Opposition to nuclear power : A review of international experience

Since 1967 in the USA and 1973 in Western Europe and Japan intense opposition has arisen against some planned nuclear power stations and some already under construction. Public attitudes to nuclear power have therefore become a consideration in the formulation of national energy policies. Relatively little is known about the factors which determine those attitudes, the extent to which opposition to particular siting proposals is shared among the public at large, and how the views of minority groups should be taken into account in public decision making procedures. This paper examines the rise of opposition to nuclear power in the USA, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Sweden and Japan. It discusses the issues on which opposition has centred and the difficult questions it poses for public decision making in this field.     

Wind power and market power in competitive markets

Average market prices for intermittent generation technologies are lower than for conventional generation. This has a technical reason but can be exaggerated in the presence of market power. When there is much wind smaller amounts of conventional generation technologies are required, and prices are lower, while at times of little wind prices are higher. This effect reflects the value of different generation technologies to the system. But under conditions of market power, conventional generators with market power can further depress the prices if they have to buy back energy at times of large wind output and can increase prices if they have to sell additional power at times of little wind output. This greatly exaggerates the effect. Forward contracting does not reduce the effect. An important consequence is that allowing market power profit margins as a support mechanism for generation capacity investment is not a technologically neutral policy.     

A proposed market power monitoring model for restructuringelectricity markets

This paper presents a market power monitoring model for electricity markets. It is a social welfare maximization model subject to nonnegative short-term profit constraints. Traditional economics claims that market power exists whenever the price is above the corresponding marginal cost. However, this paper argues that a generator cannot be considered to be exercising any market power if it earns zero profit considering only variable cost     

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.     

Understanding recent market trends of the US ESCO industry

The US energy services company (ESCO) industry is an example of a private-sector business model that delivers energy savings to customers primarily through the use of performance-based contracts. US ESCO projects garner significant incremental annual savings: approximately 1% of total US commercial building consumption in 2014. From 2000 to 2011, the industry experienced year over year growth; however, based on information drawn from interviews with ESCO executives conducted in late 2015, the authors find that from 2012 to 2014, ESCO industry revenues did not increase. While public and institutional market sectors accounted for 85% of industry revenue in 2014, consistent with previous research findings, the share of revenue from performance contracting increased to 74% in 2014, as compared to 69% share reported for 2011 and 2008. The revenue numbers between 2011 and 2014 are not fully comparable, because a few ESCOs that were subsidiaries of larger companies had undergone reorganization and some categories of revenue reported in 2011 were not included for 2014. Other factors that may have contributed to the recent revenue trend include the following: (1) increased competition from companies not historically defined as an ESCO (e.g. mechanical contractors), (2) uncertainty among some potential customers about committing to long-term performance contracts, and (3) reduction of performance contracting’s perceived benefit of hedging energy price increases and variability due to customer expectations of continued low and less volatile energy prices.     

A discussion on recent developments in Turkey's emerging solar power market

Market reform, energy security and environmental protection are three primary energy policy goals of Turkish government. Although Turkey's abundant solar energy resources can directly address the government's energy policy goals, Turkey has not utilized solar power yet. Utilization of country's huge solar energy potential would decrease dependence on imported fossil fuels and contribute to fulfill environmental commitments. However, lack of regulatory and financial support for the development of solar power has considerably delayed the utilization of country's huge solar potential. The government has taken only modest steps to promote investment in solar power until the end of 2010 when a new feed-in tariff policy was adapted. Turkey's solar energy potential, PV technology status and prospect for concentrating solar power in Turkey have been explored in a number of studies; yet literature dealing with recent policy developments, associated investment environment and opportunities for solar power investors are limited. The aim of this paper is to set out the latest legal framework for investment in Turkey's emerging solar power market and to provide some guidelines to potential investors who appreciated country's huge solar energy potential.     

How the hydrogen production from RES could change energy and fuel markets: A review of recent literature

The goal that the international community has set itself is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the short/medium-term, especially in Europe that committed itself to reducing GHG emissions to 80–95% below 1990 levels by 2050. Renewable energies play a fundamental role in achieving this objective. In this context, the policies of the main industrialized countries of the world are being oriented towards increasing the shares of electricity produced from renewable energy sources (RES).In recent years, the production of renewable energy has increased considerably, but given the availability of these sources, there is a mismatch between production and demand. This raises some issues as balancing the electricity grid and, in particular, the use of surplus energy, as well as the need to strengthen the electricity network.Among the various new solutions that are being evaluated, there are: the accumulation in batteries, the use of compressed air energy storage (CAES) and the production of hydrogen that appears to be the most suitable to associate with the water storage (pumped hydro). Concerning hydrogen, a recent study highlights that the efficiencies of hydrogen storage technologies are lower compared to advanced lead acid batteries on a DC-to-DC basis, but “in contrast […] the cost of hydrogen storage is competitive with batteries and could be competitive with CAES and pumped hydro in locations that are not favourable for these technologies” (Moliner et al., 2016) [1].This shows that, once the optimal efficiency rate is reached, the technologies concerning the production of hydrogen from renewable sources will be a viable and competitive solution. But, what will be the impact on the energy and fuel markets? The production of hydrogen through electrolysis will certainly have an important economic impact, especially in the transport sector, leading to the creation of a new market and a new supply chain that will change the physiognomy of the entire energy market.     

The art of market design-what's next for power markets and SMD?

Electric utilities use to be vertically integrated monopolies until we embarked on a restructuring of the industry to introduce competition in electric supply. There are many factors that influenced the transition to competition. Most important, perhaps, was the underlying premise that competitive markets could bring greater benefits to customers through efficiency and innovation than was possible under the existing regulatory regime. The California power crisis, Enron's meltdown, allegations of market manipulation, accounting improprieties, and the weak financial condition of many generators have caused some question that premise and have undermined the confidence in competitive markets. This article takes stock of where we are on the transition to competitive markets and the future of efforts to establish standard market design (SMD).     

Ex post monitoring of market power in hydro dominated electricity markets

The paper presents a proposed market monitoring procedure that takes into account the special features of an electricity market dominated by hydropower. Specifically, we present a method to assess water values and a set of indicators that can be used to screen the market for suspicious price formation. We then use the suggested monitoring procedure to evaluate actual price formation in the Nordic Electricity Market during the (hydrological) year 2002/2003 when precipitation failed and spot prices at the electricity exchange Nord Pool hit an all-time high.     

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.     

Combined cooling, heating and power: A review

Combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) systems, including various technologies, provide an alternative for the world to meet and solve energy-related problems, such as energy shortages, energy supply security, emission control, the economy and conservation of energy, etc. In the first part of this paper, the definition and benefits of CCHP systems are clarified; then the characteristics of CCHP technologies—especially technical performances—are presented, as well as the status of utilization and developments. In the third part, diverse CCHP configurations of existing technologies are presented, particularly four typical systems of various size ranges. The worldwide status quo of CCHP development is briefly introduced by dividing the world into four main sections: the US, Europe, Asia and the Pacific and rest of the world. It is concluded that, within decades, promising CCHP technologies can flourish with the cooperative efforts of governments, energy-related enterprises and professional associations.     

Capacitors: operating principles,current market and technical trends

The worldwide market for capacitors was approximately US$ 12.3 billion in 1993, of which production within Japan accounted for approximately 50% and the combined domestic and overseas production of Japanese manufacturers accounted for approximately 70%. The worldwide capacitor market continues to grow by approximately 20% per year as the demand for ICs and LSIs is growing. In conjunction with this special issue on capacitors, this paper presents a corporate perspective on current trends in the capacitor market: capacitor principles; capacitor materials; capacitor types and major characteristics; recent technical trends in capacitors and the future market outlook, and technical problems in the hope of facilitating the understanding of ideas and concepts presented in other papers in this issue.     

A review on the economic dispatch and risk management considering wind power in the power market

With the rapid development of world economy, wind power has been given more and more consideration owing to its energy saving and environmental protection. But due to intermittency and unpredictability nature of wind power generation, many new problems come into being when infusing wind power into power network with conventional generators. Aiming at these difficulties, this paper presents a review on the historical research production of this theme. The models of economic dispatch schedule of wind power considering dissimilar actual condition, different optimized algorithms and risk management in the electric market are discussed and the future trend is prospected in this paper.     

Technical and economic aspects of ancillary services markets in the electric power industry: an international comparison

We present a comparative analysis of technical and economic aspects of ancillary services on the markets of England and Wales, Nordic Countries, California, Argentina, Australia and Spain, comparing the services of voltage control, frequency regulation and system restoration. All the analyzed markets rely on the existence of an administrator of ancillary services, function that leads to the figure of the system operator. Among the services analyzed, the mandatory nature of voltage control and primary frequency regulation stands out, being both the ancillary services with the higher market price and the shortest period of time requirements. In general, the recognized costs of the services correspond to investments operation, maintenance, and opportunity costs. In the provision of these ancillary services, there are no clear preferences for a particular resource allocation mechanism, where mandatory provision, auctions, competitive offers and different time length bilateral contracts are combined.     

The role of public policy in emerging green power markets: an analysis of marketer preferences

Green power marketing has been heralded by some as a means to create a private market for renewable energy that is driven by customer demand for green products. This article challenges the premise — sometimes proffered in debates over green markets — that profitable, sizable, credible markets for green products will evolve naturally without supportive public policies. Relying primarily on surveys and interviews of US green power marketers, the article examines the role of specific regulatory and legislative policies in ‘enabling’ the green market, and searches for those policies that are believed by marketers to be the most conducive or detrimental to the expansion of the green market. We find that marketers: (1) believe that profitable green power markets will only develop if a solid foundation of supportive policies exists; (2) believe that establishing overall price competition and encouraging customer switching are the top priorities; (3) are somewhat leery of government-sponsored or mandated public information programs; and (4) oppose three specific renewable energy policies that are frequently advocated by renewable energy enthusiasts, but that may have negative impacts on the green marketers’ profitability. The stated preferences of green marketers shed light on ways to foster renewables by means of the green market. Because the interests of marketers do not coincide perfectly with those of society, however, this study also recognizes other normative perspectives and highlights policy tensions at the heart of current debates related to green markets. By examining these conflicts, we identify three key policy questions that should direct future research: To what extent should price competition and customer switching be encouraged at the expense of cost shifting? What requirements should be imposed to ensure credibility in green products and marketing? How should the green power market and broader renewable energy policies interact?     

A review of international safety testing standards and regulations for lithium ion power batteries

研究了国内外具有代表性的动力锂电池安全性测试标准及规范,包括ISO 12405、IEC 62660、SAE J2464、SAE J2929、UL 2580、ECE R100-02、GB/T 31485、GB/T 31467.3和FreedomCAR。将安全性测试项目分为机械安全性、环境安全性和电气安全性3类,详细介绍了各试验项目在不同标准规范的具体参数,总结了我国国标与国外标准的异同,最后指出了现行标准规范中的不足,提出了改进意见。     

International photovoltaic markets, developments and trends forecast to 2010

The 1993 world shipments increased only 6.7% from 57.9MW in 1992 to 60.69MW in 1993. European shipments increased 1% from 16.4MW in 1992 to 16.55MW in 1993. U..S. shipments increased 24.0% to 22.44MW and Japanese shipments decreased 8% to 17.3MW. The status of all major PV module producers will be summarized. New entrants in the thin film area include: Golden Photon (CdTe), Solar Cells Inc. (CdTe), United Solar Systems (triple-stack amorphous silicon), and B.P. Solar (CdTe). In the silicon crystal area, plant expansions have been made by Siemens Solar Industries, B.P. Solar, and Solec. New crystal silicon entrants include: Astropower, Texas Instruments, Nukem, and Gallivare. Potential capacity increases by 1996 of 75–100MW are described. Module performance (efficiency and warranty), and manufacturing costs will be summarized and forecast to 2010. In the limit, the sliced silicon product tends to approach profitable prices of $2.00 per watt, while several thin-film options and concentrators can be manufactured with profitable prices less than $1.50 per watt. The world market for PV modules is summarized by market sector and forecast to 2010 under two scenarios -- “Business as Usual” and “Accelerated“. Under the Business as Usual assumptions, world PV module shipments are forecast to be 195 MW in 2000 and 800MW in 2010. The Accelerated scenario forecasts world module shipments in 2000 to be 440 MW and 4000 MW in 2010. Module shipments for the last four years have been growing at a rate

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Well-functioning balancing markets: A prerequisite for wind power integration

This article focuses on the design of balancing markets in Europe taking into account an increasing wind power penetration. In several European countries, wind generation is so far not burdened with full balancing responsibility. However, the more wind power penetration, the less bearable for the system not to allocate balancing costs to the responsible parties. Given the variability and limited predictability of wind generation, full balancing exposure is however only feasible conditionally to well-functioning balancing markets. On that account, recommendations ensuring an optimal balancing market design are formulated and their impact on wind generation is assessed. Taking market-based or cost-reflective imbalance prices as the main objective, it is advised that: (1) the imbalance settlement should not contain penalties or power exchange prices, (2) capacity payments should be allocated to imbalanced BRPs via an additive component in the imbalance price and (3) a cap should be imposed on the amount of reserves. Efficient implementation of the proposed market design may require balancing markets being integrated across borders.     

Impacts of a common green certificate market on electricity and CO2-emission markets in the Nordic countries

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of introducing a common Nordic system for tradable green certificates (TGCs) on the electricity market and a future market for tradable CO₂-emission permits (TEPs). In the analysis, the energy-system model generator MARKAL was used to model the electricity and district-heating supply systems in the four Nordic countries Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. It is shown that the introduction of TGC quotas reduces wholesale electricity and TEP prices. The impact on the latter is very pronounced. Retail electricity prices may become lower or higher, depending on the TGC quota, than if obligations to fulfill TGC quotas were absent. The TGC scheme's efficiency in reducing a specific amount of CO₂ emissions is also compared to the corresponding efficiency of a TEP scheme involving a broader range of technologies. Furthermore, obligations to fulfill TGC quotas affect investment incentives for new non-renewable electricity supply. This seems especially true for gas-fired power plants. Finally, it is indicated that electricity supply based on biomass combustion dominates the TGC scheme, at least in the short run.     

Hotspots,frontiers, and emerging trends of tandem solar cell research: A comprehensive review

A tandem solar cell (TSC) is a kind of special photovoltaic (PV) device with two or further sub-cells stacked in it. On the basis of Web of Science database and CiteSpace software, the literature about TSC research from 2000 to 2019 is reviewed. The top 10 hotspots are deduced (efficiency, performance, film, silicon, design, open circuit voltage, polymer, morphology, oxide, and growth), yielding prominence of the primary roles of devices and materials in PV research. The top 10 research clusters are analyzed (organic compounds, polymer solar cells, perovskite, non-fullerene acceptors, silicon, high frequency-glow discharge, solution process, light trapping, liquid phase epitaxy, and water splitting), revealing the development orientation of TSC research. High co-citation, strong burst citation, and representative frontier literature are highlighted. Five evolution trends/clusters are examined. Organic solar cells are the mainstream of TSC research and are gradually replaced by the emerging trend of non-fullerenes. Perovskite solar cells are a typical emerging trend, which rejuvenates the traditional silicon solar cells. This review provides a visual panorama of TSC research over the past two decades.