POLICY DATABASES AND MAJOR WEB SITES

IEA Global Renewable Energy Policies and Measures Database. A comprehensive database of renewable energy policies around the world. Can be searched by policy type or by technology. Also gives country targets.

Database of (U.S.) State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE) is a comprehensive source of information on the status of state programs and incentives promoting renewable energy, including information on financial incentives, regulatory policies, and awareness and investment programs.

Renewable Energy Policy Publications by the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Electricity Markets and Policy Group (Berkeley, California). A large number of high-quality publications analyzing U.S. renewable energy policies, particularly at the state level.

ECN Energy Policy Studies. Many studies on energy policy experience, design, and future prospects. Sorted by year.

Information on Renewable Energy in Central and Eastern Europe (enerCEE.net) by the Austrian Energy Agency. Good summaries of existing and emerging policies in the CEE region.

EBRD Renewable Development Initiative. Offers country profiles, news, project, policy, and market information for 27 countries within the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development¡¯s area of operations (Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union).

COMPREHENSIVE REFERENCES

Support Schemes for Renewable Energy: A Comparative Analysis of Payment Mechanisms in the EU, European Wind Energy Association (Brussels, 2005).

Review of international experience with renewable energy obligation support mechanisms, Linden, N.H. van der; Uyterlinde, M.A. (ECN, Petten (Netherlands)); Vrolijk, C.; Ericsson, K.; Khan, J.; Nilsson, L.J.; Astrand, K.; Wiser, R. ECN-C--05-025 (May 2005).

Renewable Energy Markets and Policies in the United States, Eric Martinot, Ryan Wiser, and Jan Hamrin (Center for Resource Solutions, San Francisco, 2005).

Renewable Energy: Market and Policy Trends in IEA Countries, International Energy Agency (Paris, 2004), 668 pp. This reference compendium is the most comprehensive view of renewable energy ever produced for the 26 IEA member countries. For each country, it provides a summary of renewable energy market status, energy supply contribution, R&D trends, market and policy trends, and a chronological description of the policies that have affected renewable energy. Also contains a 60-page overview of these same topics for the group of IEA countries as a whole.

"Renewable energy policies and barriers," Fred Beck and Eric Martinot, Encyclopedia of Energy (Academic Press/Elsevier Science, San Diego, 2004).

National Policy Instruments: Policy Lessons for the Advancement & Diffusion of Renewable Energy Technologies Around the World, Janet Sawin and Christopher Flavin. Thematic Background Paper for Renewables 2004 conference, Bonn, Germany, June 2004.

Policies for renewable energy in the European Union and its member states: an overview, T. Johansson and W. Turkenburg. Energy for Sustainable Development 8(1): 5-24 (2004).

Renewable Energy Policy, Paul Komar (Diebold Institute for Public Policy Studies, New York, 2004), 182 pp. Policies in the EU and US and analysis of what has worked and what hasn't.

Energy Revolution: Policies for a Sustainable Future, Howard Geller (Island Press, 2003), 289 pp.

Renewable Energy Policies and Market Developments (ECN, Petten, Netherlands, 2003).

"Review of renewable energy development in Europe and the US," T. Stenzel, T. Foxon, and R. Gross (UK Department of Trade and Industry, 2003). A report for the DTI Renewables Innovation Review October 2003, ICCEPT.

Renewable Energy Policy...into the Mainstream, International Energy Agency (Paris, 2002), 53 pp. Basic introduction to renewable energy and its benefits.

Natural Selection: Evolving Choices for Renewable Energy Technology and Policy, United Nations Environment Programme (Paris, 2000), 36 pp. Basic introduction to technologies and policy options.

SUBSIDY REFERENCES

Earthtrack has a comprehensive set of references on energy subsidies and estimates from around the world.

Reforming Energy Subsidies, UN Environment Program and International Energy Agency (Paris, 2002), 31 pp. Subtitle: "An explanatory summary of the issues and challenges in removing or modifying subsidies on energy that undermine the pursuit of sustainable development." Describes the different types of energy subsidies and recommendations for reform. Total energy subsidies for fossil fuels on a global basis are suggested in the range of $150-250 billion per year.

"Energy subsidies in the European Union: A Brief Overview," European Environment Agency (Copenhagen, Denmark, 2004), 20 pp. Includes overview of renewable energy policies and subsidies.

Federal Energy Subsidies: Not All Technologies Are Created Equal, M. Goldberg, Renewable Energy Policy Project (REPP) Research Report No. 11. (REPP, Washington, 2000).

DEVELOPING COUNTRY REFERENCES

"Renewable energy markets in developing countries," Eric Martinot, Akanksha Chaurey, Debra Lew, Jose Roberto Moreira, and Njeri Wamukonya, Annual Review of Energy and the Environment 27: 309-348 (2002).

Biomass energy in Asia: a review of status, technologies and policies in Asia, S.C. Bhattacharya. Energy for Sustainable Development 6(3): 5-10 (2002).

Global electric power reform, privatization, and liberalization of the electric power industry in developing countries, R.W. Bacon and J. Besant-Jones. Annual Review of Energy and the Environment 26: 331-59 (2001). Good discussion of power sector reform context affecting renewable energy prospects.

GREEN POWER PURCHASING REFERENCES

Green power web sites include U.S. Department of Energy's Green Power Network site, and Greenprices.com in Europe (which sells its information). Also see the Center for Resource Solutions.

In Canada, Pollution Probe has a green power page with current status reports.

Green Power Marketing in the United States: A Status Report (Seventh Edition), Lori Bird and Blair Swezey, NREL/TP-620-36823 (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, 2004).

Green Power Marketing Abroad: Recent Experience and Trends, L. Bird, R. W¨¹stenhagen, and J. Aabakken, NREL/TP-620-32155 (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, . Golden, CO, 2002).

OTHER REFERENCES

Policy Review of Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency in the European Union and its Member States, EAEF (EC-ASEAN Energy Facility). Report from Project 62- 2003: Capacity Building in Formulating Harmonised Policy Instruments for the Promotion of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in the ASEAN Member Countries. Publication EuropeAid/116832/D/G/Multi (2005).

Renewable Energy in Europe: Building Markets and Capacity, European Renewable Energy Council EREC, Brussels (James and James, London, 2004), 202 pp. Technology developments, R&D, markets, costs, employment, and industry, sorted by technology.

Communication of the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament: The Share of Renewable Energies in the EU, Commission of the European Communities (CEC) (Brussels, 2004). Descirption of existing policy targets and progress achieved.

The Share of Renewable Energy in the EU: Country Profiles, Commission of the European Communities (Brussels, 2004). Overview of renewable energy sources in the enlarged European Union.

Energy-policy Framework Conditions for Electricity and Renewable Energies¡ª21 Country Analyses, Deutsche Gesellschaft f¨¹r Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH (Eschborn, Germany, 2004).

Renewables in Russia (2003), 116 pp. Renewable energy market opportunities, prospects, benefits, and overall context.

Germany¡¯s Solar Success¡ªthe 100,000 roofs programme reviewed, J.K. Dobelmann. Renewable Energy World 6(6): 68-79 (2003).

"Innovation, Renewable Energy, and State Investment: Case Studies of Leading Clean Energy Funds," Ryan Wiser, Mark Bolinger, Lewis Milford, Kevin Porter, and Roger Clark, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Report LBNL-51493 (Berkeley, CA, 2002), 144 pp.

"Case Studies on the Effectiveness of State Financial Incentives for Renewable Energy," S. Gouchoe, V. Everette, and R. Haynes, NREL/SR-620-32819 (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO, 2002), 128 pp.

Handbook of Renewable Energies in the European Union: Case Studies of all Member States, Danyel Reiche, ed. (Peter Lang Publishing, Bern, Germany, 2002), 270 pp.

Environmental Policy: Renewable Energy--Current German and European Legislation and More. Publication 6108. German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (2002), 69 pp.

"States emerge as clean energy investors: a review of state support for renewable energy," Mark Bolinger, Ryan Wiser, Lew Milford, Michael Stoddard, and Kevin Porter, The Electricity Journal, Nov. 2001, pp.82-95. Full report by the same authors: Clean Energy Funds: an Overview of State Support for Renewable Energy (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 2001), 121 pp.

The Role of Government in the Development and Diffusion of Renewable Energy Technologies: Wind Power in the United States, California, Denmark and Germany. Janet Sawin, PhD Dissertation, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tuft University (Ann Arbor: UMI/Proquest, 2001), 618 pp. A nice summary of some of this research, including updates, is available in the chapter "Charting a New Energy Future" by Janet Sawin in State of the World 2003 by Worldwatch Institute.

Clean Energy Blueprint: A Smarter Energy Policy for Today and the Future, Steven Clemmer et al. (Union of Concerned Scientists, Washington, DC, 2001), 52 pp.

Page updated May 11, 2006
Photo credits C. Babcock, W. Gretz and DOE/NREL Photo Information Exchange