and of capacity . However , in many developing countries , policies and Government support are still necessary to establish stable conditions to ensure that finance can reach projects and to enable private investors to engage . In addition to robust policies that are adapted to the complexity of the new energy system , strong leadership is necessary to advance the energy transition , as ambitious policies require political support , skilled direction and a vision for the future .
To support systemic , cross-cutting approaches to energy , capacity needs to be built at both the political and the technical levels . Training has to be made available for both current and future decision makers , but also to build up the technical workforce to expand technological and economic solutions and to remove barriers that are standing in the way of energy transition . Such training could include streamlining energy efficiency and renewable energy courses into university curricula , and interdisciplinary / inter-sectoral internships that link research , markets , businesses and the public sector .
Additionally , renewables should be considered alongside energy efficiency and energy access . Just as the energy transition cannot occur if everything is focussed on a single sector , likewise it cannot be achieved without increases in both renewables and energy efficiency . Greater synergies between the two are possible in all sectors , and strengthening measures for one often will , in turn , strengthen the other . To expand energy access , decision makers must also make use of both renewable energy and energy efficiency across all sectors . By building both renewables and efficiency into energy access policies and programmes from the beginning , available energy supply can effectively be increased , and more-reliable supply can be provided at a lower cost .
Note : The above article is an extract from “ Renewables 2016 Global Status Report ” and used with permission from REN 21 Secretariat
REN21 stands for Renewables Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century . It is a multistakeholder network which shares its insight and knowledge , helping the REN21 Secretariat produce its annual Renewables Global Status Report ( GSR ) as well as regional reports . Today the network stands at 700 renewable energy , energy access and energy efficiency experts . For GSR 2016 , 180 experts were involved in the report process , equivalent to the total number of GSR experts in 2012 .
Do You Know ?
Energy
By Cheo Hong Keyong
Do you know that the first settlement in Malaysia to be lit up at night with electricity was at Kampung Rawang Tin near Rawang before the bigger towns such as Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh had that luxury ? It was in 1894 when a coal-powered generator was installed at a tin-min site nearby to light up the tin-mining area and its vicinity , including this village free of charge .
The coal for the generator was supplied from nearby Batu Arang . Along with it , the Rawang railway station became the first railway station in Malaya that had electricity supply .
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