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Electricity 2026 Flexibility
…cost-effective integration of generation, load and storage technologies that characterise this new era.Last year’s report, Electricity 2025, focused on measures to enhance flexibility on the supply side of electricity markets by reducing the various technical, regulatory or contractual inflexibilities affecting generation. This year, we focus on demand-side applications for providing and improving flexibility. In addition, we have updated our analysis on supply side flexibility to include further examination of falling “capture rates” for solar and wind generation and the spectacular growth of battery storage systems amid declining costs in various markets.Finally, markets with high shares…
- Executive summary
- Demand
- Supply
- Grids
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+ 4 pages
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Austria 2026 Executive summary
…electricity generation), including 5.6 gigawatts (GW) of pumped hydro storage and a nationwide smart meter roll-out. Austria has the highest share of renewable energy in electricity consumption in the European Union and is the first European country to develop a pioneering approach to integrated energy system planning. However, the gap between ambition and delivery is widening. While economy-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have fallen by 16% since 1990, emissions including land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) have increased by 13%. In other words, Austria’s forests are losing their ability to absorb carbon, emphasising the urgent…
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World Energy Investment 2025 Middle East
The Middle East is rich in a wide range of energy resources, which it is looking to develop with a mix of foreign and domestic sources of investment The Middle East holds some of the lowest-cost oil and gas resources in the world, and in 2024 provided around 30% of global oil production and 17% of global natural gas production. Saudi Arabia’s upstream oil and gas investment is the highest in the region, and is set to reach about USD 40 billion in 2025, nearly 15% higher than in 2015. Overall, the Middle East is set to invest about USD 130 billion…
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Electricity Market Design
Building on strengths, addressing gaps Electricity markets play a central role in balancing supply and demand, guiding operational decisions and shaping investment outcomes. As systems change with higher shares of variable generation, greater decentralisation and evolving patterns of electricity use, the ability of market designs to deliver secure and affordable electricity has never been more critical. If market arrangements do not keep pace with these developments, the functioning of electricity systems could become more uncertain and more costly.This report provides a cross-regional assessment of how wholesale electricity markets and their complementary policy mechanisms are performing today. We find…
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Energy crisis threatens world’s most vulnerable as cooking fuel shortages grow
The Energy Crisis hits the Homefront: A growing shortage of cooking fuels The Middle East crisis has highlighted the energy security risks for a fundamental need: the ability to cook a meal The conflict in the Middle East has triggered a global energy crisis of unprecedented magnitude. The daily volumes of oil lost to global markets in March 2026 surpassed the peak supply losses of the two major oil shocks of the 1970s combined.Previous energy crises affected economies and societies in profound ways, often forcing households to ration fuel for their cars and heating for their homes. The 2026…
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Renewables 2021 Renewable heat
Recent trends Global progress on conversion to renewable heat has been limited Heat is the world’s largest energy end use, accounting for almost half of global final energy consumption in 2021, significantly more than electricity (20%) and transport (30%). Industrial processes are responsible for 51% of the energy consumed for heat, while another 46% is consumed in buildings for space and water heating, and, to a lesser extent, cooking. The remainder is used in agriculture, primarily for greenhouse heating. Global heat demand declined by 2% in 2020, primarily due to the curtailment of economic activity as a result of…
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Universal Access to Clean Cooking in Africa Outlook for clean cooking in Africa
Off the back burner? Based on today’s policies, investment and market trends, only three African countries are set to reach universal clean cooking access by mid-century. Sub-Saharan Africa could achieve universal coverage by 2040, if countries were to replicate the best historical rates of progress seen in similar countries around the world – a pathway explored in the new Accelerating Clean Cooking and Electricity Services Scenario (ACCESS). It will require 80 million people to gain access annually, or a 4.7 percentage point improvement in access rates each year, comparable to rates of progress seen in Indonesia, Cambodia…
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Mexico
Mexico’s energy and economic profile presents both challenges and opportunities as a major oil producer, exporter and through its growing domestic energy demand. Mexico was the first large oil producing emerging economy to adopt climate legislation in 2012 and has seen growth in renewable electricity generation from wind and solar, which almost tripled from 2015 to 2022. However, strong action is needed across all sectors to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and bring down greenhouse gas emissions.
- Overview
- Energy mix
- Emissions
- Electricity
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+ 5 pages
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El Salvador
The National Energy Policy to 2024 of El Salvador guides the national actions on energy, following main principles: ensure high quality level and continuous and affordable energy access, decrease fossil fuel dependency and mitigate environmental and social impacts of energy projects.
- Overview
- Energy mix
- Emissions
- Electricity
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+ 5 pages
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Energy and AI AI for energy optimisation and innovation
AI can help optimise complex energy systems The energy system is complex and evolving. It is becoming increasingly electrified, digitalised, connected and decentralised, with mounting cost pressures. These drivers have encouraged energy companies to deploy applications that utilise artificial intelligence to optimise systems, improve production, reduce costs, raise efficiency, improve uptime, cut emissions and enhance safety. Many of the desired goals of AI’s application in the energy sector – such as cost reductions, enhanced reliability and improved resilience – are challenging to quantify at a broader sectoral level, beyond the confines of individual case studies. It is also challenging to predict…
