An innovative viable model for community-owned solar PV projects without FIT: comprehensive techno-economic assessment

The progressive withdrawal of the Feed-in-Tariff provided by the UK government has left community-owned solar photovoltaic projects facing significant financial challenges. They urgently need to develop alternative business models that will enable them to develop new projects and recuperate their costs in this post-subsidy era. One promising possibility is the incorporation of storage technology. However, currently it cannot be denied that the financial viability of this type of model is in question. This paper investigates whether and how integrated solar and battery storage system would be financially viable, using the System Advisor Model as a simulation tool to conduct techno-economic analyses. This paper proposes an innovative model designated as, the ‘Community-owned Energy Storage’ model. This model proposes that community-owned solar projects should sell their locally generated electricity under a Time of Use Power Purchase Agreement (TOU PPA). Results demonstrated under the developed model of community-owned solar projects can fully restore the economic viability and become financially attractive if they could utilise a combination of TOU PPA and demand-side response (DSR) services. This paper, therefore, recommends that the UK government should promote and facilitate the TOU PPA and encourage suppliers to involve local energy projects within the provision of DS

One technology, two pathways? Strategic Niche Management and the diverging diffusion of concentrated solar power in South Africa and the United States

The transition towards a low carbon energy system requires significant deployment of renewable energy technologies. Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants could contribute to a low carbon energy system, with an estimated potential global capacity of over 600 GW by 2030. Despite this potential, however, the CSP industry lags behind other renewable technologies, with only about 4% of its estimated global potential expected to be realised in the next decade. This paper investigates the reasons for this by comparing CSP in the US, where 60% of worldwide capacity is currently located, with South Africa, where its development has been slow despite an abundance of natural solar-energy resources. Using strategic niche management analysis, we identify replicable success factors that could accelerate the uptake of CSP projects in developing countries. The results reveal that the main reason for the successful diffusion and adoption of CSP in the US is consistent policy support, which has made it possible to bridge the gap between research and development and emerge in the market. By contrast, the development of CSP in South Africa has been hindered by several technical and economic problems, including a lack of technological expertise, resources and fundin

Post subsidy conditions: evaluating the techno-economic performance of concentrating solar power in Spai

Spain is one of the front runners of the development of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) projects. In recent years, however, the CSP industry in Spain has faced significant financial challenges due to a dramatic withdrawal of the Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) in 2013. The primary aim of this paper is to assess when, and under what conditions, CSP projects, in particular, Parabolic Trough Collectors can potentially reach grid parity in the absence of any subsidies. This paper also goes further to investigate whether and how Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC) projects can be financially viable in the post-subsidy period, using the System Advisor Model as a simulation tool to conduct techno-economic analyses. The simulation results indicated that a 50MWe PTC project with TES of 4 hours and a PPA price of €0.20 per kWh is the most viable model for developing CSP projects in Spain under post-subsidy condition. This paper concludes that, under current retail electricity prices and post-subsidy conditions, PTC projects can reach grid parity and become viable without direct incentives. Even though direct policy support will not be required, the CSP industry in Spain is still far from becoming fully self-sustained

Systematic review of demand-side management strategies in power systems of developed and developing countries

Balancing electricity demand and supply remains a significant challenge for the power systems in developing countries, such as Nigeria. In Nigeria, there is a shortage of adequate power supply, and demand-side management (DSM) plays a minor role in the power balancing mechanism with load shedding being widely used. The paper aims to review and compare various existing and emerging DSM strategies in developing countries. An extensive and systematic review was conducted to evaluate potential solutions using DSM to increase the overall energy efficiency in the Nigerian electricity market. This study found that, although the technical and economic potentials of DSM vary in developed countries, the uptakes of DSM have been severely hampered hence preventing the full exploitation and utilisation of the full potential of DSM. The initiatives of a DSM model in Nigeria and other developing countries can play a significant role in addressing demand and supply challenges but an upgrade of the energy infrastructures, a reform of the market structure and the provision of financial incentives are required to allow for wide implementations of DSM strategies in developing countries

Barriers to powering past coal: implications for a just energy transition in South Africa

The feasibility of South Africa's just energy transition, as dictated by the speed of phasing out coal and scaling up renewables, will rest on a range of techno-economic, socio-political, and socio-technical factors. Interactions between these dimensions of the transition carry significant implications for energy justice. In response, this paper proposes the Just Transition Feasibility Framework (JTFF) to better evaluate how feasibility constraints may impact South Africa's energy transition ambitions, and its more recent commitments to energy justice. Drawing on qualitative findings from interviews with South African energy experts, the study provides critical insights on the national- and community-scale implications of current energy policies. The analysis highlights socio-political constraints related to the Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme (REI4P) which aggravate energy vulnerabilities and misrecognition of places. In addition to strategically tackling a range of techno-economic and socio-technical constraints which are seen to exacerbate distributive injustice, the South African government should extend the 50 km radius scheme of the REI4P to a wider and more inclusive regional basis. Foremost, policy interventions must seek to realign South Africa's Minerals Energy Complex towards a just transition pathway committed to renewable electrification, community empowerment, and sustainable socio-economic structures.QR GCRF (UKRI

Renewable energy, social disruption and formalising the social licence to operate in South Africa

A social licence to operate and corporate social responsibility are often applied voluntarily to ensure a positive relationship between businesses and communities. But South Africa's Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme makes investment in local socio-economic development a contractual obligation. To assess the implications of this legalised approach to CSR and the social licence to operate, between September 2019 and January 2020 we conducted seven focus group discussions and 24 key informant interviews in two towns in South Africa's Northern Cape province. The data were analysed thematically and triangulated with data on crime, municipal finance and house prices. Our concerns about the legalised approach are that it does not require local consent; it reduces local development to a needs analysis; it does not require local collaborative planning, despite adverse consequences such as social disruption; it bypasses local organisation and accountability; it does not provide cheaper local electricity; and it offers no guidelines for decommissioning