State-scale evaluation of renewable electricity policy: The role of renewable electricity credits and carbon taxes

We have developed a state-scale version of the MARKAL energy optimization model, commonly used to model energy policy at the US national scale and internationally. We apply the model to address state-scale impacts of a renewable electricity standard (RES) and a carbon tax in one southeastern state, Georgia. Biomass is the lowest cost option for large-scale renewable generation in Georgia; we find that electricity can be generated from biomass co-firing at existing coal plants for a marginal cost above baseline of 0.2–2.2 cents/kWh and from dedicated biomass facilities for 3.0–5.5 cents/kWh above baseline. We evaluate the cost and amount of renewable electricity that would be produced in-state and the amount of out-of-state renewable electricity credits (RECs) that would be purchased as a function of the REC price. We find that in Georgia, a constant carbon tax to 2030 primarily promotes a shift from coal to natural gas and does not result in substantial renewable electricity generation. We also find that the option to offset a RES with renewable electricity credits would push renewable investment out-of-state. The tradeoff for keeping renewable investment in-state by not offering RECs is an approximately 1% additional increase in the levelized cost of electricity.     

Supply amount and marginal price of renewable electricity under the renewables portfolio standard in Japan

The Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) in Japan requires that approximately 1.35% of each retail supplier's electricity sales in FY2010 come from renewable energy sources (RES), for example, photovoltaics, wind, biomass, geothermal, and small hydropower. To help retail suppliers and renewable generators develop effective strategies, this study provides a quantitative analysis of the impact of this measure. We assume the supply conditions for electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES-E) based on regional resource endowments, and we derive the cost-effective compositions of renewable portfolios, RES-E certificate prices, and additional costs to retail suppliers. The future prospects of RES-E are assessed based on technology, region, and year up to FY2010. The analysis reveals that wind power and biomass power generated from municipal waste will provide the majority of the total supply of RES-E under the RPS. It also indicates that the marginal price of RES-E certificates will be approximately 5.8 JPY/kWh (5.2 USc/kWh) in FY2010, in the case wherein the marginal price of electricity is assumed to be 4 JPY/kWh (3.6 USc/kWh). In order to elaborate on this further, sensitivity analyses for some parameters of RES and the price of electricity are provided. The dynamic supply curves of RES-E certificates are also indicated.     

China needing a cautious approach to nuclear power strategy

China is leading the recent revival of nuclear energy programs. The Chinese government plans to increase nuclear generating capacity to 40 GWe by 2020, while the installed capacity is 8.6 GWe in 2007. In view of the enthusiasm shown for nuclear electricity throughout the country, the actual scale of Chinese nuclear power development is expected to reach 70 GWe by 2020. However, the low cost proven uranium reverses (cost category to <130 US $/kg) in China only meet half demand of 40 GWe capacity in 2020. And overlying China's increased demand is continued political sensitivity about the uranium trade. Meanwhile, the capacity of China's spent fuel reprocessing cannot keep up with the increasing spent fuel. And the legal administrative system of radioactive waste and spent fuel management is outdated. Hence it is proposed in this paper that the accelerated development of nuclear power industry is not good, and the over-accelerated development may be harmful, without appropriately considering the uranium resources and spent fuel management.     

Study on China's low carbon development in an Economy–Energy–Electricity–Environment framework

Emissions mitigation is a major challenge for China's sustainable development. We summarize China's successful experiences on energy efficiency in past 30 years as the contributions of Energy Usage Management and Integrated Resource Strategic Planning, which are essential for low-carbon economy. In an Economy–Energy–Electricity–Environment (E4) framework, the paper studies the low-carbon development of China and gives an outlook of China's economy growth, energy–electricity demand, renewable power generation and energy conservation and emissions mitigation until 2030. A business-as-usual scenario is projected as baseline for comparison while low carbon energy and electricity development path is studied. It is defined as low carbon energy/electricity when an economy body manages to realize its potential economic growth fueled by less energy/electricity consumption, which can be characterized by indexes of energy/electricity intensity and emissions per-unit of energy consumption (electricity generation). Results show that, with EUM, China, could save energy by 4.38 billion ton oil equivalences (toes) and reduce CO₂ emission by 16.55 billion tons; with IRSP, China, could save energy by 1.5 Btoes and reduce CO₂ emission by 5.7 Btons, during 2010–2030. To realize the massive potential, China has to reshape its economic structure and rely much on technology innovation in the future.     

Electricity tariffs based on long-run marginal costs for central grid system of Oman

The electricity tariffs in Oman are subsidized and are based on a cost accounting approach and do not reflect the true cost incurred in generating, transmitting and distributing a kilowatt-hour of electricity at the consumer end. This paper presents the electricity tariff based on the estimation of long-run marginal cost at generation, 33 kV, and 415 voltage level for Ministry of Housing, Electricity & Water (MHEW) interconnected power system of Oman. The result shows that at the generation level a marginal kW costs US$ 75 per year and a marginal kWh costs 2.07 ¢/kWh. These costs increase as we move downstream from generation to consumer end. The average cost of electricity at the consumer end connected at 415 V is 6.52 ¢/kWh or 25.17 Bz/kWh.     

Market diffusion strategies for the PEM fuel cell-based micro-CHP systems in the residential sector: scenario analysis

At present, one of the most prominent support mechanisms for sustainable energy is implementing Feed-in Tariffs. This study analyzes Feed-in Tariffs for distributed electricity generation in Iran and Feed-in Tariffs for electricity generated by fuel cells in other countries. Based on reviews of the regulations and the support plans for renewable energy development, CHP generators, and fuel cells, four scenarios were designed for pricing the electricity generated from the fuel cells and how to support its market development. Based on these scenarios, the Feed-in Tariffs of electricity from fuel cells or the expected amount of support for each fuel cell unit was calculated. In the case of using a production tax credit (PTC) model, assuming the total export of the generated electricity to the grid, the cost per kilowatt-hour of electricity varied by 9.89–60.78 cent/kWh based on the utilization of different PEM fuel cell products of different companies. Using Iran's small-scale generator support guideline, the electricity generation cost was calculated between 7.032 and 57.921 cents/kWh.     

Strategic thinking on IGCC development in China

With electricity demand growing at a torrid pace—about 15% per year, faster than any other country in the world—China is fast-tracking the construction of new generation facilities, about 80% of which are coal-fired. China's total capacity in the reference scenario of World Energy Outlook 2006 (WEO2006) released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) is projected to practically 3.4 times, from 442 GW in 2004 to 1496 GW in 2030, growing at 4.8% per year on average. The vast majority of this huge generation requirement will still be met through the construction of coal power plants. Because new coal power plants built today have a long life cycle and are not easy to upgrade the technologies involved, decisions made now will have a major impact on the coal utilization mode in the coming years. Thus, the future 20 years is the strategic opportunity period of the transition of conventional coal utilization. Because the Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) can supply electricity, liquid fuels, hydrogen and other chemicals if needed at low pollution level, and has the potential to make carbon capture and sequestration much easier and cheaper than traditional pulverized coal boiler power plants, it should be the strategic direction for China to meet the requirements of the energy and environmental challenges. This paper makes an overview of China's energy and environmental challenges and opportunities, and describes the IGCC technology. It discusses why China should develop IGCC. What are the foundations for China to develop IGCC? What are the rational driving forces to develop IGCC in China? What is the reasonable developing path of IGCC in China?     

Analysis of wind power generation operation management risk in China

The Chinese government has made an important effort to diversify the country's energy mix and exploit different sources of renewable energy. Although China's installed wind power capacity has undergone a dramatic expansion over the past six years, the electricity generated from wind power has not increased as expected. Meanwhile, operational risks, such as high generation cost, mismatch between capacity and generation, intermittent wind power generation, power grid construction lag, deficient policy, and operation mechanism, have become increasingly prominent. If not controlled, these risks will negatively affect wind power development in China. Therefore, this paper established a quantitative analysis model of wind power operation management risk from two aspects, feed-in tariff and grid electricity (electricity being connected to the grid), based on an analysis of wind power operation management risk in China. Moreover, this study quantitatively assessed the risk of the operational management of a wind farm in Inner Mongolia. Finally, corresponding risk control strategies for the healthy development of wind power generation in China were proposed.     

Wind power and photovoltaic power: How to improve the accommodation capability of renewable electricity generation in China?

China's wind curtailment and photovoltaic curtailment was one of the prominent issues in 2014, and the renewable curtailment worsened in 2015. With the rapid growth of renewables, the phenomenon of the insufficiency in renewable accommodation capability is becoming more and more serious in 2016. In that case, the problem of the insufficient accommodation capability is pointed out by analyzing China's development requirements. The renewable power generation scale, the renewable power consumption, and the restrictions on the renewable electricity generation are discussed from the China's market perspective. Meanwhile, the legal environment, the planning requirement, the institutional setting, and the policy tools are introduced from the perspective of governmental regulation. An empirical analysis, a cause analysis and a trend analysis are illustrated before explaining the problem of renewable curtailment and proposing a solution for enhancing the accommodation capability. According to the analysis results, the solution for addressing the wind curtailment and PV curtailment is offered with respect to the technology, the institution, the legislation, and the political aspect. Through the research, the research conclusions are drew finally and the corresponding policy recommendations are put forward.     

Effective policies for renewable energy—the example of China's wind power—lessons for China's photovoltaic power

China, one of the global biggest emitter of CO₂, needs promotion renewable energy to reduce air pollution from its surging fossil fuel use, and to increase its energy supply security. Renewable energy in its infancy needs policy support and market cultivation. Wind power installed capacity has boomed in recent year in China, as a series of effective support policies were adopted. In this paper, I review the main renewable energy policies regarding to China's wind power, including the Wind Power Concession Program, Renewable Energy Law, and a couple of additional laws and regulations. Such policies have effectively reduced the cost of wind power installed capacity, stimulated the localization of wind power manufacture, and driven the company investment in wind power. China is success in wind power installed capacity, however, success in wind-generated electricity has yet achieved, mainly due to the backward grid system and lack of quota system. The paper ends with the recommended best practice of the China's wind power installed capacity might be transferable to China's photovoltaic power generation.     

Economic and environmental implications of demand-side management options

End-use electricity efficiency improvements offer an inexpensive way to reduce power shortages. The present study estimates the potential of demand-side management efficiency improvement targeted at (1) short-term efficiency improvement (agricultural pump rectification) that can provide immediate relief, and (2) long-term efficiency improvement (appliance standards such as AC and refrigerator, new agricultural pump purchase and pump replacement) for Gujarat state in India. The methodology includes the calculation of cost of conserved energy for each technology, which works out to be (−1.18) US$ cents/kW h for new agriculture pump sets, 1.03 US$ cents/kW h for refrigerators and 5.21 US$ cents/kW h for air conditioners. The price of power varies around 1.13 US$ cents to 12.1 cents/kW h in Gujarat. The annual energy savings from the selected energy-efficient technologies are approximately 8767 GW h over a period of 10 yr, while the estimated peak power savings are about 1814 MW, large enough to eliminate one-fourth of the state's electricity shortages. Also, the estimated CO₂ emissions savings are about 7715 Giga grams (Gg) from implementation of the selected energy efficiency measures over a period of 10 yr.     

Potential impacts assessment of plug-in electric vehicles on the Portuguese energy market

Electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which obtain their fuel from the grid by charging a battery, are set to be introduced into the mass market and expected to contribute to oil consumption reduction. In this research, scenarios for 2020 EVs penetration and charging profiles are studied integrated with different hypotheses for electricity production mix. The impacts in load profiles, spot electricity prices and emissions are obtained for the Portuguese case study. Simulations for year 2020, in a scenario of low hydro production and high prices, resulted in energy costs for EVs recharge of 20 cents/kWh, with 2 million EVs charging mainly at evening peak hours. On the other hand, in an off-peak recharge, a high hydro production and low wholesale prices' scenario, recharge costs could be reduced to 5.6 cents/kWh. In these extreme cases, EV's energy prices were between 0.9€ to 3.2€ per 100 km. Reductions in primary energy consumption, fossil fuels use and CO₂ emissions of up to 3%, 14% and 10%, respectively, were verified (for a 2 million EVs' penetration and a dry year's off-peak recharge scenario) from the transportation and electricity sectors together when compared with a BAU scenario without EVs.     

Competitiveness assessment of the biomass power generation industry in China: A five forces model study

China is facing a number of energy related challenges including a shortage of electricity supply, depletion of fossil fuels and environmental pollution. These challenges make it important to develop renewable energy resources. As per other renewable energy industries, the biomass power industry is facing a series of opportunities and challenges. Utilizing Michael Porter's Five Forces Model theory for analyzing the competitive environment and the competitive situation of an industry, this paper establishes a Five Forces Model for assessing the competitiveness of China's biomass power industry. Inputs for this model include semi-structured interviews with biomass power generation enterprises and a critical analysis of the national policy framework along with relevant literature and official statistics. Five major stakeholders of China's biomass power industry, namely competitors, suppliers, buyers, potential competitors, and substitutes are assessed to determine their influence on the biomass power generation industry. This assessment highlighted the current status, existing issues and future prospects of the biomass power industry. Similarly, it provides assistance to develop procurement strategies for the sustainable development of the industry.     

Renewables portfolio standard and regional energy structure optimisation in China

Eastern Coastal areas of China have been developing rapidly since the implementation of reforms and the opening of China's economic markets in 1978. As in most areas of the world, this rapid economic growth has been accompanied by large increases in energy consumption. China's coal-dominated energy structure has resulted in serious ecological and environmental problems. Exploiting renewable energy resources and introducing Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) are some of the most important approaches towards optimising and sustaining the energy structure of China. This paper discusses international experiences in the implementation of RPS policies and prospects for using these policies to encourage renewable energy development in China, establishes a concise definition of renewable resources, differentiating between the broad definition (which includes hydro over 25 MW in size) from the narrow definition (which limits the eligibility of hydro to below 25 MW in size), and quantitatively analyses the potential renewable energy target. The research shows that: (1) Under the narrow hydro definition the renewable energy target would be 5.1% and under the broad hydro definition it would be 18.4%. (2) Western China has contributed 90.2% of the total renewable electricity generation in the country (if big and medium hydropowers are not included). Including big and medium hydropower, the figure is 63.8%. (3) Eastern electricity companies can achieve their quota by buying Tradable Renewable Energy Certificates (TRCs or Green Certificates) and by exploiting renewable energy resources in Western China. The successful implementation of the RPS policy will achieve the goal of sharing the benefits and responsibilities of energy production between the different regions of China.     

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.     

Internalizing externalities into capacity expansion planning: The case of electricity in Vietnam

This paper examines the impacts of including external costs such as environmental and health damages from power production on power generation expansion planning in Vietnam. Using the MARKAL model and covering a 20-year period to 2025, the study shows that there are substantial changes in the generation structure in favor of renewable energy technologies and other low emitting technologies. These changes lead to a reduction in fossil fuel requirements, and consequently, a reduction of CO₂, NO_x, SO₂, and PM emissions which could be expected to also reduce the associated environmental and human health impacts. The avoided external costs would be equivalent to 4.4 US cent/kWh. However, these gains are not free as the additional electricity production cost would be around 2.6 US cent/kWh higher if the switch to more expensive, but lower emitting technologies were made. The net benefit of internalizing these externalities is thus around 1.8 US cent/kWh.     

Wind energy in Vietnam: Resource assessment,development status and future implications

The aim of this study is to estimate the technical potential of wind energy in Vietnam and discuss strategies for promoting the market penetration of wind energy in the country. For the wind resource assessment, a geographical information system (GIS)- assisted approach has been developed. It is found that Vietnam has a good potential for wind energy. About 31,000 km² of land area can be available for wind development in which 865 km² equivalents to a wind power of 3572 MW has a generation cost less than 6 US cents/kWh. The study also proves that wind energy could be a good solution for about 300,000 rural non-electrified households. While wind energy brings about ecological, economic and social benefits, it is only modestly exploited in Vietnam, where the main barrier is the lack of political impetus and a proper framework for promoting renewable energy. The priority task therefore is to set a target for renewable energy development and to find instruments to achieve such a target. The main instruments proposed here are setting feed-in tariff and providing investment incentives.     

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.     

Electricity generation from the first wind farm situated at Ras Ghareb, Egypt

Egypt is one of the Red Sea and Mediterranean countries having windy enough areas, in particular along the coasts. The coastal location Ras Ghareb on the Red Sea has been investigated in order to know the wind power density available for electricity generation. To account for the wind potential variations with height, a new simple estimating procedure was introduced. This study has explicitly demonstrated the presence of high wind power density nearly 900 kW/m² per year at 100 m of altitude for this region. Indeed, the seasonal wind powers available are comparable to and sometimes higher than the power density in many European cities for wind electricity applications like Vindeby (Denmark) and also America.New technical analysis for wind turbine characteristics have been made using three types of commercial wind turbines possessing the same rotor diameter and rated power to choice the best wind machine suitable for Ras Ghareb station. As per the decreasing the cut-in wind speed for the wind turbine used, the availability factor increases for a given generator. That it could produce more energy output throughout the year for the location.The aim of this research, was to predict the electrical energy production with the cost analysis of a wind farm 150 MW total power installed at Ras Ghareb area using 100 wind turbines model (Repower MD 77) with 1.5 MW rated power. Additionally, this paper developed the methodology for estimating the price of each kWh electricity from the wind farms. Results show that this wind park will produce maximum energy of 716 GWh/year. The expected specific cost equal to 1.5 € cent/kWh is still less than and very competitive price with that produced from the wind farms in Great Britain and Germany and at the international markets of wind power. The important result derived from this study encourages several wind parks with hundreds of megawatts can be constructed at Ras Ghareb region.     

Economic perspective of PV electricity in Oman

Solar and wind energies are likely to play an important role in the future energy generation in Oman. This paper utilizes average daily global solar radiation and sunshine duration data of 25 locations in Oman to study the economic prospects of solar energy. The study considers a solar PV power plant of 5-MW at each of the 25 locations. The global solar radiation varies between slightly greater than 4 kWh/m²/day at Sur to about 6 kWh/m²/day at Marmul while the average value in the 25 locations is more than 5 kWh/m²/day. The results show that the renewable energy produced each year from the PV power plant varies between 9000 MWh at Marmul and 6200 MWh at Sur while the mean value is 7700 MWh of all the 25 locations. The capacity factor of PV plant varies between 20% and 14% and the cost of electricity varies between 210 US$/MWh and 304 US$/MWh for the best location to the least attractive location, respectively. The study has also found that the PV energy at the best location is competitive with diesel generation without including the externality costs of diesel. Renewable energy support policies that can be implemented in Oman are also discussed.