IRENA – Renewable Energy Benefits, 2023

IRENA's Leveraging local capacity series aims to explore the various benefits of renewable energy development, including economic growth, job creation, and improvements in human health and welfare. The series focuses on different technologies and examines the requirements for producing, installing, and operating renewable energy plants. It also aims to assess the potential for local value creation and the leveraging of domestic capabilities. So far, studies have been conducted on utility-scale and decentralized renewable energy solutions, including solar photovoltaic, onshore wind, offshore wind, and solar water heaters. Additional studies on technologies such as concentrated solar power are currently being prepared. The objective of the series is to provide information that can help decision makers identify opportunities for domestic value creation and maximize the socio-economic benefits of the energy transition. Specifically, the report emphasizes the importance of small-scale hydropower deployment in supporting local livelihoods, strengthening watersheds, and building climate resilience. The series is part of IRENA's ongoing analytical work since 2011, which aims to assess the socio-economic impacts of a renewable energy transition, including employment, GDP, welfare, local economic value creation, livelihoods, and gender-differentiated impacts.