Renewable energy and policy options in an integrated ASEAN electricity market: Quantitative assessments and policy implications

Energy market integration (EMI) in the ASEAN region is a promising solution to relieve the current immobilization of its renewable energy resources and would serve the fast increasing demand for electricity in the region. EMI could be further extended with coordinated policies in carbon pricing, renewable energy portfolio standards (RPS), and feed-in-tariffs (FIT) in the ASEAN countries. Using a linear dynamic programming model, this study quantitatively assesses the impacts of EMI and the above-mentioned policies on the development of renewable energy in the power generation sector of the region, and the carbon emissions reduction achievable with these policies. According to our results, EMI is expected to significantly promote the adoption of renewable energy. Along with EMI, FIT appears to be more cost-effective than RPS and is recommended for the ASEAN region, albeit political barriers for policy coordination among the countries might be a practical concern. In addition, an RPS of 30% electricity from renewable sources by 2030, which is considered politically a “low-hanging fruit”, would achieve moderate improvements in carbon emissions reductions and renewable energy development, while incurring negligible increases in the total cost of electricity.     

ASEAN towards clean and sustainable energy: Potentials,utilization and barriers

This paper reports the outcome of the project on “Capacity building in formulating harmonized policy instruments for the promotion of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in the ASEAN member countries”. With the growing concerns about green house gas (GHG) emission and consequent climate change, renewable energy sources have become more attractive option for electricity generation around the world. Studies have been made on the status of renewable energy potential and utilization, major barriers in promoting renewable energy in ASEAN countries, major energy policies to overcome barriers, and existing renewable energy and energy efficiency policies in ASEAN countries. Paper concludes that ASEAN has not utilized its renewable energy resources anywhere near to the potential. Analysis found that the key factor that has to be amended is “policies and regulations in renewable energy and energy efficiency” at both country level and regional level. But, ASEAN is not yet ready for the full harmonization of the policies. However, it recommends that, with the project outputs it is possible to focus on the specific policy instruments common to most of the member countries, such that it could use to augment ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) initiatives.     

Sustainability of algal biofuel production using integrated renewable energy park (IREP) and algal biorefinery approach

Algal biomass can provide viable third generation feedstock for liquid transportation fuel. However, for a mature commercial industry to develop, sustainability as well as technological and economic issues pertinent to algal biofuel sector must be addressed first. This viewpoint focuses on three integrated approaches laid out to meet these challenges. Firstly, an integrated algal biorefinery for sequential biomass processing for multiple high-value products is delineated to bring in the financial sustainability to the algal biofuel production units. Secondly, an integrated renewable energy park (IREP) approach is proposed for amalgamating various renewable energy industries established in different locations. This would aid in synergistic and efficient electricity and liquid biofuel production with zero net carbon emissions while obviating numerous sustainability issues such as productive usage of agricultural land, water, and fossil fuel usage. A ‘renewable energy corridor’ rich in multiple energy sources needed for algal biofuel production for deploying IREPs in the United States is also illustrated. Finally, the integration of various industries with algal biofuel sector can bring a multitude of sustainable deliverables to society, such as renewable supply of cheap protein supplements, health products and aquafeed ingredients. The benefits, challenges, and policy needs of the IREP approach are also discussed.     

ASEAN-EU energy cooperation: sharing best practices to implement renewable energy sources in regional energy grids

The promotion of the energy security condition is one of the main aim of the cooperation between ASEAN and EU within the Plan of Action 2018-2022. The implementation of a regional integrated energy market among Southeast Asian countries will be the main driver to realize the ASEAN Economic Community, providing regular energy supplies (without disruptions) in order to meet the growing energy demand which will support the expected economic growth in the ASEAN region.We can observe that ASEAN and EU share the same approach in terms of diversification of the energy mix and the development of a regional energy grid, mainly fuelled with renewable sources (RES): as a matter of fact, the project to create an ASEAN Power Grid follows the EU attempt to create an EU-Mediterranean electricity ring, developing regional interconnections and producing “clean electricity” through RES (mainly solar and wind). Moreover, ASEAN initiatives to increase energy interconnectivity through the implementation of the Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) regasification terminals are conceived as a way to reduce their dependence on coal (using gas as a transit fuel) as well the promotion of clean coal technologies.The aim of this paper is to analyse the potential evolution of this ASEAN-EU cooperation in the energy field and how sharing best practices and promoting a bilateral dialogue will support ASEAN countries to enhance a long-term renewable energy cooperation. ASEAN has set a target of securing 23 percent of its primary energy from renewable sources by 2025 and the EU initiatives and policies on RES (which accounts for 17 percent of energy consumed and 30 percent of the energy mix necessary to produce electricity) will be an interesting framework to work together on the achievement of the common goal of combating climate change.     

The sustainability of green hydrogen: An uncertain proposition

Green hydrogen is increasingly considered a vital element for the long-term decarbonization of the global energy system. For regions with scarce land resources, this means importing significant volumes of green hydrogen from regions with abundance of renewable energy. In producing countries, this raises significant sustainability questions related to production and export. To assess these sustainability-related opportunities and challenges, the authors first present a review of renewable energy deployment in the electricity sector, and then extend it to the foreseeable opportunities and risks of green hydrogen production in exporting countries. The paper finds that questions of freshwater and land availability are critical from an environmental and a socio-economic point of view, and that the development of international standards for the governance of hydrogen-related projects will be crucial. These should also address potential conflicts between the deployment of renewable energy for the decarbonization of local power grids, and the export of green hydrogen.     

Overcoming problems in Turkey's renewable energy policy: How can EU contribute?

Fossil fuels cover most of the energy demand in the world, and this creates significant social, economic and environmental problems. Many countries have taken measures to increase the share of renewable energy sources (RES), especially in electricity generation, and the review of literature shows that the success of a country in RES diffusion depends on a comprehensive renewable energy policy which combines political commitment with stable and long-term support measures that stimulate technological innovation. As the largest economy in the world, EU has also taken steps to increase RES usage in electricity generation in member states. Similar to other developing countries, Turkey is learning lessons from EU experiences regarding RES policies, and Turkey is also reforming its legal framework in line with acquis communautaire as a candidate country. As a result, EU has a multiway impact on Turkey's renewable energy policy. An overview of Turkey's renewable energy policy showed that EU has significantly contributed to Turkey in shaping its renewable energy policy, and Turkey should increase cooperation with EU in order to utilize its renewable energy potential.     

Renewable energy conversion and utilization in ASEAN countries

The world population has passed six billion people and the pressure on basic daily needs is particularly dominant in the developing countries, such as the ASEAN. As most of the natural resources, particularly that of fossil fuel is depleting rapidly, more efficient ways to produce daily necessity are becoming important issues. In addition, both the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol require, that efforts should be directed to improve efficiency of energy conversion devices, effective use of the clean and environmentally friendly renewable source of energy, beside providing sink for the green house gas (GHG) emissions. INFORSE report to the UN Secretary General indicated that the total energy sources in the industrialized countries will diminish drastically, but by providing enough funding for R/D in renewable energy conversion, about 50% of the world energy could be supplied by the developing countries by the year 2050.Despite the above limiting conditions, current data indicated growing energy demand in most of the developing countries, particularly in the ASEAN region. Consequently, these countries, should find out the best strategy in utilizing the available energy sources to maintain sustainable development. One of the reasonable option is to make use of the potential renewable energy resources within the countries and develop industries that complies with the unique characteristics of the energy, which is usually disperse, low density and mostly is still not yet competitive with power generation system using subsidized fuel price. Although some basic R/D on renewable energy technology is also being conducted in ASEAN, more effort, however, is directed to its immediate applications in providing basic energy need for rural house-hold, creating productive uses to process agricultural commodities, and to support general rural electrification programs. Such activity has been supported by relevant and operational government policies, international assistances, and gradual involvement of the private sectors.     

The renewable energy targets of the Maghreb countries: Impact on electricity supply and conventional power markets

Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, the three countries of the North African Maghreb region, are showing increased efforts to integrate renewable electricity into their power markets. Like many other countries, they have pronounced renewable energy targets, defining future shares of “green” electricity in their national generation mixes. The individual national targets are relatively varied, reflecting the different availability of renewable resources in each country, but also the different political ambitions for renewable electricity in the Maghreb states. Open questions remain regarding the targets’ economic impact on the power markets. Our article addresses this issue by applying a linear electricity market optimization model to the North African countries. Assuming a competitive, regional electricity market in the Maghreb, the model minimizes dispatch and investment costs and simulates the impact of the renewable energy targets on the conventional generation system until 2025. Special emphasis is put on investment decisions and overall system costs.     

Electricity sector reforms in four Latin-American countries and their impact on carbon dioxide emissions and renewable energy

This paper analyzes carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions related to energy consumption for electricity generation in four Latin-American countries in the context of the liberalization process. From 1990 to 2006, power plants based on renewable energy sources decreased its share in power installed capacity, and the carbon index defined as CO₂ emission by unit of energy for electricity production stayed almost constant for all countries with the exception of Colombia, where the index reduced due to increase in hydroelectricity generation in the last years. The paper also presents a new set of policies to promote renewable energy sources that have been developed in the four countries. The paper concludes that restructuring did not bring about environmental benefits related to a decrease in CO₂ emissions because this depend on the existence of committed policies, and dedicated institutional and regulatory frameworks.     

Renewable energy sources in European energy supply and interactions with emission trading

This paper presents a model-based approach, which allows to determine the optimised structure and operation of the EU-15 electricity supply under different political and economic framework conditions, with a focus on the integration of renewable energy sources for electricity generation (RES-E) in the EU-15 countries. The approach is designed to take into account the characteristics of power production from both renewable and conventional sources, including the technological and economic characteristics of existing plants as well as those of future capacity expansion options. Beyond that, fuel supply structures are modelled, as well as the international markets for power and CO₂-certificates with their restrictions. Thus, a profound evaluation of the exploitation of mid-term renewable potentials and an assessment of the market penetration of the various renewable power generation technologies under the (normative) premise of a cost-optimised evolution of the power system becomes possible. Results show that a promotion of renewable energies reduces the scarcity of CO₂-emission allowances and thus lowers marginal costs of CO₂ reduction up to 30% in 2030. Despite the higher overall costs, a diversification of the energy resource base by RES-E use is observed, as primarily natural gas and nuclear fuels are replaced.     

Carbon intensity of electricity in ASEAN: Drivers,performance and outlook

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with its ten member countries, has a total population exceeding 600 million. Its energy-related CO₂ emissions have been growing and in 2013 amounted to 3.6% of total global emissions. About 40% of ASEAN's energy-related CO₂ emissions are currently attributable to electricity production. In view of this high share, we study the CO₂ emissions of ASEAN's electricity production sector with a focus on the aggregate emission intensity (ACI) given by the level of CO₂ emissions for each unit of electricity produced. Drivers of ACI are analysed for individual countries and spatial analysis is conducted by comparing factors contributing to differences between the ACIs of individual countries and that of the ASEAN average. Arising from these analyses and in light of the current developments, it is concluded that drastic actions need to be taken both at the national and regional levels in order to reduce growth in the region's electricity-related CO₂ emissions. Two key policy issues, namely overcoming national circumstances to improve electricity generation mix and improving power generation efficiency, are further discussed.     

The ongoing energy transition: Lessons from a socio-technical,multi-level analysis of the Dutch electricity system (1960–2004)

Energy transitions to sustainability receive much interest in politics and science. Using a socio-technical and multi-level theory on transitions, this article draws important lessons from a long-term analysis of the Dutch electricity system. The article analyses technical developments, changes in rules and visions, and social networks that support and oppose renewable options. The article is multi-level because it looks at novel renewable energy technologies and structural trends in the existing electricity regime. The analysis shows that an energy transition, with roots in the 1960s and 1970s, is already occurring, but driven mainly by liberalisation and Europeanisation. Environmental aspects have become part of this ongoing transition, but do not form its main driver. Many barriers exist for a sustainability transition, but there are also some opportunities. A long-term analysis of renewable niche-innovation trajectories (wind, biomass, PV) provides lessons about socio-technical dynamics, problems and windows of opportunity.     

Survey of Western U.S. electric utility resource plans

We review long-term electric utility plans representing ~90% of generation within the Western U.S. and Canadian provinces. We address what utility planners assume about future growth of electricity demand and supply; what types of risk they consider in their long-term resource planning; and the consistency in which they report resource planning-related data. The region is anticipated to grow by 2% annually by 2020 – before Demand Side Management. About two-thirds of the utilities that provided an annual energy forecast also reported energy efficiency savings projections; in aggregate, they anticipate an average 6.4% reduction in energy and 8.6% reduction in peak demand by 2020. New natural gas-fired and renewable generation will replace retiring coal plants. Although some utilities anticipate new coal-fired plants, most are planning for steady growth in renewable generation over the next two decades. Most planned solar capacity will come online before 2020, with most wind expansion after 2020. Fuel mix is expected to remain ~55% of total generation. Planners consider a wide range of risks but focus on future demand, fuel prices, and the possibility of GHG regulations. Data collection and reporting inconsistencies within and across electric utility resource plans lead to recommendations on policies to address this issue.     

The role of Smart Grids to foster energy efficiency

The traditional electricity grid has remained the same for most of last century, without major architectural improvements. However, its requirements, guidelines and goals do have changed, especially during the last few years, driven by the sustainability in energy generation and energy efficiency principles. Thus, taking greenhouse gases emissions and CO₂ footprint reduction as key objectives and information and communications technologies as key enabler technologies, a novel and revolutionary electric grid paradigm, the so-called Smart Grid, is emerging, in which energy efficiency and renewable generation play a central role. This paper presents an overview on the main requirements and features of Smart Grids to integrate energy efficiency, on the work done and to be done, on the enabler technologies, as well as on the expected impacts and the main benefits Smart Grids will bring.     

Renewable energy,subsidies, and the WTO: Where has the ‘green’ gone?

Faced with the energy transition imperative, governments have to decide about public policies to promote renewable electrical energy production and to protect domestic power generation equipment industries. These policies can generate trade frictions. For example, in the Canadian renewable energy dispute the EU and Japan claimed that Feed in Tariff (FIT) programs in Ontario constitute discriminatory subsidies because of a local content requirement (LCR) clause that is incompatible with World Trade Organization obligations. This paper investigates this issue using an international quality differentiated duopoly model in which power generation equipment producers compete on price. FIT programs including those with a LCR are compared for their impacts on trade, profits, amount of renewable electricity produced, and welfare. When sales are taken into account, the results confirm discrimination. However, introducing a difference in the quality of the power generation equipment produced on both sides of the border has a moderating effect on the results. Finally, the results enable discussion of the question of whether environmental protection can be a reason for subsidizing renewable energy producers in light of the SCM Agreement.     

On-grid electricity tariffs in China: Development,reform and prospects

With the introduction of market-oriented measures in China's power sector in the mid-1980s, electricity sale prices to the grid companies—on-grid electricity tariffs—became the focus of the energy industry, thus affecting all related stakeholders, including fuel suppliers, power generators and end-use consumers. A number of changes have gradually been undertaken in terms of electricity tariff settings and their implementation to address specific requirements of the expansion of the power industry at each stage of its development. On-grid electricity tariffs had been used as a key lever to attract investment in power generation at an early stage of reform and then to encourage competition in the power industry. In response to the rising concerns about environmental protection and the promotion of clean energy utilisation, tariffs have progressively been developed for renewable electricity generation, which has contributed to massive expansion of the renewable power industry in China. This paper reviews key milestones of the development of on-grid electricity tariffs in China, examines the tariff-setting mechanisms of coal-fired power plants and renewable power generation, analyses the factors associated with the adjustments of the tariff levels and discusses the options for further reform and more effective electricity pricing.     

A strategic roadmap for ASEAN to develop hydrogen energy: Economic prospects and carbon emission reduction

The progress of hydrogen energy in terms of technologies and supply chains is appealing to member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Countries with the advantages of fossil fuel resources and existing infrastructure can export grey hydrogen energy until 2025. This could help expand hydrogen-related infrastructure and form a certain level of economies of scale to prepare for the next phase of development of blue and green hydrogen energy. From 2026 to 2030, ASEAN could shift to blue hydrogen energy exports with the help of carbon capture, utilization, and storage. However, the domestic applications of hydrogen energy will remain economically uncompetitive in most ASEAN countries. After 2030, as the levelized costs of electricity for renewables decline and the share of renewable energy power increases, the cost of hydrogen energy production from surplus electricity could become even lower. Consequently, green hydrogen energy will dominate domestic downstream energy applications and exports to overseas markets.     

Sustainable electricity generation fuel mix analysis using an integration of multicriteria decision-making and system dynamic approach

To achieve a national energy access target of 90% urban and 51% rural by 2035, combat climate change, and diversify the energy sector in the country, the Zambian government is planning to integrate other renewable energy resources (RESs) such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal into the existing hydro generation–based power system. However, to achieve such targets, it is essential for the government to identify suitable combination of the RESs (electricity generation fuel mix) that can provide the greatest sustainability benefit to the country. In this paper, a multicriteria decision-making framework based on analytic hierarchy process and system dynamics techniques is proposed to evaluate and identify the best electricity generation fuel mix for Zambia. The renewable energy generation technologies considered include wind, solar photovoltaic, biomass, and hydropower. The criteria used are categorized as technical, economic, environmental, social, and political. The proposed approach was applied to rank the electricity generation fuel mix based on nine sustainability aspects: land use, CO₂ emissions, job creation, policy promotion affordability, subsidy cost, air pollution reduction, RES electricity production, RES cumulative capacity, and RES initial capital cost. The results indicate that based on availability of RESs and sustainability aspects, in overall, the best future electricity generation mix option for Zambia is scenario with higher hydropower (40%) penetration, wind (30%), solar (20%), and lower biomass (10%) penetration in the overall electricity generation fuel mix, which is mainly due to environmental issues and availability of primary energy resources. The results further indicate that solar ranks first in most of the scenarios even after the penetration weights of RES are adjusted in the sensitivity analysis. The wind was ranked second in most of the scenarios followed by hydropower and last was biomass. These developed electricity generation fuel mix pathways would enable the country meeting the future electricity generation needs target at minimized environmental and social impacts by 2035. Therefore, this study is essential to assist in policy and decision making including planning at strategic level for sustainable energy diversification.     

Energy, economics and environmental impacts of renewable energy systems

The renewable based electricity generation technologies were assessed against a range of sustainability indicators using data obtained from the literature. These indicators are cost of electricity generation, greenhouse gas emissions and energy pay-back time. All the three parameters were found to have a very wide range for each technology. For grading different renewable energy sources a new figure of merit has been proposed, linking greenhouse gas emissions, energy pay-back time and cost of electricity generated by these renewable energy sources. It has been found out that wind and small hydro are the most sustainable source for the electricity generation.     

The impact of wind generation on the electricity spot-market price level and variance: The Texas experience

The literature on renewable energy suggests that an increase in intermittent wind generation would reduce the spot electricity market price by displacing high fuel-cost marginal generation. Taking advantage of a large file of Texas-based 15-min data, we show that while rising wind generation does indeed tend to reduce the level of spot prices, it is also likely to enlarge the spot-price variance. The key policy implication is that increasing use of price risk management should accompany expanded deployment of wind generation.