This report is the first-ever projection of PV panel waste volumes to 2050. It highlights that recycling or repurposing solar PV panels at the end of their roughly 30-year lifetime can unlock an estimated stock of 78 million tonnes of raw materials and other valuable components globally by 2050.
Increasing economies of scale, more competitive supply chains and further technological improvements will continue reducing the costs of solar and wind power. The same factors will also boost the availability of these key renewable power sources at night and in varying weather conditions.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation is poised to revolutionise the electrical system in countries around the world. From around 2% in 2016, the share of global electricity generated from solar PV to grow to as much as 13% by 2030, according to this report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The solar industry’s expansion is driven primarily by cost reductions, with the report anticipating further cost declines by up to 59% in ten years.
Irrigation improves yields, reduces vulnerability to changing rainfall patterns, and enables multiple cropping practices. This can stimulate socio-economic development in the agriculture sector helping the fight against poverty.
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 report discusses challenges in policy making and proposes a co-ordinated effort to collect data on the installed costs of solar PV in Africa, across all market segments to improve the efficiency of policy support and accelerate deployment.
This report examines ground-breaking innovations that can help to unlock future power supply for unserved areas and communities through the rapid roll-out of mini-grids based on solar, wind or other renewable sources.
The Global Atlas for Renewable Energy (Global Atlas) is a free online resource-assessment tool intended to help policy makers and investors appreciate the extent of the renewable energy resources at their disposal in each country or region.
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.
With many economies facing slow growth prospects, policy makers increasingly see chances for greater income, improved trade balances, industrial development and job creation through renewable energy deployment. However, detailed evidence on these effects remains limited.
Like an increasing number of countries around the world, the Philippines has adopted clear targets for the adoption solar, wind and bioenergy-based power systems, with project development already underway in some cases
Offshore renewable energy – including offshore wind and solar power, as well as emerging ocean energy technologies – could support sustainable long-term development and drive a vibrant blue economy.
Electricity storage will be crucial factor for scaling up solar and wind power. Yet electricity markets may not account for the system value of storage.
IRENA's 10th Assembly booklet charts global advances over the past decade and calls for a new Decade of Action on renewables. Comparative graphs and data illuminate the road ahead.
The Global Atlas for Solar and Wind Energy project aims to create a collaborative internetbased Geographic Information System (GIS) for wind and solar resources that can direct and enhance cooperation on global scenarios and strategies and support decision-making, especially in areas where existing information is insufficient.
In two international workshops in Bonn (June 2010) and Madrid (November 2010) and in meetings during the first CEM in Washington (July 2010) and the second CEM in Abu Dhabi (April 2011) the Multilateral Working Group made substantial progress in the two initial fields of action: (I) the Development of a Global Solar and Wind Atlas; and (II) the Development of a Long-term Strategy on Joint Capacity Building.
This working paper is part of a set of five reports on hydropower, wind, biomass, concentrating solar power and solar pholtovoltaics that address the current costs of these key renewable power technology options.
This working paper is part of a set of five reports on hydropower, wind, biomass, concentrating solar power and solar pholtovoltaics that address the current costs of these key renewable power technology options.
Based on a new, unique dataset from a global survey, this IRENA report presents unprecedented insights on the cost of capital for onshore wind, offshore wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) projects.
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 study presents options to fully unlock the world’s vast solar PV potential over the period until 2050. It builds on IRENA’s global roadmap to scale up renewables and meet climate goals.
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.
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.
This report outlines key off-grid power and biogas data over the decade 2008-2017 in trilingual tables. The sector continues growing rapidly worldwide.
The report, prepared in collaboration with UN Refugee Agency, proposes renewable energy solutions to provide clean and reliable power to refugees and the humanitarian organisations.