Evaluating Policies in support of the deployment of Renewable power

Author: 

IRENA

Year: 

2012

Main Geographic Focus: 

International

RE&EE Category Taxonomy: 

  • Policy and Strategy

File Tag: 

  • Policy

Description: 

 

Renewable power deployment policies principally aim to increase the installed capacity of renewable energy technologies and the generation of renewable electricity. In achieving this, they may target a range of other outcomes, such as technology cost reductions; a more sustainable, secure energy system; enhanced public awareness and social acceptance of renewable energy; job creation; and a sustainable level of domestic production and market share in renewable energy technologies.
 
Such policies should be regularly evaluated. In part, this is because policies involving significant financial support need to be carefully monitored and controlled.
 
Globally, spending on renewable power is projected to grow from USD 44 billion to USD 175 billion between 2010 and 2030. In addition, an on-going evaluation can help identify opportunities to adapt and improve policies. This is particularly important for long-lived support policies, as conditions can be expected to change in unanticipated ways over time.
 
This brief summarises common criteria and indicators that policy-makers can use to conduct evaluations. Five commonly assessed criteria are: effectiveness; efficiency; equity; institutional feasibility; and replicability. Under each criterion, it is important to establish measurable indicators that can be used to assess performance. This brief only looks at policy performance with respect to deployment, and not at the broader impacts of renewable energy technologies, such as environmental, economic, energy security or technological impacts. The type and complexity of analysis will depend on purpose and context. For example, various simple methods exist under most criteria for the evaluation of policy performance within a single country; whereas evaluations using country comparisons may require more technical and financial resources. Similarly, countries with established policies are likely to conduct different kinds of evaluations compared to those planning support mechanisms for the first time.

Document Language: 

English