve universal energy access within the 2030 Agenda timeframe. Also, explores transformational potential of the electricity sector in five Africa countries.

This report assesses current climate pledges in light of the challenge ahead, and explores the transformative opportunity offered by renewable energy that can serve as a vehicle for delivering the needed emission reductions.

Green hydrogen can help to cut emissions in energy-intensive, hard-to decarbonise sectors like steel, chemicals, long-haul transport, shipping and aviation. But electrolyser costs must be cut to make it economical.

Increased use of renewable energy, combined with intensified electrification, could prove decisive for the world to meet key climate goals by 2050.

This IRENA/IEA-ETSAP Technology Brief provides an overview of the main performance and costs of technologies that are used to support renewable energy grid integration, an overview of the shares of variable renewable energy across the world, and existing operational experiences in continental and island systems.

A Renewables Readiness Assessment (RRA) identifies the actions needed to overcome a country’s barriers to renewable energy deployment, with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) providing technical support and expertise to facilitate consultations among different national stakeholders.

This report highlights the range of policy options available to support green hydrogen in the industrial sector and complements these policies with country examples.

This guide is part of a series prepared by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in the field of quality infrastructure (QI) for small-scale renew¬able energy technologies.

Updates to IRENA’s 2017 analysis of the renewable energy components of NDCs

This report is among the first to delve into the topic of job creation in the context of rural access to energy. It presents twelve first-hand case studies which cover a range of activities, including support for the sale, installation and maintenance of small solar systems, small-scale production of improved cooking stoves, investment and training in small hydropower plants,advice to business start-ups and marketing and networking for producers.

Methanol is essential for the chemical industry. Largely produced from fossil fuels, it can be made from sustainable, renewable-based energy sources.

Vanuatu’s primary energy supply is dominated by biomass, used mainly for rural cooking, and imported petroleum products for urban energy and transport.

This brief focuses on technologies for desalination based on the use of renewable energy sources.

Ukraine has made significant progress in planning the future of its energy system and developing a renewable energy policy. By the year 2030, the increased use of renewable energy should reduce Ukraine’s overall energy system costs, notes this report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

This draft strategic framework for capacity building initiatives by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) identifies key requirements and conditions to encourage the adoption and scale-up of renewable energy.

The cost of electricity from renewable energy technologies has fallen steadily, and in some cases dramatically, in recent years.

This collection of country profiles takes stock of the latest developments in renewables at a country level around the Middle East.

This brief focuses on biomass co-firing as a transition option towards a completely carbon-free power sector.

The Global Atlas for Renewable Energy (Global Atlas) aims to close the gap between countries with access to the datasets, expertise and financial support to evaluate their renewable energy potential, and those lacking such elements. As of January 2015, a total of 67 countries and more than 50 institutes and partners were contributing to the initiative, which is coordinated by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Indonesia is the largest country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), accounting for around two fifths of the region’s energy consumption. Energy demand across the country’s more than 17,000 islands could increase by four fifths and electricity demand could triple between 2015 and 2030.