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Indonesia's RUKN 2024-2060 projects a coal capacity increase of 26.8 GW by 2031, primarily driven by over 20 GW of new captive coal plants for mineral processing. This expansion is expected to push coal generation to a peak of 494 TWh in 2037, contradicting the country's Low Carbon Scenario and JETP targets. The report highlights that new captive coal is more expensive than grid-connected coal and renewables, while lacking the emissions reporting and trading requirements imposed on the grid. It recommends reassessing captive coal plans, enforcing stricter emissions standards, and accelerating renewable energy deployment to avoid carbon lock-in.

Türkiye's solar capacity doubled between July 2022 and the end of 2024, reaching 19.6 GW and surpassing its 2025 target of 18 GW ahead of schedule. This growth was largely driven by unlicensed plants for self-consumption. Combined solar and wind generation avoided $15 billion in natural gas imports over two years. While solar is accelerating, wind energy growth has slowed, with 2024 capacity reaching 12.5 GW, missing its 13.3 GW target. The report highlights a significant pipeline of 33 GW in pre-licensed storage-integrated projects, far exceeding official targets, and suggests that Türkiye should update its NDC and National Energy Plan to reflect these trends and the revised 2035 targets.

Since the launch of the European Green Deal in 2019, the EU has seen a significant transformation of its power sector, with renewables increasing from 34% to 47% of the electricity mix by 2024. This shift was primarily driven by wind and solar, which together increased their share from 17% to 29%. This transition reduced the emissions intensity of EU electricity generation by 26% and avoided €59 billion in fossil fuel import costs. While coal use has dropped from 16% to under 10% of the mix, and gas power has declined from 20% to 16%, the EU still faces challenges with Russian gas imports, which accounted for 14% of total gas consumption in 2024.

In 2024, the EU power sector saw fossil fuel generation fall to its lowest level in over forty years, reaching 793 TWh. This decline was driven primarily by record solar growth, which saw generation increase by 22% to 304 TWh, overtaking coal for the first time. Renewables accounted for 47% of EU power generation, while clean sources reached a record 71% of the mix. Despite a small 1% increase in total EU power demand and increased exports to the UK and Ukraine, coal and gas generation fell by 16% and 6% respectively, leading to a 9% drop in power sector emissions to an estimated 585 million tonnes of CO2.

In 2024, the EU's electricity transition continued with solar power overtaking coal for the first time and gas generation declining for the fifth consecutive year. Renewables reached a 47% share of the power sector in 2024, up from 34% in 2019, while fossil fuels dropped to a historic low of 29%. This shift reduced power sector emissions to less than half of their 2007 peak and avoided €59 billion in fossil fuel imports since the start of the European Green Deal. Despite this momentum, the report argues that wind power deployment and grid infrastructure must accelerate to meet 2030 targets.

In 2024, the EU experienced record growth in solar generation and capacity, with all member states seeing increases. However, the rapid expansion has led to more frequent zero or negative power prices and wider intraday price spreads. To manage this and maintain the trajectory toward 2030 targets, the report advocates for the accelerated rollout of clean flexibility tools, specifically battery storage, smart electrification, and grid modernization.

Wind energy growth in Europe has been hindered by inflation, supply chain issues, and permitting delays, but is now showing signs of recovery through increased turbine orders and auction volumes. While onshore costs plateaued or rose slightly since 2021, offshore wind continues to see cost declines, and both remain cheaper than fossil gas generation. Despite this, a delivery gap remains between current forecasts and the 2030 EU targets, requiring further policy implementation and grid reforms.

In 2025, US solar generation increased by 83 TWh, meeting 61% of the 135 TWh rise in electricity demand. This growth was most concentrated in regions with the highest demand increases, such as Texas and the Midwest. While utility-scale solar capacity additions fell by 6% due to tariff uncertainties and grid connection delays, battery capacity surged by 133% to 26 GW, enabling solar to meet some evening demand and reducing curtailment pressure, particularly in California.

The North Sea is the world's largest offshore wind basin, with 30 GW of capacity across 101 operational wind farms. While the region leads in deployment, the report highlights that supply chain challenges and fragmented regulatory frameworks hinder further progress. It advocates for the standardisation of component sizes and the deployment of hybrid offshore assets to create a more secure, meshed grid. Additionally, the report emphasizes that the North Sea's potential as a 'green power plant' for Europe depends on the electrification of non-power sectors, as half of Europe's industrial energy consumption is located in North Sea bordering countries. Finally, it notes that offshore wind is helping stabilise electricity prices through Contracts-for-Difference (CfD) mechanisms, with recent projects delivering competitive strike prices compared to average European day-ahead power prices.

The report argues that a transatlantic electricity interconnector could enhance grid resilience and efficiency by leveraging the complementarity of time zones and weather patterns between Europe and North America. It highlights that a six-hour time difference creates arbitrage opportunities for solar production and demand, while uncorrelated or negatively correlated wind and temperature patterns can mitigate the impact of extreme weather. The author suggests that such an interconnector could be a more cost-effective tool for security of supply and decarbonisation than alternatives like nuclear power or hydrogen, though it would require significant government support and investment.

Ember modelling indicates that the UK can reduce biomass power generation by 55% to just 2% of total electricity generation by 2030 without compromising grid stability. This low-biomass pathway involves reducing biomass capacity by 2 GW—retaining only the equivalent of one unit at Drax—and replacing the lost generation primarily through increased power imports (6.9 TWh) and a slight increase in gas use (2.9 TWh). The report highlights that biomass power is significantly more expensive than gas or wind, costing £138/MWh under a Contract for Difference, and poses energy security risks due to its total reliance on imports, as Drax consumed 5.8 million tonnes of non-UK wood biomass in 2023. Despite the reduction in biomass, the UK would remain a net exporter of electricity, totaling 60 TWh annually.

In 2024, UK low-carbon renewables (wind, solar, and hydropower) are forecast to generate 37% of electricity (103 TWh), overtaking fossil fuels, which are set to provide 35% (97 TWh). Wind power is close to becoming the largest single source of UK power, forecast at 29% (82 TWh), just behind fossil gas at 30% (85 TWh). The year also marked the closure of the UK's last coal power plant, with gas power use set to decrease by 13% compared to 2023, reaching its lowest level since 1996. This decline in fossil fuel reliance is attributed to rising renewable generation, low electricity demand, and a 42% increase in net electricity imports.

Ember argues that the draft FNA methodology focuses too narrowly on "surplus" renewable power rather than the broader goal of decarbonising the electricity system. The organization advocates for renaming flexibility needs to "non-fossil flexibility network needs" to signal a shift away from fossil assets and avoid stranded investments. Ember also calls for greater data transparency, the inclusion of cost-efficiency metrics, and the integration of the FNA into the existing ERAA/NRAA modelling process to better optimize the dispatch between fossil and non-fossil assets.

The document outlines the outcomes of a TSO roundtable held during the 2024 PCI Energy Days, focusing on the need for integrated energy hubs, increased connectivity for landlocked countries, the resolution of financing and regulatory hurdles, and the deployment of short-term flexibility tools to support the energy transition in Central and Eastern Europe.

In 2024, solar energy in Türkiye significantly increased its contribution to meeting peak electricity demand, covering two-thirds of the hourly peak demand increase compared to 2023. This growth is driven by rising cooling needs due to hotter summers, with solar power meeting 18% of peak demand in 2024, up from 2.5% in 2017. On July 23, 2024, solar generation exceeded 10 GWh, meeting the total hourly demand for over 10 million people in Western Anatolia provinces. The report highlights that solar installations helped Türkiye avoid investing in approximately 16 GW of fossil fuel capacity in 2024 and notes that over 14 GW of solar capacity with storage is currently in pre-licensing stages, far exceeding the 2030 National Energy Plan target of 2.1 GW.

Ember argues that the EU must accelerate the deployment of wind, solar, and clean flexibility solutions to achieve energy self-sufficiency and security. The response emphasizes the need for a "Smart Electrification" Action Plan, the complete cessation of Russian fossil fuel imports by 2027, and the modernization of grid infrastructure and cross-border interconnections, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe.

National renewable energy targets for 2030 currently aim for a collective doubling of capacity rather than the tripling agreed upon at COP28, despite market forecasts suggesting such a goal is achievable, particularly for solar and battery storage.

The RES Tracker methodology describes the process of identifying national renewable energy targets for 2030, categorising them by source reliability, and addressing specific data challenges regarding solar capacity reporting and the climate impact of bioenergy.

The report evaluates the COP29 Presidency's goals to achieve 1,500 GW of energy storage and add 25 million km of grid infrastructure by 2030. It concludes that the storage goal is highly achievable due to surging battery manufacturing capacity and falling prices, while the grid goal requires a 50% increase in the current build rate and faces significant regulatory and supply chain hurdles. The potential for green hydrogen to provide flexibility is noted, though current deployment rates remain low despite high numbers of announced projects.

The report argues that 'clean flexibility' acts as the 'brain' of a clean power system, balancing supply and demand in real time to ensure electricity is clean every hour. It categorizes nine flexibility tools into four functional areas: Store (pumped hydro, batteries, long-duration energy storage, and green hydrogen), Shift (peak shaving and smart electrification), Share (grids and interconnectors), and Supply (improving fossil plant flexibility and smarter wind/solar operation). The document emphasizes that while some tools are basic and cheap, others are more complex and costly, and the optimal mix depends on the specific power system. It concludes by urging COP29 to expand its focus beyond storage, grids, and hydrogen to include the full portfolio of flexibility solutions.