Policies to promote renewable energy existed in a few countries in the 1980s and early 1990s, but renewable energy policy began to emerge in many more countries, states, provinces, and cities during the late 1990s and early 2000s.Many of these policies have exerted substantial influence on the market development reviewed in the previous section. This section discusses existing targets and policies to promote renewable power generation, solar hot water/heating, and biofuels. It also discusses municipal-level policies and voluntary green power/pricing.*1 It is beyond the scope of this report to provide detailed analysis of policy impacts and lessons. Nevertheless, the policy literature clearly shows that policies have had a major impact on the speed and extent of renewable energy development, despite a myriad of design and implementation problems. The International Energy Agency observed in 2004, in its milestone book on market and policy trends in IEA countries, that significant market growth has always resulted from combinations of policies, rather than single policies, that longevity and predictability of policy support is important, that local and state/provincial authority and involvement are important, and that individual policy mechanisms are evolving as countries gain more experience. Although a wealth of experience exists for older policies, the IEA suggests that it is still too soon to assess the impacts of many policies because most have been established since 2000.

• Policy Targets for Renewable Energy
• Power Generation Promotion Policies
• Solar Hot Water/Heating Promotion Policies
• Biofuels Promotion Policies
• Green Power Purchasing and Utility Green Pricing
• Municipal-Level Policies