Klaus Skytte

Interactions between the power and green certificate markets

Abstract The current trend of liberalising the power markets is combined with ambitious deployment plans for power production based on renewable energy supplies. A new policy scheme to ensure this extension has been developed in the form of a green certificate system, with a politically determined target of deployment. In such a system, producers of renewably based electricity receive tradable certificates in proportion to the electricity they produce. The producer can thereby sell these certificates and receive additional revenue apart from the power price. This paper studies the price and consumption effects of such a system. With a simple model we show that the effects are ambiguous. This ambiguity is caused by the interaction between the two markets. Therefore, the green certificate system is difficult to manage if the State has parallel energy targets, such as a desired deployment of renewably based energy and a stabilisation or reduction of the energy consumption. In addition, this complicates the regulation through a deployment target of renewably based power production, as the regulator has to be aware of the different effects, which follow a specific target. Until now, these effects have not been considered in the analyses of the green certificate system when introducing the system, even though it might have considerable consequences for the success of the system.

Simultaneous attainment of energy goals by means of green certificates and emission permits

Abstract We discuss the analytical effects of introducing emission permits and green certificates and the corresponding quotas as regulatory mechanisms to, respectively, reduce emissions from electricity production and ensure a certain deployment of renewable energy. The different case studies in this paper show that both instruments can be used in order to reach an emission goal or a goal of renewable energy. However, the combination of these instruments and the way they are used, is shown to be important for the price faced by consumers. It is shown that the effect on the consumer price is not an unambiguous increase with the introduction of a green quota. There is a choice between quotas leading to a lower consumer price and quotas leading to a higher consumer price. As a result of this it is shown that it is always optimal to reach a renewable energy deployment goal by the use of green certificates. However, to reach an emission goal it is sometimes most favourable, with respect to consumer prices, to use green certificates and sometimes to use emission permits.

The regulating power market on the Nordic power exchange Nord Pool: an econometric analysis

Abstract What differentiates the structure of Nord Pool from other power exchanges around the world is the way the balance from the spot market is maintained until the actual, physical delivery takes place, via the regulating power market in Norway. This paper reveals the pattern of the prices on the regulating power market, by analysing the cost of being unable to fulfil the commitments made on the spot market. Some power producers with unpredictable fluctuations (e.g. wind) will need to buy regulation services. The disclosed pattern implies that these producers must pay a limited premium of readiness in addition to the spot price; this premium is independent of the amount of regulation. The level of the premium of readiness for down-regulation is shown to be strongly influenced by the level of the spot price. On the other hand, it is demonstrated that the premium for up-regulation is less correlated to the spot price. Furthermore, it is found that the amount of regulation affects the price of regulating power for up-regulation more strongly than it does for down-regulation. The disclosed cost of using the regulating power market is a quadratic function of the amount of regulation. This asymmetric cost may encourage bidders with fluctuating production to be more strategic in their way of bidding on the spot market. By using such strategies the extra costs (for example wind power) needed to counter unpredictable fluctuations may be limited.

Regulatory review and barriers for the electricity supply system for distributed generation in EU-15

When distributed electricity supply surpasses a particular level, it can no longer be ignored in planning and operation of the electricity networks. Therefore, improvements of the regulatory framework of the electricity networks are required along with the growth of the electricity supply from distributed generation. This paper reviews the current regulation of the grids with respect to distributed generation in EU-15 Member States and compares the different systems. Several barriers are identified

Market imperfections on the power markets in northern Europe: a survey paper

Abstract Up till now, most analyses of the northern European electricity liberalisation have assumed that a perfect competitive electricity market can be obtained. It has not been taken into account that a number of imperfections will inevitably occur – at least during the transition period. These imperfections can be technical, economic or tradition-bound, and can also have political characteristics. It is important to recognise and incorporate the market imperfections in the liberalisation policy and analysis. Otherwise, the purposes of the liberalisation and other energy policy goals may not be achieved. The aim of this paper is to survey market imperfections and their influence on the liberalisation processes in northern Europe.

Consumer Ownership in Liberalized Electricity Markets. The Case of Denmark

The continuation of consumer ownership has been an important part of the Danish electricity reform from 1999. Consumer ownership refers to either a consumer co-operative or a municipal utility. Contrary to conventional wisdom, consumer ownership can be supported by solid arguments from modern economic theory of organization. These arguments are presented and confronted with both present and future situation in Denmark. The development of the electricity supply industry after the Second World War has emptied consumer ownership of much of its original content. Nowadays, most consumers consider their electric utility as the (monopoly) supplier of a good they demand and not as something they own. Therefore, obligatory consumer ownership as specified in the new Danish Electricity Act of 1999 cannot be relied on to guarantee security of supply and reasonable prices for small consumers

Competition and Market Power in Northern Europe

This book focuses on the diversity of electricity reforms in Western Europe, drawing evidence from ten European Union memberstates plus Norway and Switzerland as associate members. The contributors analyse the various ways of introducing competition in the European electricity industries, and consider both the strategies of electricity companies and their behaviour in electricity marketplaces. They also offer an explanation of the differences of reforms by the institutions and the industrial structures of each country which shape the types of marketrules, industrial restructuring and public service regulations which have been adopted.

Barriers for district heating as a source of flexibility for the electricity system

The Scandinavian countries Denmark, Norway and Sweden currently deploy large amounts of variable renewable energy (VRE) sources, especially wind power. This calls for additional flexibility in the power market. The right coupling to the underlying national and local district heating (DH) markets can generate large amounts of flexibility. However, regulatory barriers and different energy market designs may hinder the potential benefits from system integration, and lower the potential that can be realized. The Scandinavian countries have a large extension of DH with a good potential for providing flexibility services to the electricity market. We survey and discuss regulatory barriers and drivers for exploiting this potential for flexibility. Combined heat and power (CHP) is widely integrated in the power market, but it is threatened by low electricity prices due to the increasing amounts of wind power. Power-to-heat technologies, electric boilers and heat pumps are blocked by high tariffs and taxes. A calculation of the heat costs of different DH technologies demonstrates that, under the present price and tax conditions in Denmark and Sweden, CHP and power-to-heat are unable to compete with heat-only boilers that use tax-free biomass.

Feasibility Study on HYSOL CSP

Abstract Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants utilize thermal conversion of direct solar irradiation. A trough or tower configuration focuses solar radiation and heats up oil or molten salt that subsequently in high temperature heat exchangers generate steam for power generation. High temperature molten salt can be stored and the stored heat can thus increase the load factor and the usability for a CSP plant, e.g. to cover evening peak demand. In the HYSOL concept (HYbrid SOLar) such configuration is extended further to include a gas turbine fuelled by upgraded biogas or natural gas. The optimised integrated HYSOL concept, therefore, becomes a fully dispatchable (offering firm power) and fully renewable energy source (RES) based power supply alternative, offering CO2-free electricity in regions with sufficient solar resources. The economic feasibility of HYSOL configurations is addressed in this paper. The CO2 free HYSOL alternative is discussed relative to conventional reference firm power generation technologies. In particular the HYSOL performance relative to new power plants based on natural gas (NG) such as open cycle or combined cycle gas turbines (OCGT or CCGT) are in focus. The feasibility of renewable based HYSOL power plant configurations attuned to specific electricity consumption patterns in selected regions with promising solar energy potentials are discussed

Market Prices in a Power Market with More Than 50% Wind Power

Denmark has the highest proportion of wind power in the world. Wind power provided a world record of 39.1% of the total annual Danish electricity consumption in 2014 with as much as 51.7% in Western Denmark. Many would argue that the present power markets are not designed for such high shares of wind power production and that it would be hard to get good and stable prices. However, analyses in this chapter show that the Nordic power market works, extreme events have been few, and the current infrastructure and market organization has been able to handle the amount of wind power installed so far. It is found that geographical bidding areas for the wholesale electricity market reflect external transmission constraints caused by wind power. The analyses in this chapter use hourly data from West Denmark—which has the highest share of wind energy in Denmark and which is a separate price area at the Nordic power exchange. Data have been collected from the last ten years and periods with extreme wind conditions are used as case studies to illustrate the robustness of our findings.