There is large technical and economic potential for raising energy efficiency and promoting renewable energy. Major studies have concluded that given adequate support, renewable energy technologies can meet much of the growing demand. Renewable Energy Technologies are maturing rapidly and some states are making significant efforts to increase renewable energy use. Rapidly, a world market for renewable energy technologies is developing, a market which now has a volume of several billions of US dollars a year. At the end of 1997, the total installed wind capacity in the world amounted to 7030 MW, with the largest growth taking place in Europe.
Costs continue to fall.
Several multi-national companies have announced plans for investments in new manufacturing capacity, totally more than 250 MWp, to be realized in or before the year 2000. Obstacles Renewable energy characteristics are quite different from those of conventional energy, yet renewable energy technologies have been forced to compete within complex financial, regulatory, subsidy, and tax systems which evolved over a century to facilitate expansion of conventional energy sources. Established energy utilities often have monopolies on generation, transmission, distribution and sales . Renewable energy technologies have often been expected to deliver energy services with little attention paid to links with either the centralized or the traditional energy systems. The process of liberalisation now taking place in many countries needs to take account of access for renewables.