Renewable energy technologies (RET) constitute an important part of electricity generation, thanks to hydro power. Apart from large hydro, a number of other RETs are available for generating electricity for the grid. These include small hydro, wind, geothermal, ocean, biomass and biogas power technologies, in solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power plants with individual unit capacities between 1 and 50 MW (which may amount to more than 100 MW in groups or parks), as well as consumer based solar PV.

Future scenarios indicate that large and small hydro will achieve by 2050 a share of around 15% in global electriciy generation. The group of other RET will grow the fastest and may attain a share of up to 20%,  according to the IEA technology perspectives, chiefly from wind and biomass sources. Other organisations - such as Greenpeace in wind force 12 - argue in favour of policies which would help wind energy attain a high electricity market share already by 2020.

The economics of most of these grid-oriented RETs are rather close to competitiveness with fossil power generation. They become competitive if compared to future low-carbon fossil power generation options, as the World Bank Study "Technical and Economic Assessment: Off Grid, Mini-Grid and Grid Electrification Technologies" demonstrates.

Policies to increase the share of renewable energy specifically in the electricity generation market have been pursued since many years and in many countries. The experience referred to under instruments of renewable energy policies are largely from this market. The REN21 Global Status Reports gives overviews for 2005 and 2006. With respect to developing countries, information on these policies are presented by GTZ's 21 country analysis.

As to recommendations for countries in the process of defining a policy, the conclusions from the proceedings of the International Grid-Connected Renewable Energy Policy Forum in Mexico City in February 2006 are helpful. More detailed, the World Bank offers useful tools for determining appropriate promotion policies for grid-connected renewable energy.

Some RET are invested by consumers and applied principally for their own use, but may also deliver electricity to the grid. Industry and some public organisations have used biomass, biogas and waste to produce electricity and heat for own use. Policy is crucial in boosting the exploitation of this potential by improving the feed-in conditions, in particular in the development of building integrated PV, as the examples of Japan and Germany show. Besides financial incentives for the investment and setting of standards, the rules for transactions like net metering or feed-in tariffs between autonomous producer and electricity supplier determine the development of this technology.