IRENA Chief: New Energy System Increasingly Dominated By Renewables, Hydrogen And Biomass (Exclusive Interview)

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 1. The new energy system is increasingly dominated by renewables, hydrogen and biomass, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Francesco La Camera said in an exclusive interview with Trend on the sidelines of the Baku Energy Week.

He pointed out that the energy transition is absolutely in place and is accelerating.

“The ongoing energy crisis will push forward the acceleration process. Every year renewables are breaking new records in terms of yearly installed capacity. In the last years, around 90% of the new installed capacity were renewables. We are inevitably moving to a new energy system that will be largely dominated by renewables, complemented by sustainable use of biomass and hydrogen, mainly green hydrogen.

The question is if this is happening in a speed that is consistent with the achievement of the Paris Agreement goals. It's fast, but we need a further acceleration. The main barriers that we see are the infrastructure. We need to have grids that are interconnected, flexible, and balanced. We need a legal environment that is more favorable to renewables. We need also to enhance the capacity, which means reskilling the workers coming from the old system of the new one. These are the three main barriers that we see,” said the IRENA director general.

La Camera highlighted the need to rethink the way international cooperation is structured.

“In particular, support from multilateral financial institutions should prioritize the development of the infrastructure required for the new energy system,” he said.

IRENA's director general noted that there is a need for grids that are interconnected, flexible, and resilient, and naturally storage is part of this.

--

MENAFN01062026000187011040ID1111193648