Increasing the share of clean power in your power system can drive job creation and economic development, make your power system and economy more resilient, improve public health through better air quality, and much more.
Main Points
- Clean power provides numerous economic, environmental, and social benefits.
- Governments can increase shares of clean power to achieve a variety of policy goals.
- Many countries have already achieved high shares of clean power safely and while maintaining system reliability.
First, Read This
Clean power has numerous benefits beyond the environmental advantages of lowering carbon emissions and reducing air pollution. Renewable energy in the power sector supports economic development, improves public health, and creates a more resilient and secure power system.
The environmental advantages of renewable energy, including lower carbon emissions and reduced air pollution have been widely known for decades. Its numerous socio-economic benefits, however, have only become apparent in recent decades as the deployment of renewable energy technologies has become more widespread.
Employment
Renewable energy provides a significant – and growing – number of jobs worldwide each year. The renewable energy sector, according to IRENA’s estimates, employed a record 10.3 million people worldwide in 2017, driven by rising investments. This, in turn, was the result of rapidly falling costs, technological improvements and government policies to support renewables.
Health
Wind, solar and hydropower produce little or no air pollution. Other renewable energy technologies, such as biomass and geothermal, do emit air pollutants, but at much lower rates than most conventional fuels. Air pollution has become a critically important issue in many developing countries, where up to 2.9 billion people still rely on wood, coal and charcoal for cooking and heating homes. Cleaner options, including biomass and solar technologies, can play a role in this regard.
Resilience
Some renewable energy technologies are deployed in a distributed, modular fashion, making them less prone to large-scale failure. This brings advantages during severe weather events or complex emergencies, as such technologies can be rolled out quickly wherever needed, getting electricity to people without complex and time-consuming infrastructure development.
Access to Energy
Over one billion people lack access to electricity, while a further one billion have an unreliable supply. Improved reliability, rapidly falling technology costs and supportive policies have made stand-alone and mini-grid renewable electricity solutions viable for the 80% of those without access in rural areas or small developing island states. One of the most compelling arguments for off-grid solutions is that they are decentralised, and because project development activities occur locally, job creation is also localised.
Text excerpt from IRENA website: Benefits
Next, Read This
Because of its many advantages, clean power supports a variety of policy goals.
Read Excerpt: Page 19 from Renewable Energy Policies in a Time of Transition by IRENA, IEA, and REN21.
Finally, Look At This
Many countries – with diverse economies, societies and climates – already have high shares of solar and wind generation in their power sectors, and have achieved this without compromising power reliability and affordability.
See: Figure 53 from Renewables 2020: Global Status Report by REN21.
Suggested Actions & Next Steps
- Begin to Think: Talk to your colleagues and stakeholders. What policy goals are most important for you? How does clean power relate to and support those goals?