ABSTRACT
The level of future deployment of renewable energy technologies in developing countries is critically dependent on actors being willing to invest in renewable energy technologies and the level of that investment. As with other actors involved in the technology transfer process, those providing or facilitating investment for a particular project or programme will vary depending on the scale and type of project or programme, local policies, their own investment policies, the regulatory and institutional situation, and the way in which the transfer process is being carried out. The range of actors which may invest includes international institutions (e.g. multilateral and bilateral agencies); national institutions (e.g. governments, utilities, academic institutions and banks); private companies and NGOs, which may be national, international or multinational. As the modern understanding of technology transfer includes both hard technology and softer knowledge and skills, investment in R&D and technical transfer needs to be complemented by investment in training, capacity building, information collection and dissemination, institutional structures, planning and policies.
