Solar Energy Perspectives - IEA

Solar Energy Perspectives: Policies
Rio+20 et al, opportunities to accelerate the deployment of solar energy?
Negotiations to prepare for Rio+20 (or any of several other international for a, such
as the G20 and the Clean Energy Ministerial) may offer an opportunity to negotiate
and implement new policy schemes aiming at accelerating the speed of deployment
of renewable energy technologies, on both climate change mitigation and
development grounds, while also contributing to energy security/access and poverty
eradication.
Countries may want to consider informal and non-binding objectives relative to the
minimum share of solar energy in their final energy demand. These could be reached
by any combination of technologies to satisfy any type of energy demand, in
particular on- and off-grid electricity and heat for space and water heating, crop
drying and cooking.
This approach may have greater chances of success than earlier attempts to negotiate
broader renewable energy targets, because all countries are near zero with respect to
directly using solar energy. A similar objective could be proposed to all countries of,
say, 2% to 3% by 2020. If all renewables were to be taken into account, the
considerable diversity of starting points and resources would require differentiating
targets for each country. The success of a similar negotiation within the European
Union should not mask the extreme difficulty of such an exercise among about
200 sovereign states. Furthermore, biomass and large hydropower could prove
controversial.
The differences in solar resources are smaller than for most other renewable
resources, but they exist. To make things easier to less-sunny but often morewindy
countries, the objective could be based on solar and wind together. As
wind is already profitable in so many places, the agreement would lose teeth and
possibly be too easy for windy countries, compared to sunny ones. Conversely,
a solar-only objective would be more demanding for less-sunny countries, but
these – often the most industrialised ones – happen to have a larger potential for
solar heat as they demand more space heating. They could also be allowed to
meet their objective in helping others exceed their own aims through some sort
of flexibility mechanism.
Such an agreement would complement but not substitute for a climate change
mitigation agreement. It could prove easier to negotiate and implement, as it could
more easily be perceived as an opportunity for development, not a restriction of any
kind. It would be stable, offering little incentive for defection. It could help share the
costs of making solar energy technologies competitive, and make them more
attractive to investors in giving greater confidence in sustainable deployment. It
would also help ensure the wide sharing of the benefits for the environment at all
scales, for energy security and energy access, and for industrial development and
employment.
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