Renewable Energy in Manufacturing

To ensure a sustainable energy future, use of renewable energy sources and technologies needs to be scaled up not only for electricity generation but also in the end-use sectors of buildings, transport and industry. Renewable Energy in Manufacturing is the first ‘technology roadmap’ published as part of REmap 2030, the global renewable energy roadmap from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Renewables could grow to around 27% of total final energy consumption for global manufacturing by 2030, assuming the availability of low-cost, and sustainable, biomass sources as well as reduced capital costs for emerging technologies, and potentially around 34% if carbon-emissions pricing is widely implemented. Yet based on the limited deployment plans and policies today, this figure would remain at its current level of 10%.

The report identifies six key priority areas for action where governments can support the deployment of renewables in the manufacturing sector, including dedicated policies for small and medium-size enterprises. For energy-intensive industries, biomass will be a crucial renewable energy source to meet high-temperature heat demand.

IRENA released this manufacturing roadmap in June 2014, along with the full report on the REmap 2030 analysis.

In March of 2015, IRENA released a background paper for the renewable energy in manufacturing report.

Further information and continual updates on the analysis are available through IRENA’s REmap 2030 web portal.