Possibilities and Challenges of Implementing Renewable Energy in the Light of PESTLE & SWOT Analyses for Island Countries

TLDR: In this paper, major opportunities available for renewable energy generation are explored and analyzed and two different decision-making techniques are used, namely PESTLE analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental) which can be used in energy planning and for business analyses, and SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) has been utilized to incorporate strategic analyses and for decision making.

Abstract: Energy structure redesigning and implementation of renewable energy generation in the distribution grid usually depend upon the availability of resources, socioeconomic structure, political issues, and environmental concern. In this sense a developing Island country faces huge challenges for implementing renewable energy, but those countries are blessed by several opportunities. However, the challenges that prevent developing island countries to reach at a milestone level include capital cost in addition to the devastation caused by natural disaster and the recent trends of decrease in fuel prices which seems to be a cheaper resort for fossil fuel-based generation in terms of expenditure. At present, it seems that the investors, most of the government and various stakeholders are not in a position to take a concrete decision in the field of renewable energy due to the lack of sufficient research on the opportunities and challenges of renewable energy generation in this context. Hence the strategic planning processes of renewable energy implementation for Island countries need a holistic analysis to meet the increasing energy demand from renewable energy sources. In this chapter, major opportunities available for renewable energy generation are explored and analyzed. Two different decision-making techniques are used, namely PESTLE analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental) which can be used in energy planning and for business analyses, and SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) has been utilized to incorporate strategic analyses and for decision making. This chapter presents an overall idea of prospects and challenges of implementing renewable energy in various Island countries.