The RETScreen Clean Energy Management Software (usually shortened to RETScreen) is a software package developed by the Government of Canada. RETScreen Expert was highlighted at the 2016 Clean Energy Ministerial held in San Francisco. RETScreen Expert is the current version of the software and was released to the public on September 19, 2016. The software allows for the comprehensive identification, assessment and optimization of the technical and financial viability of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects; and the performance of facilities and the identification of energy savings / production opportunities. “Viewer mode” in RETScreen Expert is free and available to all of the functionality of the software. Unlike past versions of RETScreen, however, a new ”

The first version of RETScreen was released on April 30, 1998. RETScreen Version 4 was launched on December 11, 2007 at Bali, Indonesia by Canada’s Minister of the Environment. RETScreen Plus was released in 2011. RETScreen Suite (integrating RETScreen 4 and RETScreen Plus with numerous additional upgrades), was released in 2012. RETScreen Expert was released on the public on September 19, 2016.

The program requires Microsoft® Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 10; and Microsoft® .NET Framework 4.6 or higher. It is possible for the program to work on Apple Macintosh computers using Parallels or VirtualBox for Mac.

RETScreen is managed under the leadership and ongoing financial support of the CanmetENERGY Varennes Research Center of Natural Resources Canada, a department of the Government of Canada. The core team leverages collaboration with a number of other government and multilateral organizations, with technical support from a wide network of experts from industry, government and academia. Key partners include NASA’s Langley Research Center, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), UNEP’s Energy Unit of the Technology Division, Industry and Economics, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), World Bank Prototype Carbon Fund and York University’s Sustainable Energy Initiative.

As of February 2018, the RETScreen software had more than 575,000 users in every country and territory of the world. An independent impact study estimated that by 2013, the use of the RETScreen software had been responsible, worldwide, for over $ 8 billion in user transaction cost savings, 20 MT per year of greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and has enabled at least 24 GW of installed clean energy capacity. RETScreen is widely used to facilitate and implement clean energy projects. For example, RETScreen has been used: RETScreen is also used as a teaching and research tool by well-over 1,100 universities and colleges worldwide, and is frequently cited in academic literature. Examples of RETScreen’s in academia can be found under “Publications and Reports” and “University and College Courses” sections of the RETScreen newsletter, accessible through the user manual. The use of RETScreen is mandated or recommended by clean energy incentive programs at all levels of government worldwide, including the UNFCCC and the EU; Canada, New Zealand and the UK; numerous American states and Canadian provinces; cities and municipalities; and utilities. National and regional RETScreen training workshops have been conducted on the official request of the Governments of Chile, Saudi Arabia, and 15 countries in West and Central Africa, and the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE). New Zealand and the UK; numerous American states and Canadian provinces; cities and municipalities; and utilities. National and regional RETScreen training workshops have been conducted on the official request of the Governments of Chile, Saudi Arabia, and 15 countries in West and Central Africa, and the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE). New Zealand and the UK; numerous American states and Canadian provinces; cities and municipalities; and utilities. National and regional RETScreen training workshops have been conducted on the official request of the Governments of Chile, Saudi Arabia, and 15 countries in West and Central Africa, and the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE).

In 2010, RETScreen International was awarded the Public Service Award of Excellence, the highest award by the Canadian government to its civil servants. RETScreen and the RETScreen have been nominated for the prestigious Ernst & Young / Euromoney Global Renewable Energy Award, the Energy Globe (National Award for Canada), and the GTEC Distinction Award Medal.

An International Energy Agency review of the beta release of the hydropower part of the software described it as “very impressive”. The European Environment Agency asserts that RETScreen an “extremely useful tool.” RETScreen has also been called “one of the few software tools, and by far the best, available for evaluating the economics of renewable energy facilities” and “a tool to enhance … market coherence” in clean energy worldwide.