This paper presents the results of energy market analysis sponsored by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program (WIP) within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The analysis was conducted by a team of DOE laboratory experts from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), with additional input from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The analysis was structured to identify those markets and niches where government can create the biggest impact by informing management decisions in the private and public sectors. The analysis identifies those markets and niches where opportunities exist for increasing energy efficiency and renewable energy use.
Executive SummaryAccelerating the transition to clean energy technologies is critical for addressing international climate stabilization goals and creating a foundation for sustained economic growth. Since the Copenhagen Accord has not led to a global target for greenhouse gas emissions and, as such, gives little guidance to the private sector to deploy clean energy technology, bottom-up, national, and technology-specific policies are gaining importance. Relying on such mechanisms rather than on a global carbon market calls for insights into their effectiveness, applicability, and expected impacts. This study discusses policies directed toward three areas relevant to the development of clean energy technology: the creation of enabling environments, furthering research and development, and the provision of financing. Programs to advance clean energy technology are likely to be most effective if they focus on well defined and broadly endorsed national priorities, strengthen developing country capacity and enabling environments, have sufficient scale, run over multiple years, engage public and private entities, promote broad knowledge sharing, and are coordinated and harmonized with international support.For R&D programs, networks could allow for knowledge sharing between researchers, engaging developing country research institutions, and engage practitioners who can increase technology deployment. Work in R&D programs can be guided by roadmaps that provide direction, advisory groups that monitor progress and provide independent feedback, and implementing agencies that have a long-term commitment towards implementation.Increased R&D capabilities are needed in developing and least-developed countries alike. Without the strengthening of such capabilities, the establishment of partnerships, jointinvestments, and R&D collaborations will remain challenging. Part of a long-term strategy for clean energy technology should therefore be to implement structural programs for capacity building in all phases of the technology innovation chain. Such enabling efforts may need to be sector-or technology-specific, supported by strong national policies and explicitly aimed at improving the investment climate for a technology in a country.To enable financing of clean energy technology, finance and technology programs need to be aligned-as the type of financing depends on the technology. Experience with finance instruments should inform replication. Experimentation with risk-based models for public finance mechanisms may prove more cost effective along the innovation chain.v In the post-Copenhagen environment, countries and international organizations may be best served by applying pragmatic approaches that enhance long-term commitment to collaboration through existing bilateral and multilateral partnerships and demonstrate a commitment to rapid scaling up of technology cooperation and financing.vi
The Coordinated Low Emissions Assistance Network (CLEAN) is a voluntary network of international practitioners supporting low-emission planning in developing countries. The network seeks to improve quality of support through sharing project information, tools, best practices and lessons, and by fostering harmonized assistance. CLEAN has developed an inventory to track and analyze international technical support and tools for low-carbon planning activities in developing countries. This paper presents a preliminary analysis of the inventory to help identify trends in assistance activities and tools available to support developing countries with low-emission planning.
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