Global Clues for Choosing Suitable Support Systems for Renewable Energy in the Power Sector

The article analyses schemes suitable for supporting the integration of renewable energy (RE) into power sectors within jurisdictions. Its thesis is that stable and predictable regulatory frameworks that enhance RE are prerequisite for successfully integrating RE into energy streams in the power sector. It employs qualitative methods, and relies on primary and secondary sources. It contributes to the literature by building on existing classifications of RE support systems, revealing clues for choosing mechanisms that offer the best potential for successfully integrating RE into countries’ energy streams. It reveals that production-based support mechanisms are better for supporting RE projects than investment-based support systems, and identifies the fixed and premium feed-in tariff models as tested reliable support mechanisms. It recommends that jurisdictions should adjust these models alongside energy efficiency to suit their peculiarities, and government interference with RE policy should be moderate, mainly focusing on setting predictable legal and investment conditions and providing incentives. It concludes that jurisdictions should give closer attention to the design of processes underpinning support mechanisms, rather than the choice of support mechanisms they eventually employ