Governments should make “maximum effort” to secure diversity in their low-carbon power generation mix by considering measures such as maintaining existing nuclear capacity by lifetime extensions and continuing research into new technologies such as small modular reactors, the International Energy Agency said in a new report.

The report, which looks at challenges and opportunities as countries move towards low-carbon electricity systems, said the new power sector landscape will be shaped by a combination of factors including a growing role for variable renewables, and stagnation or reduced contributions from traditional low-carbon sources such as nuclear and hydro.

According to the report, the energy transition being seen in many systems in the world will bring major changes in the way the system is operated. The most significant is the large-scale deployment of low-cost variable renewables.