Renewable energy sources in the Mexican electricity sector

This paper analyzes the role of renewable energy sources (RES) in the Mexican electricity sector in the context of the proposed renewable energy bill currently under consideration in the Mexican Congress. This paper was divided into three parts. The first part presents a chronology of institutional background related to the RES. This is followed by an analysis of the coordination and management system of the Mexican electricity sector, which can facilitate the promotion and integration of the RES without significant structural changes. Finally, the pros and cons of the renewable energy bill are analyzed in order to demonstrate the need for greater coherence between the bill and the coordination system of the sector. It is concluded that when inconsistency is eliminated, RES would strongly be promoted in Mexico.     

Contribution of green energy sources to electrical power production of Turkey: A review

Green power products may be seen as a means of fostering renewable energy sources (RES) because they create and channel consumer demand for environmentally sound power generation. Turkey also has a large potential for renewable energy exploitation in a number of areas. Clean, domestic and renewable energy is commonly accepted as the key for future life, not only for Turkey but also for the world. The renewable energy contribution in the total primary energy production is insignificant. The alternative and renewable energy systems have been neglected so far in Turkey but must be included in the new energy programs. In this context, Renewable Energy Law was enacted in 2005 in order to encourage renewable-based generation in competitive market conditions. Supporting mechanisms such as feed-in tariffs and purchase obligation are defined in the law, in conformity with the EU legislation and practice. These mechanisms are envisaged to facilitate the development of power plants based on RES.     

Green electricity policies in the Netherlands: an analysis of policy decisions

Over the last decades, fundamental changes can be observed in both market conditions and the national policy framework for green electricity in the Netherlands. The Dutch Government has regularly intervened in markets, demonstrating fundamental shifts in policy and approach. This study aims to analyse the developments in renewable energy policy making in the Netherlands. It assesses changes in the choice of policy instruments and target groups, the role of stakeholders, and offers explanations behind policy successes and failures. Dutch green electricity policy over the last decade can be characterised roughly by three phases: in the early 1990s, the government negotiated voluntary agreements with the energy distribution sector on targets for green electricity sales, which were never met. In the second half of the 1990s, a regulatory energy tax was introduced, from which customers of green electricity were exempt. This led to a substantial increase in demand, which was largely met by green electricity imports, and did not lead to additional domestic renewable energy capacity. Finally, a change in policy has taken place recently (2003) shifting the focus from promotion of demand to the promotion of supply through a system of regulated feed-in tariffs. Despite the renewable energy policies, growth of the renewable energy market in the Netherlands has been small and targets have not been fully met. The Dutch government has not yet succeeded in substantially reducing market uncertainties and in building confidence among market parties, because the policies have not been stable and policy objectives have frequently been partly ambiguous. In addition, the influence of stakeholders in renewable energy policy making has been small which has the early acceptance and implementation of alternative policies.     

Renewable electricity in Sweden: an analysis of policy and regulations

This study aims to analyse the developments in renewable energy policy making in Sweden. It assesses the energy policy context, changes in the choice of policy instruments, and provides explanations behind policy successes and failures. Swedish renewable energy policy has been developing in a context of uncertainty around nuclear issues. While there has been made a political decision to replace nuclear power with renewables, there is a lack of consensus about the pace of phasing out nuclear power due to perceived negative impacts on industrial competitiveness. Such uncertainty had an effect in the formulation of renewable energy policy. Biomass and wind power are the main options for renewable electricity production. Throughout 1990s, the combined effect of different policy instruments has stimulated the growth of these two renewable sources. Yet, both biomass and wind power are still a minor contributor in the total electricity generation. Lack of strong government commitment due to uncertainty around nuclear issues is a crucial factor. Short-term subsidies have been preferred rather than open-ended subsidy mechanisms, causing intervals without subsidies and interruption to development. Other factors are such as lack of incentives from the major electricity companies and administrative obstacles. The taxation system has been successful in fostering an expansion of biomass for heating but hindered a similar development in the electricity sector. The quota system adopted in 2003 is expected to create high demand on biomass but does not favour wind power. The renewable energy aims are unlikely to be changed. Yet, the future development of renewable energy policies especially for high-cost technologies will again depend strongly on nuclear policies, which are still unstable and might affect the pace of renewable energy development.     

The effectiveness of different policy regimes for promoting wind power: Experiences from the states

Governments at the state (and to a lesser extent, local) level in the United States have adopted an array of policies to promote wind and other types of “green” energy, including solar, geothermal, low-impact hydropower, and certain forms of biomass. However, because of different regulatory environments, energy resource endowments, political interests, and other factors, there is considerable variation among the states in their green power policies. This paper analyzes the contribution to wind power development of several state-level policies (renewable portfolio standards (RPS), fuel generation disclosure rules, mandatory green power options, and public benefits funds), along with retail choice (RET) facilitated by electricity restructuring. The empirical results support existing anecdotal and case studies in finding a positive relationship between RPS and wind power development. We also found that requiring electricity suppliers to provide green power options to customers is positively related to development of wind energy, while there is a negative relationship between wind energy development and RET (i.e., allowing retail customers to choose their electricity source).     

Tax incentives to promote green electricity: An overview of EU-27 countries

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the main tax incentives used in the EU-27 member states (MSs) to promote green electricity. Sixteen MSs use tax incentives to promote green electricity simultaneously with other promotion measures, especially quota obligations and price regulation. However, not all available technologies are promoted. For example, six MSs (Germany, Romania, Slovak Republic, Denmark, Sweden and Poland) have included an exemption on the payments of excise duties for electricity when the electricity is generated from renewable energy sources (RES). This tax incentive is the most widely used. Limited tax incentives in personal income tax are available in Belgium, France, Czech Republic and Luxembourg. In corporate tax, tax incentives consist mainly of a deduction in the taxable profit (Belgium, Greece, Czech Republic and Spain). Lower tax rates in VAT are applied in three MSs, France, Italy and Portugal. Only Spain and Italy use effective tax incentives in property tax. As a great diversity of tax incentives has been used to promote green electricity, this adds another difficulty to the EU objective of providing a renewable energy policy framework, but also it offers a useful set of case studies which can be used to inform EU policy development.     

Green electricity market development: Lessons from Europe and the US

This study compares the development and implementation of green electricity policies in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States, a set of countries applying a range of policy instruments to encourage electricity from renewable energy sources. A general tendency is identified that policies shift emphasis from R&D stimulation towards dissemination and market application of renewable energy technologies. We argue that in light of the long term nature of policy goals on energy security, mitigation of climate change, and environmental protection, the applied range of policy instruments may be lacking in providing incentives for the long term development of new technologies. Clarifying policy objectives would allow careful selection of policy instruments, including support for R&D. Improved capacity building for policy implementation is also important.     

Cost effects of international trade in meeting EU renewable electricity targets

The European market for renewable electricity received a major stimulus from the adoption of the Directive on the Promotion of Renewable Electricity. The Directive specifies the indicative targets for electricity supply from renewable energy sources (RES-E) to be reached in European Union (EU) Member States in the year 2010. It also requires Member States to certify the origin of their renewable electricity production. This article presents a first EU-wide quantitative evaluation of the effects of meeting the targets, using an EU-wide system for tradable green certificates (TGC). We calculate the equilibrium price of green certificates and identify which countries are likely to export or import certificates. Cost advantages of participating in such an EU-wide trading scheme are determined for each of the Member States. Moreover, we identify which choice of technologies results in meeting targets at least costs. Results are obtained from a model that quantifies the effects of achieving the RES-E targets in the EU with and without trade. The article provides a brief insight in this model as well as the methodology that was used to specify cost potential curves for renewable electricity in each of the 15 EU Member States. Model calculations show that within the EU-wide TGC system, the total production costs of the last option needed to satisfy the overall EU RES-E target equals 9.2 eurocent/kWh. Assuming that the production price of electricity on the European power market would equal 3 eurocent/kWh in the year 2010, the indicative green certificate price equals 6.2 eurocent/kWh. We conclude that implementation of an EU-wide TGC system is a cost-efficient way of stimulating renewable electricity supply.     

Rejecting renewables: The socio-technical impediments to renewable electricity in the United States

If renewable power systems deliver such impressive benefits, why do they still provide only 3 percent of national electricity generation in the United States? As an answer, this article demonstrates that the impediments to renewable power are socio-technical, a term that encompasses the technological, social, political, regulatory, and cultural aspects of electricity supply and use. Extensive interviews of public utility commissioners, utility managers, system operators, manufacturers, researchers, business owners, and ordinary consumers reveal that it is these socio-technical barriers that often explain why wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and hydroelectric power sources are not embraced. Utility operators reject renewable resources because they are trained to think only in terms of big, conventional power plants. Consumers practically ignore renewable power systems because they are not given accurate price signals about electricity consumption. Intentional market distortions (such as subsidies), and unintentional market distortions (such as split incentives) prevent consumers from becoming fully invested in their electricity choices. As a result, newer and cleaner technologies that may offer social and environmental benefits but are not consistent with the dominant paradigm of the electricity industry continue to face comparative rejection.     

A comparative analysis of renewable electricity support mechanisms for Southeast Asia

This study evaluates the applicability of eight renewable electricity policy mechanisms for Southeast Asian electricity markets. It begins by describing the methodology behind 90 research interviews of stakeholders in the electricity industry. It then outlines four justifications given by respondents for government intervention to support renewables in Southeast Asia: unpriced negative externalities, counteracting subsidies for conventional energy sources, the public goods aspect of renewable energy, and the presence of non-technical barriers. The article develops an analytical framework to evaluate renewable portfolio standards, green power programs, public research and development expenditures, systems benefits charges, investment tax credits, production tax credits, tendering, and feed-in tariffs in Southeast Asia. It assesses each of these mechanisms according to the criteria of efficacy, cost effectiveness, dynamic efficiency, equity, and fiscal responsibility. The study concludes that one mechanism, feed-in tariffs, is both the most preferred by respondents and the only one that meets all criteria.     

The effect of financial constraints,technological progress and long-term contracts on tradable green certificates

Tradable green certificates (TGCs) have recently become a diffuse instrument to support renewable electricity in OECD countries. Although it is perhaps too early to draw a conclusive judgement on the effectiveness of this instrument in increasing renewable capacity and decreasing the price of certificates, one view in the literature maintains that long-term contracts are of particular importance for TGCs to be effective. This paper contributes to this debate by analysing how financial constraints and technological progress can induce investors to hold pessimistic expectations of their ability to sell green certificates and still make a profit. Clearly, these expectations will prevent investors from building new capacity to fulfil the quota comprised in TGCs and will keep the price of certificates traded in the market high. As this kind of expectation is not influenced by most design features of TGCs, one can conclude that long-term contracts are particularly important in determining the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of these instruments. Some attention should therefore be paid to the features of the TGCs, which induce obliged parties to offer long-term contracts to renewable generators.     

The political economy of international green certificate markets

This paper analyzes the political economy of establishing bilateral trade in green certificate markets as one step towards harmonization of European green electricity support systems. We outline some of the economic principles of an integrated bilateral green certificates market, and then discuss a number of issues that are deemed to be critical for the effectiveness, stability and legitimacy of such a market. By drawing on some of the lessons of the fairly recent intentions to integrate a future green certificate market in Norway with the existing Swedish one, we highlight, exemplify and discuss some critical policy implementation and design issues. These include, for instance, the system's connection to climate policy targets, the role of other support schemes and the definition of what green electricity technologies should be included. Furthermore, the establishment of an international market presumes that the benefits of renewable power (e.g., its impacts on the environment, diversification of the power mix, self-sufficiency, etc.) are approached and valued from an international perspective rather than from a national one, thus implying lesser emphasis on, for instance, employment and regional development impacts. A bilateral green certificate system thus faces a number of important policy challenges, but at the same time it could provide important institutional learning effects that can be useful for future attempts aiming at achieving greater policy integration in the European renewable energy sector.     

The promise of clean energy

The world's energy system is at least a 1.5 trillion dollars market dominated by fossil fuels, where small changes can have a large influence on efforts to reach sustainability. Renewable energy sources are key to achieving this goal. Excluding traditional biomass, in 2001 renewables represented 4.4% of primary energy consumption, unevenly distributed between developed and developing countries. Environmental problems at local, regional and global levels, as well as external dependency and security of supply will persist if we rely on an energy future based on fossil fuels. Solutions encompass extending the life of fossil fuel reserves and expanding the share of renewable in the world energy system through top down and bottom up policies, described in this paper.     

An energy pricing scheme for the diffusion of decentralized renewable technology investment in developing countries

The purpose of this paper is to investigate price support for market penetration of renewable energy in developing nations through a decentralized supply process. We integrate the new decentralized energy support: renewable premium tariff, to analyze impacts of tariff incentives on the diffusion of renewable technology in Senegal. Based on photovoltaic and wind technologies and an assessment of renewable energy resources in Senegal, an optimization technique is combined with a cash flow analysis to investigate investment decisions in renewable energy sector. Our findings indicate that this support mechanism could strengthen the sustainable deployment of renewable energy in remote areas of Senegal. Although different payoffs emerged, profits associated with a renewable premium tariff are the highest among the set of existing payoffs. Moreover in analyzing impacts of price incentives on social welfare, we show that price tariffing schemes must be strategically scrutinized in order to minimize welfare loss associated with price incentives. Finally we argue that a sustainable promotion of incentive mechanisms supporting deployment of renewable technology in developing nations should be carried out under reliable institutional structures. The additional advantage of the proposed methodology is its ability to integrate different stakeholders (producers, investors and consumers) in the planning process.     

State renewable energy electricity policies: An empirical evaluation of effectiveness

Over the past decade, state governments have emerged as US energy policy leaders. Across the country, states are adopting policy instruments aimed at carbon mitigation and renewable energy deployment. One of the most prevalent and innovative policy instruments is a renewable portfolio standard (RPS), which seeks to increase the share of renewable energy electrification in the electricity market. This analysis evaluates the effectiveness of state energy programs with an empirical investigation of the linkage between state RPS policy implementation and the percentage of renewable energy electricity generation across states. We use a variant of a standard fixed effects model, referred to as a fixed effects vector decomposition, with state-level data from 1998 to 2006. Results indicate that RPS implementation is not a significant predictor of the percentage of renewable energy generation out of the total generation mix, yet for each additional year that a state has an RPS policy, they are found to increase the total amount of renewable energy generation. These findings reveal a potentially significant shortcoming of RPS policies. Political institutions, natural resource endowments, deregulation, gross state product per capita, electricity use per person, electricity price, and the presence of regional RPS policies are also found to be significantly related to renewable energy deployment.     

德国绿色电力营销政策

德国的发电燃料结构以煤和核能为主;同时,可再生能源,主要是大型水电也占了一部分,近年来发展最快的可再生能源是风能。德国绿色电力产品分为3类,即纯大型水电、可再生能源电力与热电联产混合产品以及纯可再生能源电力。德国的第一个绿色电价项目出现于上世纪90年代中期,在德国开展了绿色电力营销和认证体系,同时,该国传统上的可再生能源政策更加注重对可再生能源发电的直接支持,而不是对市场的零售端提供激励措施。     

EU Research and Innovation (R&I) in renewable energies: The role of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan)

The SET-Plan established a strategy to use Research and Innovation (R&I) to green the EU energy sector while ensuring a secure supply and increasing EU competitiveness. The strategy sets clear objectives and programming plans and takes stock of existing initiatives in the energy sector, fosters a cooperative approach to R&I, introduces a high-level steering group (the SET-Plan Steering Group) to monitor progress, creates a dedicated information system (the SETIS) to fill the void in policy information and produces estimates of financial needs over the programming period. In this respect, the SET-Plan could serve as a blueprint for R&I strategies to tackle other societal challenges. To be effective, such strategies should further clarify the hierarchy of existing objectives and instruments, introduce specific instruments to pull the demand of new technologies, strengthen links with education and training policies and formalize links with the governance structures of existing initiatives.