ABSTRACT
The chapter provides an overview of the dominant renewable and low-carbon technologies, their advantages and limitations for energy security. In the beginning, trends and factors that facilitate or hinder the application of these technologies are outlined. Next, well-developed renewable and low-carbon technologies are described and discussed. The technologies are grouped into three categories: those that are used for electricity generation, for heat generation, and for combined heat and power generation. For each of these technologies, the security implications are listed, including risk assessment, LCOE, stable power/heat supply, and technology maturity. Further, the chapter offers country rankings by investments, installed capacity, and primary energy consumption of renewable and low-carbon energy sources. The different measures used to compare countries demonstrate that world leaders in renewable and low-carbon energy depend on the indicator selected for comparison. Finally, an overview of new and promising revolutionary low-carbon energy technologies and sources is provided. These and other future solutions, that are often overlooked, may have the capacity to radically change energy systems and energy security.
