February 2014: The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), in collaboration with the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC), has undertaken a systematic review of literature on indicators of effectiveness, efficiency, equity and institutional feasibility of national renewable energy deployment policies, with a focus on developing countries.
The review, titled 'Evaluating Renewable Energy Policy: A Review of Criteria and Indicators for Assessment,' finds most indicators thus far have been developed for complex energy landscapes and depend on detailed data not available in many developing countries' context. It explains that using sets of basic indicators offers a useful alternative to the complex and detailed data requirements by models used in many developed countries. The report indicates that even a simple evaluation process can provide valuable insights on a number of fronts regarding renewable energy policy effectiveness.
The report defines IRENA's understanding of each category it considers as it relates to renewable energy, analyzes available literature on the topic, and offers conclusions on applying such indicators in lower income contexts.
Read full report : http://www.irena.org/DocumentDownloads/Publications/Evaluating_RE_Policy.pdf