The promotion of renewable energy during the last decade did not result in widescale application of the technology. In many cases, technologies were promoted before they were commercially viable or were inappropriately selected for the particular end‐use application. In other cases, a lack of local technical expertise and support infrastructure was absent to sustain the technology once it had been placed in the field. There was also a loss of donor interest and funding for renewables concomitant with the decline in oil prices. This paper attempts to summarize lessons learned from this decade of experience with renewable energy and to offer criteria and suggestions for future activities in transferring renewable energy technology.