Promotion of Renewable Energy Sources in the European Union

One of the important goals of European energy policy is to increase the share of renewable energy resources in the energy supply. The instruments used in the member states are not fully compatible with the rules of the European internal market. In a theoretical section, this paper analyses possible different instruments for promoting renewable energy. Some countries use feed in tariffs - using fixed prices to increase incentives for producers to invest into renewable energy, other countries use quantity-based systems like quotas that lead to a premium above the market price. In an institutional analysis we show that on the basis of effectiveness and efficiency considerations for the European Union, in the long-term quantity oriented systems of promotion are preferable if combined with elements of a capacity market. The main reason for this conclusion is that price-based systems cannot give enough incentives for backup capacities necessary to cope with intermittent production of renewable sources. In addition price-based systems violate the basic rules of the open internal European market because feed in tariffs are a considerable barrier for trade of renewable energy products

Economic impacts of the RES Obligations in Austria – an Application of the Macro-Econometric Model e3.at

The year 2008 started in January (Jan 23, 2008) with ambitious European initiatives on climate change when the European Commission suggested a climate packages with new targets for energy from renewable sources (RES), for the design of the third phase of the emission trading system, for a directive on carbon capture and storage systems (CCS), for the fuel directive, and a directive on CO2 limit for new vehicles. Several of these proposed directives have been an issue of fierce discussion during the year, especially as the extent of the financial crisis gradually came to the fore and the fears of a worldwide economic crisis grew. At the end of 2008, however, the package passed the European parliament (Dec. 17, 2008) though several concessions had to be made concerning the emission trading system or the vehicle directive. However, seemingly unaffected by current fears and therefore largely unaltered the directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources in Europe passed with a rather high amount of “yes” votes of the whole package, indicating that the support for energy from renewable sources still seems strong. The Directive “establishes a common framework for the promotion of energy from renewable sources. It sets mandatory national targets for the overall share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption of energy and for the share of energy from renewable sources in transport.” (COM(2008)0019 – C6-0046/2008 – 2008/0016(COD) The national overall targets are set individually for each country and the required increases compared to 2005 are as low as 22% (Sweden, Latvia) or as high as more than 1000% in the case of the UK (c.f. full table in the Appendix). Each country will have to develop a strategy for a sustainable pathway to reach the target. Though the strategic decisions will be on the national levels for each country, the knowledge of the targets for the European Community provides useful information to back the decision. Domestic support of RES technologies can induce a lead market and create international export opportunities. Observing the strategies of the other EC member states will affect the choice of the national efficient and effective policy mix. Austria is an interesting case study insofar as it already uses renewable energy to a large extent (23.3% in 2005) and still has to increase it by almost 50% to 34% by 2020. This increase will come with large necessary investments and will require a combined energyefficiency strategy. To answer the question how and at what overall economic costs in terms of GDP and employment effects the targets can be reached a scenario has to be developed and tested with the help of a model that reflects the economic and environmental interdependences. Therefore, to analyze the overall effects a highly interdependent resource economic modeling approach is needed. The macro-econometric model e3.at has been developed to answer such questions. The article is organized as following. Section 2 describes the model e3.at. Section 3 suggests an energy-efficiency scenario that meets the EC’s targets. Section 4 presents modeling results and section 5 concludes.Austria, Macro-Econometric Model, e3.at, Economic impacts, RES Obligations

Conceptual design and development of an automated co-generation system

Co-generation or Combined Heat and Power (CHP) is the simultaneous generation of both electricity and heat from the same fuel for useful purposes. The fuel varies greatly and can include coal, biomass, natural gas, nuclear material, the sun or heat stored in the earth. Co-generation (as a vector of energy efficiency) and renewable sources of energy possess their own set of low carbon benefits. Coupling co-generation and renewable sources contribute to a very strong proposition since it leads to the supply of both low-carbon electricity and low-carbon heat. In the case of co-generation plants fuelled by renewable energy sources, the low-carbon benefits of the heat are obvious since they derive from the renewable nature of the fuel. However, this also apply in the case of plants feed by other types of fuel. Such plants produce excess heat alongside electricity. When this heat, which is an unavoidable by-product, is used to satisfy an existing heat demand carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are reduced overall, through a more efficient use of the fuel. The distributed generation systems produce energy close to the point of use, which typically doubles the efficiency in terms of fuel input‐to‐energy output ratio compared to conventional power generation in central plants. This means that the same amount of energy can be produced with half the amount of fuel, making distributed generation an effective approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. According to official government reports, the creation of distributed generation systems will account for at least 5% of gas reduction. In this paper the conceptual design and development of an automated co-generation system to apply in collective residences is presented. After concluding the definition of the demanded specifications and requirements for the co-generation system it is presented and discussed the developed solution with the identification of the main components, including the selection and prototype implementation of the necessary sensors and actuators that integrate the system. It is also shown a systematized approach that consists in using the GEMMA and the SFC formalisms for the structure and specification of all the system behaviour, considering all the stop states and functioning modes of the co-generation system.(undefined

Status Report 2006

The European Union is implementing challenging commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8% in accord with the Kyoto protocol, and has established ambitious targets for renewable energies and energy end-use efficiency in its White Paper: Energy for the Future: Renewable Sources of Energy. In the past decade, renewable energy technologies have made significant progress in terms of performance, cost and reliability, thanks to vigorous research, development, demonstration and market introduction programmes at European, national and also regional level. Developments primarily rooted in environmental concerns are now penetrating all societal decision making and have led to a new, dynamic, and exponentially growing industry. Three major drivers are determining today’s socio-economic framework for the impressive renewables’ industrial and market developments. First, successful application of legally binding feed-in tariffs; secondly, liberalisation of the electricity market, and thus new possibilities for decentralisation of power generation. Third, and in the medium term, there is the undisputed need for massive re-powering the larger part of Europe’s generation capacity. This will incur generally higher electricity costs, which reflect somewhat better the real costs (incl. externalities) of all the different energy technologies. Thus a more favourable market situation for sustainable technology choices will evolve, e.g. for massive renewable power generation. While technology development has been a key driver in the progress of renewables, first examples of significant penetration would have been impossible without appropriate, supporting policies including instruments such as introduction targets, carbon taxes, elimination of non-technical barriers, internalisation of external costs of energy, and harmonisation of market rules. The efficient end-use of energy is a parallel area where modern technology, policies, better public conscience of the issues and market forces, like the utilities’ interest to exploit the potentials for avoidance of new transmission and generation capacity, have combined to achieve significant results. New integrated marketing concepts, like energy service companies, have been very successful lately, and organisationally break ground for the implementation of sharper physical efficiency concepts as well. This is of particular strategic importance for the New Member States of the EU, as the use of energy, including electricity, in these countries is still significantly less efficient than in the old Member States. The aim of this Status Report is to provide relevant, validated and independent information on renewable energy and the efficient end-use of electricity to decision makers and the public.JRC.H.8-Renewable energie

Can the U.S. Get There from Here?

Climate change impacts in the United States are increasingly evident and come with steep economic and social costs. The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events has increased in recent years, bringing record-breaking heat, heavy precipitation, coastal flooding, severe droughts, and damaging wildfires.According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), weather-related damages in the United States were $60 billion in 2011, and are expected to be significantly greater in 2012.The mounting costs convey an unmistakable urgency to address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). This report examines pathways for GHG reductions in the United States through actions taken at the federal and state levels without the need for new legislation from the U.S. Congress

How Missouri Can Meet Its Clean Power Plan Targets

This fact sheet examines how Missouri can use its existing policies and infrastructure to meet its emission standards under the Clean Power Plan while minimizing compliance costs, ensuring reliability, and harnessing economic opportunitie

Net Energy Index: A New Way To Measure Energy Efficient Buildings

Energy efficiency indexes are useful for providing tangible measurements of energy efficiency in buildings. Buildings use approximately 70% of all electricity in the USA. Using that energy efficiently has two primary benefits: limiting greenhouse gas emissions and reducing grid strain. Utilizing local renewable energy sources contributes to the same benefits. Currently, there is no index that considers renewable energy sources when measuring energy efficiency. Therefore, this paper proposes the Net Energy Index, which compares the net power usage of a building to the floor area of the building in order to determine energy efficiency. If renewable energy supplies power to a building, this index is not only useful and justified, but it is also practical through advances in energy meters

Clean Economy Rising: Manufacturing Powers Clean Energy in Ohio

Ohio has built upon its rich manufacturing legacy to become a leader in the production of wind, solar, and industrial energy efficiency technologies. Until recently, state and federal policies also spurred renewable energy projects throughout Ohio. Uncertainty over the future of these measures is dampening investment. This brief explores the drivers of Ohio's clean energy economy and the choices the state faces about its future competitiveness in the industry

How Michigan Can Meet Its Clean Power Plan Targets

This fact sheet examines how Michigan can use its existing policies and infrastructure to meet its emission standards under the Clean Power Plan while minimizing compliance costs, ensuring reliability, and harnessing economic opportunities

How Pennsylvania Can Meet Its Clean Power Plan Targets

This fact sheet examines how Pennsylvania can meet -- and even exceed -- its CPP standards through expanding its clean energy policies and making better use of existing power plants while minimizing compliance costs, ensuring reliability, and harnessing economic opportunities in clean energy. Pennsylvania's existing clean energy policies put the state's power plants in good position to make carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reductions that will help the state meet its CPP targets. Existing policies that promote renewable development and improve energy efficiency through 2020 -- 21 will help Pennsylvania meet its initial targets. If extended and expanded, these policies could provide a basis to meet the targets through 2030