Identifying options for regulating the coordination of network investments with investments in distributed electricity generation

This paper analyses two effects of the current Dutch regulation on the system operators of the electricity network and on teh decentralised generators of electricity, and suggests a number of improvements in the tariff regulation. The increase in the distributed generation of electricity, with wind turbines and solar panels, necessitates investments in the distribution network. The current tariff regulation in the Dutch electricity industry, with its ex post evaluation of the efficiency of investments and the frontier shift in the x-factor, delays these investments. In the unbundled electricity industry, the investments in the network need to be coordinated with those in the distributed generation of electricity to enable the DSOs to build enough network capacity. The current Dutch regulations do not provide for a sufficient information exchange between the generators and the system operators to coordinate the investments. This paper analyses these two effects of the Dutch regulation, and suggests improvements to the regulation of the network connection and transportation tariffs to allow for sufficient network capacity and coordination between the investments in the network and in the generation of electricity. These improvements include locally differentiated tariffs that increase with an increasing concentration of distributed generators.

Alternating copolyesteramides based on mixtures of 1,4-butyleneterephthalamide and -isophthalamide and ethanediol (4NT/I2)

Alternating copolyesteramides (APEA's) consisting of mixtures of 1,4-butyleneterephthalamide ester (N,N′-bis(p-carbomethoxybenzoyl) diaminobutane) and 1,4-butyleneisophthalamide ester (N,N′-bis(m-carbomethoxybenzoyl) diaminobutane) polymerized with ethanediol were synthesised in an ethanediol solution. The bisesterdiamides were prepared from 1,4-butanediamine and dimethyl terephthalate or dimethylisophthalate respectively. They were analyzed by 1H n.m.r., differential scanning calorimetry (d.s.c.) and high pressure liquid chromatography (h.p.l.c.). The melting behaviour of the copolyesteramides was studied by d.s.c. The dynamic mechanical properties were investigated on injection moulded bars using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). The melting temperature decreased with increasing 1,4-butyleneisophthalamide ester content. The crystallisation rate, the modulus above the glass transition temperature and the glass transition temperature hardly changed. The APEA of 1,4-butyleneisophthalamide ester and ethanediol was amorphous. The lowering of the melting temperature of the copolymers was probably caused by a decrease in lamellar size. The high crystallisation rate and the high physical crosslink density of the copolymers must be ascribed to the presence of 1,4-butyleneterephthalamide ester units which are able to crystallise fast and to form strong crystallites

Боротьба з бідністю як орієнтир проєвропейської політики

Період європейського самоусвідомлення України триває вже досить довго. Парадоксально, але факт: за будь-яких змін зовнішньополітичної парадигми нашої держави європейська складова не лише не зникає, а й посилюється. Принаймні на теоретичному рівні. Не менш суттєвим, на наш погляд, є й те, що за будь-яких умов український “віртуальний” європеїзм зберігає соціальну аргументацію. До об’єднаної Європи ми прагнемо долучитися переважно задля досягнення заможнішого життя. Водночас на практичному рівні наші уявлення щодо ключових соціальних ознак реального європеїзму й досі лишаються досить розмитими, якщо не спотвореними. І досі у нас фахово не визначено статус ключових соціальних чинників у тих інтеграційних моделях, до яких так чи інакше схиляються різні політичні сили країни, а також місце цих чинників у ключових напрямках і механізмах співпраці з ЄС. Зокрема, це стосується проблеми бідності. Щоб наздогнати Європу за рівнем добробуту (і це вже не парадокс), потрібно спочатку наздогнати її за рівнем бідності. Євроінтеграційна реальність є такою, що соціальна прірва розділяє народи значно надійніше, аніж будь-яка “залізна заслона” чи Берлінський мур

Absence of a market in the Dutch balancing mechanism:European rules versus specific investments

The European directives for the electricity industry prescribe the creation of a market for balancing electricity supply and demand. In this paper, we demonstrate that a market for balancing has not emerged in the Dutch electricity industry, and that, instead, the balancing transactions are governed by regulated, long-term contracts and a bidding mechanism. We explain the absence of a balancing market by using the framework of transaction cost economics, in which the efficiency of a market decreases with increasing investments in specific assets. The results of a questionnaire among the energy firms that supply balancing power in the Dutch setting show that these firms have invested in specific physical, temporal and dedicated balancing assets. The need for these specific investments to balance supply and demand does not only explain the absence of a market, but also the lack of participation by small firms in the balancing mechanism. We recommend several policies, such as stimulating technological developments for the storage of electricity and demand side management, which reduce these specific investments in balancing assets, and thereby stimulate the creation of a market and the participation of small firms

Transitioning to sustainable energy by incumbent utilities: insights from M&As, alliances, and divestments

Energy utilities play an important role in transitioning to a sustainable energy industry. Data on 8967 transactions by 19 European energy utilities from 1990 to 2019 illustrate when and how utilities invest in sustainable resources and divest traditional resources such as fossil-fuel plants. Utilities transitioning to sustainable energy have greater financial resources and experience with sustainability, are publicly owned, and access sustainable resources of international and inter-industry partners. Utilities adopt a diversified strategy of balancing sustainable and traditional resources.<br/