The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is aiming to improve the transparency of renewable energy costs through a new web portal.
At the sixth meeting of its Council in Abu Dhabi, IRENA has launched the new portal that provides free access to its data and analysis. It says that its database is the most current and comprehensive global database of renewable energy project costs available to the public.
"Our new portal makes this resource available for policy makers, businesses and the renewable energy community worldwide," said Dolf Gielen, Director of the IRENA Innovation and Technology Centre in Bonn, Germany, and project leader for this initiative.
"The data shows that the costs of renewable energy are declining, sometimes rapidly. Investment and policy decisions can now be based on the latest, verified data from a trusted source," added Gielen. "Recent cost reductions, notably for solar photovoltaics, have profound implications for social and economic development opportunities and for millions of people’s aspirations for a better life. On economic grounds, their access to modern energy should be renewable based," he said.
The web portal makes the latest and best cost data, as well as the agency’s analysis, publications, presentations and charts accessible to the public. It provides an important service for the further development of renewable energy globally, says IRENA.
The agency also believes that the portal will also mean that the lack of up-to-date, accurate and reliable data on cost and performance of renewable energy technologies will no longer be a barrier to their uptake.
