It is only due to the weakened demand for electricity in the current low-growth environment of OECD economies and the considerable excess capacity constructed during more favourable periods in the past that more serious stresses have so far been avoided. Already today, the technical and pecuniary system effects of variable renewables are putting considerable stress on the long-term adequacy of the electricity systems of OECD countries. The increasing variability of the demand for dispatchable production, the difference between variable renewable production and total demand, increases risk and makes the financing of dispatchable capacity even more challenging (see Chapter 7 and the study by IER Stuttgart).