Mongolia’s Vast Renewable Energy Resources Can Power Sustainable Development

Tapping Mongolia’s vast renewable energy resources could boost energy security, reduce pollution, meet global climate commitments and grow the economy through regional electricity export, according to a report released today.
Renewables Readiness Assessment: Mongolia, prepared jointly by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the Ministry of Energy of Mongolia, finds that electricity output from the country’s solar and wind resources alone could reach 15,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year, the equivalent of more than 18 million tonnes of avoided coal. The National Renewable Energy Center (NREC)* estimates that Mongolia’s total renewable energy potential is 2.6 terawatts (TW), a potentially huge resource base for electricity production and export. In the decades ahead, these could draw on the vast solar and wind potential of Mongolia’s Gobi Desert. …