IEA recognises ascent of renewable energy market with new report forecasting developments up to 2017

The International Energy Agency (IEA) will acknowledge the coming of age of the renewable energy sector by publishing, for the first time, an annual medium-term report which analyses that market.

This publication on renewable energy – which is now the fastest growing sector of the energy mix and accounts for almost a fifth of all electricity produced worldwide – will join annual medium-term reports on oil, gas and coal, which the IEA already produces. With this report, renewable energy takes its rightful seat at the table alongside the other major energy sources.

“A portfolio of renewable energy technologies is becoming competitive in an increasing range of circumstances and countries,” IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven said in Berlin where she was presenting the recent IEA publication, Deploying Renewables 2011: Best and Future Policy Practice, to German policy makers. However, Ms van der Hoeven stressed that “significant policy effort, combined with continued economic incentives, is still needed to push a large portfolio of these technologies toward full competitiveness.”

The report, to be published in July 2012, will include five-year projections for global renewable energy electricity capacity and generation. In so doing, it will provide an important benchmark to policymakers and the wider market for measuring developments of renewable energy.

The Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report will have three primary objectives:

• Address the current state of play of renewable energy;
• Assess the main drivers and barriers to deployment at country level; and
• Produce medium-term renewable energy projections through 2017.

It will consist of market analysis at the country level, an outlook for renewable energy technologies and their associated manufacturing, and an examination of global renewable energy finance.

In order to prepare this report, in-depth country analysis is being undertaken of key markets and technology-specific drivers and barriers. (These barriers may include economic issues, such as costs compared with fossil fuels, and non-economic issues, including government policies).

As well as employing data that is internally generated and sent from government departments, the IEA is also in contact with over 100 companies and organisations which are sourcing detailed market, cost and performance insights on renewable energy technologies. This additional valuable information from industry – at a time when the renewable energy market is rapidly changing – will help the IEA to access the most current views and data available.