Title of Dissertation: national renewable energy policy

 
 
These projections by policy scenarios show that renewable energy installation is 
significantly influenced by policies. In effect, renewable energy policies have led the rise 
of renewable energy by driving the cost-down of renewables. For instance, in 2015, the 
global average capital cost of solar PV has decreased to less than the half of the cost in 
2010. According to the IEA, the supports for renewable energy in many countries after 
2010 have led this massive cost-down in 5 years, which was expected to take 15 years.
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Other than policies, many other factors have influenced the rise of renewable 
energy. Technology development, accumulated experience of installation, competition 
and increased scale of deployment have contributed to the cost-down of renewable 
energy. International trade of renewable energy products has been another driver of 
renewable energy deployment by driving down costs. 
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International Energy Agency, 
World Energy Outlook 2016
, Paris: IEA. 2016. 
https://www.iea.org/media/publications/weo/WEO2016Chapter1.pdf. 
41%
36%
28%
7%
4%
1%
1%
1%
22%
24%
23%
16%
11%
9%
12%
18%
2%
3%
3%
6%
16%
14%
16%
20%
3%
7%
10%
18%
1%
4%
5%
9%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2014
2040 - Current
policies
2040 - New
Policies
2040- 450
Other RE
Solar PV
Wind
Hydropower
Bioenergy
Nuclear
Natural gas
Oil
Coal

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International trade and the globalization of renewable energy industry
 
International trade of renewable energy products has sharply increased in recent 
years (Figure 4). The worldwide exports value of photosensitive semiconductor devices, 
which include solar photovoltaic cells, has increased to 57,868 million US dollars in 2015 
from 20,416 million US dollars in 2006. The value of exports has dropped in 2012 
because the export of China has reduced under the policies to restrict flooding of Chinese 
solar cells in a number of countries. After this drop, the trade value has increased again. 
The exports of wind energy products have also increased. The worldwide exports of 
wind-powered electric generating sets has become more than twice in 2015 compared to 
2006.