Challenges and Opportunities for the Uptake of Renewables in Energy Supply Challenges In the short term, inflation and disrupted supply chains have slowed the deployment of most renewables and pushed up costs. Countries have struggled to adjust to price fluctuations in materials and energy, resulting in undersubscribed auctions and tenders due to their conditions not matching the market reality. Delayed permitting and unfavourable and/or inconsistent policies have led to uncertainty, stalling wind power deployment and slowing investment in new manufacturing capability. The global markets for CSP and ocean power have slowed, as the historical market leaders have added little new capacity in recent years. The biggest challenges for renewable heat and fuel markets are the low (sometimes subsidised) prices of fossil fuels and the difficulties in accessing affordable finance. Extreme drought has hampered hydropower production across parts of Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. Opportunities Renewables offer the potential to mitigate climate change, improve energy security, create jobs and boost local economies. Even accounting for rising costs, wind and solar power continue to be cost-competitive with fossil fuels and are cheaper than coal-fired generation in most countries. The rooftop solar PV market has increased steadily since 2018 and experienced record growth in 2022 as the market became more attractive for both residential and commercial customers. The momentum around hydrogen is building, but policies need to prioritise the production and use of renewable energy to avoid simple displacement of emissions and to harness hydrogen's huge potential to decarbonise heavy industry, maritime transport and aviation. Heat pumps can provide a valuable source of energy system flexibility, enabling greater integration of variable renewable sources and lower energy bills for consumers. Bioenergy provides alternatives for heating and fuels in heavy industry and transport, such as pharmaceuticals, cement, steel, food and beverages, aviation and maritime shipping. Wind Power