Sustainable consumption: towards action and impact. : International scientific conference November 6th-8th 2011, Hamburg - European Green Capital 2011, Germany: abstract volume

This volume contains the abstracts of all oral and poster presentations of the international scientific conference „Sustainable Consumption – Towards Action and Impact“ held in Hamburg (Germany) on November 6th-8th 2011. This unique conference aims to promote a comprehensive academic discourse on issues concerning sustainable consumption and brings together scholars from a wide range of academic disciplines. In modern societies, private consumption is a multifaceted and ambivalent phenomenon: it is a ubiquitous social practice and an economic driving force, yet at the same time, its consequences are in conflict with important social and environmental sustainability goals. Finding paths towards “sustainable consumption” has therefore become a major political issue. In order to properly understand the challenge of “sustainable consumption”, identify unsustainable patterns of consumption and bring forward the necessary innovations, a collaborative effort of researchers from different disciplines is needed

Market and Economic Modelling of the Intelligent Grid: End of Year Report 2009

The overall goal of Project 2 has been to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of distributed energy (DG) on the Australian Electricity System. The research team at the UQ Energy Economics and Management Group (EEMG) has constructed a variety of sophisticated models to analyse the various impacts of significant increases in DG. These models stress that the spatial configuration of the grid really matters - this has tended to be neglected in economic discussions of the costs of DG relative to conventional, centralized power generation. The modelling also makes it clear that efficient storage systems will often be critical in solving transient stability problems on the grid as we move to the greater provision of renewable DG. We show that DG can help to defer of transmission investments in certain conditions. The existing grid structure was constructed with different priorities in mind and we show that its replacement can come at a prohibitive cost unless the capability of the local grid to accommodate DG is assessed very carefully.Distributed Generation. Energy Economics, Electricity Markets, Renewable Energy

Optimal Carbon Taxes for Emissions Targets in the Electricity Sector

The most dangerous effects of anthropogenic climate change can be mitigated by using emissions taxes or other regulatory interventions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This paper takes a regulatory viewpoint and describes the Weighted Sum Bisection method to determine the lowest emission tax rate that can reduce the anticipated emissions of the power sector below a prescribed, regulatorily-defined target. This bi-level method accounts for a variety of operating conditions via stochastic programming and remains computationally tractable for realistically large planning test systems, even when binary commitment decisions and multi-period constraints on conventional generators are considered. Case studies on a modified ISO New England test system demonstrate that this method reliably finds the minimum tax rate that meets emissions targets. In addition, it investigates the relationship between system investments and the tax-setting process. Introducing GHG emissions taxes increases the value proposition for investment in new cleaner generation, transmission, and energy efficiency; conversely, investing in these technologies reduces the tax rate required to reach a given emissions target

Carbon-Oriented Electricity Balancing Market for Dispatchable Generators and Flexible Loads

The high renewables penetration results in increased imbalance volumes and balancing actions due to system stability requirements. The balancing market (BM) primarily turns down renewable generation and turns up traditional carbon-intensive generation in response to real-time energy imbalance. Existing dual-stage market mechanisms conflict with the carbon reduction trajectory by implementing balancing actions regardless of their carbon footprint. This paper proposes a novel carbon-oriented BM model to coordinate the environmental targets in the dayahead (DA) and real-time BMs. The emissions of dispatchable generators and flexible loads are distinguished by their operation modes and flexibility types, respectively. Carbon signals are incorporated into their bid&amp;#x002F;offer prices through the proposed carbon emission flow (CEF) model. By integrating these carbon incentives, the dual-stage market model is formulated to minimize economic and environmental costs. Simulation results demonstrate that, overall, although the proposed BM mechanism results in an increased cost of balancing services (159.10 m&amp;#x00A3;), there is a concurrent larger drop in carbon costs (294.14 m&amp;#x00A3;), resulting in a reduction in total cost. It enables system operators to incentivize decarbonized energy resources in DA scheduling and real-time balancing actions.</p

Interaction of European Carbon Trading and Energy Prices

This paper addresses the economic impact of the EU Emission Trading Scheme for carbon on wholesale electricity and gas prices. Specifically, we analyse the mutual relationships between electricity, gas and carbon prices in the daily spot markets in the United Kingdom. Using a structural co-integrated VAR model, we show how the prices of carbon and gas jointly influence the equilibrium price of electricity. Furthermore, we derive the dynamic pass-trough of carbon into electricity price and the response of electricity and carbon prices to shocks in the gas price.Carbon Emission Trading, Energy Markets, Structural VECM

Scenarios for the development of smart grids in the UK: literature review

Smart grids are expected to play a central role in any transition to a low-carbon energy future, and much research is currently underway on practically every area of smart grids. However, it is evident that even basic aspects such as theoretical and operational definitions, are yet to be agreed upon and be clearly defined. Some aspects (efficient management of supply, including intermittent supply, two-way communication between the producer and user of electricity, use of IT technology to respond to and manage demand, and ensuring safe and secure electricity distribution) are more commonly accepted than others (such as smart meters) in defining what comprises a smart grid. It is clear that smart grid developments enjoy political and financial support both at UK and EU levels, and from the majority of related industries. The reasons for this vary and include the hope that smart grids will facilitate the achievement of carbon reduction targets, create new employment opportunities, and reduce costs relevant to energy generation (fewer power stations) and distribution (fewer losses and better stability). However, smart grid development depends on additional factors, beyond the energy industry. These relate to issues of public acceptability of relevant technologies and associated risks (e.g. data safety, privacy, cyber security), pricing, competition, and regulation; implying the involvement of a wide range of players such as the industry, regulators and consumers. The above constitute a complex set of variables and actors, and interactions between them. In order to best explore ways of possible deployment of smart grids, the use of scenarios is most adequate, as they can incorporate several parameters and variables into a coherent storyline. Scenarios have been previously used in the context of smart grids, but have traditionally focused on factors such as economic growth or policy evolution. Important additional socio-technical aspects of smart grids emerge from the literature review in this report and therefore need to be incorporated in our scenarios. These can be grouped into four (interlinked) main categories: supply side aspects, demand side aspects, policy and regulation, and technical aspects.

Carbon-Oriented Electricity Balancing Market for Dispatchable Generators and Flexible Loads

The high renewables penetration results in increased imbalance volumes and balancing actions due to system stability requirements. The balancing market (BM) primarily turns down renewable generation and turns up traditional carbon-intensive generation in response to real-time energy imbalance. Existing dual-stage market mechanisms conflict with the carbon reduction trajectory by implementing balancing actions regardless of their carbon footprint. This paper proposes a novel carbon-oriented BM model to coordinate the environmental targets in the dayahead (DA) and real-time BMs. The emissions of dispatchable generators and flexible loads are distinguished by their operation modes and flexibility types, respectively. Carbon signals are incorporated into their bid&amp;#x002F;offer prices through the proposed carbon emission flow (CEF) model. By integrating these carbon incentives, the dual-stage market model is formulated to minimize economic and environmental costs. Simulation results demonstrate that, overall, although the proposed BM mechanism results in an increased cost of balancing services (159.10 m&amp;#x00A3;), there is a concurrent larger drop in carbon costs (294.14 m&amp;#x00A3;), resulting in a reduction in total cost. It enables system operators to incentivize decarbonized energy resources in DA scheduling and real-time balancing actions.</p

Carbon Emission Policies in Key Economies

The Australian Government asked the Productivity Commission to undertake a study on the ‘effective’ carbon prices that result from emissions and energy reduction policies in Australia and other key economies (the UK, USA, Germany, New Zealand, China, India, Japan and South Korea). The Commissions research report, released 9 June 2011, provides a stocktake of the large number of policy measures in the electricity generation and road transport sectors of the countries studied. And it provides estimates of the burdens associated with these policies in each country and the abatement achieved. While the results are based on a robust methodology, data limitations have meant that some estimates could only be indicative. More than 1000 carbon policy measures were identified in the nine countries studied, ranging from (limited) emissions trading schemes to policies that support particular types of abatement technology. While these disparate measures cannot be expressed as an equivalent single price on greenhouse gas emissions, all policies impose costs that someone must pay. The Commission has interpreted ‘effective’ carbon prices broadly to mean the cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions — the ‘price’ of abatement achieved by particular policies. The estimated cost per unit of abatement achieved varied widely, both across programs within each country and in aggregate across countries. The relative cost effectiveness of price-based approaches is illustrated for Australia by stylised modelling that suggests that the abatement from existing policies for electricity could have been achieved at a fraction of the cost. The estimated price effects of supply-side policies have generally been modest, other than for electricity in Germany and the UK. Such price uplifts are of some relevance to assessing carbon leakage and competitiveness impacts, but are very preliminary and substantially more information would be required.carbon pricing; cost abatement; greenhouse gas emissions; abatement technology; carbon policy; energy reduction policy; emissions trading scheme; carbon leakage