Francesco Gullì

Product and process innovation in the energy industry : the development of integrated tar gasification combined cycle plants (ITGCC)

The growth in the proportion of medium and light distillates in total petroleum product demand is forcing the oil refining industry to a process of supply adaptation by means of technological reconversion. In some countries this process is already advanced, while in others it is still at the starting point. As an alternative to technological reconversion, this adaptation may be achieved through the gasification of heavy refinery residues with electricity generation (ITGCC plants). The development of ITGCC plants represents product innovation and process innovation at one and the same time, for both the oil refining industry and the electricity sector. This article analyses the nature and importance of the innovation process itself, with emphasis on these aspects: its influence on the economic performance of oil companies and on directives concerning the technological transformation of refining systems; the competitiveness of the fuel cycle in terms of electricity generation cost and environmental impact; the prospects for future development in Europe and the construction programme in Italy.

Pollution Under Environmental Regulation in Energy Markets

1.Introduction and Summary.- 2. Pollution under Hybrid Environmental Regulation: the Case of Space Heating.- 3. Pollution under Environmental Regulation within Multi-period Auctions: the Case of Electricity Markets.- 4. Pollution under Imperfect Competition in Vertical Related Energy Markets.

Bilancio della liberalizzazione del mercato dell'elettricità e del gas in Italia: 1999-2009

Ten years after the liberalization of the electricity and gas market in Italy it is possible to draw an evaluation of the achievements. The three key objectives of the single market mentioned in the original proposal of the European Commission have been achieved differently in the power market and in the gas sector. The exchanges with foreign countries has increased in the gas sector, but not in the electricity. The security of supply in both sectors has grown thanks to the investments. The price for final consumers has two parts: the competitive and the regulated one. The industrial component has only marginally decreased. Instead the costs for network utilization diminished more sensibly due to regulator intervention. The convergence of Italian prices compared to those in Europe was more modest in the electricity than in the gas sector. The industrial structure in both sectors has changed a lot. Much more players are operating now and the degree of concentration in all segments fell. This announces an increase in competition. Finally, there was a significant international opening both because some Italian companies have made significant investments abroad and because many foreign companies, especially European, are now present in the Italian energy market.

Economie di scala e dimensione ottimale nella distribuzione del gas: una meta-analisi

Questo articolo analizza la letteratura sulle economie di scala nelle industrie di distribuzione del gas e dell’elettricita. In particolare viene costruita una meta-analisi che consente di stimare la probabilita che vi siano o meno rendimenti di scala crescenti. Il lavoro mette in luce che le economie di scala nella distribuzione del gas sono relativamente deboli. Esiste una probabilita del solo 15% che si abbiano economie di scala significative. Inoltre si evidenzia come la scala ottimale delle imprese si attesti su valori relativamente bassi, circa 50.000 utenti.

Investments projects in natural gas distribution in Italy: A model of social cost-benefit analysis

The territory of Italy is divided into 177 distribution areas each of them will be auctioned. The regulation of these tenders requires to integrate the economic and technical offers with specific social cost-benefit analyses (CBA) proving the benefits of the different proposed investments in natural gas distribution facilities. This paper proposes an original method to carry out such a social cost-benefit analysis taking into account the different typologies of investments and namely projects to connect new customers, projects to increase security of supply, projects to improve service quality and finally investments to reduce the risk of severe accidents. An overall formula is also proposed in order to account for the possible combinations of the projects mentioned above.

Economia e tecnologia del teleriscaldamento: alcune riflessioni

This article focuses on district hearing and especially on CHP (Combined heat and power generation) district heating. In particular, the author aims at highlighting the real technological and economic nature of this kind of energy supply. This in order to check how useful heat delivered to final consumers is priced. Three basic topics are analyzed. Firstly, the author focuses on technological issues. Secondly, he investigates the structure of CHP costs in order to understand whether this activity is a natural monopoly and/or whether inter-fuel competition is effective enough. Finally, the author discusses about the need of pricing regulation.

Taxation within Electricity Auctions with Dominant Firm

This paper gives an additional contribution to the literature on environmental policy under imperfect competition. It aims at exploring how imperfect competition can affect the performance of environmental policy. The focus is on pollution taxes and power generation which is a particularly interesting case for three reasons. First it is one of the most important environmentally regulated markets. Second the demand for electricity varies cyclically over time (for example on hourly basis). Third the pricing mechanism is a multi-period and multi-unit first price auctions. The main finding of the analysis is that, looking at the entire demand cycle, it is very unlikely (virtually impossible) that under imperfect competition taxation could increase emissions although, according to a part of the current literature, in principle pollution may increase in the short-run within specific cycle periods. Moreover this may happen under specific and unlikely conditions although, unlike what this literature suggests, large asymmetry of firms and extreme curvature of demand are not strictly necessary.

The competitiveness of nuclear energy in an era of liberalized markets and restrictions on greenhouse-gas emissions

The competitiveness of nuclear energy in an era of liberalized markets and restrictions on greenhouse-gas emissions - The debate on the benefits of nuclear energy revolves around the very competitiveness of this energy source. This article tries to show why it is not easy to answer unambiguously the question whether or not it is convenient to resort to nuclear power in a given country. After listing the factors on which the cost of electricity generation rests and discussing the range of probability of their value, the levelized cost of electricity generation from nuclear, coal and gas-fired plants is calculated using the Monte Carlo method. The results show that nuclear power is likely to be competitive, especially if policies to combat CO2 emissions will continue in the coming decades. There are, however, some margins of uncertainty, mainly related, to the one hand, to the cost of nuclear plants, that depends on the socio-institutional context, and on the other, to the fossil fuels cost, that are inherently difficult to anticipate even on average. Finally it is noted that the context of liberalized electricity markets may make it more difficult for investors to accept the risk of investing in nuclear power plants and for the community to socialize some of the costs associated with this technology. Key words: Nuclear energy, generation costs, Montecarlo method, environmental impacts. JEL classifications: G11, H23, L72, L94, Q31, Q40