RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Substantial technological development is necessary for new renewable energy sources to become competitive with existing generator technology. Costs of generation of electricity from wind, solar, and geothermal energy and the maintenance of such units may be very low, but initial costs for setting up units remain high. Research and development in renewable energy production and utilisation are needed to reduce cost of production of energy, to increase the efficiency of production and distribution, to increase the reliability of the processes and to further reduce environmental impacts of such production facilities.

Recent years have seen considerable reduction in the cost of production through scientific discoveries and engineering advances. Though some technologies are already cost-competitive, further cost reductions and market development are needed for most of the technologies in use. This is the reason why further research and development are needed in this field. At the same time, facilities for demonstration activities of new and improved technologies and facilities for training skilled workers in the production of equipment, installation of new units, maintenance of these units, etc are necessary to make the research beneficial to the society.