Renewable energy commercialization

Third-generation technologies require continued R&D efforts in order to make large contributions on a global scale and include advanced biomass gasification, hot-dry-rock geothermal power, and ocean energy.

[9] Public policy and political leadership helps to "level the playing field" and drive the wider acceptance of renewable energy technologies.

The combination of government target-setting, policy support and stimulus funds is underpinning the renewable industry's rise and bringing the much needed transformation of our global energy system within reach."

[39] According to a 2011 projection by the International Energy Agency, solar power plants may produce most of the world's electricity within 50 years, significantly reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases that harm the environment.

Further improvements in the levelised cost of energy for solar, wind and other technologies lie ahead, posing a growing threat to the dominance of fossil fuel generation sources in the next few years.

Their future use depends on the exploration of the remaining resource potential, particularly in developing countries, and on overcoming challenges related to the environment and social acceptance.

The industry remained relatively stagnant over the decade to 2007, but demand for biomass (mostly wood) continues to grow in many developing countries, as well as Brazil and Germany.

[7] As part of the food vs. fuel debate, several economists from Iowa State University found in 2008 "there is no evidence to disprove that the primary objective of biofuel policy is to support farm income.

[82] In developing countries, three World Bank projects for integrated solar thermal/combined-cycle gas-turbine power plants in Egypt, Mexico, and Morocco have been approved.

[7] According to the International Energy Agency, cellulosic ethanol biorefineries could allow biofuels to play a much bigger role in the future than organizations such as the IEA previously thought.

Opened on 26 November 1966, it is currently operated by Électricité de France, and is the largest tidal power station in the world, in terms of installed capacity.

First proposed more than thirty years ago, systems to harvest utility-scale electrical power from ocean waves have recently been gaining momentum as a viable technology.

The potential for this technology is considered promising, especially on west-facing coasts with latitudes between 40 and 60 degrees:[93] In the United Kingdom, for example, the Carbon Trust recently estimated the extent of the economically viable offshore resource at 55 TWh per year, about 14% of current national demand.

Sunshine heats the air beneath a very wide greenhouse-like roofed collector structure surrounding the central base of a very tall chimney tower.

Plans for scaled-up versions of demonstration models will allow significant power generation, and may allow development of other applications, such as water extraction or distillation, and agriculture or horticulture.

[97] As of 2010[update], Vestas (from Denmark) is the world's top wind turbine manufacturer in terms of percentage of market volume, and Sinovel (from China) is in second place.

[103] Newer and cleaner technologies may offer social and environmental benefits, but utility operators often reject renewable resources because they are trained to think only in terms of big, conventional power plants.

[116] Tax and subsidy shifting can help overcome these problems,[117] though is also problematic to combine different international normative regimes regulating this issue.

[120] Lester Brown has argued that "a world facing the prospect of economically disruptive climate change can no longer justify subsidies to expand the burning of coal and oil.

Shifting these subsidies to the development of climate-benign energy sources such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal power is the key to stabilizing the earth's climate.

Other developed countries with defined national or regional targets include Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, and some US States.

Developing countries with renewable energy targets include China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Brazil, Egypt, Mali, and South Africa.

In response to the Great Recession, major governments made "green stimulus" programs one of their main policy instruments for supporting economic recovery.

In addition, the sector regulator is in a position to give advice to the government regarding the full implications of focusing on climate change or energy security.

[134] Legislative support for the Energiewende was passed in late 2010 and includes greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions of 80–95% by 2050 (relative to 1990) and a renewable energy target of 60% by 2050.

However Germany will need to maintain an average GHG emissions abatement rate of 3.5% per annum to reach its Energiewende goal, equal to the maximum historical value thus far.

[139] Germany spends €1.5 billion per annum on energy research (2013 figure) in an effort to solve the technical and social issues raised by the transition.

[140] This includes a number of computer studies that have confirmed the feasibility and a similar cost (relative to business-as-usual and given that carbon is adequately priced) of the Energiewende.

[97] Most notably, U.S. President Barack Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included more than $70 billion in direct spending and tax credits for clean energy and associated transportation programs.

The group is to be co-chaired by Kandeh Yumkella, the chair of UN Energy and director general of the UN Industrial Development Organisation, and Charles Holliday, chairman of Bank of America".