Renewable energy overview

Renewables industry overview

In Angola, hydropower leads in installed capacity, followed by thermal energy, and biomass. Angola has a national strategy for new renewable energies, which was published in the Atlas and National Strategy for New Renewable Energies, which sets out the principles and objectives for the promotion and use of new renewable energy sources in Angola:

• Improve access to energy in rural areas, based on renewable energies;
• Develop the use of renewable energy linked to the grid; and
• Promote and accelerate public and private investment in renewable energy. 

The global reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels in the medium and long term will result in a reduction in the price of crude oil in international markets, which could make research and production in Angola's oil fields, which are mostly in deep water, unfeasible, with high economic and environmental costs.  

Hydro power

Hydro power has high reliability and allows local supply for irrigation. However, it can require population displacement, cause changes in ecosystems with a negative impact on biodiversity, and has high installation and deactivation costs.

Currently, Angola has installed around 2.4 GW of hydro power (Ministry of Energy and Water – Draft Preparation of the Master Plan for the Development of the Electric Sector in the Republic of Angola – Final Report). Angola's hydroelectric potential is estimated to be 18 GW (Atlas and National Strategy for New Renewable Energies).

Wind

In Angola, the wind resources in the southwest of the country and on the Atlantic escarpment present favorable conditions for the installation of more than 3.9 GW of wind power generation (Atlas and National Strategy for New Renewable Energies).

Solar

In Angola, solar radiation is high and constant throughout the country, having identified 17.3 GW of energy generation potential. (Atlas and National Strategy for New Renewable Energies). A Presidential Decree was recently authorized for an investment for the installation of solar panels in Bailundo, Benguela, Biópio, Cuito, Lucapa, Luena and Saurimo.

Geothermal

Angola does not show recent volcanism in geological terms, there are a few medium temperature geothermal manifestations in the provinces of Huambo (Alto Hama) and Kwanza Sul (Conda), which could have some geothermal potential. 

Summary of the renewables industry in Australia

• Despite the impacts of COVID-19 continuing to have an effect on the supply chain across the globe, coupled with increased shipping costs and key commodities, the renewable energy industry in Australia remained robust in 2021.
• According to the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, 24% of Australia's total electricity generation was from renewable energy in 2020 – representing an increase of 3% since 2019
• According to the Green Energy Council 32.5% of 24% of Australia's total electricity generation was from renewable energy  in 2021
• A contributing factor to this significant increase was due to the additional 3 GW of new capacity generated by the small-scale solar sector and 2 GW of new capacity generated by the large-scale sector in 2020.
• Tasmania became the first Australian state to generate 100% of its electricity from renewable energy sources and recently passed legislation to lock in a renewable energy target of 200% by 2040.
• The potential commercialization of hydrogen began to emerge in 2020 as the Federal Government and State and Territory Governments pledged to invest in renewable hydrogen, including various pilot projects and new initiatives to determine the feasibility of developing hydrogen and ammonia produced from zero-emission electrolysis.  

Solar energy

• Solar energy generation has increased dramatically in Australia over the last decade and is now the fastest growing renewable energy generated in Australia, with a significant majority of large-scale solar projects being developed in Queensland.
• In 2020, the rooftop solar industry experienced record high volumes of solar panels installed, contributing to 23.5% of the total clean energy generated in Australia in 2020 and 10% of Australia’s electricity in 2020-21.
• In particular:
  • 3 GgW of new capacity was generated in 2020, an increase of 0.8 GW since 2019 for small scale systems.
  • 117 MW of new capacity was generated in 2020 for medium scale systems.
  • 893 MW of new capacity was generated in 2020 across 22 large scale systems, thereby bringing the sector’s total capacity to 3.9 GW. Additionally, Australia’s major retailers including Woolworths, Bunnings and Aldi transitioned into the renewable market in 2020 and have committed to use 100% renewable power, accounting for 1,146 MW of deals signed in 2020.
• Some of the recent solar energy projects commissioned during 2020 include:
  • the second stage of the Bungala Solar Farm in South Australia with a generation capacity of 220 MW (when combined with stages 1 and 2 of the project).
  • 105 MW Nevertire Solar Farm in New South Wales.
  • 100 MW Bomen Solar Farm in New South Wales.
  • 100 MW Merredin Solar Farm in Western Australia.
  • 100 MW Yarranlea Solar Farm in Queensland.
• And in 2022
  • 150 MW Suntop Solar Farm in NSW
  • 85 MW Hillston Sun Farm in NSW 

Hydro power

• Hydro power electricity generation is the third leading renewable energy source in Australia and accounted for 23.3% of total clean energy generated and 6.4% of Australia’s overall electricity in 2020.
• Australia's hydro power generation capacity is at an all-time high as it currently generates 14,638 GWh of power – an increase of 573 GWh since 2020.
• A number of major hydro projects are currently being developed in Australia, the most significant of these projects being:
  • the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Scheme in New South Wales which reached a number of significant development milestones in 2020.
  • Tasmania’s Battery of the Nation project which continued to make progress in 2020.
  • Marinus Link, a critical component of the Battery of the Nation project, which reached final investment decision stage after the Federal Government invested a further USD94 million into the project. 

Wind energy

• According to the Clean Energy Council, wind power is currently the cheapest source of large-scale renewable energy in Australia.
• In 2020, the wind sector accounted for approximately 35.9% of Australia’s total renewable energy generation, demonstrating a 1.4% rise in total wind generation since 2019. Much of this increase was due to ten new wind farms being commissioned across Australia in 2020 which generated a total of 1097 MW in wind capacity.
• The largest project commissioned in 2020 was stage 1 of the Murra Warra Wind Farm in western Victoria which generated 226 MW of power, as well as the 184 MW Warradarge Wind Farm in Western Australia and the 144 MW Cattle Hill Wind Farm in Tasmania.
• The land use planning regime applying to wind energy varies greatly between State Governments. In recent years some State Governments have introduced new planning regulations which restrict where new wind farms may be built. A range of reasons have been cited for these amendments including concerns in some sectors of the community about the mental and physical effects of low frequency noise produced by wind turbines (“wind turbine syndrome”). For example, planning regulations in Victoria give residents who live within 2 km of a proposed wind turbine the power of veto over that project. These regulatory amendments have created an additional barrier to wind farm approvals in many areas. 

Geothermal energy

• The geothermal sector in Australia is still in the infancy stages of development, contributing to approximately 0.001% of Australia’s total clean energy generation.
• In 2018, Alinta Energy announced plans to commercialize geothermal heating and cooling after successfully installing geothermal heating and cooling throughout a major housing development in Blacktown, New South Wales.
• MGA Thermal Energy Storage Project – started 2022 – project cost $2.84m - The MGA Thermal Energy Storage Project will design, manufacture and operate a 0.5 MWth / 5 MWhth demonstration-scale thermal energy storage (TES) system using MGA Thermal’s proprietary Miscibility Gap Alloy (MGA) technology. 

Biomass and biogas energy

• Australia produces about 20 million tons of organic waste per year from domestic and industrial sources.
• According to the Clean Energy Counsel’s Clean Energy Australia Report 2022, bioenergy contributed approximately 1.4% of the total renewable energy generation in 2021. Some proponents suggest that in the future biogas could be more important than solar energy and as important as wind energy. These predictions have led the Australian Government to develop a roadmap to identify whether bioenergy is a viable option in generating clean energy and also inform of any investment and policy decisions in the bioenergy sector in Australia, which can be accessed here.
• Some of the notable bioenergy projects announced in 2019, all of which are (partially) funded by The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) include:
  • Logan City Biosolids Gasification, an AUD17.28 million project located in Loganholme, Queensland is Australia’s first initiative to use the Loganholme Wastewater Treatment Plant to process sewage sludge and transform it into energy. 
  • Hazer Process Commercial Demonstration Plant, an AUD22.57 million project located in Munster, Western Australia which seeks to convert biogas from sewage treatment into hydrogen and graphite.
  • The East Rockingham Waste to Energy project will process up to 330,000 tonnes of residual waste per annum and recover energy to produce 28.9 MW of power.
  • The Kwinana Waste to Energy project will develop a waste processing facility which will use moving grate technology to process approximately 400,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste, commercial and industrial waste and/or pre-sorted construction and demolition waste per annum to produce approximately 36 MW of baseload power for export to the grid.

Ocean energy

• With the assistance of ARENA providing funding support for 14 ocean projects, there has been some considerable progress in developing innovative technologies in both wave and tidal energy since 2012. Some of the most notable projects include:
  • Perth Wave Energy Project which was completed on 31 December 2017, became the world’s first commercial-scale wave energy array that is connected to the Wholesale Energy Market and has the ability to produce desalinated water.
  • UniWave200 King Island Project – Wave Swell which involves the design, construction, deployment, installation and operation of a 200 KW wave energy converter (UniWave200) near Grassy Harbour on King Island, Tasmania. UniWave200 will be connected to the grid through a PPA with Hydro Tasmania with an estimated operational lifetime of twelve months.
  • Garden Island Microgrid Project which was completed on 31 December 2020, involved the construction and integration of 2 MW of PV solar capacity, a 2 MW/0.5 MWh battery storage system and a control system that can connect to the wave energy generation technology. This project is the world’s first wave energy integrated microgrid which can produce both power and desalinated water. 

• Despite ARENA providing funding assistance for the development of these technologies, there remains slow growth in commercializing these innovations due to challenges such as capital cost, project financing, environmental impacts and developing appropriate technology suitable for utilization in extreme ocean conditions that prohibit the full utilization of these technologies.  

Carbon capture and storage (CCS)

• Whilst CCS technology is successfully carried out in countries around the globe such as Canada, United States and Norway, this technology is only starting to emerge in Australia’s renewable market given its potential to reduce emissions from fossil fuel sectors and Australia’s transition to net zero emission.
• Accordingly, CCS is identified as a low priority emissions technology under the Federal Government’s Technology Investment Roadmap.
• Budget 2022-23 - $50.3 million over 2 years from 2022-23 to accelerate the development of priority gas infrastructure projects consistent with the Future Gas Infrastructure Investment Framework and support investment in carbon capture and storage pipeline infrastructure.
• The USD54 billion Gorgon project operated by Chevron is the only operating CCS project in Australia (and also the world’s largest), located in Western Australia. In July 2021, the Gorgon project failed to meet its target of capturing and burying 80% of the carbon dioxide produced from gas wells in Western Australia over five years. Notwithstanding this setback, five million tons of greenhouse gases have been injected underground since it commenced operations in August 2019.
• Other Australian CCS projects in the pipeline include:
  • The CarbonNet Project – This project funded by the Victorian and Federal Government comprises of a world class, commercially viable CCS hub in Gippsland, Victoria. Once completed, it will become a commercial scale carbon transport and storage system.
  • Moomba CCS Project – In November 2021, Santos and joint venture partner Beach Energy announced its final investment decision to proceed with the USD165 million (AUD220 million) Moomba carbon capture and storage project in South Australia. The Moomba CCS Project is projected to permanently store 1.7 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, with the first injection targeted for 2024. 

Government plans

On 26 October 2021, the Australian Government released Australia’s Long Term Emissions Reduction Plan (Plan), a copy of which can be accessed here, in order to achieve a clean and resilient economy driven by renewables such as solar and wind instead of fossil fuels by 2050. Under the Plan, the Federal Government proposes to achieve net zero emissions by:

• providing capital costs through government funding in order to accelerate the development of technologies required to achieve net zero emissions. This includes:
  • ARENA committing over AUD1.4 billion over the next 10 years, with an additional AUD75 million allocated to low emissions technologies like EV charging.
  • Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) investing AUD10 billion to facilitate private sector investment in low emissions technology.
  • Investing AUD565 million with overseas partners for international low emissions technology.
  • Allocating AUD2.5 billion for projects through the Emissions Reduction Fund – Australia’s carbon offset scheme – and AUD2 billion for further abatement through the Climate Solutions Fund.
  • Funding AUD1.2 billion for seven new clean hydrogen industrial hubs.
  • Investing AUD300 million in CCS hubs and technologies.
  • Spending AUD280 million to support industrial facilities to further reduce emissions using the new Safeguard Crediting Mechanism.
• building large scale infrastructure across all sectors.
• leveraging opportunities in new and traditional markets.
• partnering with other nations to accelerate innovation in low emissions technology. 

Renewable energy laws

• Climate Change (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2022 was introduced to Parliament in late July 2022. If passed, will legislate Australia’s commitment to cutting its emissions by a minimum of 43% by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050, with potential to provide greater regulatory certainty for businesses and investors across all sectors. Australia’s targets will be integrated into the functions of key Federal entities and schemes, including the Clean Energy Regulator and National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting scheme, through amending legislation.
• The Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 (Cth) sets out Australia’s target of having 20% renewable-sourced energy by 2020. The scheme established by the Act for achieving this target (the RET) aims to stimulate investment in renewables by requiring liable entities (usually electricity retailers) to purchase and surrender a certain number of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), in order to meet their obligation under the RET each year. RECs are created for each megawatt hour of renewable energy generated or displaced.
• Following a review of the RET, in 2011 the scheme was split into two parts – the Large-Scale Renewable Energy Target and the Small-Scale Renewable Energy Scheme. Under the new scheme RECs were replaced by large-scale generation certificates (LGCs) (generated by large-scale renewables projects) and small-scale technology certificates (STCs) (generated by small-scale renewables systems).
• LGCs are sold through the open LGC market, where prices fluctuate based on supply and demand and other market factors. As at 17 October 2019, LGC spot prices was AUD44. STCs may either be sold through the open market for an uncapped price, or through the STC clearing house at the fixed price of AUD40.
• In June 2015, the Australian Parliament passed the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment Act 2015 (Cth). As part of the amendment Act, the 2020 Large-Scale Renewable Energy Target was reduced from 41,000 GWh to 33,000 GWh, with interim and post-2020 targets adjusted accordingly. The amendment Act also extended the partial exemption for emissions-intensive trade-exposed industries to a full exemption. The Small-Scale Energy Scheme has no target as such.
• Renewable energy regulation The Clean Energy Regulator (CER) is as an independent statutory authority established under the Clean Energy Regulator Act 2011 (Cth). The CER's functions include managing the:
  • National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme, under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (Cth);
  • Emissions Reduction Fund, under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011 (Cth);
  • Renewable Energy Target, under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 (Cth) and the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Regulations 2001; and
  • Australian National Registry of Emissions Units, under the Australian National Registry of Emissions Units Act 2011 (Cth). 
• The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is an independent authority that aims to, among other things, improve the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies and increase the supply of renewable energy in Australia. It has supported numerous solar and wind projects, and is currently undertaking a Renewable Hydrogen Development Funding Round. In July 2022, changes to ARENA’s financial assistance functions and funding strategy were announced, focusing their mandate on funding renewable energy technologies, clean hydrogen, low emissions metals and decarbonizing land transport.
• The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) is an Australian Government-owned “green bank” established to provide a new source of finance for renewable energy technologies, and to facilitate increased flows of finance into the renewable energy sector.
• The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) operates and manages the National Energy Market to ensure that energy can be generated, transmitted and distributed throughout the eastern and south-eastern states, and also manages the Australian gas markets and the buying and selling of energy in the financial markets to ensure that there’s an affordable, secure and reliable source of energy for Australians.

Renewables industry overview

• In 2020, Austria generated over 81% of its electricity needs from renewable energy. Austria is one of the leading countries in renewable energy generation within the EU, and particularly for hydropower.
• The Government has set a renewable energy target of 100% by 2030. These targets are underscored by implementing the Renewable Expansion Act to provide the legal means for the necessary energy structural changes.
• Austria is part of the EU Emissions Trading System, which was launched in 2005. The objective pursued for the emissions trade is to achieve a reduction of the CO₂ emissions. 

Hydropower

• Hydropower contributes about 62% of Austria's total electricity use. Most of the country’s hydropower capacity and potential is located in the mountains in the west, and the Danube (Austria's largest river), which hold many of the country’s largest hydropower plants. Many of the country’s most lucrative hydropower sites have already been developed. 

Wind

• Wind-sourced electricity accounts for over 9% of Austria’s total electricity production. Natural conditions especially in the east of Austria are highly favourable to developing wind onshore projects. In 2020 approximately 1,300 wind turbines have been installed in Austria. These range from single small turbines (110 kW) to large turbines with 2.5 MW (or exceeding) generating capacity. 

Solar

• Solar generation currently only amounts to 3% of Austria's energy supply. However, in the course of its #mission2030 Austria envisages to upscale this to 11 TWh until 2030 (from currently 2,0 TWh), which means a fivefold increase. 

Geothermal

• Austria has no relevant geothermal generation activity as it only amounts to 0.3 TWh. 

Biomass and biogas

• The biomass industry is well-established in Austria, including biomass such as converting organic waste from landfills to energy, liquid biofuels developing alternative transport fuel and wood energy.
• Biogas accounts for 2.4 TWh of renewable energy.
• Future growth of RES is expected to come in particular from wind energy given the country’s attractive wind speeds, and also by reshaping and further developing its PV activities (for example by initiatives such as the installation of photovoltaic systems on 1 million roofs). 

Renewables laws

• Renewable Expansion Act (EAG);
• Green Electricity Act (ÖSG)

In 2021, the electricity generation mix looked as follows:  

• Nuclear: 52.4%
• Gas: 24.8%
• Off-shore wind: 7.3%
• On-shore wind: 4.3%
• Solar: 5.1%
• Biogas: 2.2%
• Others: 3.8% 

As for the applicable incentive schemes for renewable energy, reference is made to the questions below. 

Brazil is a world leader in renewable energy, with over 75% of its generated power provided by renewable sources in 2021. The country’s natural resources enabled the development of hydro power plants, which represented 55,3% of the country’s energy generation last year, as well as biomass, wind and solar projects¹. 

Brazil has a massive portfolio of hydro assets and the natural resources to enable the exploration of hydro power plants, but recent water crises and climate change have shown how dependent Brazil is on hydro. When reservoirs and rivers are not sufficient to generate enough power to meet market demands, this can create issues in energy supply. In this sense, diversification via the renewables matrix is currently viewed as a sector priority.  

Just in 2020-2021, solar generation grew 56% and is expected to be one of the country’s major sources in the future, attracting significant investment, both local and international. 

One of the pillars of the current development of Brazil’s solar capacity is distributed generation. First regulated by ANEEL in 2012 by means of Normative Resolution No. 482/2012 (REN 482/2012), the regulatory framework of distributed generation allows consumers (both natural persons and entities) to generate their own power and inject it in the local distribution grid, creating credits to offset their power consumption bills. As of July, 2022, Brazil had over 1,131,000 distributed generation units; more than 99% of these units are solar projects, located in 5,492 cities, with over 12 GW of installed capacity.² The recently sanctioned Law No. 14,300/22 establishes the regulatory framework of generated distribution going forward. Prior to such law, which has been extensively discussed by the sector’s entities, the only regulatory framework was REN 482/2012, as amended. One of the main differences between these two rules is the change in net metering regulations applicable to generated distribution, with some incentives being reviewed for future projects with the establishment of a transition period. 

Despite the changes on the horizon, recent studies by EPE (Empresa de Pesquisa Energética) have shown that distributed generation projects are expected to receive more than BRL120 billion in investments from 2022 to 2031, and the applicable installed capacity is projected to reach over 37 GW in the same period. 

Wind generation already represents a relevant portion of the power matrix and is expected to increase even further going forward, including with the installation of offshore plants. For reference purposes, wind generation increased almost 27% between 2020 and 2021³. In mid-2022, wind projects have reached the important milestone of 22 GW in installed capacity, divided into 831 operational projects, with additional 414 projects under development with an authorized capacity of 15 GW.⁴ In addition, it is worth mentioning that the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) has received over 40 environmental licensing requests for offshore wind generation projects, with 133 GW in total. 

Biomass is currently the fourth main source of power generation in Brazil. It reached over 600 operational biomass power plants in mid-2022, representing more than 16 GW in authorized capacity. Brazil’s strong sugar cane industry, one of the main sources of biomass to the power sector, is also expected to see significant growth in the next years.

1. See Electric Energy Statistic Yearbook 2022
2. See ANEEL’s Distributed Generation Information System
3. See Electric Energy Statistic Yearbook 2022
4. See ANEEL’s Generation Information System (SIGA)

Renewables industry overview  

• The Canadian Energy Regulator Act provides federal regulation of renewable ‎energy projects in Canada’s ‎offshore waters. ‎The Nuclear Safety and Control Act provides federal regulation of nuclear generation. All other generation is regulated provincially.  
• In 2018, renewable energy sources provided about 16% of Canada’s total energy supply (including electricity and energy used for heating and motor fuel). 
• Wind and solar energy are the fastest growing sources of electricity in Canada. 
• In 2018, Canada ranked seventh internationally for its share of renewable energy, producing 2,421 PJ.  
• In December 2020, the federal government announced a new climate plan to address climate change ‎through Canada’s renewable energy sector, called A Healthy Environment and A Healthy Economy, ‎with a goal of net-zero GHG emissions.
• The Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREPs) was launched by the federal government in June 2021, ‎allocating CAD964 million to support smart renewable energy projects. ‎
• Alberta has offered price supports for renewable projects (including projects with Indigenous content).
• Recently, Ontario has engaged in various procurement programmes to obtain electricity from wind ‎power, solar and biofuel. Ontario had previously phased out coal-fired electricity and in 2019 only 6% of Ontario’s power was produced with petroleum products. ‎ 

Hydropower

• Hydropower is the primary source of renewable energy in Canada, providing 60% of Canada’s electricity generation or 81, 386 MW with a total share of 68% or 1383 PJ in 2018. 
• In 2018 Canada was ranked the third largest producer of hydroelectricity internationally, producing 379 TWh, with a capacity of 81,386 MW.
• British Columbia, Quebec and Manitoba rely primarily on hydroelectricity.   

Biomass

• Biomass constitutes the second largest share of renewable energy production in Canada, offering a share of ‎23%. 
• Wood derived material is the most used biomass, amounting to a total of 432 PJ.  

Wind 

• In 2019 Canada ranked eighth internationally in the production of wind power, with a total capacity of 13,417 MW.  

Solar 

• In 2019 Canada ranked ninth internationally in the production of solar power, with a total capacity of 6.27 GW. 
• In 2018 the solar photovoltaic industry capacity in Canada was 3,040 MW.  

Liquid Biofuels

• In 2019 Canada ranked eighth internationally in the production of liquid biofuels, with a production of 1.61 billion Litres.  

Geothermal

• Several Canadian provinces have moved to remove obstacles to commercial geothermal development and several pilot-scale projects have been announced, however, geothermal energy has not yet achieved commercial scale in Canada.  

Nuclear

• Canada has six nuclear plants in operation (19 reactors, all of the CANDU heavy water design), representing approximately 14,000 MW of installed capacity.  
• Nuclear energy represented 59% of energy generated in Ontario in 2019 and 34% of installed capacity
• A number of the Ontario nuclear reactors, which are approaching the end of their design lifespans, are currently being refurbished 
• The provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Alberta have announced that they will cooperate in the development and implementation of a strategy to develop small modular reactor (SMR) technology.  The first SMR (300 MW) is projected to be completed as early as 2028. 
• Canada has the world’s fourth largest uranium reserves, and is the world’s second largest uranium exporter.  Canada produces approximately 7000 tonnes of uranium per year, 85% of which is exported

Renewables industry overview

• For the year 2022, the annual production (updated information as of June 2022) of total energy of the National Electric System (SEN) amounts to 41,585 GWh, of which 13,250.3 GWh corresponds to non-conventional renewable energies (NCRE), which is equivalent to 31.86% of the total energy generated. This percentage is over the mandatory NCRE quota, which required a minimum of 20% by 2025.
• Due to its structure and geographic diversity (solar radiation in the north and over 6,435 km of coastline), Chile has a high potential for renewable energy development, which is in line with the public policies and regulations for their promotion that have been adopted in recent years. In this context, Bloomberg's Climatescope 2021 Emerging Markets Report positioned Chile as the best country in the region and second worldwide to invest in renewable energies.
• Considering the above, and the determination to phase out coal generation, a transition to a cleaner energy mix is projected, with the expectation that, by 2035, a 80% of Chile’s power will come from renewable energies and that by 2050, 100% of the installed capacity will be sourced from renewables.
• In terms of decarbonization of the electricity mix, the Government of Chile committed in 2019 to a plan to decarbonize by 2050. In this context, it is estimated that by December 2025, 18 of the 28 coal-fired power plants in country will have closed.
• Renewable energy associations, such as the Chilean Association of Renewable Energies and Storage A.G. (Asociación Chilena de Energías Renovables y Almacenamiento A.G.), should also be mentioned. (ACERA), Asociación Chilena de Energía Solar A.G. (ACESOL), Asociación Chilena de Geotermia A.G., Asociación de Pequeñas y Medianas Empresas Hidroeléctricas A.G. (APEMEC), Asociación Chilena de Hidrógeno, among others.
• Historically, the generation of energy from hydro resources was the most predominant, together with coal-based generation (the latter, with greater intensity in the north of Chile). In the 2000s, the use of gas-fired thermal power plants increased and, subsequently, diesel and coal became more important. In the last decade, a diversification of the mix based on renewable energies has begun to take shape, which is the current and projected trend. Today, hydro, solar, wind and geothermal power generation stand out. Tidal and green hydrogen-based generation is also beginning to be promoted. 

Hydro power

• By July 2022, 22.9% of energy generation was hydroelectric power. This corresponds especially to reservoirs, hydroelectric power plants and run-of-river power plants. This occurs especially in the south and central south of Chile, where there is greater availability of water and rainfall. Thus, the highest hydrological potential is found in the Biobío basin with 18%, Baker with 12% and Palena with 11%.
• Historically, electricity generation from hydro sources has had an important share. In 1897, the first Chilean hydroelectric power plant was built in Chilivilingo to illuminate the Lota mines. In 1908, the German Transatlantic Electricity Company (DUEG) installed the El Sauce power plant, the first hydroelectric plant with alternators in the country. In 1943, Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (Endesa) was created, which from that year on would be in charge of the construction of power plants. Since then, several power plants have proliferated, such as Pilmaiquén (1944), Abanico and Sauzal (1948), Los Molles (1952), Cipreses (1955), Pullinque (1962), Isla (1963), Rapel (1968), Antuco (1983), Colbún Machicura (1985), etc. Thus, hydroelectric power has been an important support for the system, with an average of about 65% in the sixties, reaching 80% in the eighties and going to a range of 30% to 40% in the last decade, depending on the year.
• It is important to note that during the 1990s there were droughts that impacted the southern part of the country, which generated water rationing policies that implied power cuts to customers. 

Solar

• Chile has great potential for solar energy development, especially in the central and northern areas of the country. Thus, the northern area (the Atacama Desert, for example) is one of the most suitable places for the development of this type of energy in the world. Additionally, Chile has one of the largest reserves of lithium in the world, a material used in the production of solar panels.
• To date, the development of solar projects has been successful, with an installed capacity of at least 6,300 MW, and in June 2022, 20% of the total energy produced in the country was solar.
• As of April 2022, 4,670 MW (82 projects) are under construction, of which 53.9% are solar plants. 

Wind

• Chile has good wind potential, considering its geographical distribution and extensive Pacific Ocean coastline. As of July 2022, the installed capacity corresponding to wind energy amounts to 3,810.7 MW, that represents 8.8% of the total energy produced.
• According to the July 2022 report provided by CISEN, of the 65 energy projects that are currently pending to come into operation, 11.3% are wind farms.
• There is diversity in the installed capacity of these projects, varying from projects that generate less than 3 MW to projects with a capacity close to 200 MW. 

Geothermal

• Chile has a large geothermal potential estimated at 2,000 MW in the Norte Grande and 1,350 MW in the central zone. This industry has a total current installed capacity of 48 MW. 

Biomass

• In Chile, biomass-based energy generation comes mainly from forestry, livestock and agricultural waste. Currently, the installed bioenergy generation capacity amounted to 502 MW (July, 2022). 

Others (ocean energy and green hydrogen)

• Ocean energy: Due to its long coastline bordering the Pacific Ocean, tidal currents, as well as its strong waves, Chile is an attractive country for the development of tidal energy. Thus, it has been estimated that there is a potential for the generation of more than 160 GW based on this resource. In this context, research is currently being carried out, with the aim of studying the use of the movement of sea waves to produce energy. The Meric Technology Center has installed the first full-scale marine energy converter.
• Green hydrogen: Due to its solar and wind potential, the generation of green hydrogen is being developed as an alternative to other fuels and to support the electrical network. To this end, the Government has developed the National Green Hydrogen Strategy, which, together with parallel research, aims for Chile to become the main producer of green hydrogen in the world by the year 2030. There are already projects producing green hydrogen and an important pipeline of such projects in the development phase. 

Renewable energy laws

In addition to the aforementioned laws and regulations, the following specific regulations on renewable energy are noteworthy:

• LGSE defines non-conventional renewable energy (NCRE) and in its article 150 bis regulates its attributes;
• Law No. 19,657, on geothermal energy concessions, which regulates its concession system and the relations between private parties and the State in this matter. Unlike other renewable energy sources, the legislature considers geothermal energy to be a public asset, and it may only be explored and exploited after a specific concession is granted;
• DS/ 29/2014 of the Ministry of Energy, which regulates the conditions and characteristics of tenders for the provision of annual blocks of energy with NCRE Generation Means;
• DS 119/2017 of the Ministry of Energy, which refers to the safety conditions of biogas plants;
• Decree 37/2019 of the Ministry of Energy that regulates transmission systems and transmission planning. It also regulates provisions applicable to the open access regime applicable to transmission systems, the transmission planning process and the bidding process for expansion works.
• Law of Net Billing (N°20,571 of 2012), which allows residential electrical customers to generate energy for their own consumption, to inject the surplus energy into the electrical grid, and to receive payments; and
• Decree 88 which regulates Smalls Means of Distributed Generation projects (PMGD for its initials in Spanish) for self-consumption or for commercializing their energy. The PMGD are means of generation whose surplus capacity is lower than or equal to 9 MW, and which are connected to the facilities of a distribution company or to the facilities of a company that owns electrical distribution lines that use domestic public goods, and benefit from a stabilized price regime.

• Renewable energies in Côte d'Ivoire are part of a vision of sustainable development through the adoption of sustainable modes of production and consumption to include communities in low-carbon growth strategies.
  
  Thus, the development of the renewable sector in Côte d'Ivoire for electrical energy consumption is based on three distinct sources:
  • hydroelectricity
  • biomass
  • solar photovoltaic 

The share of renewable energy in the energy mix proposed in the Electricity Generation and Transmission Master Plan (Plan Directeur Production et Transport d’électricité (PDPT)), adopted in 2014 and covering the period 2014-2030, is gradually increasing. Renewables increase from 20% (hydro only) in 2014 to 34% (23% medium and large hydro and 11% other RE sources) in 2020 to reach 42% (26% large and medium hydro and 16% other RE sources) by 2030. 

Hydropower 

The untapped hydroelectric potential is estimated at 7,000 MW, of which 1,847 MW is potentially economically exploitable. 

The hydroelectric plants are state-owned and operated by CIE, except for the Soubré plant (275 MW), which was built with Chinese capital and for which a BOO concession contract was concluded between the government and CI-ENERGIES, which owns and operates the equipment (day-to-day management is provided by subcontractors), as CI-ENERGIES' activities were extended to power generation by decree in November 2017. It’s expected that other activities will be transferred to CI-ENERGIES in the future. 

Solar 

Regarding solar photovoltaic energy in Côte d'Ivoire, several projects of between 25 MW and 50 MW are taking shape, particularly in the north of the country where sunshine conditions are good. 

There’s no guaranteed feed-in tariff for a fixed period of time to encourage the introduction of renewable energy, but there are incentives based on the investment code. These are targeted at specific regions and specific sizes of facilities, and within this framework, favorable regional tax measures can be expected for investments in the north of the country. 

In terms of investment in renewable energy in Côte d'Ivoire, the PDER gives an estimate of the total amount of investment to be made in the 94 localities eligible for mini grids. Thus, the investment costs of hybrid solar production will require an investment of around F CFA17 billion for the 68 excluded localities, ie an average investment of F CFA250 million per locality. 

Biomass 

With regard to biomass energy (from agricultural residues and household waste), Côte d'Ivoire, with 1,200 million tons of biomass per year, is one of the African countries with the best opportunity. There are some plants that produce biomass energy for their own consumption of electricity. The Palmci-Biokala Project (nominal capacity: 2×23 MW) is in the implementation phase. It’s a project of a biomass power plant based on the residues of palm seeds after oil extraction. The project aims to produce 46 MW of electricity, which will be the largest biomass power plant in Africa when it is completed in 2021, using the biofuel from the 400,000 tons of plant residues from palm oil mills.

Other biomass power plants, such as a bio-gas project from landfills, are also under development. Also, there are several biomass power plants. The power of these plants varies from 40 kVA to 800 kVA. They’re located in various places: in the north, with Bafing, Bagoue and Bounkani, for example, and in the east, with Gountoug and Indenie Djuablin, but also in Gbokle in the south and Cavally in the west. In the North East in Zanzan, there is a PV-diesel mini hybrid network of 465 kW in total. The total capacity of these isolated plants is 5.6 MW, contributing 10.1 GWh in 2015.

Renewables industry overview

The most important renewable sources in the Czech Republic are hydro, wind, solar and biomass.

The aim is to become climate neutral by 2050. It will not be easy to achieve this goal, because the Czech Republic still relies heavily on the use of fossil fuels, especially coal. The Czech industry is more energy intensive than industry in other more advanced countries.

Hydropower

Although the natural conditions in the Czech Republic are not ideal for building large hydroelectric power plants, hydropower is still one of the most important sources of renewable energy. Hydroelectric power plants serve as a complementary source of electricity generation. These power plants can quickly produce high power and can operatively balance a lack of energy in the Czech power grid.

Almost all big hydroelectric power plants are built on the Vltava River. They are fully automatic and are controlled from Štěchovice. The hydroelectric power plants that are not located on the Vltava river are, for example, Dalešice and Mohelno.

The share of hydropower from all renewable energy produced in the Czech Republic was 3.6% in 2020.

Wind

The use of wind as an energy source is quite traditional in the Czech Republic. The first windmill was documented in 1277 in the famous Strahov Monastery in Prague. Wind power plants are currently located in various places in the Czech Republic. This source of energy is one of the fastest developing ways of producing renewable energy. The capacity of wind power plants ranges from small turbines, which generate about 30 kW for private use, up to 3  MW. ČEZ, operates the biggest wind farm in Europe: about 240 turbines with a total installed capacity of 600 MW.

The share of wind energy produced in Czechia was 1.17% in 2020 from all types of renewable energy.

ČEZ operates wind power plants in Dlouhá Louka nad Osekem near Litvínov city, at Mravenečník in the Jeseníky Mountains and Nový Hrádek near Náchod city.

Solar

The average intensity of solar radiation is approximately 300 W/m² and the total energy 800-150 kWh per m² per year.

The share of solar energy of renewable energy produced in the Czech Republic was 3.84% in 2020.

The largest photovoltaic power plants in the Czech Republic are near Brno, Mimoň and Vranovská Ves.

Biomass

Biomass is a very important energy resource. The term “biomass” usually refers to a substance of biological origin: it can be from plants, animal biomass or organic waste. Biomass is then burnt in power plants. The use of biomass is considered to be appropriate because it minimizes environmental burdens.

The share of biomass of renewable energy produced in the Czech Republic was 25.54% in 2020.

Biomass can be burned in power plants in Hodonín and Poříčí (usually wood chips) and in Jindřichův Hradec (usually straw).

Geothermal energy

There are no geothermal power plants in the Czech Republic and due to unsuitable conditions, it’s unlikely there will be any in the future.

Ocean energy

The Czech Republic is located in the heart of Europe, it is a continental state and so it does not produce any ocean energy.

Renewables laws

The most relevant Czech Act, which regulates renewable energy sources (RES) is the Act on Supported Energy Sources. It was enacted in 2012 and its main aim is to protect climate and environment. It includes:

• use of electricity and heat from renewable energy sources
• National Action Plan of the Czech Republic for Energy from Renewable Sources
• conditions for issuing, registering, and recognizing guarantees of origin for energy from renewable sources
• financing the electricity from renewable sources
• levy on solar electricity 

Government plans

The Climate Change Adaptation Strategy for the Czech Republic

This strategy is a national adaptational strategy and it responds to the EU Adaptation Strategy. Its implementation document is the National Action Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change.

The Adaptation Strategy is aimed at all major manifestations of climate change in the Czech Republic. This Strategy makes up the fundamental principles of adaptation up to 2030 and even up to 2050.

The National Action Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change

This plan aims to address most serious issues of the Czech Republic, such as:

• long-term drought
• floods and flash floods
• heavy rainfall
• rising temperatures
• extreme wind
• forest fires

Renewables industry overview

• In 2020, more than half of the Danish electricity production was based on wind power. On windy days, more than 100% of the Danish power consumption is generated by wind power. Denmark is a world leader in the wind power industry thanks to key players such as Ørsted, Vestas, Siemens Wind Power and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. Together with these key players, a large number of developers in both wind and solar energy are making Denmark a key hub for renewable energy.
• The Danish government has set an ambitious goal to reduce Danish CO₂ emissions in 2030 by 70% measured against 1990 CO₂ emissions. Additionally, the official Danish target is that 100% of power production will be from renewable energy sources in 2030. It is the ambition that by 2050, Denmark will have abandoned fossil fuels completely.
• These ambitious goals are backed by tenders initiated by the Danish Energy Agency for three offshore wind parks before 2030, two energy islands and a number of near-shore wind farms. The tender for the first of the new offshore wind farms, the up to 1,000 MW Thor Offshore Wind Farm, was decided on December 1, 2021, and will be without public subsidies. The next tender for the up to 1,200 MW Hesselø Offshore Wind Farm will be decided in 2022. The two energy island projects, one in the North Sea and one near Bornholm, are intended to combine offshore wind and Power-to-X facilities.
• In recent years, development of solar parks has become a significant industry in Denmark, both in respect of parks situated in Denmark and parks situated abroad. Key players in the solar industry are Better Energy, European Energy, BeGreen, GreenGo and Obton. 

Wind

• Wind-sourced electricity accounts for over 50% of Denmark’s total electricity needs. Natural conditions and Denmark’s coastline are highly conducive to developing wind projects, both onshore and offshore. Denmark has six operational offshore wind farms (Anholt, Horns Rev 1, 2 and 3, Nysted and Kriegers Flak), totaling 2,155MW, and a number of smaller nearshore windfarms. The onshore development of wind energy started in Denmark on the back of the 1973 oil crisis, and by 2020 production capacity onshore reached 4,562MW.
• While the general view in Denmark of wind-generated energy is very positive, neighbors to new projects often voice concerns. On onshore windfarms, limitations on noise pollution apply, and neighbor compensation schemes may be triggered depending on the distance to neighbors. In addition, onshore projects require zoning approval, which in the municipalities is subject to political decisions that may cause uncertainty in early-stage projects. 

Solar

• Solar generation is becoming an increasingly significant part of the power supply in Denmark. While solar generation has natural seasonal variations, during summer more than 6% of Danish power consumption is now derived from solar power.
• The pipeline for new photovoltaic projects in Denmark is extensive. Several factors make solar projects very attractive for key stakeholders. For farmers, the income from leasing out farmland to solar power significantly exceeds the income from normal agricultural operations. Increasing prices on energy and decreasing prices on panels have made photovoltaic projects without subsidies attractive. Developers of solar parks have become professionalized and operate efficient businesses. There is a strong demand to invest in renewable energy which creates the option for developers to hold on to the solar parks, farm down or exit. Finally, solar parks may be financed up to 60% with the very attractive and efficient Danish long-term mortgage financing. 

Biomass

• Biomass accounts for a relatively small part of the electricity production but plays an increasing role in heat production. Power plants have been modified to use biomass. Biomass is also increasingly used for production of biogas. 

Geothermal

• Geothermal is currently not contributing to power production in Denmark but various projects for heating are being considered. 

Power-to-X

• Focus in Denmark on future power-to-X projects is significant. The largest European plant for production of green ammonia is currently being planned near the Danish North Sea coast. The project features a production capacity for 600,000 tons of green ammonia made from renewable energy. The plant will allow the use of otherwise idle capacity when the production of renewable energy exceeds demand.
• We see a huge interest from key energy players in power-to-X and expect the area to develop significantly in the coming years in Denmark.

Summary of the renewables industry in country

• In 2021, 22,5% of electricity generated in France was from renewable sources.
• In 2020, electricity generation from renewable sources is made up of:
  
  • 49.5 % from hydro power
  • 32.4 % from wind power
  • 10.8 % from solar power
  • 2.9 % from biomass
  • 2.2 % from biogas
  • 1.7 % from renewable waste
  • 0.4 % from geothermal electricity
  • 0.1 % from tidal power
• In 2021, the proportion of renewable energies as a percentage of France's gross final energy consumption was 19.3%. Renewable energies in France have enjoyed significant growth since 2005, mainly because of the development of biofuels, biomass, wind power and solar energy. While the proportion of renewable energies in France’s gross final energy consumption was 24.2% in 2020, thus above France's 2020 target of 23% set out by the EU Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, this proportion decreased below this target in 2021 due to unfavorable weather conditions for hydropower and wind power, and this occurred despite an increase in the generation fleet.
• France aims to boost the share of renewable energy to at least 33% of total energy consumption and 40% of electricity production by 2030 and these targets are set out by law.
• The government set out specific near-term targets under the 10-year energy investment plans (programmation pluriannuelle de l’énergie or PPE) enacted in 2020. The following targets were set for the development of renewable electricity generation:

Installed capacity as of 31 December (in GW)	2023	2028
		Low target	High target
Onshore wind	24.1	33.2	34.7
Solar	20.1	35.1	44.0
Hydro	25.7	26.4	26.7
Offshore wind	2.4	5.2	6.2
Biomethane	0.27	0.34	0.41

Solar

• In 2021, solar electricity accounted for 3% of France’s electricity production.
• At the end of March 2022, the total installed capacity was 14.6 GW.
• The government expects that photovoltaic solar will be proportionately more developed in big solar power plants than it is today, because it is the most competitive channel and big projects (over 50 MW) will progressively be developed without subsidies, which will increase the average size of the systems. The government announced that it will ensure these projects respect biodiversity and agricultural land by prioritizing the use of industrial wasteland, neglected motorway space, military areas or even the big roof areas which will gradually become mandatory.

Wind

• In 2021, wind power accounted for 7 % of France’s electricity production.
• At the end of March 2022, total installed capacity was 19.2 GW.
• The government expects that wind power will be developed partly through renovation of existing systems that have reached expiration, enabling an increase in the energy produced while keeping an identical or smaller number of masts.

Hydropower

• Hydropower is the second most important form of electricity generation in France after nuclear energy. It represents 12% of the electricity generated in France and is the first source of renewable electricity, accounting for 53% of the country’s total gross renewable electricity production in 2021.
• France has one of the largest hydropower plants in Europe with about more than 25.7 GW deployed on its territory. The government intends to upgrade the existing facilities enabling additional generation of 200 MW by 2023 and increasing capacity by 900 - 1200 MW by 2028. 

Geothermal

• Geothermal energy is a minor source of electricity generation in France, representing only 0.1% of renewable electricity production and 2.3% of renewable energies for thermal use in 2020.
• France essentially uses low and medium power geothermal energy for heating networks.
• The high-power geothermal energy for electricity generation is currently only used in two geothermal power plants. One of these plants is in Guadeloupe and uses the volcanic heat of an active stratovolcano named “La Grande Soufrière.”

Bio energy/Biomass

• The main sources for bio energy generation in France are (i) solid biomass (wood energy and other solid components), (ii) renewable waste (household waste, paper waste, agricultural waste) and (iii) biogas (produced by the fermentation of biological materials).
• In 2020, the total bio energy installed capacity amounted to nearly 2.2 GW (950 MW for waste incineration, 680 MW for solid biomass and 540 MW for biogas).
• The solid biomass energy is mainly used for the basic consumption of heat, essentially in the residential sector, only a minor part being used for electricity generation (8%).

Government plans

Changes for calls for tenders award winning projects

On August 30, 2022 the CRE announced amendments to the specifications of 17 past and ongoing calls for tenders, which is one of the Government incentives schemes for the renewable energy sector (see Government incentive schemes). This measure is taken in the context of the energy crisis and aims at allowing a quicker commissioning for 6 GW of award-winning projects (which relate to wind – 3.4 GW, solar – 2.7 GW, hydropower and self-consumption projects). These amendments will enable renewable electricity producers to:

• sell the electricity generated on the market for a 18-month period before locking in the FIP contracts (see Government incentive schemes) in order to benefit from high market prices and amortize part of the increase in costs;
• request an extension of the deadlines for completion of the facilities;
• increase the projects’ initial capacity mentioned in the call for tenders by up to 40%.

Since September 1, 2022, the producers have been able to request from the Minister responsible for energy the application of these amendments.

Speeding up the development of renewable energy projects

A draft law, which is currently under consultation and should be discussed before the Parliament in October 2022, aims to shorten the time required for commissioning renewable energy projects, by simplifying the applicable permitting requirements. Other provisions aim to facilitate the installation of solar panels on abandoned road and highway sites or in run-down areas, such as former landfills. The Government also intends to require existing outdoor parking lots of more than 2,500 square meters to install solar canopies on at least half of their surface. 

Renewables laws

Several laws relating to renewables have been enacted in France. Their main provisions are consolidated in the Energy Code.

General overview of the renewable energy sector

• Ghana’s population is projected to rise to about 40 million by 2020. With the rise in energy demand surpassing supply, Ghana has committed to addressing these challenges by replacing conventional fuels with cleaner and more reliable sources of electricity.
• Ghana, like so many other African countries has adopted the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 which is targeted at ensuring universal access to affordable and modern energy.
• Ghana’s installed capacity currently stands at 5228 MW; from hydro, thermal and renewable sources as well as from independent power producers (IPPs).
• The total installed renewable energy generation capacity in Ghana according to the 2021 published energy statistics is 98.87 MW.
• The government of Ghana has set up a goal to generate 10% of its electricity from renewable energy by the year 2030. 

Hydro

• Until 1998, the supply of electricity in Ghana was mainly from hydropower sources with the Akosombo (1020 MW installed capacity) being constructed in 1966. Together with the Kpong Dam (160 MW), these two large hydropower stations were the source of most of the electricity generated in Ghana. The dams are managed by the Volta River Authority. The Bui Hydro-electric power station commissioned in 2013, has an electricity capacity of 400 MW.
• Currently, hydro power accounts for 36.2% of the electricity produced in Ghana with majority of the electricity supply coming from thermal energy. A constant problem affecting hydro power generation are unrelenting hydrological shocks due to drought and unreliable rainfall patterns. These climate issues have progressively made hydro-electric power facilities unreliable because of their inability to achieve full generation capacity.
• Various sites suitable for small (mini) and medium capacity hydropower plants have been identified in different locations in Ghana with the potential to generate over 900 MW when fully developed. The exploitable hydro sites in Ghana are 22 mini-hydro and 17 medium hydro sites with individual capacities of 15 kW to 100 MW and could be exploited to generate a total of about 800 MW of electricity. 

Solar

Ghana has a few solar power stations which produce a low supply of electricity:

• Navrongo Solar Power Station - completed in 2013 - produces 2.5 MW of electricity - owned by an independent power producer (IPP)
• BXC Solar Power Station - completed in 2016 - produces 20 MW of electricity - owned by an independent power producer (IPP)
• Gomoa Onyaadze Solar Power station - completed in 2018 - produces 20 MW of electricity
• Meinergy Solar Plant – 20 MW installed capacity
• Bui Solar Plant – 10 MW installed capacity
• The government also commissioned the Lawra solar plant with an electricity capacity of 6.5M W in 2020. 

The country is expecting to generate 155 MW (208,999 hp) from the Nzema Solar Power station which is still under construction. Described as the largest solar power installation in Ghana when complete, the Nzema Solar Power Station will bring electricity to the homes of more than 100,000 consumers. The project is under the control of UK-Based Blue Energy ltd. Although the project was scheduled for completion in 2017, construction is still underway with the project now set to be completed before the end of 2023. This project is expected to increase the nation’s electricity generating capacity by 6%.

Biomass

• Ghana has a strong potential for biofuel production, thanks to energy crops such as jatropha, oil palm fruit, soybean, coconut and sunflower. A recent study ranked Ghana as Africa’s leading producer of biodiesel from jatropha. Generating energy from waste has also been identified as a potential source of electricity.
• The only notable project is the Safisana Biogas project which has an installed capacity of 0.10 MW. 

Wind

• Average wind speeds in Ghana show possibilities for wind power project development especially along the eastern coastal areas and mountainous regions.
• The Volta River Authority is also working with two wind developers, Vestas and El Sewedy, to develop 150 MW of wind power at 4 identified sites in the southern part of the country based on wind resource potential; namely: Anloga, Anyanui, Lekpogunu and Akplabany.
• The Swiss company Nek has announced plans to generate 1000 MW of electricity from several wind farms in Ghana. The first phase is expected to generate 160 MW, and 75 MW for the second phase. The Swiss company already has major concessions in Ghana. In the locality of Amlakpo, more than 80 km from the Ghanaian capital Accra, Nek is looking to build a 200 MW wind farm on a plot of land of about 58 km².
• In the locality of Ayitepa in the south-east of Ghana, the company will develop a project for the construction of a 225 MW wind farm. Studies for the construction of this facility have been underway since 1998. Nek plans to sell the kWh of electricity generated by the Ayitepa wind farm to the state-owned Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) at 8.9 cents. 

Tidal/Wave

• Technologies to harvest energy from ocean/tidal waves are new to Ghana. So far, only one US company, TCs Energy, has expressed interest in it. However, the project was stalled for years due to financial constraints. The constraints have been resolved following the agreement signed in August, 2020 between TCs Energy, Seabased of Sweden and Power China Huadong Engineering Corporation Ltd to finance and revive the project. The project would start with 5 MW and scale up to 100 MW within 2 years. 

Nuclear

• Although there have been qualms about the nuclear potential of the country, nuclear power can be considered a viable option in the national energy mix due to the increasing power demand and the country’s quest towards achieving middle-income status. According to the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Ghana is making steady progress to go nuclear for its electricity generation. 

Legal and regulatory framework of the renewable energy sector

The legal and regulatory framework governing the renewable energy sector in Ghana, within which the renewable energy goals of the country can be achieved is found in the Renewable Energy Act, 2011 (Act 832). This Act was enacted in pursuance of Ghana’s commitment to boosting the renewable energy sector. Section 1 of Act 832 establishes that the predominant objective of the Act shall be to provide for the development, management and utilization of renewable energy sources for the production of heat and power in an efficient and environmentally sustainable manner.

The Renewable Energy Act makes provision, among others, for the following:

• Feed-in Tariffs (FITs)
• Establishment of a Renewable Energy Authority
• Renewable Energy Fund
• Research and Development
• Promotion of Clean Cookstoves
• Off-grid Electrification for Remote Communities
• Net Metering for Distributed Generation
• Renewable Energy Purchase Obligations 

However, the Feed-in-tariff (FIT) scheme has been repealed by the Renewable Energy Amendment Act, 2020 (Act 1045). Act 832 was amended to enable consumers of electricity in Ghana to benefit from the reduced cost of electricity generation from renewable energy sources through competitive procurement instead of the feed-in tariff scheme.

The Renewable Energy Amendment Act 2020 also encourages small-scale self-generation and net-metering from renewables. Furthermore, it mandates fossil fuel-based wholesale electricity suppliers, fossil fuel producers and other companies that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions to complement the global effort of climate change mitigation by investing in non-utility scale renewable energy technologies, particularly for off-grid electrification

In 2012, the Energy Commission developed a licensing manual for service providers in the renewable energy sector to regulate the technical operations of service providers in the sector. The manual was prepared in accordance with Section 8 of the Renewable Energy Act, 2011 (Act 832).  As of November 2019, 130 provisional licenses, 40 siting permits, 11 construction permits and 4 operational licenses had been granted

Aside the Renewable Energy Act which serves as the primary legislation on generation of energy from renewable sources, other tangential pieces of legislation such as the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1994 (Act 490), th Bui Power Authority (Amendment)Act, 2020 (Act 1046), The Revenue Administration (Amendment) Act, 2020 (Act 1029).

Policy framework

Ghana has instituted a number of policies and measures aimed at promoting the development of renewable energy technologies, particularly, incentives that will attract renewable energy investors.

• Strategic National Energy Plan (SNEP) 2006-2020: Developed by the Energy Commission, the goal of this policy was to provide a sound energy market and to ensure the provision of sufficient energy services for Ghana. In contrast, the target of the Strategic National Energy Plan was to boost the renewable energy market. The renewable energy objective of this policy aimed at increasing the share of renewables up to 10% by 2020 while ensuring energy efficiency and conservation and achieving universal access to electricity by the year 2020.
• National energy policy (NEP), 2010: This policy was geared towards the development of an energy economy to ensure secure and reliable energy supply to all Ghanaians. Intended as a provisional update to SNEP, this policy reaffirmed the nation’s commitment to renewable energy development. The energy sub-sector was introduced under the National Energy Policy 2010 to increase the proportion of renewable energy in the total national energy mix and to focus on the fiscal incentives, awareness creation and regulations to promote energy efficiency and conservation practices. The policy also set the target to achieve 10% of renewables by the year 2020, reduce the consumption of wood fuels from 66 to 30% by 2020 and encourage the use of clean cooking alternatives such as LPG, and efficient cookstoves.
• Energy sector strategy and development, 2010: This policy sets the goal and strategies to increase (i) the percentage of renewable in the total national energy mix and efficient use of stoves and (ii) establish legislation to encourage the development of renewable energy technologies.
• The sustainable energy for all action plan (SE4ALL), 2012:  This action plan had as its target, universal access to electricity to island and riverside communities through on and off grid systems and providing universal access to clean cooking solutions. The UNDP has collaborated with some partner agencies to achieve universal access to energy by 2030.
• Bioenergy Policy: This policy was drafted to promote and develop bioenergy technology in sustainable supply and encourage its usage for energy security without compromising food security in the country. It is also meant to encourage the use of biomass waste for heat and electricity generation.
• Renewable Energy Master Plan, 2019: The REMP seeks to accomplish the targets enumerated in the previous policies - with some additions - by the year 2030. 

Issues with the policy framework

• There is no long-term strategic plan and thus, most of the renewable energy projects are on pilot basis or on short-term basis. This had led to a constant shifting of timelines. The failure to set clear action plans as well as create viable renewable energy projects may signal to potential investors that the renewable energy is not a key priority for the government.
• The drive of the government towards complete electrification creates a split focus on the part of the government. This is another reason why electricity generation from (non-hydro) renewable sources stands at less than 1% in 2021. 

Institutional framework

• Ministry of Energy: Formulates policies and some aspects of their implementation, and monitoring and evaluation
• Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation Regulatory Agencies
• Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC): Sets electricity tariffs and protect consumers through monitoring the quality of services provided by the utilities.
• Energy Commission (EC): Provides license and sets technical performance standards for operators in the renewable energy sector, planning for the sector, and provides policy advice to Minister of Energy
• National Petroleum Authority (NPA): Ensures that correct fraction and price of biofuel in biofuel blend are in line with the agreed petroleum pricing formula.
• Ghana Standards Authority: Develops and monitors standards for renewable energy technologies and biofuel.
• Forestry Commission: Supports development and execution of programs for sustainable wood fuel production and usage.
• Environmental protection Agency: Protects and improves the environment and helps with the implementation of environmental policies 

Other agencies

• Volta River Authority
• Bui Power Authority
• Independent Power Producers (IPPs)
• Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo)
• Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG)
• Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo)
• Enclave Power Company
• Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company (BOST)
• Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs)

Renewable energy overview

• Based on commercially available technologies, it is estimated that Hong Kong has a renewable energy potential of about 3-4% of total electricity consumption arising from wind, solar and waste-to-energy that can be exploited between now and 2030. In 2018, the amount of electricity generated from renewable energy accounted for less than 1% of power consumption in Hong Kong. 

Solar

• Currently, the largest solar energy generation system in Hong Kong has been installed at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, which has a capacity of 2,100 KW and is comprised over 5000 monocrystalline solar panels on the rooftops of 20 buildings.
• The current cumulative photovoltaic (PV) installation capacity in Hong Kong is less than 5 MW. There are over 200 relatively small projects in Hong Kong, where PV panels and solar water heaters have been installed mainly at schools and on the rooftops of public sector buildings and facilities as a result of the Hong Kong Government taking the lead to encourage the use of solar energy to generate electricity. 

Wind

• Since 2000, the Hong Kong Observatory began to use wind power as an energy source in some remote automatic weather stations which have been relying on solar power. As sunshine in cloudy days may not be sufficient to keep the operation of those weather stations, wind turbine generators have been employed to provide an alternative energy source.
• The first commercial-scale wind power station was completed in February 2006 on Lamma Island, operated by HKE. The rotor diameter is 50 meters with a rated output power of 800 KW. 
• Studies show that Hong Kong has two potential sites for developing wind power on a commercial scale, one at South West Lamma with the potential to develop a 100 MW capacity wind farm producing 175 GWh of electricity annually and another at South East Ninepin with potential to develop a 200 MW wind farm. 

Solar & wind

• The first wind/solar hybrid system in Hong Kong was installed at the Shek Kwu Chau Drug Rehabilitation Centre. The first commercial-scale combined PV and wind turbine renewable energy power station at 200 kW capacity on Town Island was completed in 2011. 

Waste-to-energy

Landfill

• There are three strategic landfills in Hong Kong, namely West New Territories Landfill, South East New Territories Landfill and North East New Territories, which have been utilizing landfill gas for energy production. The current uses include generating electricity for use in on-site infrastructures.
• The surplus landfill gas generated from North East New Territories Landfill is treated and delivered to Hong Kong & China Gas' (HKCG) production plant in Tai Po for use as alternative energy source.
• The surplus landfill gas generated from South East New Territories Landfill is treated (in the form of synthetic natural gas) and conveyed to HKCG's Offtake Station at Tseng Lan Shue, where the treated gas is blended with town gas for injection to the supply grid for HKCG's customers.
• Apart from the strategic landfills mentioned above, there are 13 closed landfills. The landfill gas generated from some of the larger closed landfills, namely Shuen Wan, Gin Drinkers Bay, Jordan Valley, Tseung Kwan O Stage I, II and III and Pillar Point Valley landfills, has been used as an energy source.
• For Shuen Wan Landfill, a special arrangement has been made with HKCG for piping the landfill gas to their plant for utilization. Landfill gas is also used as fuel in electricity generation to meet on-site uses in Jordan Valley and Tseung Kwan O Stage I landfills. For Gin Drinkers Bay, Tseung Kwan O Stage II/III and Pillar Point Valley, the landfill gas is used as a thermal energy source in the treatment of landfill leachate. 

Biogas

• Hong Kong has been utilizing biogas from digesters in the sewage treatment works in Sha Tin, Tai Po, Fan Ling, Yuen Long for a number of purposes – in boilers for producing hot water for the digesters, in engine-driven blowers to provide compressed air for the sewage treatment process, and in engine-driven electric generators to provide electricity for the sewage treatment works.
• An example is the 330 KW engine-driven combined heat and power generator at Shek Wu Hui Sewage Treatment Works, which was commissioned in 2006 and subsequently connected to CLP’s distribution network in 2008. The electricity generated is supplied to existing E&M facilities while the recovered thermal energy is used for pre-heating the recirculation water for maintaining the required temperature for the sludge digestion process in the sewage treatment works.

Renewables industry overview

In Hungary, the use of renewable energy sources is getting more and more widespread. The most up to date official data provided by MEKH is for the month of August 2021. Of the 2,905 GWh of electricity generated in this period, 43.6% was nuclear, 22% was provided from natural gas, 10.8% by coal and coal products, 22.4% by renewables and 1.1% by other sources. Of the electricity generated from renewable energy sources, 68.8% was provided by solar, 18.1% by biomass, 5% by wind, 3.4% by biogas, 2.8% by hydro and 2% by the renewable fraction of municipal waste. Compared to the same period last year, solar and wind increased, while the amount of energy from water, biomass, biogas and the renewable fraction of municipal waste decreased.

In January 2020, the Hungarian government adopted the new National Energy Strategy, which sets out Hungary's energy and climate policy priorities until 2030 (with an outlook to 2040). The new National Energy Strategy focuses on clean, smart and affordable energy services.

Hydropower

Due to the unfavourable geographical conditions, there are only a few hydroelectric power plants in Hungary. The two largest ones are located on the Tisza river, the Tiszalök power plant has an installed capacity of 12.5 MW and the Kisköre power plant has an installed capacity of 28 MW. There are also other hydroelectric power plants with smaller capacities in the country, mainly on the Rába river (e.g. Ikervár hydropower plant).

Wind

Most of the wind farms are located in North-west Hungary, where the natural conditions are most favourable for optimal power generation. The legal environment does not support the implementation of new wind farms, therefore the capacities are stuck on the same level in the last years. The Government supports the establishing of solar power plants instead of wind farms.

Solar

The use of solar energy is growing dynamically in Hungary, but it still lags behind Western Europe. Between 2015 and 2021, the capacity increased by an average of 64% annually. In 2021, solar power plants in the country had a total capacity of over 2850 MW. The largest solar power plants in the country are located in Kaposvár (100 MW), Kaba (43 MW) and Kapuvár (25 MW).

Geothermal

The geothermal situation in Hungary is extremely favourable, as it is geographically situated in an area where high temperature parts are relatively dense and close to the surface. Geothermal energy is mainly used for heating residential buildings, industrial plants and greenhouses. The country's first geothermal power plant to generate electricity was built in Tura. The 3 MW capacity power plant started operations in 2017.

Biomass

A big part of Hungary's renewable energy comes from biomass. The use of agricultural by-products and plants grown specifically for this purpose is widespread. Biomass is used in whole or in part to power a number of Hungarian fossil power plants (Dorog thermal power plant, Pécs thermal power plant). Firewood used for heating homes is also considered biomass. At the Kaposvár sugar factory, biogas produced as a by-product of production is purified and, in addition to meeting the factory's own energy needs, it also provides the city with a cheap source of energy.

Renewables industry overview

• One of the most important innovations in the field of renewables in Italy is represented by the RED II decree, transposed in Italy by Legislative Decree No. 199 of November 8, 2021, entered into force on December 15, 2022, which implemented the EU Directive 2018/2001 on the use of Renewable Energy Sources. It aims to accelerate Italy's sustainable growth and energy transition path through provisions on the use of energy from renewable sources that are consistent with the decarbonization targets of 2030 (-55% climate-changing emissions compared to 1990) and 2050 (net-zero). The decree stipulates that renewable energies must account for at least 32% of gross final energy consumption, although the European Commission intends to raise the threshold to 38-40%.
• Italy has made some important commitments aimed at energy efficiency and at achieving certain quotas of energy production from renewable sources, as derived from Directive 2009/28/EC.
• In Italy, several documents set targets for renewables, like the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan), the PNIEC (National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan) and the Long-term National Strategy for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
• In 2017 Italy generated more than 320 billion kWh, meeting more than 88% of national demand with a significant increase in energy produced from renewable sources.
• According to the GSE (Gestore dei Servizi Energetici – Energy Services Manager), in 2018 a further spread of renewable energy sources has been achieved in Italy, which are increasingly used both for space heating and cooling and in the transport sector. This is confirmed by the annual report on the spread and use of national green energy, where official data shows that the production of green energy in Italy has covered 17.8% of consumption, exceeding 2% of that of 2017.
• In 2019, according to calculations by Terna (the transmission system operator which manages the Italian transmission grid), the production of renewable energy in Italy amounted to 114.6 billion kWh, an increase of 1.3% compared to 2018.
• Against a national demand of 316.6 TWh (i.e. down from the previous year), renewable electricity sources in Italy in 2019 covered as much as 35.9% of national demand while still accounting for 40.4% of domestic electricity production as in 2018.
• With the exception of 2014, the figure recorded is still the highest ever and, among renewables, wind and photovoltaic grew by 14.3% and 9.3% respectively, together producing almost 44.4 TWh or 4.5 TWh more than in 2018.
• At the end of 2020, around 950,000 plants producing electricity from renewable sources were in operation in Italy with a total capacity of over 56 GW. Almost 936.000 of these plants are photovoltaic, about 5,700 wind power, while the remainder are powered by other sources (hydraulic, geothermal, bioenergy).
• At the end of 2021, electricity demand amounted to 319.9 TWh, an increase of 6.2% over the previous year. Gross domestic production amounted to 289.1 TWh, up 3.0% compared to 2020. In detail, 59.0% of national production was covered by non-renewable thermoelectric production (up 5.5% compared to 2020), 16.4% by hydroelectric production (-4.1% compared to 2020) and the remaining 24.6% by wind, geothermal, photovoltaic and bioenergy sources (wind +11.5%, photovoltaic +0.4%, geothermal -1.9% and bioenergy -2.9% compared to 2020).

Hydropower

• Hydroelectricity is the leading renewable source in Italy, producing 41% of the total renewable energy needed by the country. This technology is the leading renewable sector; in fact, there are almost 4,300 Italian plants that produce 46 TWh each year. This energy resource employs almost 15,300 people but requires constant maintenance and investment.
• Renewable hydroelectric energy is a resource that has already been largely exploited, but it assumes strategic importance in European projects to be implemented by 2030.
• Italy, where hydropower has assumed significant relevance, ranks fourth for hydroelectric power generated in Europe, just behind Norway, Sweden and France.
• Installed capacity has increased by 10% in recent years and the number of installations has risen by 78%. 

Wind

• Wind energy production in Italy is significant, in Europe 10.758 MW of plants will be installed on shore in 2019, our country is in fifth place in Europe for wind production. Italian wind energy production accounts for 9% of national electricity production. Around 90% of wind power plants are concentrated in the south and on the islands, due to the greater availability of suitably windy sites in these regions.
• The wind power capacity installed in Italy in 2021, is almost 11 GW divided between 5,777 plants, which means that in two and a half years just under 1 GW has been installed and that today we have just 3 GW more than almost ten years ago.
• In 2030 Italian wind energy is expected to reach about 19,300 MW of installed capacity, of which about 900 MW from offshore wind. This capacity would guarantee annual electricity production of 40 TWh, or 10% of Italy's gross electricity consumption. 

Solar

• In Italy there are 1,015,239 photovoltaic installations operating, with a capacity of just over 22 GW.
• At the end of 2021, 80,000 more solar plants were installed than the year before, with an increase in installed capacity of 940 MW. Out of an estimated total of about 115 TWh, solar accounted for 22% of the electricity produced from renewable sources, in second place after hydroelectric, numbers still too low if we look at the 2030 objectives and the growth levels of installed solar PV in the coming years (at least another 30 GW of PV to be installed in just under 10 years according to the PNIEC, but perhaps more would be needed for the targets we have given ourselves). 

Geothermal

• Geothermal energy in Italy is quite widespread and its use is very old, dating back to the Roman Empire.
• Italy has a potential of extractable and exploitable geothermal energy that is estimated to be worth between 500 million and 10 billion tonnes of oil equivalent. That is between 5,800 and 116,000 TW.
• More or less, about 6 TW of energy is obtained each year in Italy, and an installed capacity of the order of 1.1 GW (1,100 MW). Of the latter, just over 900 MW corresponds to the power of the plants that convert heat into electricity – geothermal plants – while just under 200 MW comes from direct use for urban heating, thermal, therapeutic uses and greenhouse cultivation. The fact that about one-seventh is used for thermal purposes and six-sevenths for electrical purposes is a well-established fact in national history, as reconstructed by the Italian Geothermal Union.
• Compared to national energy needs, however, geothermal energy is quantified at just under 2%, or about 5% of the sole renewable component. 

Tidal energy

• Italy is moving towards the construction of tidal power plants, especially in ports.
• In Ganzirri, a hamlet of Messina, the Kobold turbine has been built, anchored to the seabed; it consists of three blades connected to the drive shaft by six arms. The turbine is connected to the national grid and has a power output of approximately 25 kW.
• The port of Civitavecchia has arranged for the installation of two devices: REWEC and WAVESAX, which produce electricity using compressed air from the movement of water.

FIT/FIP regime

As one of the electricity system reforms after the Great East Japan Earthquake, Japan adopted the feed-in tariff (FIT) regime in July 2012. The Act on Special Measures Concerning Procurement of Renewable Energy Sourced Electricity by Electric Utilities (the FIT Act) is the main law concerning the FIT regime. Under the FIT Act, the utility companies are required to purchase the electricity generated from renewable energy sources at a certain purchase price and during a certain purchase period designated by METI annually. The main purpose of the FIT regime is to enable the renewable energy project operators to predict expected profits and accelerate capital investment into renewable energy sources.

However, several problems over the FIT regime emerged immediately after its adoption, especially in relation to solar projects. For example, many business operators who obtained the FIT license at the initial stage were entitled to a comparatively higher purchase price in comparison with the business operators who obtained it at a later stage. The situation was motivating business operators to delay commencement of project operation to wait for decreases in solar panel costs and achieve high profitability. To address these problems, the FIT regime was subject to several amendments.

The most recent trend of the FIT regime reform is an amendment to the FIT Act which came into effect as of April 1, 2022 (the Amended FIT Act). The Amended FIT Act newly introduced, among others, the feed-in premium mechanism (the FIP regime) and the automatic cancellation of FIT/FIP licenses of projects with delayed commencement of operation. Under the FIP regime, the business operators receive a “premium” (kyokyu sokushin kofukin) in addition to the revenue from power sales. The unit price ofthe premium is determined on the basis of two prices, the “basic price” (kijun kakaku) and the “referred price.” The basic price is determined by METI in advance as the price which enables the operators to earn appropriate profit. The referred price is also determined based on a calculation formula designated by the relevant ordinance to the Amended FIT Act. The referred price is characterized as the average purchase price at the wholesale trading market plus the average price of an environmental value at the wholesale trading market with certain adjustments. The unit price of the premium is calculated by deducting the referred price from the basic price (i.e., premium = basic price – referred price). The basic concept of the FIP regime is to determine the amount of subsidies to operators in conjunction with the real time market status ensuring that they can  earn appropriate profit even in case where the electricity market price declines. Although currently the FIT regime and the FIP regime are coexisting, only the FPI regime applies to certain projects (e.g. soler project with 1 MW or more output). 

To deal with the problems caused by projects that do not commence power supply despite obtaining the licenses certificate and reserving grid capacity to deliver the electricity, the Amended FIT Act allows METI to cancel the license of such projects under certain conditions.

Trends in the electricity industry

The current energy mix status in Japan is 51.1% thermal power (14.7% coal, 26.9% LNG, and 9.5% oil), 10.6% nuclear power, 15.7% hydro, and 22.5% renewables (excluding hydro).

The Sixth Strategic Energy Plan sets as its top priority the transformation of renewable energy into the main electric power source. It calls for raising the current target for renewable energy’s contribution to power generation in 2030 from 22-24% to 36-38%.

Renewable energy sources

Solar

Installed solar power generating capacity at the end of FY 2020 was 61.2 GW. Solar power makes up approximately 86.3% of total FIT-certified renewable power generating capacity.

Wind

Wind power generating capacity was 4.4 GW as of the end of FY 2020. The installation of wind power facilities has lagged behind that of solar power facilities, due to factors such as the longer time needed to assess environmental impacts and constraints on grid capacity. The majority of installed wind power generation facilities are onshore, and only around 20 MW of capacity is offshore. However, the FIT-certified capacity of offshore installations has trended upward, reaching 668 MW at the end of FY 2020.

Biomass and waste

Biomass and waste generating capacity at the end of FY 2020 came to 4.2 GW. In Japan, this form of power generation has centered on municipal waste incineration and the direct combustion of black liquor from papermaking and wood waste from lumber production. Biomass and waste power, low environmental load type thermal power is a renewable that, unlike variable renewable energy (solar and wind), can stably generate power with minimal fluctuation. This means that it can be used to reliably generate electricity in the wake of disasters, and is being increasingly introduced as a power source that can help to strengthen disaster resilience, even when compared with other renewables.

Renewable industry overview

• Kenya is one of the countries leading the charge on renewable energy in the world. Currently, renewable energy accounts for 73% of Kenya’s installed power generation capacity and 90% of the electricity in use.¹ At the COP26 Conference in Glasgow, President Kenyatta noted that Kenya is on course to achieve its targets of 100% use of clean energy by 2030 and 100% access to clean cooking by 2028. This reflects the government’s commitment to promoting renewable energy.
• According to EPRA, total installed energy capacity as at June 2021 comprised  863.1 MW geothermal, 838.1 MW hydro,  435.5 MW wind, 2 MW biomass,  90.25 MW solar and 720.32 MW of thermal.²
• In 2016, the Climate Change Act, 2016 (Climate Change Act) was enacted to ensure that there is an enhanced response to climate change. The Climate Change Act requires the Cabinet Secretary responsible for climate change matters to formulate a National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) which prescribes measures to enhance efficiency and use of renewable energy in industrial, commercial, transport, domestic and other use. It also established the Climate Change Council to approve and oversee implementation of the NCCAP. The Climate Change Act also requires the Cabinet Secretary responsible for climate change to grant persons who encourage and put in place measures for the elimination of climate change including the use of renewable energy, incentives that may be necessary for the advancement of the elimination of and mitigation against climate change and its effects. These incentives are to be granted in accordance with the law, and upon consultation with the Cabinet Secretary responsible for finance.
• The Renewable Energy Resource Advisory Committee (RERAC) established under the Energy Act is tasked with the promotion of renewable energy. It advises the Cabinet Secretary responsible for energy on the management and development of renewable energy resources as well as licensing of renewable energy resource areas.
• REREC, which is also established under the Energy Act, develops, promotes and manages in collaboration with other agencies, the use of renewable energy and technologies, including but not limited to biomass, solar, wind, tidal waves, small hydropower and co-generation but excluding geothermal.
• In May 2021, the Cabinet Secretary – National Treasury and Planning announced that the government of Kenya is at an advanced stage of establishing an emissions trading scheme.
• Further to this, the Finance Act, 2022 introduced a tax incentive for corporate entities operating a carbon market exchange or emissions trading system. The new tax incentive is aimed at fostering investment in clean and sustainable business.
• Historically, geothermal energy and hydropower have contributed the largest proportion of Kenya’s renewable energy growth. Given the abundance of geothermal resources in Kenya, the dominance of geothermal is expected to continue. However, over the last five years, there has been tremendous growth in other renewable energy technologies, particularly wind and solar. Various wind projects have already been connected to the grid such as the 310 MW Lake Turkana Wind Power Project, which is Africa’s largest wind farm. It began injecting power into the national grid in September 2018. The 100 MW Kipeto wind farm was also commissioned in July 2021. Further, renewable energy generation got a boost with the commissioning of additional Selenkei Solar and Kianthumbi Hydro power plants, with installed capacities of 40MW and 0.5MW respectively. 

Geothermal

• Geothermal energy is the largest contributor of energy to Kenya’s national grid. With an installed capacity of  863.1 MW currently, the geothermal capacity is already approaching 1 GW.
• Kenya’s geothermal resources are located in the Rift Valley and the LCPDP estimates that these resources boast an estimated potential of 10,000 MW.
• To tap into Kenya’s vast geothermal resources, the Geothermal Development Company (GDC), which is a fully government-owned company was formed in 2008 to accelerate the development of geothermal resources in Kenya through the development of steam fields.
• Geothermal is now well developed in Kenya, with expertise in geothermal exploration, drilling, power plant implementation and operation being available in-country.
• Currently, geothermal generation is being carried out in Olkaria, Menengai and Eburu fields. New geothermal reservoirs are however being explored in Suswa, Longonot, Akiira and Baringo Silali.
• In 2019, the 178 MW Olkaria V geothermal power plant was commissioned.  KenGen also recently commissioned Unit 6 of the Olkaria I geothermal power plant with an estimated capacity of 86MW. Additionally, there are plans to commission the Menengai III Geothermal project which will have a capacity of 35 MW by December 2022.
• The government, through KenGen, has four ongoing geothermal projects with a total estimated capacity of 314 MW.
• It’s expected that geothermal will continue to play a key role in the Kenyan power system. 

Hydropower

• Kenya has relied on hydropower for generations, to support its growing economy.
• Kenya’s hydropower potential is estimated to be in the range of 3,000-6,000 MW. Currently, Kenya has a total installed large hydropower capacity of 838.1 MW, with KenGen controlling most of this capacity. Some of the large hydropower plants operated by KenGen include Masinga, Kamburu, Gitaru, Kindaruma, Kiambere, Tana, Turkwel, Sondu Miriu, and Sang’oro.
• Sites for small-scale hydro projects are also being developed, with some of these projects being implemented by the Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA).
• Hydroelectric potential has been identified in the Lake Victoria basin (329 MW), the Rift Valley basin (305 MW), the Athi River basin (60 MW) and the Tana River basin (790 MW) among others. 

Wind

• By the end of June 2021, the total installed wind capacity in Kenya was 435.5 MW thanks to the 25 MW Ngong wind farm which comprises of 30 850 kW turbines and the 310 MW Lake Turkana wind farm which comprises of 365 turbines of 850 kW. In 2021, the 100 MW Kipeto wind farm was commissioned, increasing the share of wind power in Kenya’s installed energy capacity.
• The LCPDP identifies the locations for the best wind sites in Kenya as Marsabit, Samburu, Laikipia, Meru, Nyeri, Nyandarua and Kajiado counties. In total, it’s estimated that Kenya has an area of close to 90,000 km2 with excellent wind speeds of 6m/s and above.
• There’s significant potential for the development of wind energy in Kenya. The fact that the costs of developing wind energy have been on the decline in recent years only adds to the viability of wind energy as a key player in the development of Kenya’s energy sector. 

Solar

• Due to its location near the equator, Kenya is endowed with very high solar resources. Despite this, solar generation currently accounts for only 3.2 % of Kenya’s installed capacity. This situation is quickly changing with various solar power projects currently in development. The most notable solar power plant in Kenya is the 50 MW Garissa Solar Power, which was developed by REREC. Other solar power projects in development include a 40 MW solar power project in Malindi, two 40 MW solar power plants in Uasin Gishu, a 40 MW solar power project in Lamu, and a 30 MW solar project in Makueni.
• Solar power is also seen as a driver for rural electrification. According to EPRA, an estimated 500,000 rural households in Kenya have solar home systems. This is largely attributed to private sector activity whereby companies such as M-Kopa, Sun King, Mobisol and Azuri offer consumers a battery package that is capable of running three or four lights, TV and a sound system.
• Many industrial consumers of power are also gradually shifting to solar power to generate their own electricity.

Biomass energy

• There are various biomass plants in Kenya that use sources such as agricultural waste, slaughterhouse waste, and municipal waste. As at June 2021, biomass accounted for 0.07% of the effective installed capacity.
• The LCPDP recognizes the potential of biomass in Kenya and indicates that its use for power generation into the national grid is being explored.
• Currently, KPLC does not purchase electricity generated from biomass. 

Ocean energy

• Currently, Kenya does not have any ocean energy on its national grid. In February 2011, the Ministry of Energy had granted SDE Energy Ltd (SDE), an Israel-based energy company, the approval to construct a Tidal Power Plant project in the coastal line of eastern Kenya at a cost of USD80 million.³ There has, however, been little progress on the project.
• Ocean energy remains an untapped resource in Kenya. Given that the same is not mentioned in the LCPDP, this situation is not likely to change any time soon.

References

[1] Kenya to fully transition to clean energy by 2030 
[2] EPRA: Energy and Petroleum Statistics Report 2021 pg 10
[3] Energy & Resources Market Research Reports & Industry Analysis

• Some 23.9% of the energy sources in electricity generation in 2020 were obtained from renewable sources, comprising bagasse (sugarcane pulp used as biomass fuel) (13.3%), photovoltaic (PV) (5.1%), hydro (4%), wind (0.6%) and landfill gas (0.9%).
• In 2019/2020, electricity generated from renewable sources decreased by 2% (702 GWh to 688 GWh) along with electricity generated from bagasse, which included cane trash, decreased by 12.7% (440 GWh to 384 GWh).
• However:
  • landfill gas increased by 25% (20 GWh to 25 GWh);
  • hydro increased by 17.2% (99 GWh to 116 GWh);
  • wind increased by 20% (15 GWh to 18 GWh); and
  • photovoltaic energy source grew by more than 13%. 
• These figures represent a gradual growth in the share of renewable energy – particularly solar and hydro – in the country’s electricity generation over the last four years. 
• In respect of institutional and regulatory changes, the government created the Mauritius Renewable Energy Agency (MARENA) under the MARENA Act 2015. MARENA is empowered, among other things, to oversee and promote the development of renewable energy in Mauritius, including research and innovation. In 2017, the CEB Act was amended to allow CEB (Green Energy) Co Ltd, whose function is to promote renewable energy, to participate in power projects without having recourse to public procurement. 

• At present, no electricity in Mozambique is generated using fossil fuels.
• Renewable energy projects are subject to the general procedure and requirements as applicable to mega projects, in addition tot the Tariff Regime for New and Renewable Energies, Mozambique.
• Given the predominance of hydropower solar and wind are expected to grow significantly in the future.
• In terms of potential capacity, The National Energy Fund - Fundo Nacional de Energia - FUNAE indicates that the outlook of renewable energy in Mozambique is as follows:
  • Hydric: With 18.572 MW
  • Wind: With 4.580 MW
  • Solar: With 2.702 MW
  • Geothermal: With 57 MW
  • Biomass: With 2.181 MW
  • Waves: With 11 MW 
• Government initiatives related to renewables include:
  • Under ProEnergia, the Government of Mozambique launched the Promotion of Auctions for Renewable Energy (PROLER) in 2020, which aims to achieve greater capacity for generating renewable energy resources at a lower cost for the benefit of the end-consumer;
  • EDM has already launched two pioneering solar projects - the Mocuba Solar Power Plant with 40 MW capacity which commenced operations in 2019 and the Metoro Solar Power Plant with 30 MW capacity, which is expected to commence operations in January 2022.

Summary of the renewables industry

• Over the last decade, renewable energy consumption increased in the Netherlands. In 2021, the share of consumed energy derived from renewable sources reached 13 percent, an increase of roughly 45 percent in comparison with the consumption share registered in 2019.
• In 2022, renewable energy accounted for 15 percent of gross national energy consumption. That brings the Netherlands halfway its goal to generate at least 27 percent of its total energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030.
• Dutch renewable energy consumption amounted to 277 PJ (petajoules) in 2022, 6 percent more than in the previous year. One petajoule is the equivalent of the total energy use of around 23 thousand homes in 2022. The total final energy consumption from all sources was 1,850 PJ, over 7 percent lower than the year before and the lowest since 1990. “Partly due to the decrease in total consumption, the share of renewable energy increased,” CBS said. 

Renewable energy percentages of gross final energy consumption 

• Biomass: 5,96%
• Solar: 3,34%
• Wind: 4,20%

Solar

• Forty-six percent more solar power was used in 2022 than in 2021. Not only did the number of newly installed solar panels rise further. At the end of 2022, the total capacity of installed solar panels in the Netherlands was more than 19 GW, 28 percent more than twelve months previously. This is more than the total capacity of all power stations combined (17 GW).
• The growth of solar power in the Netherlands hit an all-time high in 2022 with around 4.2 GW of installed power. The National Plan Energysystem (Nationaal Plan Energiesysteem) (NPE) forecasts that by 2050, the Netherlands will achieve a solar panel output of 173 GW. The NPE is the holistic plan developed by the Dutch government setting out what the future energy system of the Netherlands should look like. 

Wind

• Wind energy consumption increased by 13 percent to 78 PJ last year. This is nearly the same amount as the combined electricity consumption of all homes in the Netherlands in 2022. Consumption from offshore wind farms amounted to approximately 30 PJ, about the same as the year before. Consumption of wind energy on land grew by 25 percent to 47 PJ. The total capacity of wind turbines grew by 14 percent compared to 2021.
• At least 4.5 GW of offshore wind farms need to be operation by 2023. This commitment is enshrined in the Energy Agreement for Sustainable Growth. Offshore wind farms will then supply 3.3% of all the energy in the Netherlands. The Climate Agreement (2019) and the coalition agreement (2021) include a commitment to maintain the offshore wind energy policy. Consequently, some 21 GW of offshore wind farms will need to be in operation around 2030, which is enough to supply 16% of all the energy in the Netherlands and 75% of current electricity consumption. The Dutch government presented its plans in the ‘Offshore Wind Energy Road Map’.
• When it comes to generating wind energy on land, the Dutch government has set the goal that all onshore wind energy contributes to the goal of generating at least 35 TWh of sustainable electricity on land by 2030. 

Geothermal

• Geothermal energy output in the Netherlands in 2022 grew by 6% compared to 2021. A total of 6.8 PJ of geothermal energy was produced from 36 geothermal energy doublets at 26 locations in the Netherlands. This corresponds to savings of more than 193 million cubic meters of natural gas for the year and a reduction of 365,000 tonnes in CO₂ emissions.
• There are currently 28 operating geothermal projects in the Netherlands. With 70 other projects in the pipeline, the number of geothermal projects in the country can reach 100 in the coming years.
• These measures are instrumental in attaining the country’s goal of 55% to 60% CO₂ emissions by 2030. The Dutch geothermal sector is still very young but it has gained interest from major market players. Geothermal has the potential of supplying about 25% of the country’s heat demand and possibly more than 50% of the heating requirement of the horticulture industry. 

Biomass

• The gross final consumption of biomass decreased by 15 percent in 2022 compared to the year before. A quarter less biomass was co-fired at power stations last year. Stricter sustainability criteria for biomass also took effect in mid-2021.
• The Netherlands Programme Sustainable Biomass (NPSB) by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency supported around 40 pioneering projects in biomass for several years. The general outlook of the programme is that demand for biomass resources is expected to increase for both local markets and export markets as well as for existing uses and for new markets in the biobased economy. Future possibilities for biomass importing countries to use biomass depend not only on available sustainable production potentials, but also on demand from other countries. The NPSB project portfolio consists of the Global Sustainable Biomass Fund and the Sustainable Biomass Import Fund. These programmes are funded by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Renewables industry overview

• In 2019, New Zealand generated over 82% of its electricity needs from renewable energy. The country is a global leader in renewable energy generation, particularly for geothermal energy. The International Energy Agency (IEA) released a report in 2019, stating that New Zealand has the second highest share of renewables in primary energy of IEA member countries in 2018, behind Norway. This is the third highest share of renewable electricity generation in the OECD.
• The Government has set a renewable energy target of 100% by 2035. This is significantly higher than any other country in the region and reflects the advanced state of renewable energy in the country.
• In 2019, Parliament enacted the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act. In addition to setting a new target of net zero emissions by 2050 for most greenhouse gases, the Act also established an independent Climate Change Commission (CCC). The CCC will be expected to provide expert advice and monitoring to help successive governments meet their long-term sustainability goals. In 2019, the Interim Climate Change Committee (a precursor body to the CCC) released its Accelerated Electrification Report which sets out recommendations for how best to achieve a transition to 100% renewable electricity by 2035.
• The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority is the chief government body for the promotion of renewable energy. It reports to the Minister of Energy and Resources. The Ministry for the Environment also plays an active role in the renewable energy industry, particularly insofar as it affects New Zealand’s climate change program.
• New Zealand has had an emission trading scheme since 2008, however, its success to date has been limited due to subsequent amendments lessening the impact of the scheme and the slow international pickup with such schemes. In 2020, the scheme received a refresh with the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Reform) Amendment Act, which introduces a cap for the first time to the cap-and-trade scheme.   
• Historically, geothermal energy and hydropower have contributed the largest proportion of New Zealand’s renewable energy growth. Future growth is expected to come from wind energy, given the country’s attractive wind speeds, and further geothermal projects. 

Hydropower

• Hydropower contributes about 55-60% of the country’s total electricity use. Most of the country’s hydropower capacity and potential is located in the South Island. New Zealand’s two largest river systems, the Waikato in the North Island and the Clutha in the South Island, hold many of the country’s largest hydropower stations. Many of the country’s most lucrative hydropower sites have already been developed. Proposals for the development of further sites have been met with stiff environmental opposition. Due to New Zealand’s reliance on hydropower, drier months have resulted in electricity shortages in the past.
• As part of its commitment to 100% renewable energy by 2035, the Government committed $30 million in 2020 to investigating the business case for pumped hydro at Lake Onslow.
• New Zealand has a long history of hydropower facilities. The Waipori scheme (commissioned in 1903) and the Coleridge plant (commissioned in 1914), were the earliest hydropower stations in the country. By the 1950s, New Zealand had over 1GW of installed hydropower and in 1965 a high voltage transmission line from Benmore in the South Island to Haywards in the North Island was constructed. This line resulted in more hydropower stations in the South Island (such as the 540MW Benmore station, the 750MW Manapouri station and the 432MW Clyde dam) and hydropower generation reached 5GW by the 1990s. New Zealand’s hydropower capacity has remained steady since then. 

Wind

• Wind-sourced electricity accounts for over 5% of New Zealand's total electricity needs. Natural conditions throughout New Zealand are highly conducive to developing wind projects, both onshore in mountainous areas and along the coast, as well as offshore. New Zealand has 19 wind farms either operating or under construction. These range from a single small turbine at Southbridge (100kW) to the three stages of the Tararua wind farm, which has 134 turbines with a capacity of 161MW. West Wind, near Wellington, is the largest wind farm built in one stage in New Zealand. Its 62 2.3MW turbines have a combined generating capacity of 142.6MW.
• There is currently 2,500MW of wind generation consented in New Zealand and developers are exploring sites throughout New Zealand for new wind farm sites.
• Both national and local standards regulate the maximum noise levels that can be emitted from wind turbines.
• All of New Zealand’s wind generation is currently onshore, however, a number of parties are currently exploring the possibility of developing offshore wind resource. 

Solar

• Solar generation is currently a small proportion of New Zealand’s energy supply, making up only 0.4% of its total renewable energy. However, there has been a significant increase in development in the solar sector in recent years. Solar generation produced 0.18 TWh of electricity in 2020 but this is projected to increase to 12.4 TWh by 2050.
• Price reductions in solar photovoltaic equipment have made it more popular with homeowners and businesses, despite the fact that for most it remains more costly than grid grid-supplied electricity. Residential solar power is likely to contribute to changes in New Zealand’s energy market design, energy policy and pricing structures in the future. Figures collected at the end of 2018 show that are 21, 037 residential connections with solar in New Zealand. 

Geothermal

• All of New Zealand’s geothermal generation is in the North Island, mostly around the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Geothermal-sourced electricity makes up more than 17% of the country’s electricity needs.
• Geothermal capacity is approaching 1GW, which is largely due to two older, large-scale geothermal plants and several more recent, smaller-scale geothermal plants.
• In 2019, the Government invested $10.7 million into a project researching new ways to extract geothermal energy at greater depths. Conservative estimates from GNS, the New Zealand Crown Research Institute tasked with the research, indicate that deep geothermal could unlock 10,000MW.
• Geothermal energy is used for direct heating in some parts of New Zealand. As a world-leader in geothermal generation and research, New Zealand has signed agreements with other countries who are seeking to boost their own geothermal capacity.
• The biomass industry is also well-established in New Zealand, in the biomass such as converting organic waste from landfills to energy, liquid biofuels developing alternative transport fuel and wood energy. Wood-processing facilities produce a lot of the country’s biomass energy. 

Ocean energy

• The Kaipara tidal power station was a proposed tidal power project to be located in the Kaipara Harbour with an ultimate size of 200MW at a cost of NZ$600 million (approx. US$420 million). However, in 2013, it was announced that the project had been put on hold.

Renewables industry overview

• Nigeria has substantial renewable energy potential, in particular, hydropower generation contributes roughly 16 percent of the energy supplied to the national grid. Off-grid power generation often relies on renewables, particularly from solar and wind sources.
• EPSRA established the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) which is charged with: expanding the main grid; developing isolated mini-grid systems; and promoting renewable energy power generation. The REA is also mandated to set up and administer a Rural Electrification Fund (REF) which is to promote, support and provide rural electrification programmes to achieve more equitable regional access to electricity.
• In 2011, the Federal Government launched the Renewable Energy Master Plan which was aimed at increasing the share of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix by at least 13% by 2015, 23% by 2025, and 36% by 2030.  It is expected that with current focus on renewable energy, the country will see significant growth to meet some of these targets. 

Principal renewable energy regulations 

• National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy (NREEEP): The Federal Executive Council in 2015, approved the NREEP which is broadly geared at removing the barriers that put renewable energy and energy efficiency at economic, regulatory, or institutional disadvantages, and providing a conductive political environment that will attract investments in the renewable energy and energy efficiency arena. 
• Regulations on Feed-In-Tariff for Renewable Energy Sourced Electricity in Nigeria (REFIT): In 2015, the NERC issued REFIT, which primarily applies to energy generated and supplied through the national grid and orders that NBET and electricity distribution companies shall, as a matter of priority, purchase 50 per cent of the renewable energy electricity capacity limit established by the Regulations. The REFIT also provides a special tariff framework for renewables, in the form of feed-in-tariffs which were designed to be attractive to private investors. 

Hydropower

• The substantial bulk of renewable energy generated in Nigeria comes from hydropower. Kainji Power Station, with an estimated capacity of 960MW, is the largest contributor of renewable energy in the country. Other major hydropower plants in operation includes Jebba (578.4 MW) and Shiroro Hydroelectric (600MW) Power Stations.
• At present, there are two major hydropower projects at different stages of construction. The first is the Mambilla Power Station located at the foot of the Mambilla Plateau, Taraba State. The project is being funded by the government and a syndicate of Chinese investors backstopped by Sinosure, with an anticipated power generation of 3,050MW upon completion.
• Second is the construction of the 700 Megawatts project in Zungeru, Niger State. Similarly, the project is being funded by the Federal Government and a syndicate of Chinese lenders. Initial commission date was in 2021, but has been postponed due to delays. 

Solar

• Solar is the second most significant source of renewable energy in Nigeria. Nigeria straddles the Sahel and Savannah regions of Africa, with massive photovoltaic power potential.
• In 2016 the Fedral Government, as part of its efforts to increase generation through renewable energy and to diversify away from thermal and hydro, signed 14 utility scale solar Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to supply circa 1,125MW of power to the national grid. Put and Call Options Agreements (PCOAs) were put in place to ensure the bankability of these projects.
• Despite the above, power generation from solar energy is largely underutilised. The contribution of solar power to the national grid is negligible. Currently, power generation from solar is limited in scale to, primarily, Mini-grid generators, independent power producers and homeowners.
• Several entities are currently engaging in solar projects in different parts of the country. For example, Lumor Global Ltd was reported to have received US$35m funding from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to expand its off-grid solar installation project to 16,000 homes.
• Other opportunities still exist under different programs of the government to exploit solar energy (please see government policies below). 

Wind

• Equally Nigeria has strong potential to generate electricity from wind sources. At present, there are wind generation plants in the Northwest States of Katsina with an installed capacity of 10 MW.
• However, power generation from wind sources forms a negligible component of the country’s electricity mix, and there is underutilised capacity. 

Biomass

• Similarly, biomass contribution to the energy mix remains small, however Nigeria has good prospects as biomass sources include plants materials and animal products.
• Biomass has the potential to supply more energy than solar or wind power, however, this source of renewable energy remains largely untapped in Nigeria.

Hydropower

Within Europe, Norway is considered to have the highest share of electricity produced from renewable sources in Europe (approx. 97%, of approx. 75% comes from hydropower). This is mainly due to the large sources of hydropower, and storage recourses. As a consequence, Norway also has very low emissions from this power sector. Annual production is normally approx. 140 TWh. Norway has more than 1,000 hydropower storage reservoirs and 1,660 hydro power plants.

Specific legal issues:

• Due to protection of its natural recourses, there are certain thresholds and limits included in the legislation:
  • According to the Norwegian Waterfall Rights Act, at least 2/3 of the capital/votes in a project company must be owned by Norwegian public undertakings/entities (state, municipalities, county municipalities etc). This only relates to large hydropower plants exceeding 4,000 natural horse powers or more (approx. 40 GWh annual production).
• Small scale hydropower plants; no such ownership requirements for foreign investors.
• Licenses issued in accordance with the Waterfall Rights Act require consent from (and notification to) NVE/MPE, if:
  • the transfer of the waterfall is subject to a license/concession;
  • the transfer results in a change of more than 90% of the shares/ownership interest;
  • the transfer of the waterfall as such is subject to a license/concession. 

Onshore wind

Wind power farms (onshore) have been a renewable energy source in Norway for a couple of decades, and several new wind farms have been developed in Norway the past years. However, in recent months the window for constructing new wind farms have been more closed due to political reasons. Approx. 16 TWh is the anticipated production from this renewable source within 2021 (when the el-certificate incentive expires).

The Norwegian Supreme Court ruled the “Fosen” decision, resulting in the licenses for wind power development on Fosen (wind farm) ruled invalid as the construction was considered a violation of Sami reindeer herders' right to enjoy their own culture.

Government/Parliament plans/projects – offshore wind in particular – a new renewable industry in Norway

Since the Government changed  in autumn 2021, the Government has published two press releases (9 February and 11 May 2022) to emphasize that the Government works hard with realize the offshore wind development and construction within the first offshore wind areas, Utsira Nord and Sørlige Nordsjø II.

In Norway there are currently two main areas open for offshore wind projects:

• Utsira Nord (floating offshore wind), and
• Sørlige Nordsjø II (bottom fixed offshore wind projects).

Both areas were publicly opened for applications 12 June 2020. MPE (Nw. Olje- og energidepartementet) has stated that 2-3 participators/consortium JVs will be assigned with a license within each geographical area, and the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate ("NVE") is currently exploring two new areas to be opened for offshore wind projects. A strategic environmental assessment (SEA) must be carried out prior to the opening of any zone areas.

On 9 February 2022, the new Norwegian Government announced in a press conference updates on the next steps of development in what will be the start of a new renewable energy industry in Norway, by stating they have initiated instruction actions towards the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate ("NVE"), including two overall main tasks; (i) to identify new areas for renewable energy production and impact assessment, and (ii) to assess alternative grid solutions and systems for offshore wind consequences for the Norwegian electricity system.  

The key take-away points from the press release are:

• The two main areas already opened for establishing and developing offshore wind projects, Utsira Nord ("UN") and Sørlige Nordsjø II ("SNII"), are maintained, but the main change for the area Sørlige Nordsjø II is that it will be divided into two phases. The earlier pronounced 3000 MW production limit is divided into (i) a first phase of 1500 MW production limit ("Phase I", rendering electricity to approx. 450,000-500,000 households), and (ii) a second phase of an additional 1500 MW production limit ("Phase II").   
• For Phase I the Government has concluded, based on an overall political assessment of the recent high electricity prices and ensuring sufficient electricity production of renewable energy in Norway the upcoming decades, that no "hybrid" grid system will be considered. Both for UN and SNII, a production radial and grid connection to the Norwegian mainland will be the preferred grid option. Requested hybrid grid connection systems, involving commercial possibilities to exchange electricity to foreign countries via interconnectors, have not been weighed heavy enough compared to national interests of securing delivery of green renewable energy.   
• The Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, emphasized that for Phase II it may be considered to assess hybrid grid connections, though based on NVE's further assessment.
• The awarding of areas for offshore wind will mainly be based on an auction model, the details and requirements of which are still pending the Government's final approval. Thus, the Government will continue to follow up on the regulatory changes proposed in June 2021 to finalize an auction model suitable for offshore wind development. The proposal included a pre-qualification phase to ensure that participants in the auction process hold the necessary technical and financial capacity. The Government has not determined yet on an auction model for UN, but as signalized earlier qualitative criteria will be the basis for the assessment.   
• As expected, the Government is working on submitting a proposal to the Norwegian Parliament, to adopt necessary and more detailed amendments to the existing offshore energy regulatory framework (the Offshore Energy Act and Offshore Energy Regulation). The proposed amendments must be adopted prior to the commencement of an auction process to ensure an effective and fair process. The amendments are expected to provide necessary clarifications for industry players and stakeholders to have a clear view on planning both internal and external processes going forward more in detail.
• The Government has introduced a consultation note related to further division of UN and SNII project areas into smaller areas, being subject to public consultation with a deadline expiring 29 April 2022. For floating offshore wind projects at UN, the suggested alternatives involve two project areas of 500 MW, and two project areas of 250 MW, or two project areas of 600 MW and one project area of 300 MW. For the bottom-fixed projects at SNII, the Government considers three project areas, each of 1500 MW. The Government is currently only planning to open up two of the areas for auction.
• State aid/subsidies is still emphasized of being necessary for development of the complex floating offshore wind projects being constructed at UN due to the major costs to construct a production radial over far-reaching distances. Enova will, among others, be an important funding source for these projects, and the Government stated to be prepared for providing state subsidies in line with the political importance of a successful offshore wind delivery of Phase I. 
• The Government has not provided a specific timeline for when the public auction process/announcement of licensing process for Phase I will commence (and whether this will include both UN and Phase I simultaneously), but in general the Government stated that this will happen within 2022. The exact timing will depend on the result of both the public consultation of the project areas and adoption of the required changes to the regulatory framework. Even if the exact timing for announcement of the areas has not been decided upon yet, it is important for participants in the licensing auction process to prepare for and take necessary pre-qualification steps, including seabed surveys, technical/construction and financial preparations, setting up the "readiness" of the entity/JV in accordance with regulatory terms etc. NVE has been instructed to assess new, potential and suitable areas for development and construction of offshore wind projects on the Norwegian continental shelf (likely to be in the North, Mid-West or South of Norway) The task includes developing an impact assessment program and is expected to be finished within 9 to 12 months.
• Further, NVE has been instructed to conduct an assessment on the impact that separate alternatives for power connections from offshore wind projects (including hybrid interconnectors to other countries) has on the Norwegian energy/electricity system. The assessment will be instrumental in the chosen solution for Phase II and is expected to be completed during the fall 2022.

References

• Norwegian Government's / the Minister of Petroleum and Energy's press release no 18/22 dated 9 February 2022
• NVE's assessment of consequences for the electricity system – alternative grid solutions for offshore wind
• NVE's assessment of identifying new areas for renewable energy production and impact assessment
• Public consultation of division of the areas UN and SNII

Solar

Solar power as a renewable energy source is a growing segment in Norway, but is currently developed on a "small scale" compared to other European countries. There may be many reasons for this, including that Norway, to date, has focused on other renewable energy sources (such as hydropower). In 2021, solar power installations in Norway generated an installed capacity of approx. 0.14 TWh, and it is assumed that the solar energy capacity in Norway will increase significantly the upcoming decades. However, the regulatory framework and legislation related to solar projects must be developed and made efficient for the various solar alternative business models, and this takes time.

Solar power plants for the production and sale of electricity are subject to licensing pursuant to the Energy Act, governed by the Planning and Building Act’s regulations on impact assessments (solar power plants with a voltage of 1,000 V AC/1,500 V DC or less, do not need a license according to the Energy Act), and companies conducting business related to trade of solar power are subject to holding a trading license.       

Hydrogen

The new Norwegian Government has stated in its basis/principles for the upcoming period in "Hurdalsplattformen" that it will prioritize the focus on establishing a coherent value chain for production, distribution and utilization of hydrogen, as part of the goal to reduce emission of CO₂ gas (low-emission country per 2050). As per date the Government has explicitly set a goal for the next decade (as for offshore wind) to annually produce blue and green hydrogen within 2030, including to establish a state-owned hydrogen-company. There will be a need for a further detailed, regulatory framework when this new business segment is further developed, and also when experiencing the medium to large scale development.

The Government's strategy for hydrogen is published online.

In general there are several business projects/development business ideas ongoing in Norway related to green ammonia (as part of the value chain from hydrogen), especially within shipping/transport and as "fertilizer".

Carbon capture

There has been a long-term ongoing work to realize a full-scale project for capture, transport and storage of CO₂ (CCS) in Norway. The Norwegian Parliament approved the Solberg government's full-scale CO₂ management project in Meld. St. 33 (2019–2020) Longship - capture, transport and storage of CO₂ in the state budget for 2021. A total of NOK 25.1 billion will be invested in the project. The government will cover approximately 2/3 and the industry will cover approximately 1/3 of the costs in the project's first phase. Please see Carbon capture and storage - CCS. 

Geothermal/bio

The geothermal energy resources are indicating a gradual growth of the geothermal fluids in Norway. The evaluation stage involving exploitation of the resource for power generation is already in place. The thermal energy offered by the geothermal source is constantly increasing and at the same time, the private partnership in this sector is encouraged by the Government. The use of the geothermal resource is considered to contribute to the growth of the Norway ’s economy. The "waste-to-energy" market and bio-fuel market are also increasing.

Batteries

Norway is becoming a leading country within the battery storage segment, including major players such as FREYR, Morrow Batteries and the Joint Battery Initiative (Equinor and Panasonic).

Several companies are currently planning to build battery cell giga-factories in Norway. Although the emerging industry is promising new ‘green’ economic growth for Norway, it is reliant on lithium and other raw materials that are extracted elsewhere.

Renewables Industry Overview

• In 2021, Peru generated over 9.77% of its electricity needs from renewable energy. Clearly, the country is not a global leader in renewable energy generation; nevertheless, in the last decade the energy generated by renewable sources has shown continued growth.
• To improve the quality of life of the population and protect the environment, the development of non-conventional renewable energies began in Peru in 2008 as a result of a new regulatory framework that provides for competitive and periodic auctions. As a result, four RER auction processes have been executed for the National Interconnected Electricity System (SEIN) and one for off-grid areas.
• According to their degree of technological development and level of penetration in energy systems, they are usually classified into Conventional Renewable Energies (CRE) and Non-Conventional Renewable Energies (NCRE). Within CRE, the most important is large-scale hydropower. In Peru, the current regulatory framework defines NCRE as wind, solar, geothermal, tidal, biomass and small hydropower sources. In this regulatory framework, NCRE are referred to as Renewable Energy Resources (RER).
• In 2010, the Peruvian government designed the National Energy Policy 2010-2040, and one of the objectives of which is to have a diversified energy matrix, with emphasis on renewable sources and efficiency to develop an energy sector with minimal environmental impact and low carbon emissions within a sustainable development framework.
• Following that line, in 2012 the Ministry of Environment (MINAM) launched the Planning for Climate Change (PlanCC). The technical coordination is undertaken by Libélula and the financial support comes from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (COSUDE) and the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN). The project developed sound evidence on possible climate change mitigation scenarios in Peru, strengthened capacities and laid the foundations for long-term low carbon economic growth.
• Also, in 2015 the Peruvian government launched the National Climate Change Strategy (ENCC), approved by Supreme Decree No. 011-2015-MINAM, which established that public policy objectives on climate change should be aimed for the population, economic agents and the state to conserve carbon stocks and reduce GHG emissions.
• The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM) is in charge of defining the energy requirements, preparing and approving the bases and signing the contracts resulting from the auction, while the Supervisory Agency for Investment in Energy and Mining (Osinergmin) is in charge of conducting the auction, setting the maximum prices and supervising the resulting contracts. These two entities, alongside the MINAM, are the chief government bodies for the promotion of renewable energy.
• Peru’s RER system operates under an auction scheme. The type of auction used in Peru is a first-price sealed bid and uses as a competition factor the lowest monomial price of generation, in addition to the amount of energy to be auctioned. Both the energy quotas established for each RER technology and the corresponding reserve prices represent the maximum values up to which the State is willing to purchase RER energy. In this sense, even when the price resulting from the RER auction is relatively close to the reserve price, the State obtains a profit.
• Peru also has an emission trading scheme since 2013, under the regulation of the Kyoto Protocol and now the Paris Agreement, operating by the Clean Development Mechanism which consists of the purchase and sale of gas emission certificates, known as carbon credits. Notwithstanding, the country has just begun to operate in this market in the recent years, thus the low impact of this mechanism so far.
• However, in 2021 the Peruvian government approved the "Peru Sustainable Bond Framework," a document that seeks to finance environmental and social projects to achieve the principles of a dignified and productive society with a sustainable management of natural resources. The Framework establishes that it’s the obligation of the government, through the General Directorate of the Public Treasury, to act as the issuer of carbon bonds. This regulation reflects clear progress toward the reduction of GHG emissions.
• Also, in January 2022, the Government issued Supreme Decree No. 003-2022-MINAM, which declares the climate emergency to be of national interest. In this sense, it establishes that the Ministry of Energy and Mines, within the framework of its functions and competences, and in coordination with the Ministry of Environment, guarantees the use of non-conventional renewable energy resources in the electricity generation matrix with a projection of reaching 20% of its participation by 2030.
• Historically, more than 50% of Peru's electricity production has come from renewable sources. Until 2002, hydroelectric generation accounted for 85% of the country's total electricity generated. With the development of the Camisea gas, hydroelectric power plants have been decreasing and currently represent 13-15% of the energy matrix.
• In this sense, the Peruvian electricity system is characterized by being dispatch hydrothermal due to its main resources to supply the demand for electricity at its maximum requirement: water and gas Camisea native. However, in recent years, non-conventional renewable energies power plants such as solar and wind, that have priority in the dispatch of electricity, are charging important relevance.
• On average, the RER plants have come to provide the tenth of the dispatch on the days of greatest demand for energy. In this regard, on the day of maximum demand in 2021, the participation of the RER in dispatch was 9.2%. In the 2019 and 2020, the participation was 11.1% and 12.7%. In the future, such behavior is expected to continue. 

Hydropower

• Peru has a long history of hydropower facilities. The production of electric power in Peru had its beginnings in the district of Yangas (Huaraz), where the mining company Tarijas built the first hydroelectric power plant, which came into operation in 1884. In 1961, the Corporación de Energía Eléctrica del Mantaro (CORMAN) was created to build the Mantaro Hydroelectric Power Plant for the development of the region and the country, which was installed in 1973 and began operating in 1965. The total power installed in the country up to 1976 was 2,516 MW, of which 55.9% was hydroelectric.
• According to an interview conducted on April 4, 2021, the president of the National Society of Mining, Petroleum and Energy (SNMPE), Raul Jacob, stated that Peru has almost USD8.5 billion in energy investment projects, mainly in clean energy sources. Of this amount, 67% (approximately USD5.7 billion) is earmarked for hydroelectric power plants. 

Wind

• At the end of 2021 Peru registered seven wind farms: Marcona, Wayra I and Tres Hermanas in Ica, Cupisnique in La Libertad, Duna and Huambos in Cajamarca and Talara in Piura, with a total installed capacity of 408 MW. It’s worth noting that the largest wind farm in the country is Wayra I, with a total installed capacity of 132.3 MW (42 wind turbines with an individual power of 3.15 MW).
• Wayra I (the biggest) generates aprox. a total of 600 GWh per year, equivalent to the annual consumption of almost half a million Peruvian households, and will prevent the emission of almost 288,000 tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere per year.
• Between the end of 2020 and the first half of 2021, the Duna and Huambos wind farms entered into operation, each of these with an effective power of 18.4 MW. The two wind power plants are located in the north, specifically in the department of Cajamarca.
• In 2022, the construction phase began on Wayra Extension, which will be the expansion of the existing Wayra I wind power plant and will have a capacity of 108 MW. The approximate investment amount is USD148.41 million.
• Thus, there are three wind projects (Wayra Extension, Parque Eólico San Juan and Punta Lomitas) that have a definitive concession, add up to an installed capacity of 499 MW and represent a joint investment of approximately USD 600 million.
• It’s estimated that Peru has a wind energy potential of 77,000 MW, of which more than 22,000 MW could be exploited. 

Solar

• At the end of 2021 Peru registered eight solar power plants with photovoltaic technology in the regions of Arequipa (two), Moquegua (four), Lima (one) and Tacna (one). The largest solar power plant in the country is Enel Green Power Peru's Rubí, with an installed capacity of 144.5 MW. It also recorded an annual production of 424.2 GWh in 2018, which represented 57% of the country’s total solar production. According to Enel, the plant is capable of generating 440 GWh per year, equivalent to the consumption of 350,000 Peruvian households, thus avoiding the annual emission of more than 209,000 tons of CO₂.
• The first hybrid solar hydroelectric plant called “Yarucaya” (1.62 megawatt) began its official operation on november, 2021 and is located in the district of Sayán, in the province of Huaura, 3 hours from Lima. The plant clean electrical energy into the SEIN.
• At the end of 2021, two definitive concessions were awarded in Peru (Clemesí solar power plant and the Iquitos solar power plant).
• The solar energy atlas of Peru shows that the region with the largest resources is located along the southern coast of Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna. In these areas the annual average daily radiation is around 250 watts per square meter (W/m²). 

Geothermal

• Peru is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is characterized by frequent tectonic movements.
• Geothermal potential in the country has been studied since the 1970s with the identification of potential areas in the south, such as Moquegua and Tacna. In addition, more than 200 hot springs, fumaroles and some geysers have been identified.
• In 2012, the West Japan Engineering Consultants published the Master Plan for the development of geothermal energy in Peru which confirmed that the country has abundant geothermal resources with a total potential of 2,860 MW, mainly in the southern zone.
• In 2021, the Achumani (Arequipa) and Quello Apacheta (Moquegua) geothermal power plant projects were approved, both of which are in the initial development stage and will require an investment of more than USD1 billion to generate close to 500 MW. 

Biomass/biogas

• Peru currently has five biomass power plants: Paramonga, Huaycoloro, La Gringa V and Doña Catalina located in Lima, and Maple Ethanol in Piura. In 2018, the biomass plants Maple Etanol and Paramonga had a higher share of the total installed capacity with 52.9% (37.5 MW) and 32.4% (23 MW), respectively. The Paramonga plant – which uses sugarcane bagasse as a source of energy for the production of electricity – was the first power plant with renewable resources of thermoelectric origin to start commercial operation in November 2010.
• Peru has the potential to install conventional biomass power plants with a capacity between 450 and 900 MW and biogas plants with a capacity of 5,151 MW. The main crops that can be used for ethanol production in Peru are sugarcane and sorghum.

Overview of the renewable energy sector 

In 2021, 28,12% of the power installed in the grid came from renewable energy sources (mainly from wind and solar installations). Nevertheless, the percentage share of the electricity generated from renewable energy sources in the whole national electricity production is only 16.9% (according to the data from Polish Energy Market Agency (PL: Agencja Rynku Energii)).

The target for renewables is set by the EU and its climate policy. According to the EU policy, by 2030, at least 40% of the energy mix must come from renewable energy sources. This level varies between countries therefore, Poland is obliged to have at least 31% of its energy mix generated from renewable energy sources.

Directive 2009/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council does not indicate any sanctions for failing to meet the 2020 target, and according to press information, the European Commission does not plan to publish any guidelines regarding the course of action in such a case.

In this context, the principles arising from the EU treaties, which concern failure to fulfil obligations arising from the EU law, become important. National renewable energy sources targets, due to their nature, are such an obligation. The European Commission may initiate a procedure against any country failing to meet its obligation. The potential consequences for countries falling behind in meeting the 2020 targets should be understood rather as a means to motivate them to catch up, but also to increase their ambition to meet the second EU RES target, the one set for 2030.

According to Article 6 of Directive 2009/28/EC, Member States may agree and make arrangements for statistical transfers of a certain amount of energy from one Member State to another. At the moment, however, there are no specific decisions of the Polish government in this respect.

As of today, the government declares that the percentage share of the energy generated from renewable energy sources in the entire energy mix, for 2030, will be 23%. This is not in line with the EU goals, and thus it would require the government to increase the efforts with regard to the green transformation. This prognosis of course is not set in stone as according to the EU Poland has potential to reach 31% of the share of the energy generated from renewable energy sources in the Poland whole energy usage by 2030. This however would require numerous efforts from the current and future governments in order to achieve ambitious EU goals.

These efforts mainly result in providing legal framework as well as support systems aimed at rapid development of the renewables sector. Such actions may be considered as amending the Act on Renewable Energy Sources that extended the primary support system for renewables in Poland – the auction system. This auction system has been extended until 2027 (before this amendment the auction system was to be in place till 2021). On November 30, 2027, the European Commission agreed to the extension of the auction system until 2027 (consent was required as it was an extension of the public aid).

The majority of the renewable energy sources in Poland include wind and solar plants. According to Agencja Rynku Energii S.A. (Energy Market Agency) the structure of the installed power in renewables is as follows:

Wind farms	7 211,6 MW
Solar plants	9 401,1 MW
Water plants	977,5 MW
Biomass plants	914,1 MW
Biogas plants	265,7 MW

Installed capacity in renewables in Poland (September 2021)

Source

The Act Amending the Act on Maritime Safety and the Act on Maritime Areas of the Republic of Poland and Maritime Administration was adopted in 2022 The amendment is a continuation of legislation aimed at creating a legal framework for the construction of offshore wind farms in the Polish Exclusive Economic Zone of the Baltic Sea and sets of equipment for power evacuation within the meaning of the Act on Promoting Electricity Generation in Offshore Wind Farms. Nevertheless, Poland as of yet has no operating offshore wind farms; however, projects are currently being planned by both private and state-owned investors.

The amendments to the Act on maritime areas of the Republic of Poland and maritime administration will not impose new obligations on investors but will only sort out the issue of allowing offshore wind farms to be connected to the grid.

Solar energy 

Solar energy is the largest part of the renewable energy mix as it constitutes 50% of all installed capacity of renewable energy installations (which is an increase of 22% compared to last year). Up to 2020, the electricity from PV installations was not generated in substantial amounts and could not compete with wind farms. This, however, has changed in recent years and energy companies have started to push for PV projects (also due to the introduction of the 10h rule in 2016). This allowed for the increase in development of solar farms, which have recently started to generate electricity to be sold to customers. A sudden increase in installed capacity of PV installations occurred in 2020-2022. As a result, the installed capacity in PV projects, amounting to 6,3 GW in 2020, has grown by 3,1 GW and is on the level of 9,4 GW (as of March 2022). These numbers have grown, as predicted.

Wind power energy 

Another vital part of Polish energy mix is wind energy , and as it constitutes 39% of all installed capacity of renewable energy installations (a decrease of 13% compared to last year), it must be concluded that it’s also an important fraction of the energy mix in Poland as a whole. In summary, wind power plants are a vital element of the green transformation that’s necessary if the country is to increase its electricity production from renewable energy sources and move away from being mainly powered by coal or lignite power plants.

The most dynamic growth of wind powered renewable energy installations was between 2005 and 2016, when the growth was almost 70-fold. The best year for wind power was 2016 – in this year 1,225.38 MW of new installed capacity was added to the market. The end of 2016 also marked the end of the previous energy support scheme – green certificates, which were subsequently replaced by the auction system (the current and valid support system for energy from renewable sources in Poland).

The auction system, however, was not the factor that slowed down the investments in the renewable energy sector. Along with the introduction of the auction system in 2016, the government introduced a key factor – the 10h rule. The 10h rule was implemented by the Act of May 20, 2016, on investments in wind power plants. The 10h rule, prohibiting the location of power plants at a distance less than 10 times the height of the turbine, makes investments impossible in 99.7% of the area of the country. This rule in accordance with the data from the independent think-tanks resulted in only 0.3% of Poland's land area being available for wind energy investments and hindered the development of any major onshore wind farm projects in Poland.

This however is about to change as the Polish Parliament is working on adopting amendment to the abovementioned act. Under new proposed provisions, the location of wind farms would still be only allowed under the local zoning plan (PL: miejscowy plan zagospodarowania przestrzennego) that specifically allows for such location. It is the minimum distance of the turbine to the buildings that is going to be changed. In accordance with proposed regulations the distance from buildings may be changed by the municipality as part of the local zoning plan - the main restriction here being that the distance between a building and a turbine specified in the local zoning plan shall not be less than 500 meters.

Portugal continues to be a global leader in renewable energy production. A well-structured incentive mechanism and the adoption of ambitious targets helped this sector grow over recent years. 

Currently, domestic primary energy production in Portugal is mostly based on Renewable Energy Sources (RES), from natural resources (water, wind, biomass, sun, and earth’s heat).

RES allows for the production of hydroelectric, wind, biomass, solar, oceanic and geothermal energy. The production of energy from renewable sources reduces the need to import fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas thus reducing the country’s energy dependency, as well as greenhouse gas emissions.

Portugal has achieved high shares of renewable energy production, covering 30.6% of the gross final energy demand in 2019. Thanks mainly to hydropower and wind generation, renewables covered 54% of electricity generation. There is also a high use of bioenergy to supply power for industrial and household purposes.

Portugal foresees a key role for hydrogen produced from renewable energy in hard-to-decarbonize sectors and for achieving carbon neutrality. The country’s  Recovery and Resiliency Plan (“Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência”, “PRR”) allows for funding to the energy sector, notably in respect of sustainable mobility, energy efficiency, renewables, decarbonization and bioeconomy. The plan allocates €610 million for energy efficiency and renewable energy in buildings and €185 million to support 264 megawatts (MW) of renewable gas production (hydrogen and biomethane). 

At the end of June 2021, the installed capacity in units of production of electric energy from renewable sources was 14,762 MW. The percentage target from renewable energy according to Directive 2009/28/EC reached 55.5%. The main sources of renewable energy included hydro, followed by wind, solar and biomass. From January to June 2021, 24 909 GWh of electricity were generated in mainland Portugal, of which 71,3 % were generated by renewable sources.

Renewables laws

Decree-Law no. 15/2022, dated 14 January, as last amended

As mentioned above, this Decree-Law establishes the revised framework for the National Electric System (“SEN”). Therefore, it also regulates every step of the production, storage, self-consumption, transport, distribution, aggregation, and sale of renewables.

Law no. 98/2021, dated 31 December

The Climate Basic Law establishes the main guidelines that will direct climate action frameworks in Portugal. It defines the main targets to be achieved, namely the achievement of carbon neutrality until 2050, as well as greenhouse gas emission reductions of 55% (until 2030), 65 to 75% (until 2040), and 90% (until 2050).

Decree-Law no. 141/2010, dated 31 December, as last amended

Defines the national target for the use of renewable energy until 2030.

Renewables industry overview

Romania reached in 2020 the target of 24% of total energy consumption from renewable sources. For 2030, the new target set by the Romanian government is 30.7%, which together with the FIT for 55 measures, would be achievable by adding 10-11 GW in renewable capacity.

In terms of energy consumption, according to Eurostat data, in 2020, approximately 24.5% of energy consumption came from renewable energy sources, placing Romania in 11th place in the EU and above the average level of the Union.

In 2021, the production of electricity in Romania came in proportion of 16% from renewable energy sources (mainly wind and solar) and 31% from hydropower. The 2021 total installed capacity of renewable production facilities was of 4,545 MW, of which 66.3% represented wind farms and 30.7% photovoltaic parks (with the remaining 3% from biomass).

Romania had in place a support scheme for the promotion of renewable energy sources in the form of mandatory quotas combined with the issuance of green certificates that was open to projects commissioned until 31 December 2016. The scheme is valid generally for 15 years and the green certificates are traded on the centralized market.

Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)

Corporate PPAs (physical delivery) were not used in Romania since 2012 when the Energy Law has been amended and provided that electricity is to be exclusively traded on a centralised competitive market operated by OPCOM, in a transparent, public, centralised and non-discriminatory manner, an amendment which essentially banned corporate PPAs (except for small capacities not exceeding 3MW). The ban on PPAs was seen as one of the legislative measures that has determined decline of the first wave of investments into renewable energy projects in Romania, together with the subsequent discontinuation of the green certificates support scheme, which applies only for renewable projects commisioned before the end of 2016. 

Following the entry into force (as of 1 January 2020) of the EU Regulation no. 943/2019 on the internal market for electricity, the Romanian regulator adopted certain regulations to provide a framework for long-term directly negotiated PPAs outside the centralized market by making reference to the “unregulated markets”. However, the Energy Law and the related obligation of the power producers to sell their entire produced electricity exclusively on OPCOM remained unchanged leading to certain unclarities and discussions on how to interpret and apply the contradictory provisions.

After that, the Energy Law has been further amended, first in 2020, expressly providing that new generation capacities commissioned after 1 June 2020 are allowed to conclude PPAs, at negotiated prices, outside the centralized market, and more recently under GEO 143/2021, which, as previously detailed, has definitively lifted the ban over directly negotiated PPAs outside the centralized market.

There still remains some uncertainty with regards to the final scope of the amendments to be implemented to GEO 143/2021, under the Parliamentary approval process which is currently ongoing, and this has caused producers to be cautious in taking advantage of the new opportunities for PPAs in Romania until this point. However, there is a lot of interest in PPAs, both on the side of  producers and on that of offtakers, and a more pronounced resurgence in the market is expected.

Renewable energy overview 

The Republic of Senegal launched the Energy Sector Development Policy Letter of October 31, 2012, pursuant to Act no. 2010-21 on the Renewable Energy Policy Law of December 20, 2010, and Decree no. 2011-2013 on the Implementation of the Renewable Energy Act. This decree sets the conditions for the purchase and remuneration of electricity generated from renewable energy sources by power plants and their connection to the grid. 

Solar

Solar energy is still underutilized in Senegal, despite the great service it provides. However, the country has already embarked on an ambitious program of projects to diversify, increase and improve energy production capacity, with good results in a number of interesting applications. The Government of Senegal has adopted a policy to "seek alternative solutions to its energy supply problems, promoting, in this context, the development of renewable energies through the diversification of production sources".

Hydropower

The Organization for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS)  implemented the Manantali hydroelectric dam project.

This project consisted of the construction (between 1997 and 2002) of a 200 MW hydroelectric power station at the foot of the dam (in service since 1988).

The over 1700 km long HV transmission network includes 12 HV/MV transformer stations in Mali, Mauritania and Senegal and a central dispatching station in Manantali which coordinates the operation of the Manantali Interconnected Network.

Wind

The Government of Senegal has implemented a policy aimed at "seeking alternative solutions to its energy supply problems by promoting the development of renewable energy through the diversification of production sources".

The 158.7 MW Taiba N'Diaye wind farm positions Senegal as a pioneer in clean, reliable and competitively priced energy. The project combines the provision of electricity to 2 million Senegalese with a significant local socio-economic impact throughout the life of the project.

Geothermal

National Agency for Renewable Energies does not detail any activities regarding geothermal initiatives. 

Biomass

Biomass is organic matter (including micro-algae) of animal, bacterial or fungal (mushrooms) origin, which can be used as a source of energy (bioenergy). This energy can be extracted by direct combustion (e.g. wood energy), or by combustion after a transformation process of the raw material, for example methanisation (biogas, or its purified version bio-methane) or other chemical transformations.

Senegal has adopted and is implementing the National Biogas Program.

Production rates 

• Power generation from hydro: 5.2%
• Power generation from solar PV: 11.5%
• Power generation from wind: 3.8%

Projects

• Wind power generation plant in Taïba Ndiaye
• Photovoltaic power generation plant in Bokhol
• Manantali hydro power projects
• Solar Streetlight Maintenance Project - 1835 Installed Solar Streetlight
• Installation of four (4) mini power plants without storage for self-consumption in four (4) regional hospitals and the supply of electricity to public and community structures.
• Implementation of Multifunctional Solar Platforms Project (on-going)
• Project to install 50,000 solar-powered street lamps (on-going) 

Government plans 

The national plan to diversify energy sources is being implemented through 168MW of solar PV, 51MW of wind power and 75MW of hydroelectricity (22% of the country's total electricity production) being connected to the grid of by the end of 2019. In addition, there are off-grid systems installed by public and private institutions. The government's decision to place the renewable energy sub-sector at the heart of the Emerging Senegal Plan was also marked by the creation of the National Agency for Renewable Energy (ANER).

Some plans governing energy policy in Senegal include:

• Emerging Senegal Plan
• National Action Plan of Renewable Energy
• National Strategy for the Development of Renewable Energy 

Renewable laws 

• Law n° 2010-21 on the guideline law on renewable energies
• Law n° 2010-22 on the guidelines for the biofuel sector

Renewables industry overview 

• The Swedish government stated in 2018 that 100% of the electricity production shall consist of renewable energy by 2040. The Swedish government has also set up the following climate goals:
• By 2045, Sweden is to have zero net emissions of greenhouse gases. This means that greenhouse gas emissions from activities in Sweden should be at least 85% lower than in 1990. The remaining 15% can be achieved through supplementary measures such as increased carbon sequestration in forest and land, carbon capture and storage technologies (CCS) and emission reduction efforts outside of Sweden. After 2045 Sweden should achieve negative emissions, meaning that the amount of greenhouse gas emitted is less than what can be reduced through the natural eco-cycle or through supplementary measures.
• By 2030, emissions from domestic transport will be reduced by at least 70% compared with 2010 (excluding domestic aviation which is included in the European Union Emissions Trading System).
• By 2030, emissions in Sweden in the sectors covered by the EU Effort Sharing Regulation should be at least 63% lower than in 1990, out of which 8% may achieved through supplementary measures.
• By 2040, emissions in Sweden in the sectors covered by the EU Effort Sharing Regulation should be at least 75% lower than in 1990, out of which 2% may achieved through supplementary measures.
• Sweden has also, as a member of the European Union, committed to fulfill the climate goals adopted by the EU. These goals are integrated in the above mentioned climate goals.
• Sweden has also joined the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA), that seeks to counteract the extraction of gas and oil.
• In Sweden, renewable energy sources consist of hydropower, biofuel, wind power, waste and solar power. Hydropower is by far the largest renewable energy source with a production of 71,9 TWh during 2020.
• The use of renewable energy in relation to final energy use has increased every year since 2011 and was just over 56% in 2019. The increase over the year is mainly due to production from wind power, but also a higher use of biofuels.
• The Ministry of the Environment is responsible for the environmental goals in Sweden. Every fourth year, the government is required to draw up a climate policy action plan to describe how the climate goals are to be achieved.
• Historically, hydropower has contributed the largest proportion of Sweden's renewable energy growth. Future growth is expected to come from wind (both onshore and offshore) and solar power. 

Hydropower 

• There are about 2,000 hydropower plants in Sweden. Hydropower produces between 50 and 75 TWh per year depending on how much it rains and snows. This corresponds to 30 to 45 % of the electricity use and in 2020, 44,7% of the electricity used derived from hydropower.
• Currently there is no expansion of new large-scale hydropower in Sweden, instead the focus is mainly on environmental adaptations and streamlining of existing facilities. 

Wind 

• The supply of wind power has grown significantly since 2010. However, only 20% of the generated electricity derives from wind power currently.
• Wind power in Sweden is predominately produced at onshore wind farms. Only 91 wind turbines out of a total of  4,363 wind turbines were installed offshore at the end of 2020.
• Wind power is the second largest source of renewable energy with a total installed capacity of 10 GW in 2020 divided among 4,286 wind turbines. Total actual production in 2020 was 27.526 TWh.
• Yearly electricity generated by wind turbines has grown substantially from 1 TWh in 2006 to 27.526 TWh in 2020.
• The government announced in October 2021 that it intend to expand the transmission network in order to facilitate the development of offshore wind power. 

Solar 

• Only a small part of the generated electricity on the Swedish market derives from solar power, but solar PV systems increased by 50% between 2019 and 2020 and the total number of systems in Sweden at the end of 2020 amounted to almost 65,819 with a total installed power of 1,090 MW.
• Up until 7 July 2020, a private person could apply for governmental support to build a solar PV system. Currently, a tax reduction can be obtained for the cost of the work and materials up to SEK 50,000.

Renewables industry overview 

• Uganda’s 2007 Renewable Energy Policy sets out to make modern renewable energy a substantial part of the national energy consumption. The overall policy goal is to increase the use of modern renewable energy to over 60% by 2020. Uganda developed a bespoke renewable energy policy and encouraged investment in renewable energy sources because of four unique challenges: an electricity supply deficit on the national grid, escalating oil prices on the international market, the need to make electricity accessible to the rural population through grid extension and isolated grids and to fulfil the government’s commitment on greenhouse gas emissions reductions under the Kyoto Protocol and contribute to the global fight against climate change.
• According to Vision 2040, Uganda expects to increase its installed capacity to 41,738 MW by 2040. The required capacity is projected to be generated from renewable energy technologies such as geothermal (1500 MW), nuclear (24000 MW), solar (5000 MW), biomass (1700 MW) and peat/biomass (800 MW).
• To promote the development and use of renewable energy sources, the government of Uganda has developed the renewable energy feed-in-tariff (RE-FiT) as an instrument for promoting private sector generation of electricity from renewable energy sources. The Ugandan RE-FiT is designed to provide price certainty to renewable energy generators Depending on the phase, the tariff covers several technologies and is attractive because it is based on the levelized cost of each technology, and not the incremental cost of generating or purchasing power.
• ERA also issued a regulatory notice in 2020 stating that the licensing of new generation capacity from wind and solar technology will be subject to a competitive tendering process. This competitive procurement initiative is designed to ensure reasonable and fair pricing of solar and wind power, as well as harness the various technical benefits of modular technologies (system loss reduction and voltage stability).

Hydropower 

• Although hydropower contributes the bulk of energy production in Uganda, the risk of unreliability during periods of drought has caused the government to consider solar, wind, thermal and geothermal generation in its current plans for the energy sector. The fall of water levels in Lake Victoria is considered a particular risk concern.
• In addition to large hydros, the development of mini-hydro facilities is a special focus area. Under the GET FiT Uganda Program, 14 mini-hydro dams with a total rating of 118 MW were licensed. The main objective of the GET FiT Program was to assist East African nations in pursuing a climate resilient low-carbon development path resulting in growth, poverty reduction and climate change mitigation. 

Wind 

• Currently, Uganda has no grid-connected wind systems. An off-grid solar and wind hybrid system is currently operating and supplying power to rural communities in Kotido, Napak and Namayingo districts. These systems supply power to households, health centres and schools. The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development is in the process of developing a wind resource map. 

Solar

• Uganda currently has about 50 MW of solar grid-connected systems: ERA has also licensed several private and REA-sponsored isolated grids with a capacity of 0.5 MW–2 MW to promote rural electrification.
• Various private companies also provide ‘pay-as-you-go’ energy for off-grid customers by selling solar home systems on an affordable payment plan to domestic consumers who are not connected to grid-supplied electricity. 

Geothermal 

• The exploitation of geothermal energy is currently at exploration stage. Exploration has been carried out in the main geothermal areas of Kibiro, Panyimur and Buranga. Drilling of temperate gradient wells is expected to start in Kibiro and Panyimur in 2019. In order to attract private sector participation, the government is currently developing a geothermal policy and legislation. 

Bagasse/Co-generation 

• Co-generation using bagasse as a primary fuel is common practice in the domestic sugar industry. Uganda’s 2010 National Sugar Policy encourages sugar factories to produce close to 100 MW of “green” electricity from burning bagasse, mainly for own-use and with the surplus to be dispatched for sale to the national grid.
• A 20 MW bagasse plant operated by Kakira Sugar Limited plant was licensed under the GET FiT Program. Another 26 MW co-generation plant operated by SCOUL Uganda has also been licensed and awaits commissioning. 

Renewables laws 

• The National Energy Policy for Uganda 2002 sets out GOU’s policy aspiration to meet the energy needs of Uganda’s population for social and economic development in an environmentally sustainable manner, with the National Energy Policy spelling out GOU’s commitment to the development and use of renewable energy resources for both small- and large-scale applications. In achieving this objective, GOU has deployed the strategy of disseminating renewable energy technologies to increase their positive impact on Uganda’s energy balance and the environment.
• GOU is in the process of updating the National Energy Policy for Uganda 2002, the current draft policy sets out the following objectives for renewable energy technologies:
  • diversify the energy mix of energy supply options, including power generation to mitigate reliance on any single source;
  • mainstream climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience into all energy sector planning, activities, projects and programmes;
  • conduct renewable energy resource assessments;
  • facilitate market development of renewable energy technologies;
  • promote the use of renewable energy technologies through appropriate pricing policies and tax incentives;
  • encourage local manufacturing of renewable energy technologies through establishing renewable energy credit facilities and establishing sales promotion funds for manufacturers;
  • develop a framework for integration and net metering of rooftop solar on the grid;
  • promote the development of appropriate local capacity for installation, maintenance and operation of basic renewable energy technologies; and
  • encourage financial institutions to provide credit facilities for renewable energy through fiscal and other incentives. 
• The Renewable Energy Policy for Uganda 2007 sets out GOU’s policy objective to make modern renewable energy a substantial part of the national energy consumption and to increase the use of modern renewable energy. In relation to small power schemes limited to 20 MW installed capacity per plant, GOU has deployed the strategy of licensing the private sector to implement and operate these schemes.
• The Electricity Act, which provides for the licensing and supervision of renewable energy projects.

The UK has a world-leading renewable energy industry. In June 2019, the UK became the first major economy to pass net zero emissions laws with the target to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. This was followed by the publication of the Energy White Paper in December 2020 which aimed to initiate the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy in power, buildings and industry; whilst creating jobs, growing the economy and ensuring energy bills are affordable.   

On 19 October 2021, the government published its Net Zero Strategy ''BEIS: Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener". It sets out the government's vision for a decarbonised economy in 2050 and the policies required to meet its carbon budgets under the Climate Change Act 2008 and its nationally determined contribution (NDC) pledge made during the Paris Agreement. 

Renewables play an active role within the UK market, particularly with businesses in the low carbon and renewable energy economy, having generated an estimated £42.6 billion turnover in 2019. 

The investment in renewable energy has been aided by the UK’s potentially rich supply of renewable resources. They include its long and windy coastline and high tidal ranges; complemented by the existing onshore and offshore energy industry, and a strong technological research and development base. However, developing renewable energy is expensive and can be complicated due to planning consent issues. 

As of Q3 2021, low carbon sources generated 51.5% of the UK’s total electricity generation with renewables comprising 35.9% at 24.3 TWh. Whilst renewables have yet to surpass fossil fuels in terms of usage, Q3 2021 saw an increase in renewable capacity, highlighting the potential for further growth. 

As we can see from the energy supply mix (set out above), wind energy is leading the renewables energy market in the UK, with energy generated from wind power having increased by 715% from 2009 to 2020. With greater energy storage capacity and larger wind farms, this figure is expected to grow even further in order for the UK to meet it’s 2050 net zero targets. 

Up until recently, the UK had the world’s largest offshore wind capacity having reached just under 10.4 gigawatts in 2020, compared to the global capacity of 34.4 gigawatts during the same period. The UK Government is looking to capitalise on such clean energy through opportunities for global trade. 

In June 2021 the UK’s export credit agency, UK Export Finance, signed a memorandum of understanding with Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult Ltd., an offshore wind research and innovation centre, to help UK suppliers export and trade energy on a global scale. Prior to this, the UK Government’s Offshore Wind Sector Deal looked to increase UK offshore wind exports to £2.6 billion per year by 2030, five times the amount seen in 2020, as well as investing up to £250 million in building a stronger UK supply chain for renewable energy export.

The UK is, however, still a net-importer of energy. The UK Government is focused on local content through the construction and operation phases of renewable energy projects, particularly via ‘Supply Chain Plan questionnaires’. These questionnaires will determine whether developers can bid into the CfD scheme; the UK Government’s renewable energy investment incentivising programme (discussed further below). The CfD scheme ensures that developers are paid a flat rate for electricity produced and prevents high support costs for consumers when the cost of renewable energy is high. Developers who do not ‘pass’ the Supply Chain Plan questionnaire by requiring a particular level of local content in their supply chain will not qualify for the CfD scheme.