Supply Chains

The renewable energy sector is composed of a number of segments along the supply chain. The major portions encompass manufacturing/assembly of equipment; construction and installation (C&I); and operations and maintenance (O&M). There is also a range of support services.

It should be noted that the grid connection segment applies only to the power generating sector; as decentralised generation becomes more prominent, this aspect is somewhat less important. But for heating and cooling technologies as well as for transportation energy, distribution is important (including connections into urban district / cooling systems, and interlinkages between EVs and the grid).

Bioenergy supply chains include a fuel supply segment involving the cultivating and harvesting of agricultural feedstocks or the gathering of agricultural and/or food wastes, followed by the processing and distribution of feedstocks. In the energy access context, value chains are of a different character, and vary depending on whether the DRE system concerns stand-alone systems or mini- grids.