New technologies on the supply side

Thecosts of wind power and especially of solar photovoltaics have fallen rapidly, bringing their levelized cost of electricity commonly below those of thermal power plants and increasingly even below the marginal costs of thermal power plants. Their resource potential is widespread around the globe, making them accessible to most countries and regions.Other renewable energy technologies can play important roles in the electricity sector as well, but will be limited to specific use, cases or regions. The successful deployment of renewable energies hinges on their economic viability. The financing costs constitute a key driver of costs and are frequently thefactorthat regulators have the most control over. Regulationneedsto take theownership structures, financing cost intensity, questions of local acceptance, and intermittency into account.Integrating renewables requires a market design that enables both local use of electricity as well as transporting and trading electricity over long distances.