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Abstract This paper develops an analytical approach to explore institutional barriers to spatial integration between renewable energy (RE) and other land use functions and provides insight into opportunities for institutional harmonization between involved policy domains. Spatial integration of RE with other land use functions provides opportunities to use limited amounts of space more efficiently, allowing for a more fluent roll-out of renewable technologies. However, such integration requires the involvement of various policy domains that are each guided by specific institutional frameworks, which are often tailored to specific sectoral needs. Therefore, spatial integration of RE and other land use functions requires institutional harmonization between involved policy domains. However, there is limited guidance in literature on how such harmonization does or could occur. Moreover, while literature on RE recognizes the merits of institutional approaches, it focuses on institutions as the formal rules of the game, often disregarding the agency component (the 'play of the game'). The analytical approach developed in this paper combines the Institutional Analysis and Development framework with insights from Discursive Institutionalism. The approach enables structured assessment of relationships within and between established institutions (the 'rules of the game') and actors' ideas, interpretations and deliberations regarding these institutions (the 'play of the game'), providing insight in processes of institutional harmonization. This analytical approach is applied to the case of spatial integration of photovoltaics with national transport infrastructure networks in the Netherlands. The findings from the case show that (1) insight in interrelations between institutional barriers is crucial for addressing institutional harmonization; (2) institutional harmonization within policy domains is a precondition for harmonization between policy domains; and (3) the agency component (play of the game) is key to successful harmonization. In conclusion, the analytical approach provides insight into the co-evolution between the rules of the game and the play of the game, which is pivotal to institutional harmonization. Highlights • Spatial integration of renewable energy requires institutional harmonization. • Institutional harmonization requires insight in dynamic, interrelated institutions. • Harmonization is conditioned by actors' ideas and interpretation of institutions. • Harmonization between policy domains also requires harmonization in these domains. • Research is needed regarding the role of agency in improving harmonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the positive momentum achieved by the renewable energy sector in recent years, there are substantial challenges that need the attention of the global community, and one of the more pressing issues is dealing with the deleterious external costs of power generation. One of the parameters to compare costs of energy across various technologies is levelised cost of energy (LCOE), but it has been conventional practice to neglect the external costs in estimating the LCOE of power generation technologies. Furthermore, as LCOE is a critical indicator for policy and decision makers, there is a need to juxtapose actual costs of renewable and conventional power generation technologies. This research paper attempts to internalise some of these external and GHG emission costs across various power generation and storage technologies in all the G20 countries, as they account for 85% of global power consumption. As future investment decisions are largely influenced by costs, estimates in this research prove renewables and storage to be far cheaper than fossil and nuclear sources by 2030, even without considering external costs. The myth that renewables are ‘way too expensive’ has been debunked repeatedly, and the cost decline of wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies have outpaced most industry expectations. The results of this research not only substantiate this trend, but also statistically display that all the G20 countries have the opportunity to decrease their energy costs significantly, between now and 2030. Renewable energy technologies offer the lowest LCOE ranges across G20 countries in 2030. Utility-scale solar PV generally shows the lowest values ranging from 16 to 117 €/MWh el and onshore wind LCOE range is from 16 to 90 €/MWh el . Rooftop solar PV generally offers the next lowest LCOE ranging from 31 to 126 €/MWh el , followed by LCOE of offshore wind power ranging from 64 to 135 €/MWh el . Solar PV and battery systems are highly competitive on an LCOE basis at utility-scale ranging from 21 to 165 €/MWh el and at residential scale from 40 to 204 €/MWh el . The G20, as well as other countries, can continue to develop their economies in a sustainable manner, along with substantial co-benefits in adjacent policy fields such as higher national welfare, better health of citizens, lower respective health costs and improved energy security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]