English
 
Privacy Policy Disclaimer
  Advanced SearchBrowse

Item

ITEM ACTIONSEXPORT

Released

Paper

Technical requirements in public auctions to make solar plants shine

Authors
/persons/resource/80

Marian,  Adela
IASS Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies Potsdam;

Münch,  Florian Anselm
External Organizations;

Ammel,  Elena
External Organizations;

Ferdinand,  Niels
External Organizations;

Kumar,  Saurabh
External Organizations;

Ukar,  Asier
External Organizations;

López,  Maialen
External Organizations;

Blind,  Knut
External Organizations;

/persons/resource/97

Quitzow,  Rainer
IASS Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies Potsdam;

External Ressource
No external resources are shared
Fulltext (public)

IASS_Policy_Brief_2022_1_en.pdf
(Publisher version), 547KB

Supplementary Material (public)
There is no public supplementary material available
Citation

Marian, A., Münch, F. A., Ammel, E., Ferdinand, N., Kumar, S., Ukar, A., López, M., Blind, K., Quitzow, R. (2022): Technical requirements in public auctions to make solar plants shine. - IASS Policy Brief, 2022, 1.
https://doi.org/10.48481/iass.2022.004


Cite as: https://publications.rifs-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_6001518
Abstract
The deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is accelerating across the globe, as prices continue to fall and countries begin their transition from fossil to renewable energy. Public auctions have become the dominant policy tool for solar PV deployment: 106 countries held renewable energy auctions (dominated by solar) by the end of 2018 (IRENA a, 2019). One third of the 55 countries that held renewable auctions in 2017 – 2018 did so for the first time (ibid.). Little solar-specific experience and capacity in newly adopting countries can result in technical failures and lower solar plant performance (IRENA 2017). For instance, it was reported that 30 percent of nearly 100 analysed projects in different countries indicate severe defects that impact performance (TÜV Rheinland 2015). This makes investment in solar plants in newcomer countries risky, hindering the development of the solar sector and undermining political targets of solar energy deployment in these countries. In this context, international organisations have suggested that policymakers in adopting countries include international quality standards1 as technical requirements in the design of public auctions. This policy brief outlines the potential benefits and challenges of doing so, highlighting the crucial role of the Quality Infrastructure (QI) system in newcomer countries. Key lessons learnt are synthesised from international experiences with technical requirements in solar PV auctions. On this basis, entry points are identified for the development of strategies for their introduction in newly adopting countries. The two key things policymakers should consider are the adoption of appropriate standards based on the specific country context and the implementation of real-time data monitoring.