Making,breaking, and (partially) remaking markets: State regulation and photovoltaic electricity in New Jersey

This paper describes the development of the U.S. state of New Jersey’s policy to accelerate the growth of photovoltaic electricity generating capacity over the past ten years. It provides insights that may be of use to scholars and policy-makers who seek to understand how markets for photovoltaics and other renewable energy technologies may be created and sustained, and it adds to the growing set of detailed historical case studies on these issues. Aggressive state policy measures have put New Jersey second to California among the U.S. states in installed photovoltaic capacity. That growth was achieved in a series of stages. New Jersey initially experienced a boom and bust as generous up-front rebates catalyzed rapid growth in demand and exhausted the program’s budget. A shift in 2007 to a policy that emphasized Solar Renewable Energy Certificates failed to sustain the growth in capacity. In response, the state began to require regulated transmission and distribution utilities to provide up-front financing for photovoltaic systems. This approach has restarted the momentum of the market, but it shifts the policy’s costs into the future, while empowering a new set of players with uncertain interests over the long term.     

Is China ready for its nuclear expansion?

China’s rapid pace of nuclear energy growth is unique, and its impact on the global nuclear market as both a customer and potential future supplier is already tremendous and will continue to expand. It is crucial to understand this energy policy development and its impact on various global areas. Unfortunately, there is relatively limited English-language information available about China’s nuclear power industry and its current development. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of the Chinese nuclear energy program and policy, reviewing its past, present, likely future developments, as well as to consider potential challenges that deserve further attention. This paper will explore reasons that have caused the existing industry, describe China’s nuclear bureaucracy and decision making process to understand how different stakeholders play a role in China’s nuclear energy development. This study concludes that China’s existing nuclear program and industry, in combination with its current stable economic and political environment, provides a sound foundation for the planned nuclear expansion. However, challenges which are crucial to the success of the nuclear expansion will need to be addressed.     

An evaluation of Chinese Wind Turbine Manufacturers using the enterprise niche theory

With support from the Chinese government, the Chinese wind power generation industry is experiencing rapid development. The quick growth of the wind power generation industry has promoted the development of the Chinese wind turbine manufacturing industry. Similarly, the quantity and the productivity of the local Chinese Wind Turbine Manufacturers (WTMs) have also undergone a quick and significant expansion. This is resulting in an increase in competition amongst the WTMs in China. Being relatively new, this creates a fertile environment for local Chinese WTMs that is ripe for study and analysis. Based on the niche theory of industrial ecosystem and enterprise, this paper investigates the Chinese wind turbine manufacturing industry, and proposes a wind turbine manufacturing industry ecosystem model and a WTMs’ ecological niche evaluation index system (WENEIS). Use is made of a catastrophe theory model evaluation method to evaluate the ecological niche status of the 6 main local Chinese WTMs selected and a spider diagram is established to compare the status of the different enterprises’ ecological niche. The proposed WENEIS aids WTMs in finding the competitive advantage and disadvantage factors for their development, as well as providing a valuable reference for the WTMs to improve their business environment and to formulate their competitive strategy in the future.     

Renewable energy and the environment in South Africa: A way forward

The need to mitigate the adverse environmental impacts of fossil fuel usage, the volatility of fuel prices and enhancement of national energy security, have largely driven a phenomenal growth, around the world, in renewable energy (RE) generation (particularly grid-connected), over the past two decades. The necessity to apply policy support instruments to promote the dissemination of these technologies is now a universally accepted norm. Different countries and societies depending on the prevailing socio-economic environment draft and apply their policy frameworks differently and debates abound as to which mechanisms should have been most suitable under which circumstance. Most of these debates, however, assume the existence of an intrinsic political environment in favour of the process. In South Africa the current political environment is not very conducive to the development of a sustainable RE industry. This paper explores some of the anomalies and barriers and suggests possible options for a way forward to a viable RE industry in the country.     

Aggregate electricity demand in South Africa: Conditional forecasts to 2030

In 2008, South Africa experienced a severe electricity crisis. Domestic and industrial electricity users had to suffer from black outs all over the country. It is argued that partially the reason was the lack of research on energy, locally. However, Eskom argues that the lack of capacity can only be solved by building new power plants.The objective of this study is to specify the variables that explain the electricity demand in South Africa and to forecast electricity demand by creating a model using the Engle–Granger methodology for co-integration and Error Correction models. By producing reliable results, this study will make a significant contribution that will improve the status quo of energy research in South Africa.The findings indicate that there is a long run relationship between electricity consumption and price as well as economic growth/income. The last few years in South Africa, price elasticity was rarely taken into account because of the low and decreasing prices in the past. The short-run dynamics of the system are affected by population growth, tooAfter the energy crisis, Eskom, the national electricity supplier, is in search for substantial funding in order to build new power plants that will help with the envisaged lack of capacity that the company experienced. By using two scenarios for the future of growth, this study shows that the electricity demand will drop substantially due to the price policies agreed – until now – by Eskom and the National Energy Regulator South Africa (NERSA) that will affect the demand for some years.     

Making the case for grid-connected photovoltaics in Brazil

In the developed world, grid-connected photovoltaics (PVs) are the fastest-growing segment of the energy market. From 1999 to 2009, this industry had a 42% compound annual growth-rate. From 2009 to 2013, it is expected to grow to 45%, and in 2013 the achievement of grid parity – when the cost of solar electricity becomes competitive with conventional retail (including taxes and charges) grid-supplied electricity – is expected in many places worldwide. Grid-connected PV is usually perceived as an energy technology for developed countries, whereas isolated, stand-alone PV is considered as more suited for applications in developing nations, where so many individuals still lack access to electricity. This rationale is based on the still high costs of PV when compared with conventional electricity. We make the case for grid-connected PV generation in Brazil, showing that with the declining costs of PV and the rising prices of conventional electricity, urban populations in Brazil will also enjoy grid parity in the present decade. We argue that governments in developing nations should act promptly and establish the mandates and necessary conditions for their energy industry to accumulate experience in grid-connected PV, and make the most of this benign technology in the near future.     

Economic analysis of different supporting policies for the production of electrical energy by solar photovoltaics in western European Union countries

Within various renewable energy technologies, photovoltaics (PV) today attracts considerable attention due to its potential to contribute a major share of renewable energy in the future. However, PV market development is, undoubtedly, dependent on the political support of any given country.     

PV solar electricity industry: Market growth and perspective

The photovoltaic (PV) solar electricity market has shown an impressive 33% growth per year since 1997 until today with market support programs as the main driving force. The rationales for this development and the future projections towards a 100 billion € industry in the 2020s, by then only driven by serving cost-competitively customer needs are described.The PV market, likely to have reached about 600 MW in the year 2003, is discussed according to its four major segments: consumer applications, remote industrial electrification, developing countries, and grid-connected systems. While in the past, consumer products and remote industrial applications used to be the main cause for turnover in PV, in recent years the driving forces are more pronounced in the grid-connected systems and by installations in developing countries. Examples illustrating the clear advantage of systems using PV over conventional systems based, e.g., on diesel generators in the rural and remote electrification sector are discussed. For the promotion of rural electrification combined with the creation of local business and employment, suitable measures are proposed in the context of the PV product value chain.The competitiveness of grid-connected systems is addressed, where electricity generating costs for PV are projected to start to compete with conventional utility peak power quite early between 2010 and 2020 if time-dependent electricity tariffs different for bulk and peak power are assumed. The most effective current-pulling force for grid-connected systems is found to be the German Renewable Energy (EEG) Feed-in Law where the customers are focusing on yield, performance, and long-life availability.The future growth in the above-defined four market segments are discussed and the importance of industry political actions in order to stimulate the markets either in grid-connected systems by feed-in tariff programs as well as for off-grid rural developing country applications by long-term financing schemes are pointed out.A technology roadmap is presented with special emphasis on the fact that different customer needs are best served with best-adopted technologies and not vice versa. The need for the third generation PV technologies, implying that so called first (c-Si-wafer)- and second (thin-film)- generation PV technologies will be overcome in a short to medium time scale, is obsolete; in contrast, the excellent scientific ideas developed within ‘Third generation’ concepts—like utilization of hot electrons, quantum wells and nanostructures—are shown to be part of ‘New Technologies’ opening new product ideas and additional market segments. The rationale for decreasing cost by increasing productivity for all technologies as well as the interpretation of price learning curves is presented.The role of PV in the future global energy supply chain is lined out. Due to a fast growing market driven by increasing widespread acceptance of PV, a substantial PV business and creation of employment in coming decades is expected. This in turn can provide solutions for nowadays global issues, such as a global energy justice by providing environmentally benign power to billions of people, who otherwise will lack energy solutions severely.     

Transformation in the photovoltaics industry in Australia,Germany and Japan: Comparison of actors,knowledge, institutions and markets

The paper analyses the evolution of the photovoltaics industry in Australia, Germany and Japan from a comparative policy perspective. It uses a sectoral innovation system framework to discuss the way the three countries have approached the development of knowledge and new technologies, the actors in the sector and the interactions between them, the role of institutions and availability of funding as well as the development of markets for photovoltaics. It outlines the different paths that the countries have adopted for the process of transition from niche to mass production. The findings show that various national players have specialised in different activities, with the institutions' building block being a key determinant for success or otherwise. In the case of Australia, it is also the least developed area which ultimately exposes the country to losing its innovation benefits.     

Solar hydrogen energy: The European–Maghreb connection. A new way of excellence for a sustainable energy development

The global sustainability is a key word of the future energy system for human beings. It should be friendly to our earth. Hydrogen energy is a critical resource to sustainable energy development. Over the coming decades, rapid economic growth will necessitate expanded and diversified energy supplies. This study is proposed to illustrate the attention to the opportunities and possibilities of connecting the energy consumer in North Mediterranean countries, to the reservoir of the Great Sahara of North Africa using hydrogen as a solar energy carrier. It also discusses cooperation between North Africa and north sides of the Mediterranean that has been going on for a long time, in oil and natural gas industry, and why cannot be done in solar hydrogen energy industry, which will reduce pollution and will last forever. Clearly, North Africa is a major bilateral partner with the Europe and the people of the two shares of the Mediterranean will be work together and to built strategic relationships for many decades. In the future, North Africa countries are well-positioned to play a greater role in the Europe clean energy equation. Demographically, interregional migration due to economic concerns will decline. Now, there are good chances to start such cooperation for the benefits of all partners.     

From research and development to the market: Photovoltaics in France

The development of photovoltaics in France must occur in an environment in which photovoltaic (PV) energy is in direct competition with centralised production sources. The strategy adopted by the AFME is to make the best use of photovoltaics. A PV generator can produce electricity, where it is needed, for various applications such as the electrification of remote sites with power consumption ranging from a few watts to a few tens of kilowatts. The PV industry in France offers technically interesting and innovative possibilities with crystalline and amorphous silicon materials. AFME's programme for 1988 – 1992, including research and development and demonstration programmes, has recently been implemented with public funds of 3 M $/year.     

Energy,economy and development (EED) triangle: Concerns for India

In this paper we discuss issues involving energy security with economic growth and development that brings out (i) the dimension of physical security alternative, (ii) framework for a pan South East Asian platform to support energy security and (iii) requirement of promoting regional energy cooperation and specific energy peace initiatives. Sustaining projected economic growth rate coupled with energy security in future is a concern for all developing countries like India. The energy security of these nations is threatened by the disruption of energy supplies by ongoing energy terrorism and geopolitical conflicts in the region. India's geo-strategic position and increasing energy dependence raises concerns for its energy security. We discuss energy security, examine factors and approaches to attempt the energy security in the light of economic growth and development.     

我国电力工业发展预测

我国正处于经济高速增长、城市化全面展开的重要时期,电力工业的健康发展将为国民经济可持续发展提供有力保障,研究我国电力工业发展趋势是当前重要课题。本文通过研究发达国家电力消费水平的发展规律,为我国发电量与消费的发展研究提供依据,进而指导我国电力工业的发展。本文收集整理了世界上5个发达国家从上世纪初以来的国内生产总值、发电量总量和人口总量等统计数据,深入分析各数据的相关性,将电力工业发展分成四阶段。根据统计数据,预测我国所处的发展阶段和电力工业未来40年的发展规模。并根据低碳发展的需求,提出了2010-2050年电力工业发展分阶段的实施目标,对电力结构进行了预测分析。     

Australian educational and research opportunities arising through rapid growth in the photovoltaic industry

In recent years, the photovoltaic (PV) industry has been growing rapidly at the rate of 30–40% per annum. As a result of this rapid growth, new opportunities through collaborative research with industry and in the educational area have arisen. To address these needs, the Australian government, through the Australian Research Council (ARC), has established a Key Centre for Teaching and Research in Photovoltaic Engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). This is one of only eight such centres established Australia-wide across all disciplines. The primary new initiative of this Key Centre is to establish the world's first undergraduate engineering degree in photovoltaics and solar energy, commencing in March 2000.     

The renewables NFFO: A review

There have been three Orders of the renewables NFFO and a fourth has recently been announced. This paper explains the creation of the NFFO, the application procedures for each Order and the status of the contracts for each Order. It goes on to discuss the key lessons to be learnt from the process: namely that a market enablement programme should coordinate with the R&D programme; second, that competition as the basis for support of renewables, while bringing prices down rapidly, has a number of disbenefits; third, that the NFFO process has led to the development of renewable energy industry in the UK with a stake in its future; fourth, the deployment of renewable energy technologies as a result of the NFFO has led to a dawning of an understanding by the renewable energy industry of the key issues that renewable energy has to address and the importance of the attitudes of the financial institutions and electricity systems to the successful outcome of those issues; fifth, it describes the development of a de facto policy for renewable energy by OFFER; and finally, that the renewable support mechanism should be coordinated with a planning policy.     

An Assessment of the Prospects for Photovoltaics in Europe

This paper summarises the findings of a comprehensive study commissioned by the Commission of the European Communities in March 1981 to provide an independent assessment of the potential of photovoltaics over the next twenty years, as an energy resource for Europe, as an export for European industry and as part of European aid to developing countries. After reviewing the current status of photovoltaic technology and the prospects for cost reduction, the economics of electricity generation by photovoltaics in comparison with conventional alternatives are discussed, followed by a review of the market prospects for photovoltaics for the principal applications in Europe and in the world as a whole. Finally, proposals are presented for a co-ordinated Action Plan for the development and implementation of photovoltaics within the European Community.     

Assessing the sustainability challenges for electricity industries in ASEAN newly industrialising countries

Rapid social and economic progress in fast developing countries such that among the countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have driven substantial growth in electricity consumption in this region. Whilst this represents significant societal and economic development, it has potentially growing adverse environmental impacts. This raises a concern on sustainable development in the electricity sector in this region. This study evaluates key sustainability challenges in the electricity industries in the five largest energy consumers in ASEAN: Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The 3A's energy sustainability objectives: Accessibility, Availability and Acceptability are used as the sustainability analytical framework. This study also draws together a set of associated indicators and criteria within the analytical framework to analyse the status of the electricity industries in these countries. The analysis shows that key sustainability challenges in the ASEAN-5 are attributable to satisfying rapid demand growth; enhancing security of electricity supply; and mitigating the increase in CO₂ emissions from electricity generation. Given the promising resource and technical potential in this region, renewable energy emerges as a favourable option to address these challenges; however, increasing the share of renewable energy in electricity generation requires considerable policy support. This study suggests that there is an opportunity for the ASEAN countries to strengthen regional collaborations through experience and resource sharing to enhance sustainability in the electricity industries. This study also highlights some of the key issues facing the electricity industry, and the need for new generation investment decision support tools which can address these issues.     

Executive summary of the 2000 US regional transmission organizationstudy

Over the past year, the future makeup of the US electric transmission industry has become better defined, although a number of unresolved issues still remain. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has articulated its vision of a national transmission grid controlled by large entities, which it calls regional transmission organizations (RTO). FERC Order 2000 provides the latest piece of architecture to help define and drive the development of competitive markets for electricity generation and its transmission across the system     

Scenario for growth of electricity in India

India's GDP has been growing quite fast in recent past and it is forecast that it would continue to do so in the coming several decades. To realize the growth in GDP, it is necessary that corresponding growth in demand of primary energy as well as electricity is estimated and plans are made to meet the demand. Our estimate indicates that even after recognizing that energy intensity of GDP would continue to decline as in the past, the total electricity generation by the middle of the century would be an order of magnitude higher than the generation in the fiscal year 2002–2003. This calls for developing a strategy for growth of electricity generation based on a careful examination of all issues related to sustainability particularly abundance of available energy resources, diversity of sources of energy supply and technologies, security of supplies and self-sufficiency. This paper presents a scenario for growth of electricity in India. To meet the projected demand, the paper presents a strategy, which incorporates, wherever available, recommendations of various organs of the Government of India. It is observed that in order to limit cumulative energy import during the next 50 years to about 30%, the nuclear contribution towards electricity generation has to increase from the present 3% to about a quarter of the total. For the nuclear power to play this role, the programme of the Department of Atomic Energy to augment nuclear installed capacity to 20 GWe by 2020 based on a mix of Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs), Light Water Reactors (LWRs) and Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs) should be completed and the R&D necessary to set up U–Pu metal-based FBRs of short doubling time and associated fuel reprocessing technologies should also be completed in the next 15 years.     

Hydrogen underground storage in Romania,potential directions of development,stakeholders and general aspects

Romania is a country with relatively good opportunities to manage the transition from the dependence on fossil energy to an energy industry based on renewable energy sources (RES), supported by hydrogen as an energy carrier. In order to ensure Romania's energy security in the next decades, it will be necessary to consider a fresh approach incorporating a global long-term perspective based on the latest trends in energy systems. The present article focuses on an analysis of the potential use of salt caverns for hydrogen underground storage in Romania. Romanian industry has a long technical and geological tradition in salt exploitation and therefore is believed to have the potential to use the salt structures also in the future for gas and specifically hydrogen underground storage. This paper indicates that more analysis works needs to be undertaken in order to value this potential, based on which macroeconomic decisions then can be taken. The present work examines the structures of today's energy system in Romania and features an analysis of Romania's current potential of hydrogen underground storage as well as, reports on the potential use of this hydrogen in chemical industry, the transport sector and salt industry in Romania and highlighting issues implied by a possible introduction and use of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.