Renewables could meet more than one-third of energy demand across Central and South-Eastern Europe cost effectively by 2030 with key decisions taken now.

This white paper, developed by the IRENA Coalition for Action, discusses how companies can increase the share of renewable energy in their heating and cooling operations.

RD&D for Renewable Energy Technologies: Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean finds wide opportunities to coordinate innovation activities and efforts. Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC) co-invention and cooperative research can help bridge gaps in renewable energy technologies (RET) innovation and diminish the region’s energy challenges.

Countries have adopted varied approaches to mini-grid development, aiming to extend energy access to underserved communities. But existing regulations are often inadequate to make the best use of renewables.

This report, a joint study between IRENA and the Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI), provides new perspectives on the interconnection potential in Northeast Asia and valuable insights for policy makers and key stakeholders.

The report examines the specificities of mini-grids connected to solar, biomass, wind and small hydropower, or some combination of these with other energy sources, and discusses the key factors influencing investors in mini-grid projects.

The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) could reap multiple benefits from scaling up renewable energy use, including reducing water withdrawal by 11 trillion litres (or 16%) and saving 400 billion barrels of oil in the power sector, creating 2000, direct jobs and reducing the region’s per capita carbon footprint 8% by 2030.

The report offers a comprehensive review of the status and trends in the region’s renewable energy development. It highlights Latin America’s wealth of knowledge, draws key lessons, and outlines findings to support the continued expansion of renewables for power generation, transport and other end-uses.

High learning rates and rapid cost decreases for new technologies in recent years have combined with effective support policies to accelerate the spread of renewable energy around the world. However, this dynamism in the market creates new challenges for policy makers seeking to promote the long-term transition to renewable sources and technologies.

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.

Liberalised electricity markets require timely adaptation to support higher shares of variable renewable energy and distributed power generation. This study presents the latest knowledge on the adaptation process for such markets, aiming to inform policy makers, regulators and system operators on the options available.

This regional market analysis examines the challenges of economic and population growth, the need to boost energy supply, and growing environmental and energy security concerns.

This brief discusses the ’ecosystem’ necessary for linking electricity services through decentralised renewable energy with people’s livelihoods.

This report provides a comprehensive pathway for the development of a sustainable and cleaner regional energy system.

This report examines misalignments between current structures, supporting policies for renewables, and requirements for the shift to mainly renewable-based power systems.

This outlook highlights climate-safe investment options until 2050, policies for transition and specific regional challenges. It also explores options to eventually cut emissions to zero.

The first edition of REthinking Energy, a flagship series from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), examines challenges and opportunities for accelerated deployment of renewables in the power-generation sector, while reviewing global progress in the transition to a sustainable energy future.