The analysis in the project RE-ValuePolicies, commissioned by IEA-RETD (International Energy Agency – Renewable Energy Technology Deployment), aimed at assessing a basket of cross-cutting policy instruments (innovation, industrial, finance, labor) which could complement the currently used set of renewable energy (RE) policies to enable countries to get the most economic benefits from RE deployment and RE related industries. The scope of the analysis took the whole RE value chain into consideration, with a particular focus on solar and wind energy technologies. The analysis focused primarily on IEA-RETD and OECD member countries. Recommendations and lessons learnt will also be particularly interesting for emerging economies and developing countries. To this extent, the project fed into work that is currently done by IRENA in their EconValue project.

The first goal of this study was to provide a framework for the analysis of the impact of RET deployment and the RET industries throughout the economy. The thought was that an analysis of the complete value chain can help all players, be it individual companies or whole sectors, identify opportunities along the RE value chain, to determine their niche and help policy makers to target policies for capturing value in all economic sectors concerned. The second goal was to examine how various policies support value creation in the renewable energy sector. This part of the report identified potential action or service points for policies along the value chain and it provided a bundle of examples for policy mixes promoting value creation. The report also suggested a number of practical policies for RE industrial development drawing on international best practice policies. The third goal of the IEA-RETD report was to draw lessons on value creation policies and strategies from other sectors, such as automotive and aircraft/spacecraft.