Tag Archives: Project Navigator

energy access, Energy Transition, Header_Posts

Mini-Grid Project Guide Developed for Small Islands

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New addition to IRENA’s Project Navigator has the best practices for developing mini-grid projects in Small Island Developing States

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) can transform their power sectors towards renewable energy, addressing the challenges of affordable energy and climate change. In this context, renewable mini-grid solutions, composed of electricity generators and storage systems interconnected to a distribution network which supplies electricity to a localised group of customers, are now cost-effective and viable strategies to expand electricity access in SIDS.

Now, IRENA’s online platform, Project Navigator, provides the tools and guidance to assist in developing renewable mini-grid projects, and introduces the best practices to assist project developers in preparing, developing, and operating bankable projects, particularly in the context of SIDS. Continue reading Mini-Grid Project Guide Developed for Small Islands →

Publications

Developing Bankable Woody Biomass Projects

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Bioenergy, renewable energy derived from biological sources, today accounts for as much as three-quarters of total final renewable energy use — making it by far the most widely used renewable energy source worldwide. IRENA estimates that to meet international climate change targets, the share of renewable energy will need to be doubled by 2030, and bioenergy can account for around half of that.

Falling costs and favourable policies have resulted in a dramatic rise in installed generation capacity worldwide, but the deployment of renewables is at times still stalled by projects that do not meet the specific standards required to obtain the necessary financial support. To support the successful development of woody biomass projects, IRENA has launched new technical guidelines on Woody Biomass, as part of its online Project Navigator platform. Just as the utility-scale solar PV guidelines, released last October, the newly released guidelines describe in nine stages what is needed to plan, establish, operate, and decommission a bankable woody biomass project. Continue reading Developing Bankable Woody Biomass Projects →

Innovation

Online Platform Helps Develop Bankable Solar and Wind Power Projects

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Grid-connected solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants are now mainstream and cost-competitive — making them an attractive energy option anywhere the sun shines. The most competitive utility-scale solar PV projects deliver electricity for just US 5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) without subsidies, and costs as low as US 3 cents/kWh have been achieved when conditions are perfect.

But implementing viable utility-scale solar PV projects requires project developers to draft robust plans that attract investors, and this can be a hurdle for some. As a result, many renewable energy projects stall during the development phase.

A new addition to IRENA’s online Project Navigator platform is helping developers overcome this obstacle, and spurring more large-scale solar PV deployment in the process. Continue reading Online Platform Helps Develop Bankable Solar and Wind Power Projects →