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The environmental impact of energy supply is growing which has a significant impact on regional and global environmental issues. As a solution for this, both developed and developing nations paying attention to convert their energy productivity by using renewable energy like wind and solar energy. Sri Lankan government also aims to obtain the full amount of electricity required from local renewable sources by the year 2050 under the project called “sooryabala sangramaya” (the battle for solar energy). Currently, Sri Lanka’s power generation sector is heavily dependent on imported fuels, such as petroleum and coal, resulting in growing detrimental impacts on the country’s sustainable socioeconomic development. With the growing market of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology, Sri Lanka is turning its attention towards generating the total amount of electricity required from solar power by promoting the installation of arrays of PV panels on the rooftops of households, religious places, hotels, commercial establishments and industries. It also aims to deploy solar PV for sustainable rural development, mainly focused on uplifting people living in remote areas in the country. This chapter discusses how Sri Lanka has initiated a rooftop solar PV adoption program to lessen imported fuels’ socioeconomic and environmental impacts. Moreover, this case demonstrates that the adoption of rooftop solar PV brings many socioeconomic benefits to its consumers.

This chapter provides an overview of the current status of renewable energy projects and identifies the key success factors of well-performing public–private partnerships (PPPs). To this end, this study analyses around 1,700 renewable projects on the World Bank’s Private Participation in Renewable Energy (PPRE) database. We then follow an inductive approach for a case review and examine a 5-MW rooftop solar PPP in Gujarat, India, that had been implemented in 2012. In spite of the rapid growth of renewable PPPs, regional disparity is distinct and most PPPs have been undertaken in Latin America and the Caribbean or a few selective countries such as China or South Africa. The case study informs that the successful PPPs may be attributed to such factors as policy coordination in multi-governance systems to attract project investments, the handling of land constraints in a project planning stage, and Green Incentive given to project participants. It offers a valuable insight into the significance of well-designed PPPs for enhanced energy access in developing countries, while accelerating the global transition to renewable-based energy supply to promote sustainable development.

This chapter examines the potential of solar energy for the development of sustainable tourism in Croatia. Tourism is an important economic activity in the Croatian economy due to the mild climate and many sunny days. Solar energy photovoltaic and thermal systems can help to support sustainable tourism, as well as increase employment and cooperation between local and national governments. This study compares best practices in solar energy for the Mediterranean countries of Italy, Spain, Cyprus, and Greece. The Mediterranean Basin is a strategic development area for the European Union, and solar energy will help to maintain its stability and high-quality standards of living.

Uzbekistan easily gets 300 days of sunshine a year, and is a natural choice for development of solar technologies and their implementation. Central Asia is working together to solve critical water problems including contamination and dry wells. This chapter addresses the need to find solutions for rural populations living in the shadow of the Aral Sea disaster, with poor quality drinking water and limited infrastructure. With assistance from generous government funding, the Institute for Solar Energy is developing new point-based solar desalinization and pumping technologies. Preliminary designs are promising and government support for raw materials mining and wafer production are growing. Domestic R&D and production ensures cost-effective dissemination options. The Institute houses both research and project management for all solar technologies and expects to field test prototypes within 2–3 years. Solar energy is a growing sector in the economy of Uzbekistan.

Sustainable energy like renewable energy plays a critical role in achieving sustainable development goals including energy security in emerging economics. BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) constitutes about 23% of the world’s GDP, 40% of the world’s population and 36% share of the supply of primary energy in the world. Obviously the Bloc has tremendous potential in influencing the global sustainable clean energy transition with the advantages like lowering the costs of renewable, boosting employment in the sector of green energy, enhancement of energy security and improvement of local air quality. Despite the existence of varieties of renewable energy resources in the BRICS economies, renewable energy resources are found underdeveloped. The major objectives of this chapter are to assess progress of different forms of energy especially renewable energy, impact of development of renewable energy on carbon emission and policy issues in renewable energy development in the context of sustainable energy development of BRICS countries.