Three Essays on Renewable Energy Policy and Its Effects on Fossil Fuel Generation in Electricity Markets

Three Essays on Renewable Energy Policy and Its Effects on Fossil Fuel Generation in Electricity Markets PDF Author: Eric Bowen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 85

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Three Essays on Renewable Energy Policy and Its Effects on Fossil Fuel Generation in Electricity Markets

Three Essays on Renewable Energy Policy and Its Effects on Fossil Fuel Generation in Electricity Markets PDF Author: Eric Bowen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 85

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Three Essays on U.S. Renewable Energy Policies

Three Essays on U.S. Renewable Energy Policies PDF Author: Shen Liu
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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This study investigates three issues on U.S. renewable energy markets. The primary objective is to describe how U.S. renewable energy policies affect solar photovoltaic (PV) and biodiesel industries. The first essay develops and estimates an analytical framework for assessing the optimal solar energy subsidy, which takes into account the environment, health, employment, and electricity accessibility benefits. Results indicate that an optimal subsidy is positively affected by the marginal external benefit. Calibrating the model, using published elasticities, yields estimates of the optimal solar energy subsidy equaling to approximately $0.02 per kilowatt hour when employment effects are omitted. The estimated optimal subsidy is in line with many current state feed-in-tariff rates, giving support to these initiatives aimed at fostering solar energy production. The second essay examines price volatility spillovers among U.S. crude oil, diesel, biodiesel, and soybeans based on weekly prices from 2007 to 2014. A univariate EGARCH model along with a DCC-MGARCH model are employed. The univariate EGARCH model provides evidence of double-directional price-volatility spillovers between biodiesel and soybean markets and between crude oil and biodiesel markets. Further there exists unidirectional price-volatility spillovers from the crude oil market to the soybean market and from the diesel market to the biodiesel market. The DCC-MGARCH model indicates time-varying conditional correlations among markets and the pairwise conditional correlations fluctuated from 2008 to 2009. The third essay investigates the effect of Poisson type policy jumps on biodiesel investment through the theory of investment under uncertainty. The analysis considers the probability of a policy being implemented if it is not in effect and the probability of it being withdrawn if it is in effect. As an application, the policy switching regime of the discontinuous federal tax credit of $1.00 per gallon on biodiesel is modeled as a Poisson jump process. Results support that time inconsistent government policies do lead to market uncertainty. The analysis reveals a pronounced negative impact on the decisions to invest in a biodiesel refinery.

The Power of Renewables

The Power of Renewables PDF Author: Chinese Academy of Engineering
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309160006
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
The United States and China are the world's top two energy consumers and, as of 2010, the two largest economies. Consequently, they have a decisive role to play in the world's clean energy future. Both countries are also motivated by related goals, namely diversified energy portfolios, job creation, energy security, and pollution reduction, making renewable energy development an important strategy with wide-ranging implications. Given the size of their energy markets, any substantial progress the two countries make in advancing use of renewable energy will provide global benefits, in terms of enhanced technological understanding, reduced costs through expanded deployment, and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to conventional generation from fossil fuels. Within this context, the U.S. National Academies, in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), reviewed renewable energy development and deployment in the two countries, to highlight prospects for collaboration across the research to deployment chain and to suggest strategies which would promote more rapid and economical attainment of renewable energy goals. Main findings and concerning renewable resource assessments, technology development, environmental impacts, market infrastructure, among others, are presented. Specific recommendations have been limited to those judged to be most likely to accelerate the pace of deployment, increase cost-competitiveness, or shape the future market for renewable energy. The recommendations presented here are also pragmatic and achievable.

Harnessing Renewable Energy in Electric Power Systems

Harnessing Renewable Energy in Electric Power Systems PDF Author: Boaz Moselle
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113652214X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
Reflecting its reliance on fossil fuels, the electric power industry produces the majority of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. The need for a revolution in the industry becomes further apparent given that 'decarbonization' means an increasing electrification of other sectors of the economy in particular, through a switch from gasoline to electric vehicles. Of the options for producing electric power without significant greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy is most attractive to policymakers, as it promises increased national self-reliance on energy supplies and the creation of new industries and jobs, without the safety and political concerns of nuclear power or the unproven technology of carbon capture and storage. Drawing on both economic theory and the experiences of the United States and EU member states, Harnessing Renewable Energy addresses the key questions surrounding renewable energy policies. How appropriate is the focus on renewable power as a primary tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions? If renewable energy is given specific support, what form should that support take? What are the implications for power markets if renewable generation is widely adopted? Thorough and well-evidenced, this book will be of interest to a broad range of policymakers, the electric power industry, and economists who study energy and environmental issues.

Three Essays on Policy Evaluations in Oligopoly Markets

Three Essays on Policy Evaluations in Oligopoly Markets PDF Author: Ziyu Guo (Ph. D. in environmental economics)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Corn products industry
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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This dissertation is composed of three chapters on policy evaluations in oligopoly markets. The first chapter compares effects of two main policies that support renewable energy development in the U.S. electricity market. The feed-in tariff (FIT) policy offers a guaranteed above-market price to renewable electricity firms by providing an extra government payment. The renewable energy certificate (REC) policy relies on the market mechanism. When associated with a renewable portfolio standard, the REC policy can provide a tool that rewards eligible renewable electricity firms financially. Using U.S. data, this chapter examines the effects of these two support policies in two multi-sector dynamic models, incorporating dynamic Nash equilibrium conditions between fossil fuel electricity firms and renewable electricity firms. The FIT policy results in a decline in production in the manufacturing sector and a fast change in consumer consumption behavior. Under the optimal feed-in tariff setting, investment in renewable energy is delayed. On the other hand, the REC policy ends with a stable increase in manufacturing production and household consumption. Green investment remains positive over time under the optimal renewable portfolio standard. The second chapter explores the dynamic impacts of trade policies in the international soybean market. In 2018, China responded to U.S. trade action by imposing a retaliatory tariff on U.S. commodity exports. Among the agricultural trade, soybeans account for the largest amount between United States and China. This chapter evaluates the counterfactual impacts of “Globalization” and “Trade War” on the soybean trade between two exporting countries, U.S. and Brazil, and one importing country, China, in a dynamic game model. This chapter introduces the state-owned enterprise behavior into the model. The results show that firms in U.S. and Brazil result in more soybean exports under the “Globalization” scenario. When there is a trade war between 2018 and 2021, firm in the U.S. exports much fewer soybeans to China because of the high tariff. The storage of the firm rises during the trade war to avoid profit loss. On the other hand, firm in Brazil benefits from the trade war and end up exporting more soybeans to China than usual. Our findings match the data during the trade war period. To explore the impacts of the trade in the international soybean market, we also build up a stochastic model and solve the feedback Nash equilibrium. The results show that firms tend to export more for the next period with higher initial storage levels when taking tariff uncertainty into account. The third chapter investigates the effects of demand shocks in the international corn market. Corn is the largest crop in terms of production and consumption in the United States. We introduce four exporters, U.S., Brazil, Argentina, and Ukraine, in a dynamic competitive storage model to explore the counterfactual effects under Globalization and High sustainability scenarios. We can also predict the impacts of short-term price shocks on the exports and storage in the four exporting countries. We conclude that U.S. and Argentina benefit more under “Globalization” than the other two countries. The change in U.S. ethanol demand induces the firms’ strategic behavior. With an increasing demand, firms stock up corns for future sale at a higher price. With a decreasing demand, firms deplete their stock at the beginning periods to avoid profit loss in future. In addition, the short-term price shock has different effects in four countries. We find that firms in U.S. and Brazil, with relatively higher storage amounts, are more sensitive to the price shock than Argentina and Ukraine, whose storage levels are less than 10% of their exports.

Renewables

Renewables PDF Author: Michael Aklin
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262534940
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
A comprehensive political analysis of the rapid growth in renewable wind and solar power, mapping an energy transition through theory, case studies, and policy. Wind and solar are the most dynamic components of the global power sector. How did this happen? After the 1973 oil crisis, the limitations of an energy system based on fossil fuels created an urgent need to experiment with alternatives, and some pioneering governments reaped political gains by investing heavily in alternative energy such as wind or solar power. Public policy enabled growth over time, and economies of scale brought down costs dramatically. In this book, Michaël Aklin and Johannes Urpelainen offer a comprehensive political analysis of the rapid growth in renewable wind and solar power, mapping an energy transition through theory, case studies, and policy analysis. Aklin and Urpelainen argue that, because the fossil fuel energy system and political support for it are so entrenched, only an external shock—an abrupt rise in oil prices, or a nuclear power accident, for example—allows renewable energy to grow. They analyze the key factors that enable renewable energy to withstand political backlash, andt they draw on this analyisis to explain and predict the development of renewable energy in different countries over time. They examine the pioneering efforts in the United States, Germany, and Denmark after the 1973 oil crisis and other shocks; explain why the United States surrendered its leadership role in renewable energy; and trace the recent rapid growth of modern renewables in electricity generation, describing, among other things, the return of wind and solar to the United States. Finally, they apply the lessons of their analysis to contemporary energy policy issues.

100% Renewable Energy Transition

100% Renewable Energy Transition PDF Author: Claudia Kemfert
Publisher: MDPI
ISBN: 3039280341
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Energy markets are already undergoing considerable transitions to accommodate new (renewable) energy forms, new (decentral) energy players, and new system requirements, e.g. flexibility and resilience. Traditional energy markets for fossil fuels are therefore under pressure, while not-yet-mature (renewable) energy markets are emerging. As a consequence, investments in large-scale and capital intensive (traditional) energy production projects are surrounded by high uncertainty, and are difficult to hedge by private entities. Traditional energy production companies are transforming into energy service suppliers and companies aggregating numerous potential market players are emerging, while regulation and system management are playing an increasing role. To address these increasing uncertainties and complexities, economic analysis, forecasting, modeling and investment assessment require fresh approaches and views. Novel research is thus required to simulate multiple actor interplays and idiosyncratic behavior. The required approaches cannot deal only with energy supply, but need to include active demand and cover systemic aspects. Energy market transitions challenge policy-making. Market coordination failure, the removal of barriers hindering restructuring and the combination of market signals with command-and-control policy measures are some of the new aims of policies. The aim of this Special Issue is to collect research papers that address the above issues using novel methods from any adequate perspective, including economic analysis, modeling of systems, behavioral forecasting, and policy assessment. The issue will include, but is not be limited to: Local control schemes and algorithms for distributed generation systems Centralized and decentralized sustainable energy management strategies Communication architectures, protocols and properties of practical applications Topologies of distributed generation systems improving flexibility, efficiency and power quality Practical issues in the control design and implementation of distributed generation systems Energy transition studies for optimized pathway options aiming for high levels of sustainability

Three Essays on Clean Energy Policies and Their Implications for Equity and Efficiency

Three Essays on Clean Energy Policies and Their Implications for Equity and Efficiency PDF Author: Arthur Lin Ku
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Clean energy industries
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Despite the hope for a greener future, energy and environmental policymakers should consider the impact of policies on the present distribution of income. This dissertation studies the effect of regional incomes on energy policy distribution, using three different markets and related policies as examples. The first paper focuses on the output side and investigates the income-distribution impacts of the California Electric Vehicle Rebate Program (CVRP). The second one studies how income distribution affects the observed net metering policy impacts among different income groups. The third paper studies the responses to vehicle ownership restriction policies throughout China's different regions.

Essays on the Economics of Energy Transition

Essays on the Economics of Energy Transition PDF Author: Gaurav Doshi (Ph.D.)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This dissertation studies the impact of energy policy on U.S. electricity markets and energy transition. The first chapter examines the impact of grid expansion on market power and emissions from fossil fuel firms in the short-run and the transition to wind energy in the long-run. For the empirical analysis, I use the rollout of a large-scale transmission expansion project in Texas that linked windy areas in the west to population centers in the east, costing $6.8 billion. Results show significant benefits due to declines in markups, emissions, and increases in wind investment. The payback periods range from 5 - 12 years and are much shorter than the previous estimates in the literature. In the second chapter, I study the effect of market structure on technology adoption in the U.S. solar and wind power industries. I compare adoption across two market types: restructured markets, which are designed to promote competition, and traditional markets, which are dominated by regulated monopolists. Solar projects in restructured markets are 24 percent less likely to adopt frontier technology, while the effect for wind projects is negative but statistically insignificant. I provide evidence that differences in financing costs across the two market types explain this negative relationship between competition and adoption. In the third chapter, I study the effect of transmission expansion on the cost of hedging risk in the wholesale electricity market. Market participants (generating firms, retailers, and financial traders) use forward contracts to hedge risk from price volatility in the market. I show that transmission integration in Texas significantly lowered the prices of these contracts, which translates to about $265 million worth of annual benefits in terms of lower cost of hedging risk. Further, I show evidence of greater market efficiency measured by the geographical convergence of prices across regions in Texas.

The Geopolitics of Renewables

The Geopolitics of Renewables PDF Author: Daniel Scholten
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319678558
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 347

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Book Description
Renewables are a game changer for interstate energy relations. Their abundance and intermittency, possibilities for decentral generation and use of rare earth materials, and generally electric nature of transportation make them very different from fossil fuels. What do these geographic and technical characteristics of renewable energy systems imply for infrastructure topology and operations, business models, and energy markets? What are the consequences for the strategic realities and policy considerations of producer, consumer, and transit countries and energy-related patterns of cooperation and conflict between them? Who are the winners and losers? The Geopolitics of Renewables is the first in-depth exploration of the implications for interstate energy relations of a transition towards renewable energy. Fifteen international scholars combine insights from several disciplines - international relations, geopolitics, energy security, renewable energy technology, economics, sustainability transitions, and energy policy - to establish a comprehensive overview and understanding of the emerging energy game. Focus is on contemporary developments and how they may shape the coming decades on three levels of analysis: · The emerging global energy game; winners and losers · Regional and bilateral energy relations of established and rising powers · Infrastructure developments and governance responses The book is recommended for academics and policy makers. It offers a novel analytical framework that moves from geography and technology to economics and politics to investigate the geopolitical implications of renewable energy and provides practical illustrations and policy recommendations related to specific countries and regions such as the US, EU, China, India, OPEC, and Russia