Edited by: Mariusz Ruszel, Tomasz Młynarski, Adam Szurlej
Energy Policy
Transition
The Perspective of Different States
Energy Policy Transition –
The Perspective
of Different States
Edited by:
Mariusz Ruszel
Tomasz Młynarski
Adam Szurlej
Ignacy Lukasiewicz Energy Policy Institute
Rzeszów 2017
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public
License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0): Authors
Technical correctors: MSc Wojciech Pączek, MSc Maciej Sznajder and Katarzyna Rozmus
Reviewers:
Władysław Mielczarski, Full Professor, Lodz University of Technology
Piotr D. Moncarz, NAE, Adjunct Professor, Stanford University
Cover design: Aku Studio
Publisher:
Ignacy Lukasiewicz Energy Policy Institute
www.instytutpe.pl
ISBN: 978-83-946727-2-0 (e-book)
ISBN: 978-83-946727-3-7 (paperback)
Publishing sheets: 17
The “Energy Policy Transition – Perspective of Different States” project was financed as
part of contract 882/P-DUN/2016 with resources provided by the Minister of Science and
Higher Education for the promotion of scientific activity.
Contents
Abbreviations..........................................................................................................
5
Part I. Energy policy transition
Chapter 1 - Introduction (Michał Kurtyka) ...........................................................
9
Chapter 2 - The concept of energy transition (Tomasz Młynarski, Adam
Szurlej, Mariusz Ruszel) ................................................................................ 28
Chapter 3. Electromobility as a new segment of the economy (Mariusz Ruszel,
Adam Szurlej) ................................................................................................ 38
Chapter 4 - The role of fossil fuels in energy transition (Lidia Gawlik) ............... 51
Chapter 5 - Prospects for RES and nuclear energy in the process of energy
transition (Tomasz Młynarski) ...................................................................... 66
Chapter 6 - Energy eficiency (Tomasz Mirowski) ................................................ 77
Chapter 7 - Storage of electrical and thermal energy (Tomasz Mirowski,
Mariusz Filipowicz) ....................................................................................... 89
Chapter 8 - The role of exchanges and hubs on contemporary gas markets
(Marcin Sienkiewicz) .....................................................................................102
Part II. Energy transition in selected states
Chapter 9 - Energy Policy Transition – the German perspective (Nicole Kaim-Albers, Mariusz Ruszel) ................................................................................117
Chapter 10 - Energy transition in France: towards green development
(Tomasz Młynarski). .......................................................................................135
Chapter 11 - Energy Transition in Great Britain (Marta Krajewska) ....................146
Chapter 12 - Energy transition in Poland (Lidia Gawlik) ......................................171
Chapter 13 - Energy transition in Austria (Anna Kucharska) ...............................183
Chapter 14 - Energy transition in Switzerland (Anna Kucharska) ........................197
Chapter 15 - Energy transition in the USA (Rafał Jarosz) .....................................212
Chapter 16 - Energy transition in Denmark (Yingkui Yang, Jingzheng Ren) .......227
Chapter 17 - Energy transition in Italy (Andrea Prontera) ....................................244
Chapter 18 - Energy transition in Slovakia and the Czech Republic (Matúš
Mišik) ..............................................................................................................259
4
Contents
Conclusion ..............................................................................................................270
References...............................................................................................................276
List of charts, tables and igures.............................................................................296
Authors ...................................................................................................................299
Abbreviations
ACEEE – American Council for an Energy–Eficient Economy
AEC – Adverse Effect on Competition
ATES* – Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage
BAT – Best Available Techniques
BBC – Bâtiments basse consommation
bcm – Billion cubic metres
BEIS – Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
BEPOS – Bâtiments à énergiepositive
BETTA – British Electricity Transmission and Trading Arrangements
BTES* – Borehole Thermal Energy Storage
CAES – Compressed Air Energy Storage
CCAs – Climate Change Agreements
ccm – catalyst coated membrane
CCS – Carbon Capture and Storage
CCT – Clean Coal Technologies
CERT – Carbon Emissions Reduction Target
CESP – Community Energy Saving Programme
CM – Capacity market
CMA – Competition and Markets Authority
DAM – Day–Ahead Market
DNTE – Débat national sur la transition énergétique
DOE – United States Department of Energy
EC – European Commission
ECCC – Energy and Climate Change Committee
ECO – Energy Company Obligation
EDF – Électricité de France
EEOSs – Energy eficiency obligation schemes
EFET – European Federation of Energy Traders
EIA – Energy Information Agency
EJ – Exajoule
EMR – Electricity Market Reform
ENR – Bureau for Energy Resources
EEA – European Economic Area
ERO – Energy Regulatory Ofice
ESCO – Energy Service Company
ETS – European Union Emission Trading Scheme
EU – European Union
FES – Future Energy Scenarios
FTI – Strategie der Bundesregierung für Forschung, Technologie und Innovation
GB – Great Britain
GDP – Gross Domestic Product
6
Abbreviations
GHG – Green House Gases
GSE – Gestore dei Servizi Energetici
GW – Gigawatt
GWh – Gigawatt hour
HTS – High–TC Superconductors
ICT – Information and Communication Technology
IDM – Intra Day Market
IEA – International Energy Agency
INDC – Intended Nationally Determined Contributions
IRENA – International Renewable Energy Agency
J – Joule
kW – Kilowatt
kWh – Kilowatt–hour
LNG – Liqueied Natural Gas
Mtoe – Million Tonnes of Oil Equivalent
NAO – National Audit Ofice
NBP – National Balancing Point
NEEAP – National Energy Eficiency Action Plan
NEP – Neue Energiepolitik
NYMEX – New York Mercantile Exchange
OECD – Organization for Economic Co–operation and Development
Ofgem – Ofice of Gas and Electricity Markets
OPEC – Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
OTC – Over–the–counter
RES – Renewable energy sources
P2G – Power to Gas
PCM – Phase change materials
PJ – Petajoule
POM – Politische Massnahmen
PV – Photovoltaics
PwC – PricewaterhouseCoopers
QER – Quadrennial Energy Review
R&D – Research and Development
REMIT – Regulation of 25 October 2011 on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity
and Transparency
SMR – Small Modular Reactors
TGC – Tradable Green Certiicate
TPA – Third–Party Access
TSO – Transmission system operator
TWh – Terawatt hour
UAE – United Arab Emirates
UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNO – United Nations Organization
UTES* – Underground Thermal Energy Storage
UPS – Uninterruptible power supply
V2G – Vehicle to Grid
WWB – Weiter wie bisher
*Underground storage technologies
Part I
Energy policy
transition
Chapter 1
Introduction
Michał KURTYKA1
The concept of “transition” is already deeply rooted in the vocabulary of energy management, and the aim of this book is to present
it in all its many facets. The book is not an attempt to assess or compare the ways chosen by the world’s largest economies to achieve their
visions of energy transition. Without passing unnecessary judgments,
this volume covers the different roles energy sources play in the process, showing the diversity and multiplicity of various “transitions”.
It describes what is happening in countries such as Germany or Denmark, which have made energy transition a priority, but we also look
at the likes of Great Britain, France and Italy who are combining traditional and renewable energy production methods, while also making
reference to Central European countries such as Austria, Slovakia,
and the Czech Republic.
I think as you explore the abundance of data and detailed descriptions contained in this volume, you will ind yourselves pondering
questions about the nature of the process that we have decided to call
“energy transition”. Is it a mere result of “dispassionate” technical progress? Is it more the effect or the cause of the changing ways of thinking
about energy? We are used to approaching national energy strategies
as determined mostly by technical (i.e., apparently objective) conditions. And for obvious reasons they may not ignore objective laws of
Michał Kurtyka, PhD, Deputy Minister of Energy, Ministry of Energy, Plac Trzech
Krzyży 3/5, 00-507 Warsaw
[email protected]
Opinions expressed in the book by Michał Kurtyka, PhD are his personal views and
not the oficial stance of the Ministry of Energy.
The author would like to thank Professor Leszek Jesień, Professor Konrad Świrski,
and Ms Monika Morawiecka for comments to the text.
1
10
Michał KURTYKA
physics. However, they are also a powerful tool for communicating
values which have great importance to our communities. Energy systems are also dependent on the political and cultural environments in
which they are embedded. Moreover, they are inspired by industrial
strategies and they develop platforms for these strategies: friendly for
some, deadly for others. Assuming a broader perspective, while reading
this book it is worth asking ourselves whether we are “merely” experiencing the erosion of the previous energy paradigm, embodied in
energy transition, or whether we should also question the traditional
framework of reference through which we analyse energy strategies.
Actually, there is more and more evidence to suggest that the classic
energy trio (competitiveness, security of supply and environmental
protection) is not enough to understand all that is going on in the world
of energy. A new trio is emerging: social expectations, technological
changes and industrial policy. This new set in some ways enhances
the old, but in others it might actually be coming to replace it.
The sources of energy transition involve a breakthrough in each
element of the “new trio”. Firstly, it is a question of the ultimate goal
of economic development, asked by the citizens of developed economies, providing the background for much debate. There is growing
public disapproval of the inluence civilization has on our surroundings, our natural environment and our climate. Developed societies
are becoming more and more sensitive to environmental matters.
Secondly, we are witnessing the emergence of new technologies which
involve sourcing energy from water, wind or sunlight. They no longer
require fossil fuels, using natural forces instead. Thirdly, being less
visible to external observers yet equally fundamental are countries’
industrial strategies suring on the wave of these new technologies
and trends. With the help of pioneers in technological breakthroughs,
modern countries are creating markets for their solutions using the
regulatory instruments of the state, hoping that the increased scale
and accumulation of competencies on a national level will help them
secure a globally competitive advantage.
Mass individualization and robotisation are about to became the
driving forces of the post-industrial era. In wealthy economies, human
work and labor-intensive “tailoring” are being displaced by uniform
products using common basic features, where production is becoming
Introduction
11
more and more automated. Individualization can and is becoming the
object of industrialization. Fads come and go; modifying and ixing
products is unproitable, so they are becoming increasingly disposable, matching instead consumers’ rapidly changing tastes. The life
cycle of most products is becoming increasingly shorter.
When applied to the energy industry, a new dynamic is emerging
in which all elements of the new trio work to reinforce each other.
The compact character of renewable home installations means that
dispersed energy corresponds perfectly well to the idea of energy
democratization. Up till now, the technologically advanced, conventional methods of energy production required the knowledge and
competence of many people. And then economies of scale ensured
the supply of relatively cheap energy. More capital-intensive renewable technologies provide opportunities for research and development.
This is occuring today at the expense of a rise in the per-unit cost of
energy production, inanced by subsidies. But wealthy communities
are agreeing to incur these higher costs in return for a move away from
fossil fuels, believing that future energy production methods will have
less impact on our climate than the two previous centuries of industrial
development. In the future, robotization, the drive towards standardization and shorter life cycles of industrial products may reduce the
cost of producing and then installing standardized renewable energy
technologies in millions of homes. Are they going to become the object
of mass consumption? Who knows, perhaps now that the age of great
industrial undertakings and associated wide-scale energy production
facilities is coming to an end, the future might involve a new form of
“disposable energy production installations”? If so, then the triple cycle
will conclude. After lengthy investment efforts, wealthy communities
may become even wealthier, feeling they have done well for the planet,
and energy production technologies may become more standardized
(and maybe ultimately also cheaper). In any way, the energy industry will become thoroughly renewable and renewed at the same time.
As a result of the three above-mentioned factors, the most common understanding of energy transition (supported by communities’
expectations) is the political will to move away from centralized use
of fossil fuels towards diversiied energy generation using renewable
resources. This process is accompanied by the growth of new branches
12
Michał KURTYKA
within the industry.2 The community-technology-industry trio thereby
aims to became a self-propelled spiral of growth. Nowadays, it is rising at the expense of an increase in the unit price of energy, so in
order to limit the inevitable rise of costs of energy consumption in the
economy, energy transition thus is accompanied by policies aimed at
increasing energy eficiency.3 Modernity, dating back to the Renaissance, should no longer be tantamount to incessant growth (growth in
terms of the wealth, consumption, production, life expectancy etc.) but
also encompass self-limitation. We would now like our future growth
to be compatible with a reduction in energy usage.
The European Union has set itself one of the most ambitious goals
in terms of energy transition. The objective is to ensure its position
as world leader in renewable energy production and to ight global
warming by reducing greenhouse gas emission by between 80% and
95%.4 The project is widely supported, both by the governments of EU
member states and (predominantly) by Western European societies
and industries.5 At a time when Europe no longer claims a position of
global dominance, energy transition is becoming one way to maintain
European leadership, not in political or military, but in moral terms.
The EU is the most active advocate of the setting of planetary goals
and ambitions through climate protection, believing this to be the best
way to ind new sources of economic and industrial growth. France’s
newly elected president Emmanuel Macron responded to Donald
Trump’s decision to pull the USA out of the Paris Agreement with the
words “Make our planet great again”, thereby not only paraphrasing
the American President’s electoral slogan, but also echoing what many
Europeans believe is a shared responsibility to protect the future of our
Relationships between energy strategy and industrial strategy are illustrated by
the example of the situation in Austria and the United States.
3
The concept of energy transition is deined in detail in another chapter. Its description presented above is supplemented with the component of social expectations and
the resultant political will of departure from fossil fuels towards renewable ones.
4
See e.g., 2050 Energy Strategy, http://ec.europa.eu/energy/en/topics/energy-strategy-and-energy-union/2050-energy-strategy (accessed: 20.08.2017).
5
I. Jakuszko-Dudka, Energiewende - konsensus społeczny, a nie fanaberie [Energiewende: a social consensus, not a whim], http://cse.ibngr.pl/wp-content/uploads/
cse-iwona_jakuszko-dudka-energiewende-konsensus_spoleczny_a_nie_fanaberia.
pdf (accessed: 19.08.2017).
2
Introduction
13
world. Energy transition serving climate ambition has given Europe
a new direction, not only in terms of a local but also global narrative.
Its central motif is the move aware from fossil fuels: the symbol of
caring for the environment, the expression of responsibility wealthy
communities have to care for those with fewer resources, especially
where climatic and economic, or even existential, challenges collide.
This is the case in places such as the Paciic Islands, whose gradual
erosion due to rising sea levels is the most common example of climate warming and its dire results.
As already mentioned, climate concern involves the belief, popular
with European consumers, that economic growth of the industrial age
was not always in line with due care for the environment and contemporary capitalism, being focused solely on satisfying consumer needs,
disregards the natural resources that it exploits. The common goal of
energy transition originates from generations of experience, making
common activity meaningful, and serving as a factor which strengthens communities both politically and morally. This global ambition
has been symbolically relected in the language of our western neighbours. Energiewende, the German term for energy transition, is based
around the word “Wende” which literally means a dramatic 180 degree
turn, and was used with reference to the collapse of the Berlin Wall
and the comprehensive evolution of Germany following its reuniication. This linking of energy transition with German reuniication
carries a profound historical and civic message.
However, despite the relatively broad historical and philosophical
ambitions communicated in this way, for many European countries
the ight against climate change – both at civil and governmental level
– is at heart about replacing fossil fuel based energy production with
new technologies which use wind, sunlight, waste, biomass and water.
Coal, which for many symbolises a bygone age of industrialisation, is
publicly condemned in narratives connected with energy transition in
Europe. Hence, decarbonization has become the central pillar of the
Energy Union (the equivalent of a European energy strategy). Coal is
the only one of all the fossil fuels to have become labelled as “dirty”,
thus becoming the symbol of “bad” industrialization in the eyes of the
public. Even the seemingly positive search for “clean coal” technology
implies a problem: the cleaner the coal of the future, the dirtier the
14
Michał KURTYKA
coal of today. The gas industry has succeeded (although we might ask
whether this success is only down to them, and what role has been
played by national interests) in making us believe that gas, whose
combustion emits half as much carbon dioxide as coal, deserves the
popular label of “clean”: after all, gas is colloquially referred to as “blue
fuel”. As a result, the ambition of energy transition has narrowed to
attempts at eliminating coal, and any discussion about gas has been
quietly disregarded, attributing this form of fuel a “transitional” character. Crude oil, responsible for the third remainder of carbon dioxide
emissions due to its use by the transport sector, has been practically
ignored, even though combustion engines have ten times the power
of that installed in the production of electric energy.6
Challenges to European energy transition
The European concept of energy transition understood and developed in this way still leaves questions to be asked. The new “trio”
comes up against barriers which originate in the preceding trio. Social
expectations, renewable technologies and new industrial strategies
must try hard to maintain competitiveness, ensure security of supply
and a global environmental balance.
First of all, given the knowledge we have now, unifying the system of
energy provision in all European countries using renewable resources
is an unprecedented challenge in terms of expenses and materials.
Effective delivery of such a transition is a very complex undertaking.
It involves a number of factors, such as the country’s unique features,
its geographical location, size and potential for the development of
renewable energy sources, its previous way of developing its energy
mix, its willingness to incur extra costs, and so on. Not all countries
can develop hydropower like Sweden, Norway or Austria, because not
all have the necessary environmental conditions. Few are lucky enough
to have an abundance of sunlight, like Spain or Portugal. The size of
the country is not unimportant if its ability to produce energy from
renewable energy sources (such as wind or sunlight) per 1 m2 of surface
area (so-called power density) is several orders of magnitude lower
6
In the EU, crude oil has already been eliminated as a fuel from which electricity is
produced (see chapter on the role of fossil fuels in energy transition).
Introduction
15
than that of conventional sources. This means that in order to ensure
suficient energy for more and more urbanized mankind, centralized
wind and photovoltaic farms require huge areas for their development.7 In other countries, such as Poland, the historical energy path
has been dominated by a single fuel. Poland has not witnessed even
a symbolic development of nuclear energy, such as in neighbouring
countries with a similar history (e.g., the Czech Republic, Slovakia or
Ukraine). The Polish mix is dominated by that much-maligned fuel –
coal. From the point of view of the above-mentioned European energy
ambition, this is a huge challenge, especially as its historical experience means Poland attaches great importance to issues of energy and
geopolitical security connected with autonomous energy supplies, not
only in terms of resources but also of technology. As a result, it is one
of the most energy-independent states in the EU.8
If Energiewende has allowed Germany to install more than 50 GW
wind power and 40 GW photovoltaic power, it has come at an extremely
high price. A German consumer adds as much money to production
from renewable sources as an American pays for their whole energy
bill. Calculated using averaged wholesale prices, the aggregate annual
value of the German market of electricity production is less than €20
billion, while subsidies for renewable sources are €25 billion. German
decision makers are concerned about how much it costs to run a system fully based on renewable sources9, in spite of its many positive
aspects. In the case of Germany, we should remember that despite
very robust economic growth, the demand for electricity is not going to
increase as spectacularly. There are considerable surpluses of production capacities, while 80% of Germans are willing to continue paying
extra money for energy transition. They also approve of the idea of
cross-subsidizing industries: an average German worker pays twice
as much for their electricity at home as the company they work for. In
R. Wilson, The Future of Energy: Why Power Density Matters, http://www.theenergycollective.com/robertwilson190/257481/why-power-density-matters (accessed:
20.08.2017).
8
Polish power sector getting the facts straight, http://www.pkee.pl/upload/iles/
Unpopular_facts_about_polish_power_sector[10].pdf (accessed: 20.08.2017).
9
Renewables versus fossil fuels - comparing the costs of electricity systems, https://
www.agora-energiewende.de/ileadmin/Projekte/2016/Stromwelten_2050/Agora_
Gesamtkosten-Stromwelten-EN_WEB.pdf (accessed: 20.08.2017).
7
16
Michał KURTYKA
comparison, Poland’s demand for energy is quickly growing (especially
at peak summer levels), while energy production facilities built in the
60s, 70s and 80s are slowly coming to the end of their lives, and it is
necessary to either create new installations of energy production or
thoroughly modernize the old. Besides, costs for the industry, especially energy-intensive branches, are already quite high, and in the
case of households, the share of energy costs in family budgets is one
of the highest in Europe.
Thus, while shaping European energy policy, we should not assume
that the technical conditions of its implementation will be the same
everywhere, nor that all the communities are ready to shoulder similar costs in energy transition. For some, the share of energy expenses
in family budgets has reached its limit. Poland, with its 10% share, is
currently in a much more dificult situation than Germany with 5%,
so there is serious objection to transferring the costs of energy transition to the end customer here.
Secondly, the way in which renewable installations are working
means that in the foreseeable future they will not be able to function
independently. Even though the sun stops shining each day, and the
winds don’t always continue blowing, the energy needs consumers
have are there to be matched, and the need to balance demand and
supply makes it necessary to maintain a parallel system, in which
conventional energy sources and storage facilities serve a back-up
role. The German system of energy production delivers one third of
its total energy demand from renewable sources at the expense of not
only double, but 250% of its generating capacity. Despite this dual and
expensive system, it is impossible to achieve a share of production
higher than that. There are periods when wind do not blow in large
areas, and the nights remain long.
In this context, a further increase in how much energy is meant
to be produced using renewable sources may not be the only solution.
It is necessary to search for other options. Many people believe these
can be found through effective use of lexibilities, called the “new paradigm of energy transition”.10 It includes transitional use of traditional
Zrozumieć Energiewende. Najczęściej zadawane pytania dotyczące transformacji energetycznej w Niemczech [Understanding the Energiewende. FAQ on
the ongoing transition of German power system], Agora Energiewende, https://
10
Introduction
17
production capacities as complementary sources, but focuses mainly
on maximising the potential for collaboration between countries (i.e.,
because of the complementary character of weather conditions), energy
storage, as well as educating consumers about the beneits of reduced
usage (in other words demand management11).
There is a belief that complementary weather conditions in different parts of Europe may offer a solution to the problem.12 If there
is no wind in Poland, perhaps it is blowing instead in Portugal or
Scotland? True, in Europe the distribution of wind and sunlight is varied, but due to the size of the system and the need to simultaneously
extend industrial lines it is unrealistic to think that such a system
would be able to satisfy Europe’s energy demand. Also projects such
as combining a Scandinavian hydroelectric power station battery with
the European system, or producing solar energy for Europe in the
Sahara desert, are too complex to consider as solutions which satisfy
total European demand. Carrying out such projects would require
favourable political conditions and the extension of transmission and
distribution networks in Europe beyond what is conceivable today.
The same social dynamic which resists traditional methods of producing electricity underlies the heated opposition to the extension
of networks used to transport it. It is one of the greatest dilemmas
of European energy transition, which is focused on ways of producing energy, not the means of its delivery. The problem is that the
extension of renewable energy sources in Europe does not involve
expanding transmission and distribution lines. For instance, the
high wind capacities in northern Germany are not connected with
customers (most of whom are commercial) traditionally located in
the south of Germany. The construction of such lines was strongly
opposed by activists and local communities. Consequently, when
there is a lot of wind activity, in accordance with Kirchhoff’s laws,
a large part of the generated energy lows out via Poland, the Czech
Republic and Austria to then loop back and reach users in Bavaria.
These loop lows (known also as transit, carousel or unplanned lows)
www.agora-energiewende.de/ileadmin/Projekte/2015/Understanding_the_EW/
Agora_Understanding_the_Energiewende_PL_WEB.pdf (accessed: 20.08.2017).
11
Ibidem.
12
Ibidem.
18
Michał KURTYKA
destabilize European energy systems, especially the Polish system,
burdening it with extra costs and limitations.13 We had to confront
this problem when on the 10th of August 2015 the Polish Transmission
System Operator was forced to announce restrictions for thousands
of industrial customers. One factor of power insuficiency in the
system was the fact that due to wind conditions, only 100MW out
of a possible 4000MW of generating power in wind sources in the
National Energy System was being produced. Simultaneously, renewable sources in the north of Germany produced electricity, sending it
via Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria to the south of Germany.
Transmission lines in Poland were blocked with the transmission of
idle energy, at least from the point of view of Polish customers. Loop
lows made intervention import impossible and added to the burden
of the Polish production system. This situation is going to worsen
unless a dynamic extension of both transmission and distribution
networks occurs along with the appearance of millions of individuals simultaneously consuming and producing energy at home. We
are facilitating the emergence of a hybrid producer and consumer a new entity we call “prosumers”.
Many hope that consumers will turn out to be lexible enough to
allow a shift towards energy production from RES. There is certainly
much left for us to do in this respect. Customers, or users – as they
tended to be called by energy enterprises until quite recently – used
to be severely neglected. The power sector was too focused on itself
and its technological perfection to be inclined to provide space for
active customers. Along with liberalization and digitalization, this
is changing very quickly. There is great potential on the part of consumers to optimize their consumption of energy and reduce its costs.
Doubts, however, persist: are we not expecting too much of these
future recipients? Is the vision of millions of active customers, or even
prosumers, participating in the energy market en masse, instantly
adjusting their consumer behaviours to the dynamically changing
conditions in the system (including prices), not too ambitious? Is it
The problem of inability to channel all the wind power from north Germany has
its very concrete cost as well. For example, in 2015, one billion euros was spent on
subsidies for wind capacities which could not be accepted by the system. As a result,
the produced energy was wasted.
13
Introduction
19
not utopian to think that they will actively secure their production
proile with storage capacities or balance it with traditional entities?
Offering consumers the opportunity to engage in market activity
does not mean – taking into account the way the market works, requiring constant attention, involvement as well as reasonable knowledge
and competence – that consumers will really be that active. Many experiences with differentiated day, night and weekend tariffs, including
tests in Poland, show that some users never become actively involved;
instead, they simply expect a stable power supply and reasonable prices.
Although today it is not dificult (from a technological point of view)
to achieve energy savings, and there are many interesting support
schemes, these are not as popular as one could expect. It seems we need
to look for answers not in the very opportunities related to energy, but
in comparisons with alternative choices ordinary people face every day.
If a monthly electricity bill is as much as several hundred zlotys, more
than 10% of savings (which, relatively speaking, is a lot) must compete
with the opportunity to save – or even earn – a similar amount another
way. In attracting people’s attention, energy must compete with housing, food, transport, children and so on, especially considering that in
a country like Poland for most households the electricity bill is separate from that for heating (or gas). Any attempt to convert everyone
into active players is complicated, and it remains unclear whether raising the price of energy and thus helping focus public attention on this
problem would be the best way of solving it.
In turn, the vision of millions of self-suficient customers is not
compatible with maintaining current electricity networks. Although
a self-suficient prosumer is the dream and ultimate goal of energy
transition for many, for network operators this is the one sureire way
towards extinction. The more prosumers leave the network, the more
others will have to pay to sustain it. The higher the charge for the network, the higher the motivation others will have to leave too. It will
not be in anyone’s interest to maintain networks connecting millions
of prosumers. As a result, either the network costs will be partially
covered by the consumers who have left, or they will be inanced centrally, through taxes. Or else the network will just collapse. If it does
disappear, the question arises whether a mosaic of unconnected individual installations is compatible with energy security. Do we really
20
Michał KURTYKA
want a jigsaw puzzle of energy autarchies, in which each user takes
care of their own electricity and is unconnected with others?
It seems we are not ready for such extremes. In an age when our civilization is totally dependent on electricity, the privatization of energy
security is very risky. For many years, the state will feel the need to
be its guarantor, for example due to the growing importance of electricity in maintaining critical infrastructure, securing cyber security
and data bases, not to mention hospitals, schools, nurseries and so
forth. Thus, if the costs of maintaining networks are transferred to
the state, we return to the question of the total social cost of energy
transition, because ultimately the bill will be footed by the community.
Therefore, looking for independence through individual installations will be in opposition to maintaining the common system of
security, especially regarding electricity networks.14 As far as we are
able to foresee, networks will have to continue functioning and even
evolving, hence their cost will grow. Freeing users by equipping them
with the instruments to produce their own energy should not prevent
us from looking for ways to develop, as well as for new roles for the
established energy industry, both in terms of production and transmission networks. European energy transition, as the outcome of social
expectations regarding new renewable technologies and industrial
strategies, is already challenging two of the three vertices of the traditional energy triangle: the costs of energy and the security of supply.
With respect to the last vertex of the traditional energy triangle,
i.e., environmental protection, the overall picture is mixed, also many
very positive things happened. Certainly, after decades of investing in
better (and increasingly expensive) environmental standards, Europe
can boast much better quality of air, water and soil than newly industrialized countries such as China or India. However, it goes on ignoring
some of the environmental consequences of its activity and evading
inconvenient questions. Most importantly, the notion of decarbonization in Europe has carefully ignored the second most important
source of carbon dioxide emissions: the transport sector. In some
cases, activities were undertaken which were – as we have recently
found out – counter-productive from the point of view of air quality
This dificulty may be illustrated by the decision made by Belgian regulators to
considerably raise networking fees for prosumers who use photovoltaics.
14
Introduction
21
protection, such as promoting diesel engines. Turning a blind eye to
real vehicle emissions was an encouragement to fraudsters and cartels. Instead of reducing nitrogen compound emissions which cause
smog, automotive concerns focused on manipulating emissions measurements. But without accepting the challenge connected with this
sector, it will be impossible to combine political aspiration with its
technical implementation in Europe, or to combine the global challenge
of climate protection with the local challenge of protecting air quality.
The issue of eliminating crude oil from energy production in European countries has only gained in importance recently. It may be
argued that this has mostly happened for reasons beyond our grasp.
After more than 100 years of stagnation, electric cars are regaining
popularity. This was irst of all caused by rapid development in battery
technologies, largely thanks to more and more miniaturized individual
electronic devices (telephones, computers etc.), leading to a spectacular
fall in lithium-ion cell prices. But we also need to remember that it is
persistent dependence on hydrocarbons importations that motivated
the United States to make systemic efforts aimed at reducing it. The
combination of Americans’ inancial capabilities and entrepreneurship has already resulted in a revolution of shale gas and oil, which is
transforming the USA from a structural importer to the largest producer or even exporter of these resources. We are now witnessing
another revolution, that of electric cars. For California, the leader in
this ield, the electric car is something more than a new business; it is
a manifestation of the views about the climate and our planet. When
President Donald Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement, Elon
Musk did not hesitate to instantly withdraw himself from the president’s advisory team, posting on Twitter: “You quit Paris, I quit you”.
This gesture will surely be very well received by his investors and clients, many of whom are from California.
Following the pioneering success of Tesla, America’s e-mobility
revolution is coming to Europe. It is driven by both the spectacular
development of electric battery technologies and the dramatic crisis among leading European car producers (its extent still not fully
known). Nothing can justify the organized fraud perpetrated by
some of Europe’s biggest automotive manufacturers. Europe, with
a century-old tradition of intellectual capital relating to combus-
22
Michał KURTYKA
tion engines and the ability to defend its lagship industries, has no
reasons to further delay the energy transition of its transportation
systems. In understanding correctly the growing role of electro-mobility in energy transition, we are devoting an entire chapter of our
book to the topic.
Additionally, the ambition to eliminate carbon dioxide from the
European economy has had some unintended side effects. The European industry is facing not only higher and higher costs of energy
supply but also higher uncertainty. We are seeing the appearance of
a phenomenon called “carbon leakage”, which in practice causes the
inhibition of investment processes in many European energy-intensive
industries. Regulatory solutions, such as subsidies for energy-intensive industries, question the principles of honest competition in the
European Union. They also face cost barriers. When no other solutions are available, governments resort to chaotically patching up
gaps. For example, at the beginning of 2016 the British government
declared it was ready to buy as much as 25% of shares in the manufacturing facilities owned by the metallurgic concern Tata (located in
Great Britain), so as to encourage potential buyers of its steelworks,
put up for sale by their Indian owner.
As a result of carbon leakage, the discrepancy between CO2 emission
and CO2 consumption per capita in wealthy countries is deepening.15
In many cases, estimates show that the reduction in greenhouse gases
emission per capita is not really caused by the eficiency of local energy
management systems, but rather by the transfer of emissions.16 Statistically, the share of Europe in global GHG emission is decreasing.
Soon, it is even going to drop below 10%, but this is accompanied by
D. Clark, New data on imports and exports turns map of carbon emission on
its head, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/datablog/2011/apr/28/carbon-emissions-imports-exports-trade (accessed: 21.08.2017); CO2 emissions are
being ‘outsourced’ by rich countries to rising economies,
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/19/co2-emissions-outsourced-rich-nations-rising-economies (accessed: 21.08.2017).
16
Taking an example from North America, the city of Vancouver: the difference
between communicated numbers of CO2 reduction and estimated consumption is
considerable: 4.5 vs 19 tons of CO2 equivalent a year. See: J. Petrie, Our post-truth
culture and greenwash, https://pl.scribd.com/document/147478414/Our-PostTruth-Culture-and-Greenwash (accessed: 21.08.2017).
15
Introduction
23
the growth and increasing industrialization of non-European economies: instead of domestic emissions, Europe imports them as a ready
product. The import is often from countries where lower environmental standards apply, which leads to a global increase in harmful
emissions. The share of high-emission industries in European economies is reduced, which is especially negative for a country such as
Poland, where industrialization is a considerable carrier of growth
and afluence.
Also, taking into consideration total carbon dioxide emissions, gas
may prove to cause more emissions than coal. In direct combustion,
the ratio of CO2 emission is 1:2, gas being the fuel with lower emission.
But if we take into account the whole cycle, from extraction, processing and transport via gas pipelines and by LNG carriers, through to
delivery to the end customer, the losses are so huge that they exceed
the beneits.17 If gas is a more emission-intensive fuel than coal, it may
shatter the hopes connected with its “transitional” role.
Energy transition in Poland
– “Energy Available For All”
In turning to the speciic topic of Polish energy transition, we must
begin by setting boundary conditions involving the Polish structure of
energy production, the technical condition of the national transmission system, geographical and geopolitical conditions, as well as the
maturity of technological development and technological limitations.
As mentioned before, it is hard today to talk about a universal path
to meeting climate objectives as part of national commitments, common to all member states of the European Union. Despite the active
policy of many countries, it is impossible to implement uniied solutions in all EU countries. If the economy of Germany has the inancial
capability to accept this challenge, and the vast majority of residents
accept its consequences in spite of growing electricity bills, it does
not mean the same will occur in other countries. So what should be
the response of Poland, a country which is lat, more northern than
G. Vaidyanathan, Leaky Methane Makes Natural Gas Bad for Global Warming,
https://www.scientiicamerican.com/article/leaky-methane-makes-natural-gasbad-for-global-warming/ (accessed: 19.08.2017).
17
24
Michał KURTYKA
southern, rich in coal, but developing rapidly while aiming to further
increase the share of manufacturing in its GDP?
Since the beginning of systemic and economic transformations in
the early 1990s, Poland has been on a path of very intensive transformation and modernization. This has resulted in a 33% reduction in
the emission of greenhouse gases, so emissions per capita are lower
than in Germany, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands or Finland. The
energy-intensity of the economy has dropped by half. The 1990s was
a period of very intensive reductions in harmful emissions: approximately 50% less sulphur and nitrogen oxides, and over 90% reduction in
dusts.18 This dynamic is still true: in the period 2005-2014, the Polish
energy sector was further reducing oxides emissions: 53% less sulphur
and 27% less nitrogen.19 Wind energy was developing very quickly, and
generating capacities exceeded Denmark (6,000 MW). In the coming
years, new, highly eficient coal installations are going to be incorporated into the National Electricity System, built using supercritical
technology, ensuring eficiency of approximately 46% in places such
as Kozienice, Opole, Jaworzno and Ostrołęka. New gas blocks have
been or are going to be launched soon in Gorzów, Włocławek, Płock
and Stalowa Wola. All these are elements of Polish energy transition
which clearly reduce environmental impact and increase lexibility
within the system.
Further evolution of the Polish energy industry is inevitable, given
EU and international obligations, as well as the ambition of sustainable and innovative development of the economy. The choice of tools
and measures should strengthen the competitiveness of the economy
and foster the creation of new opportunities and sectors.
Therefore, Polish energy transition is about evolution, not revolution. What matters is that it occurs in a proactive way, following
a speciic order of priorities which may change over time. After a period
of very intensive investments in a huge environmental programme,
it is now of key importance that we ensure the lowest cost of energy,
M. Kurtyka, Od restrukturyzacji do modernizacji. Opóźniona transformacja polskich przedsiębiorstw energetycznych w latach 1990-2009 [From restructuring
to modernization. Late transition of Polish energy enterprises in the 1990-2009
period], CeDeWu, Warsaw 2013.
19
Polish power sector ... op. cit.
18
Introduction
25
continue activities aimed at securing uninterrupted supply and further limit both environmental and climatic impacts – in this very
order of importance.20
Security will be ensured by production capacities, which will not
only cover the increase in the future demand for energy, but will be
adjustable in terms of production proile to the peaks of load, also
whenever weather-dependent wind and photovoltaic energy fail to
produce. In the choice of technology, it is necessary to combine high
performance, lexibility and environmental parameters. The challenge
is how to reduce so-called “low emissions” (due mostly to individual
heating devices and transport), especially in medium and small towns,
where the quality of air is still substandard. Hence the pressure for
the development of heat distribution networks, especially cogeneration, allowing the use of a single unit of primary energy in two ways: to
produce electricity and to produce heat. Thanks to lower night tariffs,
electrical heating should also gain in popularity. All this must be done
with the intention of ensuring the lowest cost of energy for the system.
Energy must be affordable, both for domestic and commercial buyers.
Energy available for all is also energy that brings people together
and animates local communities. We can now see a change in business models. The original model of a centralized energy system where
power plants, built for the needs of heavy industry in rapid development, were located near mines and factories is being supplemented by
a more decentralized model with multiple dispersed energy sources.
Therefore, it is worth assisting the formation of local energy clusters
where combining different technologies producing synergy and opening the space for lower scale innovations will be the asset. This is a way
to fully use the spectacular drop in prices of renewable technologies
we are witnessing nowadays (the lowest price in the irst half of 2017
in Germany was €42/MWh), whereas centrally controlled systems
of support dedicated to single technologies have replaced the idea
of the local dimension of the energy industry and its optimization.21
L. Jesień., M. Kurtyka, New Electricity and New Cars, The Future of European
Energy Doctrine, CeDeWu, Warsaw 2016.
21
Nordex: niemiecki rynek wiatrowy na mieliźnie [Nordex: the weakness of German
wind energy market], http://www.cire.pl/item,149670,1,0,0,0,0,0,nordex-niemieckirynek-wiatrowy-na-mieliznie.html (accessed: 21.08.2017).
20
26
Michał KURTYKA
Actually, full use of opportunities resulting from varied technologies
requires bottom-up initiative and creativity. Ample opportunities are
to be found in the optimization and harmonious synergy between different technologies.
Regarding new business models, we need to focus on demand
management. Creating demand for energy supplies is desirable, both
for economic eficiency and system security. Implementing solutions
which make it possible to regulate the intake in real time is encouragement for customers to change their behaviours. The overall effect
will be proportional to the maturity of the customer, whose usefulness for the optimum functioning of the system will be higher if they
have better access to information and know how to use it. Its energy-saving and economically rational use of energy will have beneicial
effects for the whole energy system. Summarising, Poland has ambitions to become a country which knows where its opportunities lie
and pursues them in a pioneering way. In this context, the development of e-mobility appears particularly attractive as a practical way
of following global trends and suring new needs and sectors. There
is much evidence to prove that the impact of Tesla on the automotive
industry will be comparable to that the iPhone had on the cell phone
market. It will redeine the automotive sector, and previous players
will have to radically transform their strategies if they want to maintain their advantage. Ensuring full technical readiness and economic
availability of electric cars is one of the current Polish government’s
lagship projects. Its goal is to have a million electric cars on Polish
roads by the year 2025.22 Batteries which are becoming cheaper and
more powerful may be the key tool in this transition. If lithium-ion
batteries reach the price of 100 dollars per 1 kWh and energy density
of 300-400 Wh per kilogram in the years 2020-2022, as the Department of Innovation and Technology Development in the Ministry
of Energy predicts23, it will make electric vehicles more and more
popular. Electric cars backed up by a widespread energy production
Elektromobilność [Electromobility], Ministerstwo Energii, http://www.me.gov.
pl/Innowacyjnosc/Elektromobilnosc (accessed: 21.08.2017).
23
Quoted in the article Electrifying everything. After electric cars, what more will
it take for batteries to change the face of energy?, The Economist, https://www.
economist.com/news/brieing/21726069-no-need-subsidies-higher-volumes-andbetter-chemistry-are-causing-costs-plummet-after (accessed: 18.08.2017).
22
Introduction
27
infrastructure is the way to satisfy active consumers. If we can ind
a way to make this combined system cooperate with the public electricity network, Poland’s energy transition will ensure both dynamic
mobility and energy distribution.
Energy available to all is at the heart of Poland’s energy transition process. By ‘available’ we mean affordable, easy to understand
and access in ways which are essential to optimum usage, as well as
being widely accessible across the whole country (including the needs
of transport and mobility). Finally, it must be available in any weather
conditions, and in the case of technical emergencies, affecting either
individual installations or even the technology itself. Today, availability also means that regulatory activities must not burden the energy
industry with costs incurred by households’ and companies’ budgets
even more than they do now. This is an ambitious, but highly worthwhile task.
Chapter 2
The concept of energy transition
Tomasz MŁYNARSKI24, Adam SZURLEJ25,
Mariusz RUSZEL26
The concept of transition is naturally associated with innovation
and new technologies. For millennia, mankind was developing relatively
slowly, until the 17th century satisfying their energy demands mostly
with the use of wood (biomass) combustion energy, wind energy, or
water energy (water wheel). The 21st century is a time of energy transition deined as a transition from fossil fuels to zero emission or low
emission energy sources. Sustainable development, which results in
the formation of sustainable economies, will in the long run lead to
considerable, and in some cases even complete, replacement of coal,
oil, and natural gas with renewable energy sources (RES) in the energy
mix, both in terms of individual countries and the global structure
of energy consumption. Energy production from renewable energy
sources is one of the most prospective foundations of ecology and
energy modernization.27 It is especially evident in the European Union.
According to data from EWEA, in 2015 the greatest power increase
Tomasz Młynarski, PhD, Associate Professor in Jagiellonian University,
Faculty of International and Political Studies, Institute of Political Studies and
International Relations, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, e-mail: tomasz.mlynarski@
uj.edu.pl
25
Adam Szurlej, DSc, Eng., AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty
of Drilling, Oil and Gas, Department of Gas Engineering, Kraków, e-mail: szua@
agh.edu.pl
26
Mariusz Ruszel, PhD, Department of Economy of the Faculty of Management,
Rzeszow University of Technology, e-mail:
[email protected]
27
T. Młynarski, M. Tarnawski, Źródła energii i ich znaczenie dla bezpieczeństwa
energetycznego w XXI wieku [Energy sources and their importance for energy
security in the 21st century], Diin, 2016, pp. 223-226.
24
The concept of energy transition
29
occurred in wind power plants (12,800 MW, which was 44.2% of the
total increase of new power in the EU) and power plants using solar
energy (8,500 MW, accounting for 29.4%). These two energy technologies are also going to dominate in the near future. Analyzing the scale
of increase of generating capacities of wind power plants in 2015, the
highest increase was traditionally observed in Germany: 6,013 MW.
Germany is the country with the highest generating capacity of wind
power plants in the EU and it is followed by Poland with 1,266 MW.28
Deinitions of energy transition
A narrow deinition of energy transition is: change from the current
energy system using non-renewable energy sources (fossil fuels) to an
energy system mostly based on renewable sources. Therefore, it is an
important element of the ecological approach in the energy industry,
involving gradual replacement of exhaustible hydrocarbons and uranium fuel with RES in almost all areas of human activity (transport,
industry, energy sector, heating, etc.). Factors that promote the development of renewable energy are technological advancement, growing
competition, and an appropriate policy of support, especially in countries such as the USA, India or China. Besides, more and more countries
intend to develop renewable energy so as to reduce the impact of the
traditional energy sector on the environment, diversify energy supplies, and enhance their own energy independence.29
In a broader sense, energy transition is identiied as the popularization of low-emission energy sources on the basis of low-emission
and effective (energy saving) technologies of energy production. One
element of energy transition is the development of the idea of energy
saving, which means an improvement in energy eficiency in different
sectors of industry and services (i.e., insulation and thermomodernization, energy-saving lighting, cogeneration – generating heat and
energy at the same time and energy recovery in industrial processes).
Research carried out by Ludger Gailing and Timothy Moss shows
that energy transition applies to four aspects: institutional change,
Wind in Power: 2015 European statistics, EWEA, 2016; www.ewea.org
The Medium-Term Renewables Market Report, Market Analysis and Forecasts
to 2021, International Energy Agency, Paris 2016.
28
29
30
Tomasz MŁYNARSKI, Adam SZURLEJ, Mariusz RUSZEL
material aspect, power and space.30 In the irst aspect, energy transition means the need of institutional collaboration leading to better
understanding of the social context of energy transition and the development of a relevant strategy.31 The second, material aspect leads to
the conclusions that energy may not only be generated from fossil
fuels or RES, but also e.g. from waste processing (waste to energy)
or improving energy eficiency.32 The third plane, referring to power,
shows that different actors clash at the local and regional level, often
representing different interests connected with energy projects that
follow the concept of energy transition.33 The fourth aspect, related
to space, highlights that local, regional and national spatial planning
plays a signiicant role in the process of energy transition, as it is
directly related to the location of new investments.34
Energy transition vs sustainable development
The concept of energy transition is also connected with sustainable
development, which can be deined in two ways: as a process of development (e.g. of countries) that unconditionally combines the needs of
today’s generation with the ability to satisfy the needs of future generations.35 The other deinition of sustainable development is: a chain of
changes in which the use of resources, the structure of investments, as
L. Gailing, T. Moss, Conceptualizing Germany’s Energy Transition, Palgrave
Macmillian, London 2016, pp. 4-7.
31
S. Becker, R. Beveridge, A. Röhring, Energy Transition and Institutional Change:
Between Structure and Agency [in:] L. Gailing, T. Moss, Conceptualizing Germany’s Energy Transition, Palgrave Macmillian, London 2016.
32
T. Moss, S. Becker, L. Gailing, Energy Transitions and Materiality: Between Dispositives, Assemblages and Metabolisms [in:] L. Gailing, T. Moss, L. Gailing, T. Moss,
Conceptualizing Germany’s Energy Transition, Palgrave Macmillian, London 2016.
33
A. Bues, L. Gailing, Energy Transitions and Power: Between Governmentality
and Depoliticization [in:] L. Gailing, T. Moss, Conceptualizing Germany’s Energy
Transition, Palgrave Macmillian, London 2016.
34
S. Becker, T. Moss, M. Naumann, The Importance of Space: Towards a Social-Material and Political Geography of Energy Transition [in:] L. Gailing, T. Moss,
Conceptualizing Germany’s Energy Transition, Palgrave Macmillian, London 2016.
35
W. Sztumski, Idea zrównoważonego rozwoju a możliwości jej urzeczywistnienia [The idea of sustainable development vs the possibility of its implementation],
Problemy Ekorozwoju, vol.1, 2006, p. 73.
30
The concept of energy transition
31
well as the direction of technological advancement and institutional
structures must prevent discrepancies between present and future
needs.36 The idea of sustainable development is mentioned in several
national and international legal or political documents. In Poland, it is
referred to in Article 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland.37
Energy eficiency and renewable energy are regarded as twin pillars of sustainable energy policy. Ecological modernization of the
economy through technological innovations is to ensure progress in
the achievement of environmental goals and industrial progress (sustainable development).38 Energy transition – not only the transition of
the energy sector – is centralized, proportional to the development of
an international regime of counteracting climate change, and is based
on radical changes in energy policy, i.e. transformation from centralized to decentralized and prosumer production (dispersed production
installation). It is worth emphasising that low and very low capacity
units (so-called mini and micro cogeneration) have recently appeared
on the market. They are characterized i.a. by simple installation and
short time of investment performance. These characteristics, as well as
the module character of the devices, make them an attractive alternative to large energy producers.39 Thus, it is ecology-energy transition,
which allows the separation of economic growth from pollution emission. In social sciences related to energy, scientiic debate is going on
concerning energy transition.40 It is emphasized that thinking in the
categories of “transition” leads to understanding how new and innoReport from the UN World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED),
1987.
37
A. Pultowicz, Przesłanki rozwoju rynku odnawialnych źródeł energii w Polsce
w świetle idei zrównoważonego rozwoju [Reasons for the development of renewable
energy sources market in Poland in the light of the ides of sustainable development], Problemy Ekorozwoju – Problems Of Sustainable Development, vol. 4, No 1,
2009, pp. 109-115.
38
Cf.: L. van Schaik, S. Schunz, Explaining EU Activism and Impact in Global Climate Politics: Is the Union a Norm- or Interest-Driven Actor?, JCMS, Journal of
Common Market Studies , 2012, Vol. 50. No. 1, p. 178.
39
E. Mokrzycki (ed.), Rozproszone zasoby energii w systemie elektroenergetycznym [Dispersed energy resources in electricity system], Wyd. Instytutu Gospodarki
Surowcami Mineralnymi i Energią Polskiej Akademii Nauk, Kraków 2011, pp. 7-8.
40
S. Strunz, The German Energy Transition as a Regime Shift, “Ecological Economics“ no. 100, pp. 150-158.
36
32
Tomasz MŁYNARSKI, Adam SZURLEJ, Mariusz RUSZEL
vative technologies can develop a more sustainable society. According
to Robert B. Laughlin, in the future, people will prefer to live with
clean air, water and natural environment.41 This means that energy
transition should take into account the needs of civil society in terms
of reducing the negative inluence of the energy sector on the natural
environment. This is especially important given that the energy sector
is the main source of greenhouse gases emission. In Poland, energy
transition is associated with the hope for lower emissions of different
air pollutants, because according to the report of the European Environment Agency of 2016, the level of air pollution in Poland is very high
(Poland is second in terms of the concentration of particulate matter
PM10 in the air, and irst in terms of benzo[a]pyrene).42 The report of
the Supreme Chamber of Control of 2014 also conirms that Poland
has the most polluted air out of all EU countries.43
Energy transition as a lever for economic
development
Energy transition understood as conversion towards a sustainable
development economy does not only promote environmental protection, but also – in the long run – will enhance the competitiveness
of the economy, providing thousands of jobs and improving people’s
quality of life. Modernization of energy industry gives an advantage to
regional and global regimes of CO2 emissions reduction based on modern, low-emission energy technologies. Energy transition will support
the development of industry and employment, attract investments for
sustainable, innovative and low emission technologies, which improves
the competitiveness of industry. Adapting the energy sector to climate
change is becoming a catalyst for the modernization of economies
(new branches of the economy are emerging, which stimulate employment). Energy transition is a great opportunity to promote economic
R. B. Laughlin, Powering the Future, Basic Books, New York 2011, p. 5.
Air quality in Europe — 2016 report, European Environment Agency, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2016, pp. 29-48.
43
Informacja o wynikach kontroli: ochrona powietrza przed zanieczyszczeniami
[Information on the outcome of control of air pollution protection], Najwyższa Izba
Kontroli, Warsaw 2014.
41
42
The concept of energy transition
33
interests based on stimulating economies through the establishment
of new eco-jobs and the export of low carbon emission technologies.
Increasing the share of alternative energy sources in the total energy
balance of a country and improving energy eficiency does not only
help improve energy security, but also gives some economic beneits
through ensuring competitive advantage connected with the use and
export of modern energy technologies reducing GHG emission. In the
future, the potentially signiicant rise in the price of the right to emit
greenhouse gases will enforce even greater proitability of preferred
technologies supporting low emission economies. Energy transition
thus means the formation of a more competitive low emission economy; environmental protection including the reduction of greenhouse
gases and the prevention of biodiversity loss; the implementation of
new, climate-friendly technologies of energy production and intelligent
networks for its transmission (Smart Grid); and educating consumers
The effect is economic stimulation, creating new jobs, and promotion
of the development of local communities. Therefore, energy transition links economic growth and respect for the natural environment
by reducing the growth of energy demand, by developing competitive
renewable energy sources and other low emission energy carriers,
in particular alternative fuels used in transport, and by improving
competitiveness connected with the production of clean energy and
rational energy use (eficiency based on innovative technologies).
Thus, it integrates three goals: improvement of energy security (stability of supply from domestic energy sources), development of new
branches of a “green economy” (increase in competitiveness and GDP),
and eco-technological modernization of energy production processes
(eco-jobs). This way, environmental goals are connected with economic goals, and the policy of ecological energy transition achieves
economic goals.44
It is commonly assumed that new technologies lead to reducing
energy dependence on fossil energy resources through more effective
use of or departure from such resources in favor of the development
of renewable energy based on natural use of sunlight, wind energy,
river course and geothermal energy. We also need to remember energy
44
T. Młynarski, M. Tarnawski, Źródła energii i ich znaczenie [Energy sources and
their importance]... op. cit., p. 203.
34
Tomasz MŁYNARSKI, Adam SZURLEJ, Mariusz RUSZEL
technologies that allow the combustion of fossil fuels in an environmentally clean way. Whereas the dynamic growth of importance in
RES in the energy balances of different countries, regions, or the
world, is certainly true, we need to remember that about 77% of electricity globally is produced from fossil fuels. In the case of Poland,
because of its having substantial (with regard to Europe) resources of
hard coal and lignite, the share of those fuels in electricity production
in 2015 was 86% and was one of the highest in the world. Therefore,
CCT (Clean Coal Technologies) are expected to be the main direction of development towards clean energy technologies in Poland. We
should remember that clean energy technologies using fossil fuels are
related to high investment expenditure and higher operating costs
than technologies used currently. Among other things, this is due to
the costs of installation of CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage). With
the current assumptions of EU energy policy, it seems that apart from
economic factors, ecological aspects will also play an important role
in making decisions on the choice of technology of electricity production.45 The signiicance of ecological aspects is proved, not only
by EU regulations, but also by the provisions of the 21st Conference
of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which took place in December 2015 in Paris. The Paris
Agreement was signed by Poland on April 27, 2016, in the UN headquarters in New York. Accepting the agreement will be connected with
efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. But it should be stressed that the way
of achieving this goal is determined by each country independently.46
However, the crucial issue in achieving the goals of the agreement
is probably the change in the energy sector, which is the main source
(at least 2/3) of greenhouse gases emission.47 It is important to see the
variety of locations of fossil energy resources, as well as geographical potential enabling their use in renewable energy industry. Taking
D. Kryzia, L. Gawlik, M. Pepłowska, Uwarunkowania rozwoju czystych technologii wytwarzania energii z paliw kopalnych [Determinants of the development
of clean technologies of energy production from fossil fuels], Polityka Energetyczna
– Energy Policy Journal, vol. 19, part 4, 2016, pp. 63-74.
46
B. Zaporowski, Zrównoważony rozwój źródeł wytwórczych energii elektryczne
[Sustainable development of electricity production sources], Polityka Energetyczna
– Energy Policy Journal, vol. 19, part 3, 2016, pp. 35-48.
47
World Energy Outlook 2016, International Energy Agency, Paris 2016, p. 35.
45
The concept of energy transition
35
into account the fact that the energy balance structure is different in
each country, the process of energy transition in the countries will
also differ. This results from the fact that globally the governments
of each country have retained the greatest rights to shape national
energy policies. The situation is the same at the EU level, because
Article 4 section 2 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union (TFEU) provides that competencies in the area of energy are
shared between member states and EU institutions.48 The diversity of
energy transition in different countries not only refers to the potential
connected with geographical conditions and resource potential, but
also to the diversity of R&D specialization in each economy. Doubtless, climate policy, which has become the catalyst for implementing
new technologies in the energy sector, will have a signiicant impact on
energy transition processes, but global energy infrastructure should
be strengthened in parallel with this process. Currently, it is evident
that in many countries considerable investments in new capacities of
renewable energy do not correspond to the speed of development of
investments in electricity infrastructure. Broad application of renewable energy requires the stabilization of electricity networks ensured
currently by conventional energy. This means that appropriate spatial planning is necessary, even more so because the process of energy
transition increasingly applies to the transport sector, which is one of
the most high emission sectors of economy. The process of modernization of the energy sector should strengthen sustainable transport
through the development of global electromobility. Energy transition
and the increase in importance of RES in the energy balances of each
country are closely connected with the problem of energy storage.
Recently, energy storage technologies (e.g., power-to-gas) have been
developing, which enables the conversion of energy surplus to a form
of energy that is easier to store and transport (e.g., hydrogen). The consequence of these activities will be a gradual reduction in countries’
oil import dependency and greater use of electricity in the automotive industry. Globally, this will allow many economies to save some
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (consolidated text, OJ EU C
326/47.
G. Moens, J. Trone, The political institutions of the European Union, “Commercial
Law of the European Union”, Springer, Netherlands, 2010, pp. 26–27.
48
36
Tomasz MŁYNARSKI, Adam SZURLEJ, Mariusz RUSZEL
inancial resources, which – if they are used properly – may become
a source of inancing new investments, improving energy eficiency
and optimum use of energy resources even more. 49 A similar process can occur in the area of construction, where modern materials
are now used which allow the construction of energy-saving passive
houses. We need to stress that innovation resulting from energy transition also involves a change of tendencies and a departure from old
business models in favor of decentralized ones, and the formation of
local energy clusters combining different technologies and aiming
at synergy between them.50 For this reason, energy transition is not
only technological innovation, but also regulatory innovation of the
energy sector on the global scale.51 The process of energy transition
will not only lead to protecting the natural environment, but irst of
all, to creating new jobs and enhancing energy security.52
Analyzing data of the International Energy Agency of 2015, we may
conclude that energy transition is already a fact. The upward tendency
of CO2 emissions related to the energy sector came to a halt in 2015,
mostly as a result of lowering the energy intensity of the global economy by 1.8%, connected with accomplishments in energy eficiency
and higher use of low emission energy sources all over the world, especially renewable energy sources. Maintaining the decrease of GHG
emissions in the following years will enable countries to meet their
climate obligations as part of the Paris Agreement. Recently, the drop
in oil and natural gas extraction investments (the highest within nearly
seventy years) has been accompanied by growth in investments in the
sector of clean energy technologies by approximately 1.8 trillion USD
“In 2012 Poland imported almost 25 million tonnes of oil, of which 95 percent
came from Russia, for over 15 billion euro”. See L. Jesień, M. Kurtyka, New Electricity and New Cars. The Future of the European Energy Doctrine, CeDeWu,
Warsaw 2016, p. 118.
50
M. Kurtyka, presentation at the National Scientiic Conference “Polityka energetyczna UE - ilary i perspektywa rozwoju” [EU energy policy: foundations and
prospects of development], Rzeszów 25-26.04.2016.
51
K. Steinbacher, M. Pahle, Leadership by Diffusion and the German Energiewende.,
“SSRN Electronic Journal”, 2015, http://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2565313
52
D. Tänzler, S. Wolters, S., Energiewende und Außenpolitik: Gestaltungsmacht
auf dem Prüfstand, “Zeitschrift für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik”, no. 7(2), 2014,
pp. 133–143.
49
The concept of energy transition
37
a year. On the other hand, the value of subsidies for the consumption
of fossil fuels fell to 325 billion USD in 2015 from almost 500 billion
in 2014. This signiicant reduction is the result of lower prices of fossil fuels and reforms of fuel subsidizing in many countries.53
Data from the market of renewable energy also proves energy transition. Globally, in 2015, RES installations accounted for more than
half of new generating capacities (153 GW, i.e., 15% more than in 2014,
including 63 GW more in wind energy and 49 more in solar energy).
The IEA estimates that within ive years, RES will be the quickest
developing source of electricity, and their share will grow up to 28%
in 2021. In 2015, the share of RES was 23%. The IEA forecasts that in
2021 the costs of technology will be reduced by 25% in photovoltaics
and by 15% in land wind energy.54
Energy transition is also a comprehensive change in the way of
thinking about and perception of the energy sector. The perception of
the process with reference to the energy sector should be interpreted
much more broadly than merely the replacement of fossil fuels with
renewable energy.
World Energy Outlook 2016, International Energy Agency, Paris 2016.
The Medium-Term Renewables Market Report, Market Analysis and Forecasts
to 2021, International Energy Agency, Paris 2016.
53
54
Chapter 3
Electromobility
as a new segment
of the economy
Mariusz RUSZEL55, Adam SZURLEJ56
The transport sector has one of the highest shares in the total consumption of energy in different countries and is mostly based on the
use of fuels produced from oil: different kinds of gasoline and diesel oil. Due to its very uneven distribution, the majority of countries
need to import oil. It is worth emphasizing that in EU countries the
dependence on oil and oil derivatives import is the highest out of all
fuels, and is growing: 2005 – 82.1%, 2014 – 87.4%.57 That is why the
popularization of electric cars, i.e., the development of electromobility,
is regarded to be a new segment of the low emission economy, which
will contribute to a revolution in the automotive industry. However,
the subject of electromobility is not new: as early as 1881, Gustav
Trouvé presented the irst battery for an electric vehicle.58 That was
more than 100 years ago, and nowadays there is still global discussion
on the development of different forms of electric vehicles (e.g., battery electric vehicle – BEV, range-extended electric vehicle – REEV,
Mariusz Ruszel, PhD, Department of Economics of the Faculty of Management of
the University of Technology, e-mail:
[email protected]
56
Adam Szurlej, DSc, Eng., AGH University of Science and Technology, Faculty
of Drilling, Oil and Gas, Department of Gas Engineering, Kraków, e-mail: szua@
agh.edu.pl
57
Eurostat: Energy, transport and environment indicators – 2016 edition. Luxembourg, p. 48.
58
M. Bertram, S. Bongard, Electromobilität im motorisierten Individualverkehr.
Grundlagen, Einlussfaktoren und Wirtschaftlichkeitsvergleich, Springer Vieweg,
Wiesbaden 2014, p. 1.
55
Electromobility as a new segment of the economy
39
hybrid electric vehicle – HEV, plug-in hybrid electric vehicle – PHEV,
fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle – FCHEV).59
Barriers to the development of electromobility
Analyzing how this sector of economy develops in time, we can see
that the speed of the development is connected with the need to overcome certain barriers, which lead to the inhibition of developmental
processes. The barriers can be classiied as political, economic, technical and social.
It seems that the main political barrier causing poor development of electric cars so far has been, on the one hand, the lack of will
to make political decisions in different countries, and on the other
hand, the lack of appropriate instruments, including strategic documents at the national level of the world’s biggest economies, as well
as at the level of international organizations. Moreover, the largest
international oil industry corporations that have invested considerable inancial resources in deposits of energy carriers, as well as
countries rich in oil, have been lobbying to use fossil fuels in transportation. This means that so far there have been no coordinated
global political processes to allow the implementing of electromobility globally. Obtaining the relevant political will and making certain
decisions would help create appropriate instruments of support for
electric vehicles. Especially important will be the political activity of the United States of America (USA) and People’s Republic of
China (PRC), because these countries have a huge inluence on the
world’s economy and are the biggest consumers of energy carriers.
In addition, trends set by these countries will contribute to adopting
certain strategic documents at the level of international organizations, i.e., the International Energy Agency (IEA), United Nations
Organization (UNO) and the European Union, which is a potential
and afluent market for electric cars with its 500 million citizens.60
Electromobility in Germany: Vision 2020 and Beyond, Germany Trade & Invest,
Berlin 2015, p. 5.
60
Member State compliance with EU law improving, but more work ahead to
unleash full potential of Single Market, European Commission, http://europa.eu/
rapid/press-release_IP-16-2245_en.htm (accessed: 02.01.2017).
59
40
Mariusz RUSZEL, Adam SZURLEJ
Environmental regulations may be of special importance, since they
may contribute to the development of electromobility.
From November 30 to December 12, 2015, the 21st Conference of
the Parties to UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and the 11th session of Conference of the Parties serving
as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP 21 and CMP
11) took place in Paris, during which a new global climate agreement
was adopted.61 The Paris Declaration on Electro-Mobility and Climate
Change & Call of Action, which is to be based on concrete actions leading
to the electriication of transport, is very important.62 The declaration
assumes the accomplishment of at least a 20% share of electric vehicles among all vehicles in the world by the year 203063, and the support
from a growing number of institutional partners indicates an increase
in political will concerning the development of electromobility all over
the world.64 Especially important is the support from an inter-governmental forum EVI, which was established in 2009 and is made up of 16
countries. It is led by the USA and the PRC jointly, and EVI’s secretariat
Paris UN climate change conference, 30/11-12/12/2015, http://www.consilium.
europa.eu/en/meetings/international-summit/2015/11/30/ (accessed: 02.01.2017).
62
Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on ‘The impact of the conclusions of COP21 on European transport policy’, OJ EU C303/10 of 19.08.2016, p. 5.
63
Paris Declaration on Electro-Mobility and Climate Change & Call of Action,
http://newsroom.unfccc.int/media/521376/paris-electro-mobility-declaration.pdf
(accessed: 02.01.2017).
64
List of partners [as of 02.01.2017]: Avere-Europe, Avere-France, ChargePoint
Electric Vehicle Charging, Clean Air Asia (Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities
Center, Inc.), E-poste, Electric Vehicle Initiative (EVI), EV4SCC (Electric Vehicle
for Smart Cities and Communities), FIA Foundation, Global Fuel Economy Initiative, Industry Pledge COP21 to Achieve Electro-mobility Goals, International
Energy Agency, International Zero-Emission Vehicle Alliance (ZEV Alliance),
Michelin Worldwide, Move Climate Challenge, Partnership on Sustainable - Low
Carbon Transport (SLoCaT), Polis – European Cities and Regions Networking
for Innovative Transport Solutions, Renault-Nissan Alliance, SOLUTIONS –
Global, Taxis4SmartCities, Tesla Motors, United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), Urban Electric Mobility Initiative (UEMI), Wuppertal Institute for Climate - Environment and Energy, Zero Emissions Urban Bus System (ZeEUS) by
International Association of Public Transport (UITP). See: Paris Declaration on
Electro-Mobility and Climate Change and Call to Action. Electrifying Sustainable
Transport, http://newsroom.unfccc.int/lpaa/transport/the-paris-declaration-onelectro-mobility-and-climate-change-and-call-to-action/#downloads (accessed:
02.01.2017).
61
Electromobility as a new segment of the economy
41
is run by the IEA.65 It is clear that political decisions connected with the
development of electromobility are going to contribute to achieving the
set goals of energy/climate policy since, currently, transport accounts
for the emission of 23% of carbon dioxide globally.66
Another important group is economic barriers, which are fundamental from the consumers’ perspective. For this reason, the costs
of production and operation of an electric vehicle, which translate
into its market availability, are of key importance. Therefore, it is
essential to reduce the economic costs of launching the product to
the market.67 One of the main components of the cost of an electric
car is the price of the battery. It seemed that when the Frenchman
Georges-Lionel Leclanche presented the patent of theoriginal battery
in 186668, the work on creating a cheap battery would accelerate. In
addition, in 1900, Ferdinand Porsche presented a prototype of electric vehicle at the world exhibition in Paris.69 But the work is still
going on to create relatively cheap batteries that would be able to
store suficient electricity, recharge quickly, and have an appropriate
life cycle. In the 2008-2015 period, there was a dynamic reduction in the costs of battery production and the growing potential
of energy content (Figure 1). Yet, the costs of batteries and energy
storage facilities are still one of the main barriers to the development of electromobility.70
The third group of barriers is technical, which mostly refer to
the need to extend and modernize energy infrastructure so that it
Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands,
Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United
States.
66
Paris Declaration on Electro-Mobility and Climate Change and Call to Action.
Electrifying Sustainable Transport, http://newsroom.unfccc.int/lpaa/transport/
the-paris-declaration-on-electro-mobility-and-climate-change-and-call-to-action/#downloads (accessed: 02.01.2017).
67
L. Fazel, Akzeptanz von Elektromobilität. Entwiklung und Validierung eines Modells unter Berücksichtigung der Nutzungsform des Carsharing, Springer Gabler,
Chemnitz 2013, p. 54.
68
A. Kampker, Elektromobil-produktion, Springer Vieweg, Berlin Heidelberg 2014, p. 43.
69
Electromobility in Germany: Vision 2020 and Beyond, Germany Trade & Invest,
Berlin 2015, p. 3.
70
Global EV Outlook 2016. Beyond one million electric cars, International Energy
Agency, France 2016, p. 4.
65
42
Mariusz RUSZEL, Adam SZURLEJ
would be able to satisfy the growing electricity demand at its peak.
This means the need to ensure appropriate capacities in the electricity system, including its stability, and to create a relevant number of
charging stations. In November 2016, the biggest car manufacturers
signed an agreement concerning investments in charging stations in
order to stimulate interest in electromobility.71
Figure 1. Evolution of battery energy density and cost.
Source: Global EV Outlook 2016. Beyond one million electric cars, International
Energy Agency, France 2016, p. 4 [for:] US DOE (2015 and 2016) for PHEV battery
cost and energy density estimates; EV Obsession (2015); and HybridCARS (2015).
The fourth group of barriers are social ones connected with consumers’ habits and distrust in new technologies. Icek Ajzen highlights
in his theory of planned behavior (TPB) that the main factor affecting consumers’ behaviors is their attitude formed by knowledge and
experience, as well as subjective norms accepted by the society.72
This means that drivers’ habits combined with strong marketing by
oil companies may consolidate the positive image of a combustion
vehicle. Interestingly, electric cars do not occur in movies and series
watched by the society. Instead, well-known combustion cars are
eMobility - nowy dział Innogy [eMobility: a new segment of Innogy], http://www.
cire.pl/item,138723,1,0,0,0,0,0,emobility---nowy-dzial-innogy.html (accessed:
28.12.2016).
72
I. Ajzen, The theory of planned behavior, “Organizational Behavior and Human
Decision Processes“ 1991/50, pp. 179–211.
71
Electromobility as a new segment of the economy
43
often shown. And there is research to conirm that the media affect
consumers’ decisions.73
Public opinion studies show that when we buy a car, the following
criteria are signiicant for us: costs, reliability, safety, and comfort.74
Research carried out in several EU countries in 2012 showed that citizens emphasize the excessive costs of electric cars and the need to
create conditions for recharging them in their private garages as the
main barriers to the development of electromobility.75 Similar problems connected with the development of electric vehicles use were
mentioned by Poles. In a study performed by ARC Rynek i Opinia, the
main factors discouraging people from using electric cars were: the
high costs of purchase (81%) and an insuficient number of charging
stations, including problems with charging on the way.76 In February
2016, a study was carried out in Great Britain, conirming that only
5% were thinking of buying an electric car.77
A study by Suzanna M. Long shows that social approval for electric
cars will be the basis for commercial success, and hence, consumers’
expectations need to be treated seriously. It proved that citizens are
afraid of the insecurity connected with electric cars, which translates
into low trust in electromobility, and tax incentives are not going to
help much. More important will be the implementation of appropriate
educational programmes and instruments supporting the lowering of
costs of operation of the vehicles. Political decision makers of different
countries will respond to arguments connected with energy security
and climate policy through the media.78
B. Lane, S. Potter, The adoption of cleaner vehicles in the UK: exploring the consumer
attitude–action gap. “Journal of Cleaner Production”, 2007/15 (11–12), p. 1085–1092;
E. M. Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations, ifth ed Free Press, New York 2003.
74
Public attitudes towards electric vehicles: 2016 (Revised), Department of Transport
2016, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/
ile/551446/electric-vehicles-survey-2016.pdf (accessed: 09.01.2017).
75
Attitude of European car drivers towards electric vehicles: a survey, JRC Scientiic and Policy Reports, European Commission, 2012, p. 19.
76
ARC Rynek i Opinia: http://www.arc.com.pl/polacy_o_samochodach_elektrycznych-41999612-pl.html (accessed: 10.01.2017).
77
Public attitudes towards electric vehicles: 2016 (Revised), Department of Transport
2016, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/
ile/551446/electric-vehicles-survey-2016.pdf (accessed: 09.01.2017).
78
S. M. Long, Barriers to widespread adoption of electric vehicles: An analysis
of consumer attitudes and perceptions, “Energy Policy”, September 2012, p. 724.
73
44
Mariusz RUSZEL, Adam SZURLEJ
Strategic resources of electromobility
It should be stressed that global development of the electromobility sector will cause, on the one hand, a systematic decrease in
demand for oil in the automotive industry, and on the other hand,
an increase in demand for certain resources, such as lithium, cobalt,
or nickel. According to data from USGS (United States Geological
Survey), global resources of nickel are estimated at 34 million tons;
including 9 million tons in Bolivia and Chile; 6.5 million tons in
Argentina; 5.1 million tons in People’s Republic of China; 1.7 million
tons in Australia; Canada, Congo and the Russian Federation have 1
million tons each; Brazil and Mexico, 180 thousand tons each; and
Austria, 130 thousand tons.79 In 2015, the largest amounts of nickel
were produced in Australia, Chile, Argentina, and People’s Republic of
China. The second signiicant resource affecting the development of
electromobility is cobalt, whose identiied global deposits (according
to USGS) are 25 million tons; on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean,
Indian Ocean, and Paciic Ocean there may be more than 120 million tons. In 2015, the largest amount of cobalt was extracted in
Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (almost 50% of the
world’s production). The greatest business partner of the Democratic
Republic of Congo is People’s Republic of China, which imports the
highest amounts of cobalt produced in that country. Apart from
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, cobalt is produced in China,
Canada, the Russian Federation, Australia, Zambia, the Philippines
and Cuba.80 When manufacturing batteries, synthetic graphite is
also used, and graphite mostly comes from Poland and Japan.81 As
modern technologies using new materials and resources for their
production develop, the importance of certain resources may change
over time, corresponding to the most energy- and cost-effective batteries for electric vehicles.
Lithium, United States Geological Survey, http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/
pubs/commodity/lithium/mcs-2016-lithi.pdf (accessed: 12.12.2016).
80
Cobalt, United States Geological Survey, http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/
commodity/cobalt/mcs-2016-cobal.pdf (accessed: 12.12.2016).
81
S. Kane, These 5 arguments slowed the electric car revolution — and they’re
all bogus, http://www.businessinsider.com/electric-car-myths-inaccuracies-2016-2?IR=T (accessed: 8.01.2017).
79
Electromobility as a new segment of the economy
45
Electromobility: a new branch of industry
Electromobility is regarded as a new branch of industry which
will contribute to the development of low emission technologies to be
applied in transport and electricity storage. Together with the development of electromobility, the demand for oil from the automotive
industry, especially cars, will begin decreasing.82 Given the uneven
global distribution of oil, most countries are dependent on importing
this energy resource, as well as ready fuels and other energy products.83
Oil is mostly used in the transport sector to produce fuels. According to the IEA, in 2014, 64.5% of the world’s oil consumption was in
transport. In 1973, the share was 45.4%.84 This energy resource has
become the object of competition and collaboration between countries
in the context of geopolitical competition. It seems electromobility is
going to be a new factor changing the rules of competition and collaboration (a game changer).85 The automotive revolution that will lead to
popularizing electric cars will allow countries that spend considerable
amounts on imported oil (only in Poland import expenses connected
with the purchase of oil increased from 5.23 to 15.22 billion euros
between 2005 and 2012)86 to spend it on electricity instead. In most
cases, electricity is produced in the countries that actually use it.87 In
other words, inancial resources that are spent on imported fuels now
could be spent within the country, contributing to the development
of some areas of industry. Obviously, this will work assuming that
electricity is produced domestically, not imported. This process will
correspond to the growing number of installations based on renewable
energy sources, which are connected to electricity networks, and to the
International Energy Agency, World Energy Outlook 2016, Paris 2016.
M. Gałczyński, M. Ruszel, P. Turowski, R. Zajdler, A. Zawisza, Globalny rynek
LNG [Global LNG Market], Wydawnictwo Rambler, Warsaw 2015, pp. 22-23.
84
International Energy Agency, Key world energy statistics 2016, Paris 2016, p. 33.
85
J. A. Bolanos, The future of oil: Between cooperation & competition, Department
of War Studies, EUCERS, King’s College London, Strategy Paper Thirteen, p. 37.
86
Raport o stanie handlu zagranicznego [Report on international trade], Ministerstwo Gospodarki, Warsaw 2015, p. 90.
87
P. Turowski, Bezpieczeństwo energetyczne na szczycie NATO w Warszawie:
priorytetem dywersyikacja ropy i gazu [Energy security at the NATO summit in
Warsaw: oil and gas diversiication as the priority], “Bezpieczeństwo Narodowe“
2016/I-IV, pp. 154-160.
82
83
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Mariusz RUSZEL, Adam SZURLEJ
process of formation of energy clusters. It will be necessary to extend
energy infrastructure to recharge electric vehicles, and the digitalization of electromobility will develop along with those processes. This
means that cyber security will be another challenge. These processes
will also affect the development of technologies connected with electricity storage. At the same time, the development of electromobility
will surely also occur in the segments of utility cars, buses, taxis, bicycles, and even electric scooters. Thus, electromobility will contribute
to the development of GDP and creating new jobs.
The process of introducing new electric vehicles also translates
into an innovative approach to cars, since car sharing is becoming
more and more popular. It seems the interest in this form of using
a car will go on increasing proportionally to the growing costs of
operating one’s own vehicle.88 In 2015, 1.26 million electric vehicles began their journey all over the world. More than half of them
appeared in the USA and People’s Republic of China (Figure 2).89
Notably, in Norway the share of electric cars in relation to the total
number of registered vehicles is almost 20% (this country is the
leader in terms of the number of electric cars per 1 thousand residents). In the Netherlands, it is 10%, while in China, e-scooters are
extremely popular.90 The IEA estimates that by 2030, about 100 million electric cars will appear on the roads globally.91 Electromobility
will stimulate the R&D sector in the context of using alternative and
low-emission fuels, different technologies of battery production, and
energy storage. More and more projects are connected with the use of
hydrogen in transport and power-to-gas technology. In some countries, hydrogen is perceived as a potential fuel to propel trucks.92 It
should be emphasized that the popularization of electric cars will
inluence the development of research connected with the use of IT
technologies in the electromobility sector.
Rzędowska: 2016 był rokiem elektromobilności? [Was 2016 a year of electromobility?], http://biznesalert.pl/rzedowska-2016-rokiem-elektromobilnosci/ (accessed:
30.12.2016).
89
Global EV Outlook 2016. Beyond one million electric cars ... op. cit.
90
Ibidem.
91
Ibidem, pp. 5-6.
92
L. Jesień, M. Kurtyka, New Electricity and New Cars. The Future of the European Energy Doctrine, CeDeWu, Warsaw 2016, p. 95.
88
Electromobility as a new segment of the economy
47
Figure 2. Evolution of the global electric car stock, 2010-15.
Source: Global EV Outlook 2016. Beyond one million electric cars, International
Energy Agency, France 2016, p. 4.
Conclusion
Remembering international agreements referring to climate and
the reduction of atmosphere pollution, countries’ declarations concerning support for the purchase of electric vehicles (e.g. through
appropriate tax policy and changes in the regulatory environment), the
high dynamics of sales of those vehicles, technological advancement
in electricity storage and the parameters of batteries for electric cars,
and the announcements of automotive companies regarding higher
expenditure on investments connected with electromobility, we cannot but agree with the assessment of German minister of transport
Alexander Dobrindt, who said that the world is facing “the greatest
mobility revolution since the invention of the car”.93 Especially that in
the years 2014-2015, the number of electric vehicles nearly doubled,
and at the end of 2016, it exceeded 2 million.94 In 2016, People’s Republic of China was the most dynamic market for electric vehicles (40% of
global sales). The IEA forecasts that the number of electric cars will
reach 30 million by 2025, and exceed 150 million by 2040. According
to T. Szeba, some factors, such as the reduction in prices of electric
N. Doll, Multimillionen-Förderprogramm für Wasserstoffautos,
https://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article160261283/Multimillionen-Foerderprogramm-fuer-Wasserstoffautos.html (accessed: 10.01.2017).
94
Global EV Outlook 2017. Two million and counting, International Energy Agency,
France 2017, p. 5.
93
48
Mariusz RUSZEL, Adam SZURLEJ
cars, lower costs of operation and higher durability than in the case of
combustion cars, will ultimately lead to the popularization of electric
cars and the collapse of the oil industry.95 He also forecasts a further
reduction in the price of oil, which will cause lower proitability of
drilling, and as a result affect the inancial condition of oil exporters
and some automotive concerns. In Europe, the sale of electric cars is
also increasing, and some cities have banned traditional vehicles from
entering their centers (Paris, Madrid, Athens) or are planning to do
so (London, Brussels). Apart from electric vehicles, European cities
are developing public transport and bicycle transport (Copenhagen,
Helsinki, Amsterdam). It seems that this “mobility revolution” will be
inevitable to considerably reduce the emission of CO2 in the transport
sector of EU countries. This sector was the only one to increase GHG
emissions by 27% in the 1990-2010 period. In Poland, CO2 emissions
from road transport grew from 26.52 million tons to 42.33 million tons
between 2000 and 2014. In that period, the number of cars doubled
and reached 20 million in 2014.96 Analyzing emissions in different
areas of the transport sector in the EU, it is worth emphasizing that
road transport had the greatest share: 72.1% of total GHG emissions
from transport (data as of 2010)97. Thus, the development of electric
cars may help reduce CO2 emissions, of course on the condition that
electric cars will be powered with electricity produced in low or zero
emission energy technologies. In the case of Poland, due to the high
share of solid fuels in the structure of electricity production, assuming
electricity consumption of 15 kWh/100km per electric car, we need
to expect the growth of CO2 emission by approx. 13 kg.98 Practically
the same CO2 emission level occurs in the case of a combustion car
J. Arbib, T. Seba, Rethink X. Disruption, Implications and Choices. Rethinking
Transportation 2020-2030, 2017.
96
Central Statistical Ofice, Environment 2016. Warsaw; www.stat.gov.pl (accessed:
1.06.2017).
97
U. Motowidlak, Polityka Unii Europejskiej na rzecz zwiększenia efektywności
ekonomicznej i środowiskowej transportu [European Union’s policy of enhancing
energy eficiency and environmental eficiency of transport]. Part 2. Dekarbonizacja transportu [Decarbonization of transport]. Logistyka 3/2014 (accessed:
1.06.2017), pp. 4515-4523.
98
http://samochodyelektryczne.org/porownanie_zuzycia_energii_samochodow_
elektrycznych_z_2013r.htm (accessed: 1.06.2017).
95
Electromobility as a new segment of the economy
49
(with an engine consuming 5.6 l/100 km of gasoline or 4.9 l/100 km
of diesel oil)99. Obviously, in the case of older combustion cars with
higher fuel consumption, which dominate in Poland, the levels of CO2
emission are higher.
In accordance with an EU document, it is forecast that the share
of CO2 emission from European transport in the total emission of the
gas in the EU will go on growing and will reach 38% in the year100
2030 and almost 50% in 2050. This will be caused by a relatively
small reduction of CO2 emission from transport in comparison to
other sectors, and especially the energy sector. It is anticipated that
air and sea transport will be the branches responsible for the greatest
dynamics of growth of CO2 emission, by 150% and 110% respectively
in the years 1990 – 2050.
Overcoming barriers connected with the development of electromobility and creating appropriate instruments of support will help
develop electric vehicles. Research shows that iscal measures, such
as subsidizing the purchase of electric cars (e.g. in Germany), tax or
fee exemptions, as well as beneits in the form of scrapping the old
combustion vehicle (e.g. in the Netherlands or France) are one of the
elements leading to electric vehicles becoming more popular. But
enhancing social trust in electric vehicles will be of key importance.
Electromobility will have an inluence on the development of research
connected with the use of new materials and contribute to creating
new jobs, as well as affect geopolitics through changing oil demand.
The development of electromobility will also require transformation
in the regulatory environment of the electricity market. On the one
hand, the need to extend electricity networks is emphasized, but on
the other hand, there is a challenge connected with building an interactive market, where digitalization will play a signiicant role.
In the case of some EU countries it seems that a well developed
market of fuels alternative to the traditional ones may be an extra
barrier to the dynamic development of electromobility. For example, Poland with 2.914 million LPG vehicles is the European leader
http://www.kaizenleet.pl/nowe_normy_emisji_spalin/ (accessed: 1.06.2017).
Accompanying the White Paper - Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area
– Towards a competitive and resource eficient transport system, SEC(2011) 391
inal, Brussels 2011.
99
100
50
Mariusz RUSZEL, Adam SZURLEJ
in this regard and is the ifth country in the world in terms of LPG
consumption in cars.101 In Italy, in turn, the market of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) is very well developed, with approximately 900
thousand vehicles powered with CNG. In the near future, apart from
electric vehicles, we may also expect increased use of natural gas (CNG/
LNG) as an alternative fuel in transport. But the direction and speed
of development will surely mostly depend on price relations between
natural gas, traditional fuels and electricity.102
Raport roczny 2015 [Annual report 2015], Polska Organizacja Gazu Płynnego
(POGP), Warsaw 2016, p. 11.
102
Szurlej A., Ruszel M., Olkuski T., Czy gaz ziemny będzie paliwem konkurencyjnym?
[Will natural gas become a competitive fuel?] Rynek Energii, 2015 no. 5, pp. 3–10.
101
Chapter 4
The role of fossil fuels
in energy transition
Lidia GAWLIK103
Technological development in the last century contributed to the
improvement of mankind’s living conditions. This development is indispensably connected with energy demand. The world was irst fascinated
by oil, then by nuclear energy, gas, and nowadays, by renewable energy
sources. Coal has always been in the background, serving an important role in ensuring the security of supply and stability of prices.104
Chart 1. Global consumption of primary energy carriers in 2014
Source: author’s study based on: IEA105.
1
including the production of peat and oil shale;
2
geothermal, solar, wind energy etc.
Lidia Gawlik, DSc, Eng., Associate Professor in Mineral and Energy Economy
Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, 31-261 Kraków, ul. Wybickiego 7,
e-mail:
[email protected]
104
L. Gawlik., E. Mokrzycki , R. Ney, Acceptability of Coal – A Way to Energetic
Safety, Prace naukowe GIG. Górnictwo i Środowisko, special issue No. IV. 2008,
Wyd. GIG, pp. 79–90.
105
Key World Energy Statistics 2016, International Energy Agency, Paris 2016.
103
52
Lidia GAWLIK
Fossil fuels’ (coal, oil, and gas) share in global consumption of
primary energy carriers is 81.2%. The structure of consumption of
primary energy carriers in 2014 is presented in Chart 1.
Global primary energy consumption in 1973 was 6,115 Mtoe, which
means that 41 years later the world is consuming more than twice
(2.25 times) as much energy. At that time, the share of fossil fuels was
86.6%, including: coal 24.5%, oil 46.2%, natural gas 16.0%.
Between 1973 and 2014, the share of oil decreased by 14.9 percentage points, while the share of coal and natural gas grew.
Resources and production of primary energy carriers
In recent years (Table 1), there has been a constant growth in production of all fossil fuels: natural gas by 9.4% in 2015 as compared to
2010, oil by 9.0%, and coal by 6.0%. Coal and oil production slightly
decreased in 2013. The data for 2015 are only preliminary, but on their
basis we may conclude that the increase in fossil fuels production has
slowed down (it was only +0.5% more than in 2014), which was the result
of lowering coal production by 2.8%, accompanied by slightly greater
increases in oil and gas production (+3.1% and 1.9%, respectively). Coal
production decreased both in OECD countries and in China.106
Table 1. Global production of fossil energy carriers
in the years 2010-2015
Fuel
Coal
Unit
Mt
2010
7,229
2011
7,783
2012
7,831
2013
7,823
2014
7,925
2015
7,709
Oil
Natural gas
Mt
bcm
3,973
3,282
4,011
3,388
4,142
3,435
4,117
3,479
4,200
3,524
4,331
3,590
Source: author’s study based on: Key World Energy Statistics, International Energy
Agency, Paris, issues of 2011-2016.
The use of fossil fuels is dependent on their availability. Regional preferences for their use result from the location of deposits of the resources.
Proved recoverable reserves of fossil fuels as of the end of 2015
are presented in Table 2.
106
Key World Energy Trends, Excerpt from World Energy Balances, International
Energy Agency, Paris 2016.
The role of fossil fuels in energy transition
53
Table 2. Proved recoverable reserves of fossil fuel deposits
in the world
Fuel
Global resources
North America
Central and South America
Europe and Eurasia
including: Middle East
Africa
Asia-Paciic
Oil
billion tons
239.4
35.9
51.0
21.0
108.7
17.1
5.7
Natural gas Coal
trillion m3
billion
tons
186.9
893.531
12.8
245.088
7.6
16.641
56.8
310.538
80.0
32.936
14.1
15.6
245.088
Source: author’s study based on: Statistical Review of World Energy, British Petroleum, 2016.
Chart 2. Percentage share of each region in terms of oil, natural gas
and coal
Source: author’s study based on: Statistical Review of World Energy, British Petroleum, 2016.
47.3% of all global deposits of oil has been documented in the Middle East. In that region there is also 42.8% of the world’s resources of
natural gas, but no deposits of coal. In Europe and Eurasia the greatest resources of oil are in Russia (14 billion tons) and Kazakhstan
(3.9 billion tons). Russia also has the largest resources of natural gas
in the region (32.3 trillion m3), followed by Turkmenistan (17.5 trillion m3). The largest deposits of coal (hard coal and lignite) can be
54
Lidia GAWLIK
found in Europe and Eurasia, where Russian resources dominate as
well (157 billion tons). In Asia and Paciic region there are 32.3% of
global deposits of coal: mostly in China (114.5 billion tons), Australia
(76.4 billion tons) and India (60.6 billion tons).
North America is a region rich in fossil fuels. It has 14.0% of the
global resources of oil, 9.7% resources of natural gas, and 27.5%
resources of coal (Chart 2). The USA is noteworthy in the region,
with its 10.4 trillion m3 of natural gas and over 237 billion tons of
coal. The biggest deposits of oil belong to Venezuela (47 billion tons)
and Canada (27.8 billion tons).
Fossil fuels production (Table 3) is connected with the available
resources, but also with their management and the level of development of the mining industry.
Table 3. Largest producers of oil, natural gas and coal in 2015
and their share in the global production of those energy sources
Country
Oil
Natural gas
Hard coal and lignite
ProducProducProducShare
Share
Share
tion
Country
tion
Country tion
%
%
%
Mt
Mt
Mt
Saudi
Arabia
USA
Russia
Canada
572
13.2
USA
769
21.4
China
3,527
45.8
567
533
221
13.1
12.3
5.1
Russia
Iran
Canada
638
184
164
17.8
5.1
4.6
813
691
509
10.5
9.0
6.6
China
215
5.0
Qatar
164
4.6
469
6.1
Iraq
175
4.0
China
134
3.7
349
4.5
Iran
168
3.9
Norway
122
3.4
USA
India
Australia
Indonesia
Russia
South
Africa
252
3.3
UAE
160
3.7
87
2.4
Germany 185
2.4
Kuwait
160
3.7
83
2.3
Poland
1.8
Venezuela 144
3.3
Others
Total
32.7 Others
100.0 Total
1416
4331
Saudi Arabia
Turkmenistan
Algeria
82
1163
3590
136
Kazakh107
stan
32.4 Others
671
100.0 Total
7,709
2.3
1.4
8.7
100.0
Source: author’s study based on: Key World Energy Statistics 2016, International
Energy Agency, Paris 2016.
55
The role of fossil fuels in energy transition
Ten countries produce more than two thirds of the world’s oil;
only three countries, Saudi Arabia with the production of 572 Mt in
2015, the USA (567 Mt) and Russia (533 Mt) account for 38.5% global
production. The other OPEC countries (Iran, Iraq, UAE and Kuwait)
combined produce another 663 Mt of oil.
Two countries are leaders in natural gas extraction: the USA (769
bcm) and Russia (638 bcm), and the group of ten largest producers
provide 67.6% of the world’s production of the fuel.
Coal production is dominated by China, which in 2015 extracted
over 3.5 billion tons. Although that was a decrease in comparison with
2014 (3.65 billion tons), still it is almost half (48.5%) of global extraction. The ten biggest producers provide 91.3% of coal to world markets.
The reserves-to-production ratio (R/P), i.e., the amount of proved
recoverable reserves divided by the amount of production in a year,
shows that there is enough oil for 50.7 years (if it is extracted as intensively as in 2015), natural gas, for 52.8 years, and coal, for 114 years.107
The use of primary energy carriers
Primary energy carriers are mostly used to generate electricity
(Table 4).
Table 4. Electricity production by energy carriers in selected years, TWh
Energy carrier
Coal1
Oil
Natural gas
Nuclear energy
Hydro energy2
Others3
Total
1973
2,348
1,520
742
203
1,281
36
6,131
2004
6,944
1,170
3,419
2,748
2,808
361
17,450
2013
9,633
1,028
5,066
2,478
3,801
1,316
23,322
2014
9,707
1,023
5,155
2,535
3,906
1,490
23,816
Source: author’s study based on: IEA.108
1
including all solid fossil fuels, also peat and oil shale,
2
without energy from pumped storage power plants,
3
renewable (geothermal, solar, wind etc.) and non-renewable (waste etc.).
Statistical Review of World Energy, British Petroleum, 2016.
Key World Energy Statistics, International Energy Agency, Paris, issues of 2006,
2015, 2016.
107
108
56
Lidia GAWLIK
The increasing importance of coal and natural gas in electricity
production is a constant phenomenon, and the use of oil is decreasing (Table 4). Within the last 40 years, there has been a 3.88-fold
growth in global electricity production. The last decade (2004-2014)
saw a 36% rise, and the highest increases in electricity production
occurred in production from natural gas (51% increase in 2014 in
comparison to 2004), with decreasing use of oil (-12.6%) and nuclear
energy (-7.8%). In that period, electricity production from coal rose
by approx. 40%, which means that coal is still the basic fuel to produce electricity globally, despite the small reduction of the share in
fuel structure of electricity production in 2014 in favor of dynamically developing other (renewable) energy sources, especially wind
energy (Chart 3).
Chart 3. Structure of energy carriers used in electricity production
in selected years
Source: author’s study based on: Key World Energy Statistics 2016, International
Energy Agency, Paris 2016.
Global production of nuclear energy in 2014 was 2,535 TWh,
accounting for 10.6% of the energy supply. It was the second year of
slight rise in production after the extremely low production level in
2012 (2,461 TWh). The drop in nuclear energy production from approx.
2,760 TWh in 2010 was the result of a change in many countries’
approach to nuclear energy after the tragic accident in Fukushima
The role of fossil fuels in energy transition
57
(Japan) in 2011 caused by the enormous tsunami109, which resulted in
the greatest nuclear power plant disaster since Chernobyl).
As of the end of 2015, 390 GW of nuclear energy was functioning.
In spite of some countries’ declarations to discontinue nuclear energy
production, at the end of 2015, 65 reactors with the total capacity of 64
GW were under construction110. New nuclear power plants are being
built in China, India and Russia. The analysis of planned development
shows that nuclear energy is going to develop in the Far East, whereas
in North America and Western Europe the use of nuclear energy to
produce electricity is going to gradually decrease. For rapidly developing countries such as China or India, nuclear energy is considered
to be a good alternative to traditional energy based on fossil fuels due
to its reduced emissions, and problems connected with the lexibility
of the source, water consumption, and a supply of cheap energy will
gradually be solved through technological development (small modular reactors, generation IV reactors, etc.).
Hydro energy is the traditional way of generating renewable electricity. Its share in global electricity production in 2014 was 16.4%,
accounting for 72% of renewable electricity. The generating capacity
of hydropower plants in 2015 reached 1,209 GW, including 145 GW
of pumped storage power plants, which means an increase by more
than 30% than in 2007. China has the highest number of hydropower
plants (26% of global production capacity); the USA (8.4%), Brazil
(7.6%) and Canada (6.5%) have much fewer. The unused global technical potential of water energy is estimated to be approximately 10,000
TWh, 72% of which is in Asia.111 New investments are concentrated in
China, Latin America, and Africa. We can expect that because of the
growing use of RES, characterized by high changeability of operation,
the potential of water energy will develop wherever there are appropriate conditions for it, being a lexible source stabilizing the work of
electricity networks.
The Fukushima Daiichi Accident. Report by the Director General, International
Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna 2015, http://www-pub.iaea.org/mtcd/publications/
pdf/pub1710-reportbythedg-web.pdf
110
World Energy Resources/Nuclear [in:] World Energy Resources 2016, World
Energy Council, London 2016.
111
World Energy Resources/Hydro [in:] World Energy Resources 2016, World
Energy Council, London 2016.
109
58
Lidia GAWLIK
A characteristic feature in recent years is the development of RES
because of growing fears connected with climate changes resulting from
the higher and higher emission of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
The latest 15 years have seen an unprecedented development of
technologies connected with RES, especially wind energy. The huge
market growth has caused the increase of new investments. Many new
RES-based production capacities have been established. Lowering
investment expenditure and operating costs has become a fact, and
as a result, economic growth and GHG emissions, formerly linked,
have been partially separated.112
In 2015, generating capacity in wind energy reached 432 GW (420
GW onshore and 12 GW offshore), which accounted for around 7% of
global generating capacity. In 2015 alone, there was 63 GW of new
wind installations, and the value of the wind energy market was US$
109 trillion (2015).
Chart 4. Gross electricity production by fuels in the European Union
(EU-28) in the 1990-2014 period, TWh
Source: author’s own study based on data from: Energy, transport and environment indicators, Eurostat, Luxembourg 2016.
(1)
without energy from pumped storage power plants.
Solar energy has had exponential growth over the last 10 years.
In 2015, generating capacity reached 227 GW, producing about 1% of
World Energy Resources 2016, Summary, World Energy Council, London 2016,
http://www.worldenergy.org/publications/2016/world-energy-resources-2016/
112
The role of fossil fuels in energy transition
59
the world’s electricity. In solar heating and cooling systems, generating capacity reached 406 GW.113
The fuel structure of electricity production depends on the region
and is the product of many factors, the most important of which is
access to energy carriers, current and historical economic determinants, and the adopted direction of development. Chart 4 presents
the fuel structure of electricity production in the European Union in
the 1990-2014 period.
Two characteristic features make the fuel structure of electricity
production in the European Union (Chart 4) different from the global
structure (Table 4, Chart 3). First, in the European Union the growth
in production of electricity has slowed down, or has even decreased.
The reasons for the phenomenon are related to growing energy eficiency in the use of energy. Furthermore, in 2014:
1) the share of solid fuels was 25.3%, whereas the global average was
40.8%, and coal consumption lowered by 15.8% as compared to
the year 2005;
2) oil, with the share of 1.8%, became unpopular (just like in the
global scale), but in the European Union the process of resigning
from its use was much quicker;
3) the share of natural gas was 15.4%, far below the global average
(21.6%), and its consumption fell by 44% as compared to the year
2010;
4) nuclear energy accounted for 27.5%, which means a decrease of its
share by 4.6 percentage points as compared to 1995. The share of
nuclear energy in Europe was signiicantly higher than the global
average (10.6%);
5) the use of renewable water resources in hydropower was lower in
the EU (11.8%) than globally (16.4%), although there was a little
growth of electricity production in hydropower plants in comparison to the year 2005, when it had been very low (9.8%);
6) the share of other energy sources in electricity production was 18.3%
– almost three times higher than the global average (6.3%), which
points to the preferred direction of the Union’s energy transition.
The European Union is the leading force in the development of electricity production from renewable energy sources (Chart 5), due to the
113
Ibidem.
60
Lidia GAWLIK
implemented and consistently applied climate package, and especially
newer plans concerning climate protection to be implemented until
2030114 and in the long-term perspective (Energy Roadmap 2050).115
The wind energy industry is particularly dynamic. Within just four
years (2010-2014), wind energy production grew by 70%. In 2015, in
Denmark the share of production using wind turbines was 42% of
total electricity production.116 In Germany, after another year of growing production, wind energy accounted for a 13% share in electricity
demand, and generating capacity reached 45.2 GW, giving the country
third place among the biggest wind energy powers, after China (148
GW) and the USA (74.3 GW). The fourth place in terms of generating
capacity of wind energy was India (24.8 GW), followed by EU countries: Spain (23 GW) and Great Britain (13.6 GW).117
Chart 5. Development of the use of renewable energy sources
in electricity production in the European Union
in the 1990-2014 period, TWh
Source: author’s own study based on data from: Energy, transport and environment indicators, Eurostat, Luxembourg 2016.
Framework 2030: A 2030 framework for climate and energy policies. Green
paper, European Commission (EC). COM(2013) 169 inal, http://cor.europa.eu/en/
activities/stakeholders/Documents/comm169-2013inal.pdf.
115
Roadmap 2030: Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the
Regions. Energy Roadmap 2050, COM(2011) 885 inal, European Commission (EC),
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52011DC0885&from=EN.
116
World Energy Resources/Wind [in:] World Energy Resources, World Energy
Council, London 2016.
117
Ibidem.
114
The role of fossil fuels in energy transition
61
The inal global energy consumption in 2014 was 9,425 Mtoe. The
shares of inal energy carriers in this amount were:
coal and other solid fossil fuels – 11.4%,
oil – 39.9%,
natural gas – 15.1%,
biofuels and waste – 12.2%,
electricity – 18.1%,
other inal energy carriers (including geothermal, wind, solar and
other kinds of energy) – 3.3%.
Thus, the share of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) in inal consumption
is 66.4%, and an additional 18.1% is the consumption of electricity,
66.7% of which, globally, is a transformation product of fossil fuels.
Final consumption of primary energy carriers is presented in
Chart 6.
Chart 6. Directions of inal consumption of the main energy carriers
globally in the years 2004 and 2014, Mtoe
Source: author’s study based on: IEA.118
In the chart, ’other sectors’ include all sectors of the economy except
industry and transport, i.e., agriculture, commerce, public administration and households.
The inal consumption of all energy carriers has grown within the
last 10 years. The greatest increase occurred in the case of coal con118
Key World Energy…, 2006, 2016, op. cit.
62
Lidia GAWLIK
sumption (by 67.2%). The second quickest developing inal energy
carrier is electricity (37.7% increase). The inal consumption of natural gas and oil has risen by 16.4 and 16.2%, respectively. The least
increases were in other inal energy carriers (11.6%). In this item, inal
energy from geothermal power, biofuels, biomass, sun, wind and waste
(renewable and non-renewable) was aggregated.
Within the analyzed 10 years, there was a clear tendency to change
inal energy consumption in transport. Although the share of oil
and oil derivatives is still dominant (92% in 2014), it is lower than
in 2004 (94%), because the increase in oil consumption (30%) is
slower than the increase in natural gas (43%) and other carriers
(ive-fold increase).
Climate change vs fossil fuels
A problem that is inseparable from the use of fossil fuels is the fact
that their extraction and use involves greenhouse gases emission to
the atmosphere.
The global amount of emitted greenhouse gases is growing
at a high rate. The main reason is the combustion of fossil fuels
(Chart 7).
Chart 7. World emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels
combustion in selected years, millions of tons of CO2
Source: author’s study based on: Key World Energy Statistics 2016, International
Energy Agency, Paris 2016.
The role of fossil fuels in energy transition
63
If humankind do not take any new steps to reduce emissions, we
should expect warming by 4.5°C before the end of the century, and
the rise would be hard to stop in the next centuries, leading to disastrous consequences.
Target global warming by 2°C is regarded as the safety threshold. The scenario of reducing temperature growth by 2°C involves
quick reduction of emissions, by 80-90% before the middle of
the century and to zero in the second half of the century. This
means the use of only approximately half of the fossil fuels used
so far. The European Union has accepted the challenge, and in its
plans described in Roadmap 2050119 and finalized in agreements
concerning activities taken before 2030120 it declared the decarbonization of the Union economy, especially the energy industry.
It also announced a binding objective of the Union, assuming the
reduction of GHG emissions before 2030 by at least 40% in comparison to the level of 1990.121
The response of the rest of the world was not unambiguous, and
negotiations continued at the next UN conferences on climate change.
The agreement made in 2015 in Paris during COP21 is regarded as
a breakthrough in international climate policy. The Paris agreement
assumes that the parties will strive to stop the increase in warming
and to maintain the temperature at about 1.5°C above the temperature
from before the industrial age; the ways of conduct were agreed upon
which took into consideration speciic conditions of all the parties,
and funds will be made available to allow low-emission development
and counteract the effects of climatic changes.
Before the conference, 187 countries voluntarily commissioned
themselves to reduce emissions, signing INDC (Intended Nationally
Determined Contributions). These include the goals to be achieved
in the 2020-2030 period. Achieving them would allow reduction
of warming to 2.7-3.5°C before the end of the century, which is not
enough. Hence, in the text of the agreement there were provisions on
periodical reviews of performance of obligations every 5 years, beginRoadmap 2030…, op. cit.
Framework 2030…, op. cit.
121
Conclusions – October 23–24, 2014 . 2030 climate and energy policy framework,
European Council, EUCO 169/14, CO EUR 13, CONCL 5, 24.10.2014.
119
120
64
Lidia GAWLIK
ning in 2023, so as to deepen them and make them enough to achieve
the global goal of preventing warming below the agreed limit.
Another COP conference in November 2016 in Marrakesh did
not give any signiicant progress, but it conirmed the wish of collaboration between countries to enable the performance of the Paris
Agreement. It must be emphasized that among the signatories of the
Paris Agreement there were countries that in their previous climate
policy had not accepted self-limitation in terms of reducing greenhouse gases, e.g., China and the USA, but later on president Trump
has withdrawn this promise.
Conclusion
Global intentions concerning energy transition and reduction of
greenhouse gases emission will require changes in energy systems
and the structures of consumption of primary energy carriers, which
will be connected with the reduction of fossil fuels. The desired
directions of development include particularly: increase in energy
eficiency, energy saving, and the development of low emission technologies, with particular consideration of renewable energy sources.
Technological development oriented at technologies that meet the
conditions of emission reduction will require concentrating power
and expenditure on research and development and will refer not
only to the energy industry, but also to all other sectors of the economy, especially the transport sector. The growing market of electric
cars is one example.
The requirement of emission reduction irst eliminates coal as
the highest emission fuel. There are even short-term plans to replace
coal with gas (regarded as a fuel the combustion of which causes less
emission of greenhouse gases) before energy production becomes
fully no-emission.
Energy transition, understood as the application of innovative technologies to achieve sustainable social development thanks to ensuring
energy availability while limiting negative effects to the environment,
is a process that requires a comprehensive approach to production
processes and the use of primary energy sources with consideration
of conditions and interests of regional communities. Conditions dif-
The role of fossil fuels in energy transition
65
fer from region to region and from country to country, so the ways to
achieve low or zero emission economy are bound to differ, too.
Lowering the share of fossil fuels in the structure of primary energy
carriers from the current 80% globally is inevitable, but it is not clear
what level of reduction is really achievable. Some countries that traditionally use those fuels will rather invest in clean technologies of
using fossil fuels than change all their economies to renewable energy
sources.
Chapter 5
Prospects for RES and nuclear
energy in the process
of energy transition
Tomasz MŁYNARSKI122
In 2014, fossil fuels accounted for 82% of total primary energy production. Popularizing renewable energy sources (RES) and nuclear energy
(together accounting for one third of global electricity production) as
zero emission energy sources improves the transition processes towards
a low emission economy based on energy sources without GHG emission.
Energy transition brings certain economic beneits, not only connected
with the improvement of air quality and limitation of the negative effects
of coal production to the environment (the greenhouse effect) but also
with the development of production of low emission devices and technologies as well as services that are the object of business and export
strategies. In the 21st century, the main criterion for evaluating the usefulness of individual energy sources will not only be the ability to ensure
long-term energy supplies but also their ecological properties. In 2015,
more than 140 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC), which altogether is expected to reduce the
global CO2 emission by 8% per capita by 2025 and 9% by 2030.123 Many
countries intend to reduce the role of fossil fuels and other non-renewTomasz Młynarski, PhD, Associate Professor in Jagiellonian University, Faculty of
International and Political Studies, Institute of Political Studies and International
Relations, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, e-mail:
[email protected]
123
Renewable Energy and Electricity, WNA, November 2016,
http://www.world-nuclear.org/focus/climate-change-and-nuclear-energy/renewable-energy-and-electricity.aspx (accessed: 12.15.2016).
122
Prospects for RES and nuclear energy in the process of energy transition 67
able resources in their energy mix by means of replacing them with low
emission energy sources such as RES and nuclear energy.
The role of RES in energy transition
As anticipated by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the
development of renewable energy in many countries will raise its
share in global electricity production from 23.7% in 2015 up to 1/3 in
2040.124 International Renewable Energy Agency prognoses that as
early as 2030, RES will achieve approx. 36-40% share in total electricity production of the world. Renewable energy sources are one
of the fastest-developing methods of generating energy.125 The year
2015 saw bothan increase in generation capacity (147 GW from RES
added in 2015, which is the greatest increase in the history), and in
the amount of energy generated using those technologies.126
The increase of RES share, especially in the sector of electricity,
is promoted e.g., by improving the cost competitiveness of renewable
technologies, better access to inancing, expansion to new markets,
i.e., the growing demand for renewable energy in developing countries, as well as the capacity for dispersed energy generation (energy
production by small units connected directly to distribution networks
or being part of the recipient’s electricity network), usually producing electricity from renewable energy sources.127 In 2015, worldwide
electricity production was dominated by large sources of electricity
World Energy Outlook 2014, IEA, p. 5; Renewables 2016. Global Status Report,
Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, p. 18; T. Młynarski, M. Tarnawski, Źródła energii i ich znaczenie dla bezpieczeństwa energetycznego w XXI
wieku [Energy sources and their importance for energy security in the 21st century], Kraków 2016, p. 128; World Development Indicators: Electricity production,
sources, and access, The World Bank, http://wdi.worldbank.org/table/3.7 (accessed:
15.12.2016); Renewables 2016. Global Status…, p. 32.
125
In 2014, RES provided about 19.2% of the inal energy consumption (hydroelectric power plants provided 3.9%, and biomass, 8.9%), data from: Renewable Energy
Policy Network, Renewables 2016. Global Status …, p. 28.
126
Ibidem, p. 17.
127
Dispersed energy generation is a dynamically developing sector of electrical engineering, which is characterized by lower power than professional generation units,
private ownership, independence from central administration and integration with
medium and low voltage grid.
124
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Tomasz MŁYNARSKI
(exceeding 1 MW) belonging to municipal companies or big investors.
At the same time, markets of low capacity energy sources developed.
Among them, Bangladesh is the leader (house solar systems) and other
developing countries (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, China, India, Nepal,
Brazil and Guiana), where small-scale RES are developing which provide electricity for residents living far from energy networks.128 Global
technical, economic, and market transformation of the energy sector
is accelerating. In the second half of the second decade of the 21st century, more power in the electricity sector is generated annually from
RES than from all fossil fuels. In favorable conditions (good environmental availability and legal regulations), electricity from water,
geothermal energy, and some biomass sources was cost competitive
to fossil fuels, even without encumbering the latter with externalities.
The growing share of RES in the global fuel and energy balance
helps save the resources of fossil fuels, improve countries’ energy
security, and reduce greenhouse gases (GHG). According to the IEA,
global production of electricity from renewable sources will grow by
almost 45% before 2020.129 The costs of generating energy from renewable energy sources are gradually decreasing. Between 2010 and 2015,
average costs of onshore wind energy production dropped by approx.
30%, and of solar energy, by two-thirds.130 The high level of subsidy is
no longer necessary for the development of PV and wind energy, but
the economic attractiveness of those energy sources is still dependent
on a market regulatory framework.
In the third decade of the 21st century, the construction of new RES
capacity will expand geographically (especially in countries beyond the
OECD), and renewable technologies will become more cost competitive.
This is conirmed by global investments in the years 2000-2013, 57%
of which was power plants supplied with renewable energy sources,
whereas fossil fuel plants 40%, and nuclear energy plants only 3%.131
This dynamic is especially visible in Asian countries (China, India,
Japan, South Korea), where the development of new zero emission
Renewables 2016. Global Status…, op.cit., p. 18.
Renewable Energy. Medium-Term Market Report 2014, Market Analysis and
Forecasts to 2020, OECD/IEA, 2014, p. 4.
130
Renewable Energy. Medium-Term Market Report 2015, Market Analysis and
Forecasts to 2020 (Executive Summary), OECD/IEA, 2015, p. 5.
131
M. Schneider, A. Froggatt, et al., The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2014,
Paris, London, Washington, D.C. 2014, p. 10.
128
129
Prospects for RES and nuclear energy in the process of energy transition 69
capacities determines economic development, lowering the dependence
on fuel importation. Whereas in the irst decade of the 21st century
Europe accounted for 40% of global RES investments, in the second
one the main actor in the development of new RES capacities is China,
responsible for nearly 40% of the global increase and over 60% of the
increase in countries out of the OECD.132 In 2014, China alone was
responsible for 40% of the global increase of the potential of renewable energy sources (three times more than the aggregate value of RES
capacity in Great Britain).133 The region of the Middle East is also in an
early, though also very dynamic, phase of development of renewable
energy technologies (Saudi Arabia, UAE). In OECD countries the stable increase of RES will mainly be supported by the need to diversify
energy sources and decarbonization policy, as well as decapitalization
of conventional power plants’ infrastructure.
In the EU, the increase of RES capacities in electricity production is
dynamically growing, though solar systems have also been integrated
with several urban heating systems (mainly in Western Europe). RES,
however, especially luid biofuels with a 4% share in the global fuel
structure of the transport sector, do not play a crucial role. Although
the popularity of electric cars is growing (the technology is even used
in trucks), policy support for RES in the transport sector is much lower
than policy support for RES in the sector of electricity production.
Decarbonization policy and the ight against global warming makes
renewable energy one of the most dynamically developing areas of
energy industry. RES are more and more widely used in four basic sectors: electricity production, heating and cooling, in transport, and as
a source of energy in areas without a permanent energy infrastructure.
The increase of RES is also dependent on the behavior of individual and
industrial consumers, who more and more often buy electricity from
renewable sources.
The development strategy of renewable energy is not only designed
to improve energy security, but also to stimulate economies, including
the creation of new eco jobs.134 In 2015, employment in the RES sector
Renewable Energy. Medium-Term Market Report 2014, op.cit., p. 5., p. 8.
Renewable Energy. Medium-Term Market Report 2015, op.cit., p. 4.
134
A. Jordan, D. Huitema, T. Rayner, H. van Asselt, Governing the European Union:
policy choices and governance dilemmas, [in:] Climate Change Policy in the European Union Confronting the Dilemmas of Mitigation and Adaptation?, A. Jordan,
132
133
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Tomasz MŁYNARSKI
grew to approx. 8.1 million workplaces (direct and indirect), mainly in
the segment of PV and biofuels (except big hydropower plants): mostly
in China (3.52 million), Brazil (0.91 million), the USA (0.76 million),
India (0.41 million), Japan (0.38 million) and Germany (0.35), and
in the whole EU, 0.64 million).135 In terms of all RES technologies,
China, Brazil, the USA and India were the leading employers. The
segment with the highest share of jobs in renewable energy sector all
over the world is photovoltaics (2.8 million), the second, liquid biofuel
production (1.67 million), and the third, wind energy (1.08 million).
Approximately 1.3 million people were employed in the hydrological
energy sector (mainly in China, 34%).136
Thus, the policy of energy transition is oriented toward economic
goals, and in this context the policy of developing renewable energy
sources is a relatively new but very dynamically developing ield of
economy in many countries, which intend to make use of their technological advantage on the global market. This way the policy of adjusting
the energy sector to climate changes is becoming a catalyst to modernize economies, and leading to the emergence of a new sector of the
“green” economy.137
In the following decades of the 21st century, RES are bound to
gradually replace fossil fuels as a result of energy transition. The main
advantages of renewable energy sources are their availability, the lack of
costs of obtaining the resources/fuels, low costs of processing, as well
as being non-exhaustible and natural environment-friendly (no emission when producing electricity) and the possibility to use wasteland
such as coastlines or rocks. An important advantage of solar systems
is that they are dispersed and can be launched close to the places of
demand, reducing costs and losses of electrical current transfer from
traditional power plants often located far away from the end customers.138 The main drawback is the instability of energy generation (too
D. Huitema, T. Rayner, H. van Asselt, F. Berkhout (eds.), Cambridge University
Press 2010, pp. 29-50.
135
Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2016, IRENA, p. 5, p. 11.
136
Ibidem, p. 9.
137
The opportunity to use hydrogen on the large scale as a transport fuel in the future
increases the potential both of renewable energy sources and of electricity supplies.
138
In Germany, 1.5 million solar PV installations with the capacity of 40 GW supplies 940 equivalent hours of full electricity load annually. On working days in the
summer, it covers 35% of German grid demand, and at weekends, almost 50%.
Prospects for RES and nuclear energy in the process of energy transition 71
low or too high wind speed, clouds). Clouds for example can reduce
energy production by 70% in a minute, which is a serious problem in
integrating solar systems with the standard grid. Innovative battery
systems have reduced the loss to 10% per minute. Therefore, batteries or other energy storage technologies are necessary in order to use
solar and wind energy in individual systems. Over the last two decades, wind turbines have developed considerably, and photovoltaic
technologies are more and more effective and eficient. Signiicant
progress in the storage of energy generated from renewable sources
is also visible. Along with governmental encouragement to use these
energy sources, their costs have dropped and are currently comparable to the costs of fossil fuels if we take into account the charges for
CO2 emission. But there is a problem with periodic production of large
amounts of electricity, which causes dificulties with maintaining the
economic reliability and proitability of the whole system. Therefore,
large-scale use electricity from solar and wind energy in main grids is
dificult. So in order to use RES in standard grids it is necessary (due
to quickly changing weather conditions, especially in the case of solar
and wind energy) to ensure an extra source (back-up) with high availability. This means that it should be able to start operations quickly
so as to make up for changes in energy production. So the basic condition of popularizing RES in the process of electricity production is
to use them in such a way that they will meet the demand (especially
at peak moments), taking into consideration its changeable character
and dispersed nature.139
The role of nuclear energy in energy transition
Nuclear energy supplies a signiicant part (11% in 2015) of global
electricity production in a way that is neutral to the problem of greenhouse effect.140 It is a reliable zero emission high power source of energy
Hydroelectric power plants are able to respond to seasonal and daily changes in
energy demand by regulating the amount of water low. Another source may be gas
power plants, quick to use. Renewable Energy and Electricity, WNA, November 2016,
http://www.world-nuclear.org/focus/climate-change-and-nuclear-energy/renewable-energy-and-electricity.aspx.
140
Nuclear energy is treated as separate from renewable sources, because reactors
use mineral fuel (uranium ores) and clearly exhaust the available uranium resources,
139
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Tomasz MŁYNARSKI
(the lowest emission of greenhouse gases in the whole life cycle out
of all the energy production sources), so it can play an important role
in mitigating the effects of climate change. The Director General of
World Nuclear Association XXX put it this way: “We must meet the
world’s growing energy needs and protect the planet. We will need
all low carbon energy options to work together to achieve this, and
nuclear will make a major contribution, because it is scalable, reliable and competitive.”141
According to World Energy Outlook 2016, in order to reduce the
growth of temperature all over the world below 2°C it is necessary to
ensure the increase of nuclear production capacity by nearly two and
a half times by 2040 (so as to obtain electricity production growth in
nuclear power plants from 2535 TWh to 6101 TWh).142 This means that
approximately 80% of electricity generated all over the world should
be low-emission. It is a global challenge, which requires the use of
all the available low-emission technologies.143 Therefore, the nuclear
industry has set itself the goal of tripling its production capacity up to
over 1,000 GW on the basis of new facilities by 2050, so that nuclear
energy would meet 25% of the global demand for electricity.144 France,
Switzerland, and the Ontario province in Canada have created a model
of low-emission energy mix in the electricity sector, achieving more
than 80% of the produced electricity from nuclear energy, developed
in harmony with renewable sources.145
According to IEA, by the middle of this century, the number of
countries that use reactors will grow from 31 to 36. As the number of
but in the future they will use again the combusted fuel, so they will achieve the
“renewability“ effect. Moreover, common elements such as thorium are more and
more often used as a fuel.
141
Nuclear key to a clean energy future: IEA World Energy Outlook, WNA, 16 November 2016, http://www.world-nuclear.org/focus/climate-change-and-nuclear-energy/
nuclear-key-to-a-clean-energy-future-iea-world-ene.aspx (accessed: 12.10.2016).
142
Ibidem.
143
Nuclear for Climate,
http://www.world-nuclear.org/focus/climate-change-and-nuclear-energy/nuclearforclimate.aspx (accessed: 10.11.2016).
144
Nuclear must be part of the international response to climate change, 17 November 2016, http://www.world-nuclear.org/focus/climate-change-and-nuclear-energy/
nuclear-must-be-part-of-the-international-response.aspx
145
Ibidem.
Prospects for RES and nuclear energy in the process of energy transition 73
countries introducing nuclear energy exceeds the number of countries
that discontinue its use146, nuclear reactors may contribute to the reliability of the energy system – especially where they increase the level of
technological diversiication. For energy-importing countries this may
reduce their dependence on supplies from abroad and their sensitivity
to changes in fuel prices on the international market. Energy transition also gives real socio-economic beneits, such as the mitigation
of effects of climate change or the improvement of health conditions.
For these reasons, the environmental beneits of developing nuclear
energy involve the reduction of harmful emissions, as nuclear power
plants do not emit any greenhouse gases or pollutants (ashes, dust)
into the atmosphere. Within the last 45 years (since 1971), the equivalent of two years of total global emission of carbon dioxide (almost
80 tons of CO2) has been avoided thanks to NE.147 If conventional
power plants were to be replaced by nuclear ones to produce the same
amount of energy, 2,581 tons of CO2/GWh would be saved in comparison to lignite, 1,773 tons of CO2/GWh in comparison to oil, and 1,183
tons of CO2/GWh in comparison to natural gas combustion.148 Just
like in the case of RES, common application of nuclear energy in the
global scale allows a substantial reduction of dependence on the three
main fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) in total consumed energy,
and as a result, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Replacing
fossil fuel energy with renewable energy sources or nuclear energy is
going to result in similar reductions of greenhouse gases.149 IEA forecasts that in 2014, the annual reduction of emissions will be almost
50% in South Korea, 12% in Japan, 10% in the USA, 9% in the European Union, and 8% in China.150 The mean cost of emissions avoided
thanks to new nuclear capacities depends on the mix and fuel prices
(and it may be from very low up to over 80 dollars per ton).
World Energy Outlook 2014, IEA, p. 7.
Ibidem, p. 6.
148
Greenhouse gas emissions avoided through use of nuclear energy, http://www.
world-nuclear.org/nuclear-basics/greenhouse-gas-emissions-avoided.aspx (accessed:
10.11.2016).
149
According to the World Nuclear Association, comparing emissions from the
life cycle of nuclear energy and renewable energy (all the main kinds of renewable
energy sources: solar, wind, biomass, hydropower plants), we can see they are all
on a comparable level.
150
World Energy Outlook 2014, op. cit., p. 6.
146
147
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Tomasz MŁYNARSKI
More than 52% of the world’s leet of nuclear reactors are over 30
years old, so by the year 2040, about 200 out of 450 reactors all over
the world (2016) will be removed (most of them in Europe, the USA,
Russia, and Japan). For these reasons, nuclear energy will rather play
an intermediate role in the process of energy transition before the
share of renewable sources in the global energy mix grows considerably (Fig. 3)151 Nuclear energy will be a very dynamically developing
sector of industry in the nearest 20-40 years, mainly in Asia (China,
India, Japan, South Korea), which is especially important, as the region
accounts for 40% of global CO2 emissions (2014).152 In 2016, in China
and India 40% of the world’s reactors were under construction.153
Figure 3. Energy sources in energy transition
Source: M. Tripathi, COP21, challenges and opportunities, European Nuclear Young
Generation Forum 2015.
Energy transition improves energy independence and the lexibility of the energy system. Diversiication of energy sources helps
improve energy security of the country that applies it. In this sense
IAEA 2015, www.iaea.org.
CO2 emissions from fuel combustion, OECD/IEA, 2016, p. 12.
153
The Database on Nuclear Power Reactors, IAEA Power Reactor Information
System, https://www.iaea.org/pris (accessed: 10.11.2016).
151
152
Prospects for RES and nuclear energy in the process of energy transition 75
nuclear energy can be treated as a domestic source of energy, which
was emphasized in May 2008 by the contemporary president of the
European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, at the European Nuclear
Energy Forum in Prague: “But in addition, nuclear energy, as one of
the cheapest low carbon energy sources and with less vulnerability to
fuel price changes than some other energy sources, can help protect
our economies against price volatility”.154 The nuclear energy industry
also ensures measurable short-term and long-term economic beneits
connected with the creation of new jobs and economic growth. Obviously, nuclear energy does not generate as many jobs as traditional
energy production, but it promotes development of highly qualiied
specialists, whose resources can be used in other areas of the economy.
Nuclear power plants are usually constructed in poorly populated and
economically developed places. Therefore, they generate an increase in
employment in the region, an inlux of new residents and inancial profits from taxes, as well as the development of local service infrastructure.
Nuclear industry fosters research, supporting the modernization of many
areas of industry (construction, machinery, electrical or chemical), and
highly qualiied researchers can support the national economic system
in other areas (medicine, nuclear chemistry, environmental engineering, automatic control, electronics or IT).
Conclusions
The future of the world energy industry lies in the use of varied
low emission technologies ensuring the security of supply with
a minimum impact on the environment. An important role in the
process will be played by renewable energy and nuclear energy
as zero emission sources of electricity. Nuclear energy may also
signiicantly support the efforts connected with ensuring energy
supplies while reducting greenhouse gases emissions and supporting sustainable development. For these reasons, many countries
are considering the development of nuclear energy in the process
of energy transition.
J. M. Barroso, Address to the European Nuclear Energy Forum, SPEECH/08/259,
Nuclear Energy Forum, Prague, 22 May 2008, http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-08-259_en.htm (accessed: 10.12.2016).
154
76
Tomasz MŁYNARSKI
The need to change an economy into a low emission one is connected with gradual reduction of the role of the fossil-fuel-based
energy industry. Despite beneits offered by conventional energy
industry (high energy value of conventional fuels, familiar technology, or advanced system of extraction – transfer – storage system),
high emission of greenhouse gases is its basic disadvantage. Therefore, countries should be given the opportunity to choose from the
whole spectrum of energy technologies reducing CO2 emission. This
provides an opportunity for nuclear energy, which is characterized
by low emission, availability, and competitiveness.
IEA assumes that the basic source of low emission electricity production in the 21st century will still be renewable energy sources
and nuclear energy, which contribute greatly to the process of transition of the energy system in the face of the need to counteract
climate change. The transition in the energy sector, which is the
source of two-thirds of greenhouse gases emissions, is necessary
to achieve the goal of inhibiting the increase of CO2 emissions
globally. It requires the acceleration of implementing renewable
energy sources, and wherever it is politically and socially acceptable, also nuclear energy, as the two basic sources of energy without
GHG emission.
Preventing climate chang through promoting a low-emission economy means adjusting economic policy through technological
innovations which will ensure progress in achieving environmental
goals and economic beneits, including the formation of new eco
jobs. The development of RES and nuclear energy may contribute to eliminating the relationship between economic growth
and emission growth. In addition, the prospect of growing costs
connected with CO2 emissions in developed countries in the future
will considerably change the economic perspective of no-emission
energy sources.
Chapter 6
Energy eficiency
Tomasz MIROWSKI155
Energy transition is identiied with a change from fossil fuels
to low emission energy sources. It means replacing previously used
energy carriers and saving fuels and energy as well as improvement
of energy eficiency through certain activities. Lowering the concentration of greenhouse gases and other harmful pollutants in the
air requires a fundamental transformation of the energy supply system, including the replacement of fossil fuels with alternative energy
sources and technologies such as renewable energy sources, nuclear
energy, or clean coal technologies – CCT.156 At the same time, technologies capturing CO2 emission from exhaust fumes through CCS cause
a number of application problems, have operation faults, and involve
different risks. But irst of all, they are very expensive in relation to
other ways of lowering CO2 emissions, such as e.g., improvement of
energy eficiency, substitution of input fuel, or some kinds of RES.157
This part of the chapter presents the approach to energy eficiency
as one of the instruments for reducing the consumption of energy
resources and the emission of greenhouse gases.
Tomasz Mirowski, PhD, Eng., Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute,
Polish Academy of Sciences, 31-261 Kraków, ul. Wybickiego 7A, 31-261 Kraków,
e-mail:
[email protected]
156
T. Młynarski, Energetyka jądrowa wobec globalnych problemów bezpieczeństwa
energetycznego i zmian klimatu w XXI wieku [Nuclear energy vs global challenges
of energy security and the non-proliferation regime in the age of climate changes],
Bezpieczeństwo. Teoria i praktyka, Kwartalnik Krakowskiej Akademii im. A.F.
Modrzewskiego, Kraków 2016, no. 1 (XXII), pp. 17-28.
157
L. Gawlik, D. Kryzia, M. Pepłowska, Uwarunkowania rozwoju czystych technologii wytwarzania energii z paliw kopalnych [Determinants of the development
of clean technologies of energy production from fossil fuels], Polityka Energetyczna,
2016, Vol. 19, part 4, pp. 63-74.
155
78
Tomasz MIROWSKI
The concept of energy eficiency and the ways of its improvement
are sometimes erroneously identiied only with the performance of
energy equipment and activities aimed to improve it. An extended deinition of energy eficiency proposed in the work explains the concept
fully158: Energy eficiency is lowering primary energy consumption
at the stage of voltage change (energy transformation), transfer,
distribution, or inal energy consumption, caused by technological
changes, changes in behavior, or economic changes, ensuring the
same or a higher level of comfort or services. Solutions increasing
the effectiveness of inal energy consumption reduce both the consumption of energy consumed by end users and of primary energy.
The deinition of energy eficiency in Polish law (Act of 2016) is
formulated for the needs of trade mechanisms with energy eficiency
certiicates (so-called white certiicates) discussed further in the chapter. The deinition is as follows: energy eficiency is the ratio of the
obtained operational effect of the facility, technological device, or
installation in typical conditions of operation or use, and the amount of
energy consumed by the facility, technological device, or installation,
or as a result of the provided service necessary to achieve that effect.
Global primary energy consumption
Global primary energy consumption grew from 3,730 Mtoe in 1965
to 13,147 Mtoe in 2015, more than a three-and-a-half-fold increase
within half a century (Fig. 3).
The accumulated rates of increase of primary energy consumption
per capita also display high dynamics, especially in Asian and Middle
East countries. Chart 8 presents the percentage increment of the consumed primary energy represented on the left axis by world regions
(bars). The lines (curves) represent energy consumption per capita in
the regions expressed as accumulated increase toe/person in percentage.
Comparing data concerning the demand for energy and demographic
changes within the latest 50 years, we can see a kind of relationship. In
places where population is dynamically growing, energy consumption
T. Skoczkowski, Wprowadzenie do efektywności energetycznej. Inteligentna
energia. Efektywne zarządzanie energią w małej i średniej irmie [Introduction
to energy eficiency. Intelligent energy. Effective energy management in a small
or medium-sized enterprise], KAPE, Warsaw 2009.
158
Energy eficiency
79
Figure 4. Global and regional primary energy consumption
in the years 1965-2015 in Mtoe
Source: Statistical Review of World Energy, British Petroleum, 2016, www.bp.com
(accessed: 09.12.2016).
per capita is also increasing.159 Economically developed regions, such
as North America or Europe and Eurasia, have maintained a similar
stable level over the last ive years, with a downward tendency.
Chart 8. Accumulated increase in primary energy consumption
(left axis) and energy per capita (right axis) for world regions
in the years 1965-2015
Source: Statistical Review of World Energy, British Petroleum, 2016, www.bp.com
(accessed: 09.12.2016).
159
Population growth database, World Bank, http://data.worldbank.org (accessed:
14.12.2016).
80
Tomasz MIROWSKI
Governments intend to reduce primary energy consumption
through saving, and to reduce inal energy at the user through modern energy technologies and energy management techniques.
EU energy eficiency policy
The future of energy is more and more often discussed due to the
prospect of exhaustion of fossil fuels and climate changes connected
with the emission of gases during their combustion with growing
energy consumption per capita. After the European Union announced
the so-called climate package, governments of member states intensiied their work on setting the direction of development of the national
energy industry. Documents included in the package (colloquially
called “3x20”) set the activities to take in order to meet the three
basic assumptions by 2020. The main aim is to increase energy eficiency by 20% in comparison to a scenario which does not involve any
activities in this regard. It is so important because all the goals are
interrelated, and the improvement of effectiveness is of key importance for meeting the other obligations. The other assumptions of the
package are to increase the share of renewable energy sources and to
decrease the emission of greenhouse gases. After negotiations at the
national level, quantity targets were decided for each member state,
which will allow the whole EU to meet the goal. The base year was
negotiated individually by selected (developing) countries to which the
reduction of greenhouse gases emission applied. Developing countries
have a higher share of the industry sector in the national economy, so
they emit more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Imposing on
them the same requirements as on developed countries could lead to
inhibiting national economies, and thus, development. The assumptions of the climate and energy package are also the main goals of the
“Europe 2020” strategy aimed at intelligent, lasting and social inclusion-promoting economic growth (Komorowska A., 2016). For that
purpose, activities have been taken to limit greenhouse gas emission
through the introduction of the Emissions Trading System (ETS)
which is the European Union’s priority system for limiting greenhouse gases emission from industrial installations, transport, and
big power plants. New investments in low emission technologies pro-
Energy eficiency
81
moted by the ETS are also an example of activity aimed at improving
energy eficiency in the main sectors of the economy of every country.
ETS refers to 45% greenhouse gases emitted in the European Union.
According to the strategy “Europe 2020”, those emissions should be
reduced by 21% before the year 2020. The year 2005 was adopted as
the base year. The remaining 55% of greenhouse gases are emitted in
the sectors of housing, agriculture, and waste management. National
emission reduction targets were established in order to reduce them.
The scope of intervention differs depending on the level of economic
development and afluence of the country. The most developed countries are obliged to reduce GHG emissions by 20% before 2020, and less
developed ones may increase the emissions by 20% at the maximum.
Another activity of the European Union is the support for renewable
energy. The objectives in this regard have also been divided depending on the capacity for renewable energy production and the initial
position of member states. The last but not least area supported by
the European Union is energy eficiency.160
Two indices are used to evaluate the improvement of energy eficiency in member states’ economies. These are GDP energy intensity,
i.e., the ratio of GDP to energy consumption, and the ODEX index.
ODEX is an aggregated energy eficiency index of the end consumer.
It has been introduced to monitor the energy eficiency of EU countries. It has a simple methodology behind an understandable, simple
and comparable index to illustrate progress in the energy eficiency of
member states. ODEX indices are useful in monitoring the achievement
of the indicative objective of energy eficiency determined in Directive
2006/32/EC. There are two alternative methods of computing ODEX.
The irst of them is aggregation based on the effect of unit consumption, combining the progress in energy eficiency achieved in all the
subsectors based on the amount of saved energy in Mtoe: it is based
on “the effect of unit consumption”. The other method (“weighted
average method”) weighs a separate index of unit consumption of
each subsector on the basis of its share in the energy consumption of
A. Komorowska, T. Mirowski, Mechanisms to improve Energy eficiency in the
context of the objectives of climate and Energy package. Humanistas and Social
Sciences, 2017, HSS-24-(x-2017) (in printing).
160
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Tomasz MIROWSKI
the whole sector.161 The disadvantage of this index is that it does not
show the current level of energy intensity but progress as compared
to the base year.
Energy savings in the EU in 2013 are estimated to be approx. 200
Mtoe. In other words, without energy saving, the consumption of inal
energy would be 200 Mtoe (or 19%) higher in 2013 than in 2000. If
we compare the amount of energy saved this way with the energy of
natural gas consumed in Germany, we can see it is the equivalent of 3
years’ gas consumption (2013-2015). For Poland, the saved energy is
equivalent to almost 15 years of natural gas consumption (2001-2015).
As a result of the economic crisis, the annual rate of energy consumption in the EU has dropped to 12 Mtoe/year, as compared to 16 Mtoe/
year before the crisis. In 2013, approximately 33% of the savings was
in the sector of households, 30% in industry, 28% in transport, and
9% in services. In 2012, the amount of saved energy was 180 Mtoe for
the whole EU as compared to the year 2000, which is equivalent to
17% of the energy consumed by the end customers. Chart 9 presents
the accumulated values of energy saved in EU countries divided into
two periods: before the economic crisis (2000-2007) and after the
economic crisis (2007-2013).
Chart 9. Energy savings in the EU by sector
Source: Odyssee-Mure, Synthesis: Energy Eficiency Trends and Policies in the EU.
An Analysis Based on the ODYSSEE and MURE Databases, Fraunhofer ISI Germany and ENERDATA France, September 2015.
System Monitorowania Rozwoju [Development monitoring system], Strateg 2017,
www.strateg.gov.pl (accessed: 07.12.2017).
161
Energy eficiency
83
Improvement of energy eficiency illustrated
with the example of selected EU countries
In order to increase energy eficiency, some mechanisms of activity
have been established and included in Directive 2012/27/EU.162 Each
member state should establish its own system of energy eficiency
obligations. It obligates both the distribution sector and the energy
sales sector to meet the combined energy saving target by the end
of 2020. An alternative to this system is to implement other ways of
improving energy eficiency, allowing countries to meet the end customer targets of energy saving. The following energy eficiency policy
instruments can be applied163:
taxation of energy or CO2, leading to end customers reducing
energy consumption,
inancial plans and instruments or tax incentives, which result in
the introduction of new, energy effective technologies and lead to
the reduction of energy consumption by end customers,
regulations or voluntary agreements that lead to the application
of energy effective technologies or techniques and result in lower
energy consumption by end customers,
norms and standards aimed at the improvement of energy eficiency of products and services, including buildings and vehicles,
energy marking systems,
training and education, including energy advisory programmes,
which lead to the application of energy effective technologies and
result in lower energy consumption by end customers.
The improvement of energy eficiency since 2000 is the highest
in 6 EU countries (Hungary, Slovakia, Latvia, Poland, Bulgaria and
Poland), exceeding 2%/year (Figure 4). In the other 20 countries, the
improvement has been between 1% and 2%/year. This does not mean
that countries such as Germany, Luxembourg, Denmark or Italy do
not have energy policies promoting the improvement of energy eficiency. In those countries the living standard is much higher, thanks
Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council 2012/27/EU of 25 October 2012 on energy eficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU
and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC.
163
A. Komorowska, T. Mirowski, Mechanisms to improve Energy…, op.cit.
162
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Tomasz MIROWSKI
to which in the households and services sectors and partially, the
transport sector, a high level of savings was achieved in the 1990s.
Decarbonization in EU-15 countries through the replacement of coalbased energy technologies with nuclear power plants and RES led to
the situation in which savings at the level of the countries of the “new
Union”, e.g., Poland, are impossible.
Chart 10. Progress in energy eficiency in different countries
(without the services sector)
Source: Odyssee-Mure, Synthesis: Energy Eficiency Trends and Policies in the EU.
An Analysis Based on the ODYSSEE and MURE Databases, Fraunhofer ISI Germany and ENERDATA France, September 2015.
Poland
In Poland, energy saving was included in the assumptions of Polish
Energy Policy until 2030. Since 2005, most of the planned activities
concerning energy eficiency have been carried out or at least commenced:
support for cogeneration on the basis of utility heat demand on
the internal market (implementation of Directive 2004/8/EC)
through the introduction of a system of certiicates of origin from
cogeneration, also applying to natural gas energy (so-called red
and yellow certiicates),
review of energy intensity of selected branches of economy and
the possibility to reduce energy losses in the national electricity
system; the results of these analyses were used when developing
system solutions concerning the reduction of energy intensity of
economy,
Energy eficiency
85
launching an information campaign by the Ministry of Economy
promoting rational energy use,
implementing Directive 2002/91/EC on the energy performance of
buildings, promoting pro-eficiency activities, in particular thermomodernization,
implementing Directive 2006/32/EC on energy end-use eficiency
and energy services,
adopting the Act of 15.04.2011 on energy eficiency (Journal of Laws
No. 94, item 551 as amended), which set the national objective of
economical energy management, tasks of public sector entities in this
regard, the rules of obtaining and redemption of energy eficiency
certiicates and rules for performing an energy eficiency audit.
The currently applicable Act on energy eficiency of 20 May 2016
(Journal of Laws of 2016, item 831) points to three basic areas in which
measurable effects of energy eficiency improvement can be obtained
with the use of appropriate instruments. These are the white certiicates system, energy eficiency audits in enterprises, and energy
management systems. Energy eficiency certiicates, (so-called white
certiicates) are a mechanism that stimulates and enforces pro-saving behaviors. The Act on energy eficiency imposed the obligation to
obtain and submit for the President of the ERO a certain number of
energy eficiency certiicates for redemption or to pay a substitution
fee. The obligation lies with:
energy enterprises that sell electricity, heat or natural gas to end
customers connected to the grid within the Republic of Poland
(RP),
end customers connected to the grid within the Republic of Poland
that are members of the mercantile exchange, as regards transactions made individually on the mercantile exchange,
commodity brokerage houses or brokerage houses, as regards
transactions made on the mercantile exchange at the order of end
customers connected to the grid within the Republic of Poland.
Energy eficiency certiicates and their redemption are administered
by the President of the Energy Regulatory Ofice, and the property
rights resulting from them are transferable, being an exchange commodity tradable on power exchange. This market mechanism makes
it possible to obtain energy saving in three areas:
Tomasz MIROWSKI
86
end customers,
own equipment of energy producers and suppliers,
reduction of losses of electricity, heat or natural gas in transfer or
distribution.
For the three above-mentioned project categories aimed at improving energy eficiency, the President of the ERO organizes at least three
times a year tenders for projects used to improve energy eficiency for
which energy eficiency certiicates (white certiicates) can be granted.
They can be received for already carried out pro-eficiency activity
(completed after 01/01/2011) or for an activity that is planned. An
energy eficiency certiicate can be received for an activity as a result
of which annual primary energy saving is at least 10 toe, or for a group
of activities of the same kind, whose combined effect exceeds 10 toe.164
Table 5 presents the latest ODEX indices for Poland in the 20002014 period as compared to the mean of EU countries.
Table 5. Increase of energy eficiency in the main sectors since
2000 in Poland and EU countries
TRANSPORTATION
INDUSTRY
HOUSEHOLDS
SERVICES*
Source: Odyssee-Mure, on-line database: http://www.indicators.odyssee-mure.eu/
online-indicators.html (accessed: 27.01.2017).
Although the eficiency of energy use in Poland has improved a lot
in recent years, further measures are needed to reduce the distance
from the mean value obtained by EU countries. Industry has had the
Website devoted to energy eficiency, Energopomiar, 2016, www.bialecertyikaty.
com.pl (accessed: 11.11.2016).
164
Energy eficiency
87
greatest share in reducing energy intensity. However, changes in the
sector require high costs and are introduced slowly, usually if there
are inancial beneits to be achieved. The most important sectors in
which energy eficiency needs to be improved in Poland are residential construction and transport. Anywhere that the consumption of
energy from fossil fuels is lowered or replaced with renewable sources,
energy eficiency is improved. In construction energy consumption can
be cheaply reduced. Thermomodernization and conversion of heating
technologies powered by fossil fuels into RES systems (solar collectors, biomass boilers, heat pumps, photovoltaic panels) contribute to
the improvement of energy balance in the municipal and residential
sector. It is worth remembering that the changes are largely dependent
on the participation of individual customers, so any changes reducing primary energy consumption are beneicial. That is why so much
attention has been given to rational energy use recently. Information
programmes, device marking, subsidies to RES systems, and stimulating energy consumption by price diversiication (dedicated tariffs)
are designed to develop the habit of saving energy in citizens.
The situation in transport regarding energy eficiency is slightly
different. In this case, apart from increasing the use of inal energy
through technological changes (e.g., energy-saving engines), economic
changes and changes in users’ behaviors are necessary. Many towns
all over the world have changed or are changing the organization of
town transportation, promoting public transport and cycling at the
same time. This involves e.g., banning passenger car trafic in town
centers, combined with the creating of parking lots at the borders of
closed areas and offering public transport from there, assigning bus
passes on roads with more than one lane, regulating public transport
ticket prices, incentives for environment-friendly vehicles (hybrid and
electric cars) and the extension of tramway, subway and electric urban
railroad infrastructure.
Conclusion
Energy policy is a signiicant element of economic development of
every country. High energy consumption and dependence on external supplies of energy resources and ready fuels are reasons to look
88
Tomasz MIROWSKI
for new solutions to ensure energy security. The irst oil crisis of 1973
contributed to the inclusion of energy security among the priorities of
energy policy. Rational use of fuels became an important element of
the European strategy of reducing the dependence of the whole European Union on oil importation. An example of response to this can be
changes introduced in the automotive sector in Germany. Volkswagen
AG introduced new models with small gasoline engines (from 1,100
ccm) and at the end of the 1970s, diesel engines for compact cars of
1,500 ccm, consuming on average 5.5 liter/100km, and after 1980,
1,600 ccm consuming on average 5.0 liter/100 km.165 In the energy
sector, the oil crisis changed the fuel mix of many countries. In France,
the use of oil converted into primary energy decreased from 64% in
1970 to 31% in 2012166 (IEA 2014). Power plants using heavy fuel oil
were liquidated and replaced with nuclear blocks. Seeing the positive
effects of this approach, in the following years, activities connected
with the optimization of consumption were extended to other energy
sectors as part of the broad objective of improving energy eficiency.
So the aim is to diversify the supply of energy and to look for new
deposits of energy resources, but departure from the basic fuel involves
much investment and transformation of the industrial infrastructure.
By introducing the idea of sustainable energy development into their
policies in order to ensure a clean, ecological, and secure energy future,
countries concentrate on improving eficiency and diversifying energy
sources. This is to be promoted, not only by increasing the share of
renewable energy sources (RES) and decreasing energy intensity of
sectors, but also by the introduction of nuclear (not necessarily large
scale) energy, and energy management as part of intelligent networks.
165
Fuel consumption reports for Volkswagen Golf I 1.5 D 50KM 1976-1980 and 1.6
D 54KM 1980-1983, www.autocentrum.pl, (accessed: 07.12.2016).
166
Energy mix source: 2009 and 2014, International Energy Agency Statistics,
International Energy Agency, www.iea.org.
Chapter 7
Storage of electrical and thermal
energy
Tomasz MIROWSKI167, Mariusz FILIPOWICZ168
Storing energy is indispensable to the search for solutions to
improve effective use of energy in energy systems. This applies both
to large-scale electricity, heating, gas or oil systems, and to medium
(up to 5 MW) and small or micro scale (up to several kW) ones. In gas
and oil systems, storage technologies have been thoroughly studied in
terms of technological and economic issues, so they are no challenge
for researchers nowadays. But electricity and heat storage facilities
are still the object of research and development work.
As energy is generated, the problem of its effective use arises,
because the supply does not always equal the demand. This especially
applies to electricity. Energy demand is not always the same or easy
to predict. Daily and seasonal volatility of some renewable energy
sources makes the balancing of energy in energy systems even more
dificult. Usually, whenever a large amount of energy is needed, only
a small amount or no energy can be generated. So as to eliminate the
effects of this inappropriate though natural supply of energy, when
there is always a surplus when the demand for energy is low, it is necessary to store it. The means of storage must be adjusted to its method
of generation and the needs of the recipient.
Energy can be stored in different forms. Storing thermal, electrical,
and mechanical energy arouses the highest interest. The growing number
Tomasz Mirowski, PhD, Eng., Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute,
Polish Academy of Sciences, 31-261 Kraków, ul. Wybickiego 7A, 31-261 Kraków,
e-mail:
[email protected]
168
Mariusz Filipowicz, DSc, Eng., Associate Professor in Department of Sustainable Energy Development, Faculty of Energy and Fuels, AGH University of Science
and Technology in Kraków, e-mail:
[email protected]
167
90
Tomasz MIROWSKI, Mariusz FILIPOWICZ
of unstable renewable energy sources and the surpluses of unused heat
from big conventional coal or nuclear power plants make energy storage
a necessary element of such systems of energy generation. The objective
is to ind solutions that are highly effective and environment-friendly.
The basic role of energy storage is presented in the diagram in Figure 5.
Figure 5. The role of storage
Source: author’s study
We can see that energy storage occurs between the source of energy
and the supplier, and meets several important goals:
it allows the source of energy to work at nominal power, when it
is more eficient,
it supplies energy when the source is not working or is working
with lower power: this has fundamental importance when unstable
renewable sources are used,
it compensates the lower quality of electricity.
For practical reasons, we can identify storage of heat and storage
of electricity. They involve completely different technologies and construction of storage facilities, as well as kinds of sources and customers.
Storage of electricity
The growing demand for electricity is strongly related to its quality and the security of supply. Storing electricity contributes to the
reduction of transmission limitations and – through monitoring the
Storage of electrical and thermal energy
91
Figure 6. Application of electricity storage facilities
Source: author’s study based on: S. Kalaiselvam, R. Parameshwaran, 2014169
grid load – to higher reliability and quality of energy supplies. Locally
stored electricity can be used in emergency situations (e.g., when the
grid is covered with ice) in order to continue the supply at least for
some customers. The problem is especially important in production
sectors, where the quality of supply is one of the main elements of
the technological process. UPS systems can secure the supply to the
most vulnerable devices or technological chains, but more and more
demands in this regard are being transferred to network operators.
It is time to expand the scope of activities beyond the local market.
This is possible thanks to intelligent networks, in which electricity is
transferred in two directions, and the collection and processing of
source-grid-customer information is the basis for the functioning of
the Smart Grid. During the work of an electricity system, the energy
stored in tanks can used to balance the supply and demand, to supply
system services (regulation and reserve), to eliminate transmission
limitations, to manage the demand from end customers, to increase
S. Kalaiselvam, R. Parameshwaran, Thermal Energy Storage Technologies for
Sustainability. Systems Design, Assessment and Applications. Academic Press,
2014, Elsevier Web Library: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-417291-3.09983-7.
169
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Tomasz MIROWSKI, Mariusz FILIPOWICZ
the reliability and controllability of renewable sources, and to reduce
the costs of connecting sources to the system.170 Figure 6 presents the
role of energy storage facilities.
Figure 7 shows the services on the electricity market which thanks
to the storage of energy would doubtless facilitate the work of transmission and distribution networks operators, allowing quicker development
of energy, based on local balancing of energy from big generation
sources and from dispersed sources, including RES.
Figure 7. Services in electricity engineering which can be ensured
thanks to energy storage
Source: DOE/EPRI Electricity Storage Handbook in Collaboration with NRECA,
Sandia National Laboratories Albuquerque, New Mexico and Livermore, California 2015.
The following methods are used to store electricity:
high temperature superconducting – HTS (magnetic ield),
supercapacitors (electric ield),
spinning wheels (mechanical),
T. Siewierski, M. Szypowski, Zasobniki energii elektrycznej i bilansowanie
odnawialnych ź ródeł energii [Energy storage facilities and balancing renewable energy sources], Elektroenergetyka – Współczesnoś́ i Rozwój, 2012, nos. 3−4
(13−14), pp. 65−75.
170
Storage of electrical and thermal energy
93
compressed air energy storage – CAES (compressed air),
chargeable and non-chargeable batteries (electrochemical),
pumped storage power plants.
The possibilities to apply selected technologies in three areas of
services in electric energy engineering is presented in Figure 8.
Figure 8. Diagram of selected energy storage technologies:
discharge time – power
Source: DOE/EPRI Electricity Storage Handbook in Collaboration with NRECA,
Sandia National Laboratories Albuquerque, New Mexico and Livermore, California 2015.
Storage with the use of magnetic ield requires superconductors.
Accomplishments in the ield of making high temperature superconductors which can be cooled with liquid nitrogen allow the production
of many energy transmission and storage systems. The use of brittle
ceramic material may be a problem, but the technology of superconductive tapes has been developed, and the tapes are used to make
superconductive cables. Examples of application of such storage facilities are so-called D-SMES, i.e., Dispersed Superconducting Magnetic
Energy Storage (in this case, low temperature superconductors are
used). They are installed wherever there are problems with the quality
of electricity, e.g., voltage dips, deformed course, etc. Power parameters can be improved through temporary “injection” of stored energy.
Using the phenomenon of levitation between the magnet and the
superconductor allows the building of no-friction bearings, which are
used in the construction of low-loss lywheels used to store mechan-
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Tomasz MIROWSKI, Mariusz FILIPOWICZ
ical energy, which is converted into electricity and back in a special
engine/generator system (High-Power Flywheels technology). Example
structures of such storage facilities have been developed, e.g., lywheels
storing between several and more than ten kWh energy and the peak
power of several hundred kW.
They are able to perform over 100 thousand loading/unloading
cycles, but a failure may occur due to fatigue of the rotor. Since these
are rather short-term storage systems, they are not attractive for largescale network support. Currently, these units are being launched to the
market. Examples are the 23 MW unit installed by Okinawa Power,
or the 20 MW unit working since 2011 in Stephentown, USA, used to
regulate frequency.171
Another technology is supercapacitors (electric double-layer capacitors), whose capacities are thousands of times higher than in the case
of classic capacitors thanks to unfolded electrodes and a special electrolyte. In practice they still store relatively little electricity, but they
already have more and more applications, such as assisting vehicle
batteries, regenerative brakes, or bus propulsion. Supercapacitor bus
in Shanghai is an example of that. The network involves network stabilizers based on storage systems made up of lithium-ion batteries
and supercapacitors.
Storage facilities based on compressed air are also becoming more
and more important. They use underground containers with the proper
parameters (e.g., unused salt or limestone mines), into which air is
pumped so as to achieve the proper pressure. When there is an excess
of energy, the reversible engine/generator system uses the system of
compressors to pump air. In the case of energy intake, compressed
air is used to power the gas turbine. No compressor integrated with
a gas turbine is needed then to supply compressed air to the combustion chamber. This way, the eficiency of gas turbine improves
greatly. It is also possible to construct a system with a turbine working on compressed air without the need to use fuel (second-generation
CAES systems).
Currently, apart from pumped storage power plants, only CAES
systems are used commercially to collect large amounts of energy.
Energy storage. Technology Brief, IEA-ETSAP and IRENA Technology Policy
Brief E18, IRENA, 2012, www.etsap.org/www.irena.org (accessed: 10.11.2016).
171
Storage of electrical and thermal energy
95
The irst installation was the Huntorf system with a 300 thousand m3 container, a 60 MW compressor consuming energy to pump
air for 8 hours a day, and a 290 MW gas turbine releasing energy during the 2-hour demand peak. Another example is the storage facility
in Macintosh, USA, with the following parameters: 110 MW capacity,
cave of approx. 70x300 m, 100 thousand m3, pressure approx. 75-45
bar, unloading time 26h, 100 MW gas turbine.
Units are also possible which do not involve underground storage facilities. Overground facilities are used in that case. However,
those units have lower capacity (3-50 MW) and unloading time of 2-6
hours. They are also easier to construct but more expensive (in relation to a unit of power). This is connected with requirements regarding
aboveground facilities.
Other ways of storing energy are chemical and electrochemical
facilities. Chemical storage facilities are: hydrogen, biofuels, synthetic fuels, substitute natural gas, and methanol. Electrochemical
ones are: batteries, low batteries, and fuel cells. The use of chemical
energy storage facilities is connected with the possibility to generate
hydrogen from electrolysis with electricity, obtained e.g., from renewable energy sources. Chemical fuels can be produced from biomass
(or other carboniferous materials).
Electrochemical batteries have the following advantages: good
voltage characteristics, convenient size, and a long history of manufacture. The disadvantages are: a limited number of charge cycles
and limitations to working voltages and currents, often detrimental
to the environment.
The oldest solution of electrochemical batteries is lead-acid batteries, invented in the mid-19th century and still widely used, especially
in transport. The positive electrode is lead oxide, and the negative one,
metallic lead. Sulfuric acid is the electrolyte.
One variation of it is the use of carbon in one of both electrodes,
improving battery parameters. Other advanced technologies, substantially improving the parameters of lead-acid batteries, are also being
applied. One example is the 1MW/1.5MWh unit in Metlakatla (USA).
A number of units with the capacity of 1-20 MW are operating. Another
example is the Tappi Wind Park in Japan, where advanced lead-acid
batteries with the capacity of 10.4MWh are used to stabilize the 15
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Tomasz MIROWSKI, Mariusz FILIPOWICZ
MW wind power plant. Flow batteries have two liquid electrolytes
containing metal ions, which low through porous, graphite-coated
electrodes separated with a membrane through which protons can be
transferred. During the exchange of charge, current lows through
the electrodes, which can be used by a battery-powered device.
This reaction can be reversed, allowing for a full charge cycle of
the battery. The cost of storage is approx. USD 500 per 1 kWh. If the
battery charge level is low, the discharged electrolyte “powering” the
battery can be simply replaced with a charged one. After the electrolyte is pumped out, it can be reilled at a gas station. Storage systems
with low batteries require large amounts of electrolyte in case of storage needs of megawatt hours. The systems are designed to survive 10
thousand charge cycles, although Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd.,
manufactures 20 kW batteries with 13 thousand cycles. Examples are
the 600 kW unit with a capacity of 3.6 MWh installed in Gills Onions,
Oxnard, the USA, or the 1MW/5MWh system installed in Japan.172
Sodium–sulfur batteries are still another solution. In a cylindrical
chamber of sodium sulide there is a negative electrode, which is surrounded by liquid sodium at the service temperature. Another active
component of this battery is liquid sulfur surrounded by graphite felt. It
is not only used to transport electrons, but it also absorbs polysulides
formed when discharging the battery, which ensures the supply of sulfur to the zone of electrochemical reaction. Sodium-sulfur batteries
have better parameters than ordinary batteries (high performance,
temperature-independence, and the lack of self-discharge). The only
problem is that they work at high temperatures (approx. 300oC). Currently, it is a commercial technology used in units supporting network
operation or in integration with a network of wind turbines. What is
important in this is the possibility of long discharge (approximately 6
hours). Possible energy density is 170 kWh/m3 and 117 kWh/ton. The
number of charge cycles is 4,500, and the designed life cycle is 15 years.
Sample uses are: the biggest single installation with a capacity of
34 MW located in Rokkasho (Japan), stabilizing the power from wind
turbines; in Tokyo there are smaller units which, combined, produce
160 MW.
DOE/EPRI Electricity Storage Handbook in Collaboration with NRECA, Sandia
National Laboratories Albuquerque, New Mexico and Livermore, California 2015.
172
Storage of electrical and thermal energy
97
At the moment, 221 units operate with the power of 316 MW and
a storage capacity of 1,896 MWh.
Sodium-nickel chloride batteries, just like sodium-sulfur ones, are
high temperature devices. They are based on a reversible reaction of
sodium chloride with nickel (metal dust). Units with the power of 50
kW – 1 MW are currently produced. A sample application is the 222
kWh unit installed in the Duke Energy Rankin Substation in New
York. Wider application in units integrating renewable energy systems and the grid is planned.
Other examples of electrochemical devices are iron-chromium
batteries or zinc-bromine batteries, but in comparison to previously
mentioned electrochemical units they have a much narrower range
of applications.
One signiicant electrochemical energy container are lithium-ion
batteries. Currently, this technology is commercialized and mostly
used in electronic devices or various electric vehicles. The capacities
of those batteries may reach 50 kWh.
Small scale (5-10 kW/20 kWh) and large scale (1 MW) demonstration systems with a discharge time of 15 minutes until frequency
regulation are presently being implemented.
They are also used in off-grid systems, where they ensure the users
power supply for 1-3 hours after the failure of grid power supply. They
may also serve as energy banks in PV systems.
Currently, pumped storage power plants have the greatest storage
capacities, which are quite commonly used to store energy in electricity
systems. The idea involves a reversible turbine/pump placed between
two containers, an upper and lower one. When there is a surplus of
energy, water is pumped from the lower to the upper container, and
when there is a demand for energy, water released from the upper
container propels the turbines. Certainly, the system has both advantages and disadvantages. Its advantages are high capacity, eficiency
about 80%, and the possibility to start quickly in the case of emergency. The disadvantages are limited possibilities for localization and
interference with the natural environment.
The system has the greatest storage capacity, because the only limitation is the size of the upper and lower water tank.
In Poland, the pumped storage power plant in Żarnowiec is the biggest. Its capacity is 716 MW for turbine work and 800 MW for pump
Tomasz MIROWSKI, Mariusz FILIPOWICZ
98
work. Globally, their storage ability is over 99% of the total capacity
of all storage facilities (Chart 11), providing 127 GW storage capacity
and 740 TWh of energy.173 The world’s biggest installation (USA) has
a capacity of approx. 3 GW. By the year 2020, more units are planned
in Europe, with total capacity of up to 15 GW.
Chart 11. Share of pumped-storage hydroelectricity in the global
electricity storage system (in MW)
Source: Renewables and electricity storage. A technology roadmap for REmap
2030, IRENA, 2015, www.irena.org (12.11.2016).
Thermal energy storage
In the case of storing thermal energy, we can identify the following methods (Fig. 9). The basic parameters of thermal energy storage
facilities are the density of the stored energy, capacity, the time of loading and unloading the tank (or charging and discharging the battery),
working temperature and total eficiency.
Each currently used energy storage facility has the capacity of
200÷2·1016J, and power of 6·10 -4 ÷1015W. The time of thermal energy
storage is between several seconds and several decades.
The most frequently used methods are:
methods of underground thermal energy storage,
the use of the speciic heat of the water,
phase change materials,
other, less often used methods.
173
Ibidem.
Storage of electrical and thermal energy
99
Underground thermal energy storage may be achieved thanks to
the following technologies:
BTES (Borehole Thermal Energy Storage),
ATES (Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage),
UTES (Underground Thermal Energy Storage).
Figure 9. Methods of thermal energy storage
Source: author’s study.
Systems based on BTES are already in use on a small and large
scale. The small scale is e.g., a detached house with a solar thermal
collector, a BTES unit, and a system of heating including a heat pump.
The excess heat from the summer season is stored in a borehole, and
in winter the heat is regained by the heat pump for the purpose of
a low temperature heating system in the building. This way, because
of the higher temperature of the bottom heat source, the eficiency of
the heat pump considerably increases.
The large scale is much bigger projects for residential areas etc.
One example is a residential area near Calgary with 52 houses, where
144 boreholes have been made. They are integrated with 800 solar
thermal collectors with a surface area of 2,300 m2.
The use of ATES involves similar depositing of energy in underground water layers; it may also be cold energy. One example is the
Arlanda airport in Stockholm, where two groups of “cold” and “hot”
wells have been used, providing thermal power up to 10 MW and
annual heat savings of up to 10 GWh.
100
Tomasz MIROWSKI, Mariusz FILIPOWICZ
The use of speciic heat of water involves using different water
tanks of different sizes, coupled with thermal systems. These may be
both renewable systems (e.g., storing heat absorbed by the surface of
a parking lot in underground tanks and using it later to melt snow).
Another example is the application of two water tanks with a total
capacity of 580 m3 in Crailsheim for a system of 7,300 m2 of solar collectors and borehole energy storage. The storage of ice water for the
needs of large cooling installations is also possible.
Quick technological and application development can be observed
in phase change materials. Their important advantage is that their
temperature does not change during the facility loading/unloading.
The basic materials are parafins, hydrated salts, and liquid salts.
The criteria for selecting the appropriate PCM are their physical
properties (phase change temperature, latent heat of synthesis, thermal conductivity, phase separation, steam pressure, volume change,
density, and crystal growth), chemical properties (chemical stability,
security) and economic ones (availability, proitability).
They can be used e.g., as a support for passive cooling/heating
systems in passive or low-energy buildings (improvement of thermal
properties or reduction of temperature oscillation), which allows e.g.,
reducing the power of classic heating/cooling systems. Building walls
constructed for this purpose contain a PCM layer e.g. in the form of
micro capsules placed in gypsum board or insulation material. Active
solar walls which store heat can also be constructed.
Systems that make use of chemical reaction heat or the release of
water from hydrates or zeolites are much more rarely used.
The development of energy storage may occur as a result of popularizing so-called virtual power plants based on dispersed energy
systems. In order to connect a number of different energy producers and customers with different characteristics of production and
reception, it is necessary to monitor and predict in advance both the
production and consumption of energy. In the case of a high share of
power plants based on renewable sources, it is necessary to use energy
storage facilities which can be set up remotely using an appropriate
control and management system.
Nowadays, technological development means new possibilities of
energy storage. A number of solutions need to be better studied and
Storage of electrical and thermal energy
101
implemented; at the moment they are treated as so-called emerging
technologies. These are:
storage based on the use of condensed air; currently, small-scale
demonstration systems are being constructed,
no fuel (or low consumption) CAES and isothermal systems,
underground pump power plants (in the research phase),
nano-supercapacitors (in the phase of laboratory tests),
advanced lywheels (in the phase of research and development),
a number of advanced battery systems (H2/Br low batteries, advanced lead-acid batteries, advanced lithium-io).
Chapter 8
The role of exchanges and hubs
on contemporary gas markets
Marcin SIENKIEWICZ174
Many contemporary natural gas markets are undergoing intensive transition from a closed and monopolistic model towards an
open and liberal one. Clear progress in the process is visible irst
of all in the European Union and North America. One goal of the
Third Energy Package adopted by EU countries in 2009 is to build
an intra-European, liberalized market of natural gas. Competition
is to be the basic principle of the functioning of the European natural gas market. In the case of natural monopolies, usually occurring
in transmission and storage areas, market participants make use of
applicable regulations protecting them from excess prices (tariffs)
and discriminatory practices (the Third Party Access principle). Market mechanisms are implemented e.g., through the abolishment of
price tariffs in extraction and trade segments.175 In the case of the
United States, the market transition is referred to as the “shale revolution”, which means the rapid increase of extraction of natural gas
from unconventional resources in the USA. Thanks to the popularization of extraction methods using hydraulic fracturing of deposits,
natural gas production in the USA grew by 42% between 2005 and
2013.176 As a result, the United States became the world’s greatest
Marcin Sienkiewicz, PhD, Department of International Relations of Poland, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Wrocław, plac Uniwersytecki 1, 50-137 Wrocław,
e-mail:
[email protected]
175
K. Nowak, Rynek gazu ziemnego – zasady funkcjonowania [The rules of functioning of natural gas market], [in:] Vademecum gazownika, Tom IV, ed. A. Matkowski,
Kraków, 2012, p. 23.
176
R. F. Aguilera, M. Radetzki, Rewolucja łupkowa: Światowe rynki gazu i ropy
naftowej w warunkach transformacji [Shale revolution: Global gas and oil markets
174
The role of exchanges and hubs on contemporary gas markets
103
gas producer, whose extraction level reached 767.3 m³ in 2015.177 The
global signiicance of natural gas as a fuel in the energy sector and
as a resource in the chemical industry is growing. This is proved by
the 86.4% increase in turnover at international gas markets between
2001 and 2012.178 The development of the LNG sector is becoming
a factor that creates good integration conditions even for gas markets
that are geographically distant. An example of this process in action
is the irst supplies of American liqueied gas to European ports in
Portugal and Spain in 2016. The increase in natural gas supply combined with its increased mobility (thanks to LNG technology and the
development of sea transport) is conducive to more and more evident
price emancipation of natural gas as a commodity in relation to oil.
In the transformation process described above, leading to open and
liberal markets, commercial infrastructure is becoming increasingly
signiicant. Commercial infrastructure is formal institutions allowing market participants to carry out sale transactions. It includes gas
exchange markets and electronic trade platforms dedicated to OTC
(over-the-counter) market. More complex institutions, such as gas
hubs combining commercial and logistic functions, have also been
formed on gas markets.
Gas exchanges
Gas exchanges are mercantile exchanges. They are institutions
that allow and organize trade in natural gas, usually with brokerage
houses as intermediaries in the trade. Exchanges are a transparent
source of information on terms and conditions of transactions and give
more entities access to the market. In practice, gas exchanges operate as part of bigger entities such as mercantile or specialized energy
exchanges. In the USA, organized wholesale trade with natural gas
takes place at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), which
under transition], “Gospodarka Surowcami Mineralnymi”, 2015, Volume 31, Part 1.
177
The Statistics Portal, Natural gas production in the United States from 1998 to 2015
https://www.statista.com/statistics/265331/natural-gas-production-in-the-us/,
(accessed: 13.11.2016).
178
A. Szurlej, P. Janusz, Natural Gas Economy in the United States and European
Markets, “Gospodarka Surowcami Mineralnymi”, 2015, Vol. 29, Part 4, p. 78.
104
Marcin SIENKIEWICZ
belongs to the CME Group from Chicago. In Europe, gas exchanges in
the form of separate markets function within the framework of mercantile energy exchanges, e.g.:
APX Group – established in 1999 in Amsterdam, currently operating on energy markets in Great Britain, the Netherlands, and
Belgium. The exchange gas market was launched in 2003.
EEX – European energy exchange operating in Germany. The gas
market was opened in July 2007.
Nord Pol – Scandinavian energy exchange. The exchange gas trade
began in March 2008.
Powernext – a pan-European energy exchange operating on the
markets of France, Belgium and the Netherlands. In November
2008, PEGAS was set up, which runs two natural gas markets:
Powernext Gas Spot and Powernext Gas Futures.
CEGH Gas Exchange – run since December 2009 by Vienna Stock
Exchange as part of the Baumgarten Central European Gas Hub
AG.
ICE group – operating globally. In Europe it engages in exchange
gas trade in the Netherlands and Great Britain.
Towarowa Giełda Energii S.A. – Polish Power Exchange, with gas
exchange launched in December 2012.
Chart 12. Trading volume on natural gas exchanges in Europe in 2015
(TWh)
Source: Raport Roczny 2015 [Annual Report 2015], GPW, http://raportrocznygpw.
pl/pl/grupa/otoczenie-rynkowe/rynek-towarowy#start (accessed: 13.11.2016).
7
Data for British and Dutch markets, not including data from the USA.
8
Data for all PEGAS markets.
The role of exchanges and hubs on contemporary gas markets
105
Gas exchanges play a special role on the market, offering the possibility to change gas prices in a transparent process which enables the
publishing of price indices. Exchanges are also a transparent source of
information on terms and conditions of transactions and give more entities access to the market. However, in order to participate in exchange
trade, market participants need to meet certain formal requirements,
after which they become exchange members. This is so because trade
on exchange is organized and based on two basic documents: exchange
statute and rules. The irst of them describes e.g., the conditions of
membership, the object of activity, the internal structure, as well as the
bodies of the exchange and the mode of appointing them. As already
mentioned, exchange members are usually brokerage houses and direct
participants in the exchange market. The rules include information concerning e.g., the obligations of exchange members, categories of traded
commodities, as well as units, place of delivery, or collateral. Exchange
transactions concluded on gas markets are cleared through clearing
houses, thanks to which the parties to the transactions may remain
anonymous and the transaction risk is minimal.
Energy exchanges that run the natural gas market also need to meet
reporting obligations established in the Regulation of the European
Parliament and of the Council (EU) no. 1227/2011 of 25 October 2011
on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency – REMIT.
The basic function of the exchange on a gas market is to establish
an objective market price, i.e., a share price, thanks to concentrating and organizing supply and demand in one place. The transparent
mechanism of the functioning of exchanges is a guarantee that the
established commodity price will only relect the balance of power
between the supply and demand at the moment. This way of gas pricing is alternative to the model based on indexing to the prices of oil
and oil derivatives adopted in long term contracts, now functioning
for several dozen years.179
In Europe, PEGAS has the broadest product offer. It offers spot
products and futures contracts, as well as spread transactions using
price differences between hubs. In the irst case, sale transactions are
cleared at the currently applicable price with the clearance deadline
Institute of Energy for South-East Europe, The Outlook for a natural gas trading
hub in Europe, An IENE Study Project (M19), Athens, July 2014, p. 111.
179
106
Marcin SIENKIEWICZ
usually up to 2 days of its conclusion. Futures contracts are contracts
made between two parties, one of which commits itself to buy, and
the other, to sell so-called underlying, at a speciic date, at a speciic
price, and in a speciic amount, under the conditions determined by
the exchange in the standard of derivatives. The performance of the
contract follows the principles set out in the contract standard (delivery of the commodity or inancial clearance). In the case of exchange
gas future contracts, the performance of the contract involves gas
delivery to the relevant gas hub. Contracts cleared in money, e.g., on
the basis of the estimated index of gas prices, are rare.
In Poland, since December 20, 2012, intraday market (IDM) and
day-ahead market (DAM) natural gas trade has been carried out on the
Polish Power Exchange. Gas trade occurs every day in the ixed quotation system.180 The establishment of the exchange was connected with
the implementation of the policy of liberalizing the natural gas market.
Its development was the result of the coming into force of amendments
to Energy Law Act on September 11, 2013, which introduced the obligation of exchange trade for energy enterprises trading in gas fuels in
the form of high methane gas pumped into the transmission network
in the given year.181 The obligation was introduced gradually:
from September 12, 2013, to December 31, 2013: 30% of natural
gas;
from January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2014: 40% of natural gas;
from January 1, 2015: 55% of natural gas.
In 2015, 97 entities were members of the Polish gas exchange,
including 25 companies directly trading in gas. The total trading volume
on gas markets run by TGE in 2015 was 106.9 TWh. The development
of an exchange market in Poland should be fostered by the abolishment of the obligation of tarifing wholesale gas prices in 2017 and
carrying out diversiication projects involving transmission connecting with the Norwegian shelf, as well as the extension of regasiication
capacities of the Świnoujście LNG terminal.
Wholesale trade carried out on gas exchanges has not yet become
dominant on EU markets, although in recent years it has been dynamiO giełdzie [On the exchange], Polish Power Exchange, https://www.tge.pl/pl/2/ogieldzie (accessed: 13.11.2016).
181
Energy Law Act of 10 April 1997, Article 49b, Journal of Laws 1997 No. 54 item 348.
180
The role of exchanges and hubs on contemporary gas markets
107
cally growing. In the years 2013-2015, the share of exchange trade in gas
in the EU nearly tripled, from 6% in 2013 to 16% in 2015 – Chart 13.182
Chart 13. Trading volume and structure in selected European energy
markets in 2015
Source: Trayport Euro Commodities Report, Trayport, December 2015, p. 4, http://
www.trayport.com/cms/uploads/december-2015-trayport-euro-commodities-report-media-version_001.pdf, (13.11.2016).
Legend:
Broker bilateral
Transactions concluded by brokers (entities functioning as
intermediaries) on the OTC market, not cleared by clearing
houses.
Broker Cleared
Transactions concluded by brokers and cleared by clearing
houses.
Exchange Executed Transactions concluded at exchanges and cleared by clearing
houses.
Electronic trading platforms
On the wholesale market of natural gas, electronic trading platforms, also referred to as brokers’ platforms, are an alternative to gas
Trayport Euro Commodities Report, Trayport, December 2015, p. 5.
http://www.trayport.com/cms/uploads/december-2015-trayport-euro-commodities-report-media-version_001.pdf (accessed: 13.11.2016).
182
108
Marcin SIENKIEWICZ
exchanges.183 The platforms are properly organized virtual places run
by specialized entities, where natural gas supply and demand concentrate. Sale transactions are concluded through a relevant transaction
programme, to which market participants receive access if they meet
some formal requirements. In this case, the requirements are not as
strict as in the case of mercantile exchange. Participation in the platform is based on a framework agreement including rules. No broker’s
license is needed to trade on the platform. The business partners lose
their anonymity after concluding a transaction on the platform and
signing a bilateral sales contract (partnership contracts), usually based
on the model developed by the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET).184 Besides, trading platforms give an opportunity to make
commercial offers 24/7. Trade on wholesale OTC platform market is
not controlled by institutions supervising the inancial market. Unlike
on exchanges, the transactions are not cleared by clearing houses,
which substantially reduces the costs of participation on the trading
platform. The functioning of electronic trading platforms dedicated
to the OTC market is based on the following principles:
non-discrimination of access and equal principles of participation
for all entities that have concluded a relevant accession agreement;
uniform conditions of concluding transactions;
uniform access at the same time to market information, ensuring
the transparency of product quotations, volumes and prices.185
Gas hubs
Gas hubs were established independently in different places all
over the world when national natural gas markets were developing
and diversifying. Originally, they were created in places with high
concentration of transport and storage infrastructure. One example is
Henry Hub located in Louisiana by the Gulf of Mexico. It is the oldest
It also applies to electricity market, where this form of organized trade has emerged
before.
184
EFET, European Federation of Energy Traders, http://www.toe.pl/pl/standardy-umow/efet, (accessed: 17.11.2016).
185
Information on Polish and Internet Trade Platforms, Towarzystwo Obrotu Energią
[The Association of Energy Trading], http://www.toe.pl/pl/ (accessed: 22.11.2016).
183
The role of exchanges and hubs on contemporary gas markets
109
and the biggest gas hub in the USA (functioning since 1990). It was
established at the junction of 13 gas pipelines transporting gas from
different sources, and near 3 gas storage facilities. Connecting them
all allowed physical trade with natural gas. Henry Hub is an example
of a physical hub, deined as a natural gas market center, which allows
clients (suppliers, customers) access to a higher number of gas pipeline
systems, ensures transport between the pipelines, and offers administrative services that facilitate the transmission of gas and transfer
of ownership rights. Sales transactions involve the need to reserve
capacity and a route through which the commodity can reach from
the point of entry to infrastructure to the point of exit (end customer).
Besides physical hubs, there are also virtual hubs. The largest one
is the National Balancing Point (NBP) located in Great Britain. It covers the whole system of gas transport in Great Britain. It is a virtual
point where natural gas sales and exchange transactions take place.
In this case, the object of transaction is natural gas occurring within
the deined infrastructure area with speciied points of entry and exit.
In a virtual hub, the place of “meeting” the routes of gas transmission is not a point but a whole gas system managed by the network
operator. A virtual hub can be established in a gas system where the
fees for transmission are collected at the entry and exit points, not
linearly for a section of transmission. This allows gas trade in the network (at a virtual point) without the need to reserve capacity. Thus,
virtual hubs do not have a physical location, but their operation covers the whole national gas system. The virtual model of gas hub can
be described as organizing the wholesale gas market deined as the
sum of systemic activities in the areas of the gas trade, gas supplies,
changes of ownership of the commodity, transaction clearance, and
balancing the system. Virtual hubs develop much more quickly and
are the future of the European gas system.
To sum up, gas hubs are irst of all the points of trade in gas, affecting market prices of natural gas regardless of changes in oil pricing.
They are based on a well-developed, diversiied, and varied transport
infrastructure (gas pipelines, LNG terminals), allowing a range of
services. Gas hubs are a comprehensive commercial and infrastructure solution, considerably improving the functioning of the natural
gas market by improving its transparency, liquidity, and infrastruc-
110
Marcin SIENKIEWICZ
ture passability. Hence, gas hubs can be treated as a systemic solution
serving the following market functions:
a) Commercial function
Gas hubs make it possible to conclude sales transactions on electronic trading platforms and on gas exchanges cooperating with the
hub. Trade on gas hubs is an alternative to the traditional model based
on long-term 20- or 30-year contracts in which the price was based on
indexation to oil and oil derivatives. It contributes to greater transparency of the pricing mechanism and the prices’ relevance to the market
situation. Thus, trade on hubs allows the establishing of a market price
for natural gas and achieves a balance between the supply and demand.
Trade on a hub also helps meet one of the conditions for maintaining
energy security, i.e., buying gas fuel at a price acceptable for both parties to the transaction. Gas hubs give access to short-, medium- and
long-term contracts, increasing the lexibility of gas trade.
b) Service function
The natural gas market is an infrastructure market. Gas hubs also
offer participants a whole spectrum of infrastructure services. In this
ield, they closely cooperate with operators of storage and transmission systems, together developing formal/procedural and technical
solutions improving access to the gas infrastructure. The essence of
functioning of a gas hub is to simplify the process of trade in natural
gas. Hence, clear principles of market access must apply to a gas hub,
and all the participants of an organized market need to be treated
equally. Infrastructure services should be available for different market participants at equal prices. In order to observe the principle of
non-discrimination, a separate legal person serving as an operator
may be appointed.186 Gas hubs may also do the obligatory reporting
(REMIT) to ACER on behalf of the clients.
c) Information function
The institution of a gas hub ensures all market participants transparent knowledge on the concluded transactions, volumes and prices.
European Regulators’ Group for Electricity and Gas, Gas Regional Initiative –
Region: South-South East. The hub used as a balancing point, Brussels, p. 4., http://
www.ceer.eu/portal/page/portal/EER_HOME/EER_ACTIVITIES/EER_INITIATIVES/GRI/South_South_East/Final%20docs/GRI-SSE-SG-02-05_HUB.pdf,
(accessed: 26.11.2016), p. 4.
186
The role of exchanges and hubs on contemporary gas markets
111
A gas hub will collect knowledge on the development of the gas
market situation. It will be a speciic center of market information for
gas market participants. A gas hub will irst of all become the source
of knowledge on gas prices, formed by the market mechanism. It will
also show dynamically the relations between supply and demand.
Access to historical and current data archived by the hub will facilitate business decisions made by gas market participants.
d) Balancing function
Gas hubs allow physical and commercial balancing of the system
of natural gas transmission. This function involves balancing the
demand for natural gas with its supplies.
On contemporary gas markets, the commercial function of gas hubs
is becoming more and more important. Gradually, they are assuming the role of centers determining the reference price, not only for
national but also for regional markets. The Henry Hub in the USA,
as well as NBP and TTF in Europe, already have this market status.
In this respect, there is competition between gas hubs on European
markets to take over the greatest gas volumes and the highest numbers of trade participants. The “churn” rate is an indicator to assess
the competitiveness of the organized wholesale market (an exchange
or an electronic trading platform operating as part of the hub). The
rate “... is the ratio of the total volume of gas traded on a hub and the
amount of gas physically supplied for consumption through the hub.
The value shows to what extent the price of natural gas on the hub
can be regarded as reliable market price. It is based on the fact that
multiple trade with a unit of natural gas by many market participants
is treated as a mechanism that conirms that the price determined
this way is a market price.”187
Conditions for the establishment of a gas hub
In terms of geographic distribution of gas hubs, we can see they are
especially numerous is two regions: North-Western Europe and the
USA. As already mentioned, gas hubs were established and developed
in places with a well developed and diversiied transport infrastrucR. Zajdler, Polski rynek gazu ziemnego na tle rynków Unii Europejskiej [Polish
natural gas market against the background of European Union markets], Warsaw 2014, p. 31.
187
112
Marcin SIENKIEWICZ
ture and suficient demand for natural gas. In Europe, the formation
of a hub was not always the result of natural consolidation processes;
instead, it was often a governmental decision. In 2005, the government
of the Netherlands announced that the objective of their policy was
to establish a gas hub that would play the role of a transport, storage,
and distribution center for domestic and foreign customers. Launching the project was mainly justiied with the intention to ensure gas
supplies to the Netherlands and to promote the continuity of gas supplies to the European Union.188 Dutch authorities saw the project as
an opportunity to improve the competitiveness of the Dutch economy
through the reduction of natural gas prices.189 The activities involved
i.a., strengthen the diversiication of natural gas supplies by obtaining
direct access to the global LNG market. The irst Dutch LNG terminal
was established for that purpose in the Europort of Rotterdam. The
reloading capacity of the gas port launched in September 2009 was
12 bcm a year, with a possible extension up to 16 bcm.190
The history of the Iberian Gas Hub also began upon a decision
made by the Spanish government. The project was oficially launched
in March 2011 together with the establishment of a dedicated company,
which currently operates as Sociedad Bilbao Gas Hub, AF. The aim of
the project was to strengthen the competitiveness and integration of the
Iberian market (integration of the Spanish and Portuguese markets),
and to enhance the luency of trade by improving its infrastructure
and commercial functionality. Unlike the Netherlands, Spain’s problem was not insuficient diversiication of external markets. Thanks
to its LNG terminals and transmission connection with Africa, Spain
was fully secure in terms of diversiication of external supplies. After
Working Group on Audit of Extractive Industries, The Netherlands as a European gas transmission hub A gas hub: beneits, need and risks, 2012, p. 2, http://
www.wgei.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/A-gas-hub-beneits-need-and-risks.
pdf (accessed: 25.11.2016).
189
Eerste Kamer der Staten-Generaal, Voorzienings- en leveringszekerheid energie (29.023); brief regering; Voortgangsrapportage Gasrotonde 2011 (TK, 112),
https://www.eerstekamer.nl/behandeling/20111107/brief_regering/info (accessed:
26.11.2016).
190
Pierwszy holenderski morski terminal LNG [First offshore Dutch LNG terminal], “Portalmorski.pl“,
http://www.portalmorski.pl/zegluga/inne/19667-pierwszy-holenderski-morskiterminal-lng-8211-otwarty, (accessed: 18.11.2016).
188
The role of exchanges and hubs on contemporary gas markets
113
2008, a considerable decrease in consumption, which resulted in growing costs of the functioning of the storage infrastructure developed
before, became a serious challenge to Spanish gas sector. The gas hub
was to stimulate the Iberian wholesale market integrated within it.
The authorities of Spain are also trying to attribute European importance to the project, presenting it as the western pillar of security of
gas supplies and trade for the European Union.191
Practice resulting from the history of establishing and developing gas hubs in North America and Europe proves that the success of
such projects depends upon meeting at least the following conditions:
a) access to at least three different independent gas sources (through
the diversiication of supply directions and sources obtained thanks
to properly extended transport infrastructure, e.g., 7 gas pipelines
crossing at the Zeebrugge hub);
b) free access of market participants to transport and storage infrastructure (implementation and observance of the principle of third
party access to the infrastructure – TPA);
c) a high number and diversiication of market participants (differing in terms of proile and scale of activity);
d) contracts worked out by the operators of gas infrastructure (standardized offer of infrastructure services for market participants);
e) infrastructure operators’ support for the development of organized
wholesale trade (trade instructions facilitating the development
of an exchange market and facilitating new entities’ entering the
gas market and simpliication of the rules of use of the transmission system;192
f) annual demand for gas in the future market area of the hub should
be approx. 20 bcm;193 the existence of an aftermarket for unused
transmission capacity.
M. Sienkiewicz, G. Małecki, Rynek gazu ziemnego w Królestwie Hiszpanii [Natural gas market in the Kingdom of Spain], “Wiadomości Naftowe i Gazownicze“,
no. 12, 2015, pp. 18-23.
192
M. Fantini, Conditions for a Gas Hub to Appear in CEE Countries, GasReg21Regional Market Places & Infrastructure panel, Poznań, 11.05.2016.
193
Working Group on Audit of Extractive Industry, The Netherlands as a European
gas transmission hub.
A gas hub: beneits, need and risks, 2012, http://www.wgei.org/wp-content/
uploads/2015/06/A-gas-hub-beneits-need-and-risks.pdf, (accessed: 20.11.2016).
191
114
Marcin SIENKIEWICZ
Conclusion
The trade infrastructure described above is currently the crucial
element of natural gas markets in the European Union and the USA.
For many participants of the markets, trade on the gas exchange or
a gas hub has become an attractive and competitive option beside
long-term contracts concluded in a single supplier. Considered from
the perspective of an economic entity, it allows the creationof procurement strategies and risk management in this respect on the basis
of lexible pricing models. Liberalized trade in gas has also become
a solution alternative to the traditional model of external supplies,
based on long-term contracts including clauses that limit customers’
freedom in terms of using the purchased commodity (the territorial
clause). Doubtless, the development of gas trade carried out by gas
exchanges and hubs was supported by the implementation of Regulation no. 994/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 20 October 2010 concerning measures to safeguard security of
the gas supply. The list of market measures promoting supply security introduced with this legal act included “enhancing gas lexibility”
and “diversiication of gas sources and routes of supply”.194 Thus, the
regulation made a formal basis which could be used to question the
provisions concerning a ban on re-export included in contracts for gas
supplies concluded with Russian Gazprom. Appropriate regulations
ensuring the freedom of gas trade, as well as transport infrastructure
diversifying the directions and sources of gas supplies, make a foundation for the development of trade infrastructure on contemporary
gas markets.
Regulation (EU) no. 994/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 20 October 2010 concerning measures to safeguard security of gas supply and
repealing Council Directive 2004/67/EC, Annex no. II, Oficial Journal of the European Union, 12.10.2010, L295/1.
194
Part II
Energy transition
in selected states
Chapter 9
Energy Policy Transition –
the German perspective
Nicole KAIM-ALBERS194, Mariusz RUSZEL195
Introduction: Energiewende – energy transition
as a label
The deinition of “Energiewende” (German Energy Transition) is
vague and gives room for various interpretations. Literature shows that
the term ’energy transition’ (in German Energiewende) was irst used
in 1980 by a German think-thank Öko-Institute to refer to the model of
energy modernization from a system based on fossil fuels to a system
based on renewable energy.196 The Federal Ministry of Economics and
Energy refers to it as “… our way to a secure, environmentally friendly
and economically successful future”.197 Two major pillars appeared in
the centre of Germany’s energy policy in the last decade: The expansion
of renewable resources and the phase-out of nuclear power. The political targets and measures are, however, much broader and increasingly
complex. Moreover, the national energy visions and policy framework
Nicole Kaim-Albers, MA, Head of Ofice, World Energy Council Germany, Berlin, e-mail:
[email protected]
195
Mariusz Ruszel PhD, political scientist, assistant professor at the Department of
Economy of the Faculty of Management, Rzeszow University of Technology, e-mail:
[email protected]
196
F. Krause, H. Bossel, K. F. Müller-Reissmann, Energie-Wende Wachstum und
Wohlstand ohne Erdöl and Uran, S. Fischer, Frankfurt 1981, p. 13.
197
http://www.bmwi.de/DE/Themen/Energie/Energiewende/gesamtstrategie.
html, “Die Energiewende ist unser Weg in eine sichere, umweltverträgliche und
wirtschaftlich erfolgreiche Zukunft”.(accessed: 4.11.2016)
194
118
Nicole KAIM-ALBERS, Mariusz RUSZEL
are complemented with an international perspective: On the bilateral
level, Germany’s energy policy has an impact on the market structures
and physical conditions of the energy systems of its neighbor countries.
On the European level, national energy policies have to be in accordance with the European regulatory framework. At the same time,
Germany is takeing an active part in shaping European internal and
external energy policy, which leads to the international dimension:
Is Germany able to sell its “Energiewende” – its standards, products,
and vision – in Europe and beyond? It is obvious that parts of this
vague and highly complex concept will be or have been adopted by
others.198 Some countries might adopt equivalently ambitious goals,
however, while implementing more innovative measures.
Energy policy of the Federal Republic of Germany is affected by
internal and external factors.199 It is often highlighted that the Federal
Republic of Germany is an example of a country with geo-economic
power.200 Scientiic literature demonstrates that the foreign policy
model of the German geo-economy is characterized e.g., by deining
national interest from an economic perspective, the dominant role of
export-oriented business affecting foreign policy, and the use of economic power to impose the country’s national preferences on others.201
The implementation of the above model is connected with German energy policy, oriented at improving the competitiveness and
innovativeness of the economy. It can also lead to strengthening the
“geo-economic power”, which is based on different scale instruments
such as export initiatives, communication of Energiewende through
the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the German Accelerator, as
well as regulations and standards. The aim of this article is to determine how the process of energy transition affects the improvement of
energy eficiency, energy security, and how it might strengthen Germany’s economic competitiveness.
German energy policy – a blueprint for the world? Survey by the Weltenergierat
– Deutschland (2015). http://www.weltenergierat.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/
Energiewende-Survey-English-inal.pdf (accessed: 9.11.2016).
199
J. Schild, S. Harnisch, Deutsche Außenpolitik und internationale Führung:
Erwartungen, Ressourcen, Partner, Praktiken, [in:] Deutsche Außenpolitik und
internationale Führung, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, 2014.
200
H. Kundnani, Germany as a Geo-economic Power, “The Washington Quarterly”,
vol. 34, no. 3, 2011, pp. 31-45.
201
H. Kundnani, Germany as a Geo-Economic Power ... op. cit., pp. 31-45.
198
Energy Policy Transition – the German perspective
119
Energiewende – the long history of the energy debate
in Germany
The idea of an environmentally friendly energy system has a long
history in Germany. The anti-nuclear movement has been particularly
strong in Germany, inding its roots in the late 1970s, among others
with the establishment of the Öko-Institut in 1977. This Öko-Institut
claims to be “the attorney of the environmentalist movement”.202 Simultaneously, political discussions on energy transition were intensiied
due to oil crises (1973, 1979), which showed the effects of excessive
dependence on imported oil. To a high degree, decisions on the modernization of the German energy sector were the result of a statement
by the Saudi Minister of Oil, Scheich Yamani, published in “Le Monde”
on October 19, 1979: “Ich glaube, wir verlieren jede Kontrole über die
Erdölpreise ...”.203 Like the Öko-Institut, the Green Party, founded in
the late 1970s as an anti-nuclear movement, has lasted until today and
even increased its inluence.204 Interestingly, even if the Green party’s
programme is located on the left side of the political spectrum, links
and coalitions with the conservative CDU were not excluded. This
relationship reached its peak so far in the government of Baden-Württemberg, with over 10 million people the third biggest state within
Germany. In May 2016 the irst coalition between the Green Party
and the CDU started – with the CDU as junior partner and with Winfried Kretschmann as irst green prime minister.205 One could say
that this government is the heritage of a much longer cooperation:
The founders of the famous Electricity Feed-in Law, the predecessor
of today’s Renewable-Energy-Act (EEG), were equally a conservative-green couple.206
Öko-Institut e.V., “Unser Leitbild“ (2005) https://www.oeko.de/uploads/oeko/
download/leitbild_oei.pdf (accessed: 9.11.2016).
203
F. Krause, H. Bossel, K. F. Müller-Reissmann, Energie-Wende Wachstum ..., op.
cit., p. 13.
204
Über uns: 1977-1979 http://www.gruene.de/ueber-uns/1977-1979.html (accessed:
06.01.2017).
205
Die Landesregierung, https://www.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de/regierung/
(accessed: 09.11.2016).
206
“Das unterschätzte Gesetz”, Article, Die Zeit http://www.zeit.de/online/2006/39/
EEG/komplettansicht (accessed: 9.11.2016).
202
120
Nicole KAIM-ALBERS, Mariusz RUSZEL
This law allowed the feed in of electricity generated by renewable
resources and introduced a remuneration mechanism in 1991. Its
successor, the German-Renewable-Act increased incentives for renewables in the year 2000 (with amendments in 2004, 2009, 2012, 2014,
2016). The installed guaranteed feed-in-tariff for the various renewable
technologies was slowly replaced by more market-orientated remuneration mechanisms. While PV for example received a remuneration
of around 50 Euro Cents per KWh in the year 2000, ten years later
it was reduced to around 18 Euro Cents per KWh. A corridor for the
expansion of renewable energies was established to control and limit
the growth of renewable energies in order to cope with demand and the
development of the electricity grid. Recent revisions to the EEG have
removed administratively determined feed-in-tariffs or feed-in-premiums for most renewables. Instead, investors must now take part
in competitive tenders.207
From the institutional side, competences in energy policy-making
were traditionally divided by the ministry of economy and the ministry of environment. After the election in 2013, the new government
tried to establish a more holistic approach, which resulted in the complete movement of energy competences to the ministry of economy.
However, the competences in climate and nuclear safety have been
left in the ministry for the environment, which has caused political
struggle sometimes, especially after the COP21 Paris agreement.208
The most important milestone in the recent history of the Energiewende is the energy concept of 2010 where major goals of energy
policy have been deined until 2050.209 The Concept aimed at accelerating
the shift towards an energy system which broadly relies on renewable
energy sources. The change in Germany’s energy policy was further
intensiied by the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011. As a result,
Germany decided to completely exit from nuclear energy by 2022.
Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetzt, https://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/EE/Redaktion/DE/Dossier/eeg.html?cms_docId=132292 (accessed: 9.11.2016).
208
Handelsblatt.de http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/bundesumweltministerin-hendricks-klimaschutzplan-ist-eine-klare-ansage/14842734.html
(accessed: 9.11.2016).
209
Energiekonzept für eine umweltschonende, zuverlässige und bezahlbare
Energieversorgung, https://www.bundesregierung.de/ContentArchiv/DE/Archiv17/_
Anlagen/2012/02/energiekonzept-inal.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=5 (accessed:
8.11.2016).
207
Energy Policy Transition – the German perspective
121
Chart 14. Objectives of the German Energy Concept
Sources: Energy concept of the German federal government.
The deined targets of 2010 will only be partially accomplished in
2020. A tremendous expansion dynamic has been achieved in Germany’s renewable electricity production, which has tripled to about
33% of electricity production in 2015 compared to 11 % in 2010. Moreover, energy consumption has decreased to the lowest level since
1990. However, other targets like the reduction of Green House Gas
emissions, the reduction of inal energy consumption in the transport
sector, reductions in the use of electricity, and the increase of energy
eficiency by 2.1 % annually, are not on track, on the contrary. The use
of lignite in Germany has increased due to low coal and CO2-prices
under the European emission trading system, and also over the course
of the nuclear phase-out. Germany will most likely not reach its climate goals for 2020. Furthermore, the German government wants
renewable electricity to become the most important source of energy,
used also for heating, transport and industrial production.210 Due to
this larger area of application for electricity, the goal for a reduction
of electricity use is contested.
Strom 2030. Langfristige Trends – Aufgaben für die kommenden Jahre, BMWI,
Berlin 2016.
210
122
Nicole KAIM-ALBERS, Mariusz RUSZEL
Another key feature of the German Energiewende is that a growing number of consumers are starting to produce their own electricity
(for example with a photovoltaic system on the roof top) and become
“prosumers”. Energy production is thus no longer in the hands of
a few major electricity companies, but with a variety of players –
about 50% of renewable electricity is generated by citizens.211 New
business models and start-ups in the energy sector are emerging.
Starting in 2017, Germany will begin a rollout of smart meters, to
be completed in 2032. This should help to better integrate renewable energies, enhance lexibility in the energy system, and generate
new business models.
The spirit of the energy transition has been a trigger for ideas
and innovation in the whole value chain of the energy sector and the
growing start-up business in Germany. Fortunately, this transition is
more and more linked to another transition: the digitalization of processes. The collection of “big data” brings in new eficiencies in the
energy market, especially in the sphere of control systems, sales, and
analysis. In German cities and universities the network of start-up
companies is growing. So is the engagement by major utility companies who themselves hold shares in start-up companies and offer
support for innovative businesses.212 Bootcamps and accelerators
both public and private are growing. The Ministry of Economy has,
for example, installed “German Accelerators” in the United States. in
Silicon Valley, to support German start-ups entering the market.213
Public programmes like the “export initiatives of energy eficiency”
and the “export initiative on renewable energies” have even a longer
history in selling solutions and technologies on the international market (since 2002).
Generally, Germany is not particularly known as the best place for
venture capital. In a ranking of the OECD countries it is only represented in the 17 th position.214 Also, research policy and research funds
Trend:Research 2013, https://www.unendlich-viel-energie.de/media/ile/284.
AEE_RenewsKompakt_Buergerenergie.pdf (accessed: 19.03.2017).
212
U. Franke, N. Paladini, Intelligente Vernetzung – Notwendigkeit und Chance in
der Energiewende, in: “Schriftenreihe des Kuratoriums”, Forum für Zukunftsenergien, p. 118.
213
German Accelerator, http://germanaccelerator.com/ (accessed: 11.04.2017).
214
U. Franke, N. Paladini, Intelligente Vernetzung – Notwendigkeit ... op. cit., p. 119.
211
Energy Policy Transition – the German perspective
123
are not of particular volume compared to other OECD countries, even
if the public budget on research has doubled since 2006, with renewables and eficiency in the centre of support.215
Structure of the electricity balance
In 2016, German economy consumed 592.7 TWh of electricity;
in comparison to 2015, this means a decrease by approx. 0.4% (2.4
TWh).216 The main source of electricity production is coal (hard coal
and lignite) with a 41.3% share in the electricity balance (including
23.1% lignite and 18.2% hard coal), followed by renewable economy
sources (29.5%), nuclear energy (14.2%), natural gas (9.2%) and crude
oil (5.1%).217 The security of supply is still very high. According to
the SAIDI Index, the minutes of electricity interruption in Germany
even decreased in the last years (12.70 minutes in the year 2015).218
However, the interference of the transmission system operators has
dramatically increased with the expansion of luctuating renewables.
While TSO spent around 1500 hours for re-dispatch activities, in 2015
they were already at 15800 hours.219 Of special relevance on the topic
of security of supply is, on the one hand, the lack of investments in
new capacities in power plants and, on the other hand, the delay of
the expansion of high-voltage transmission grids. As a consequence
the expansion of wind-onshore has been limited for some areas in the
North of Germany. The background to this is that all off- and most
on-shore wind projects are located in the North of Germany, whereas
major consumers are located in the South of Germany.
P. Nießen, C. Rolle, Forschungsprioritäten für die Energiewende(n), “Energiewirtschaftliche Tagesfragen” No. 66/2016.
216
P. Graichen, M. M. Kleiner, Ch. Podewils, The energy transition in the power
sector: State of affairs 2016. A review of the major developments in Germany and
an outlook for 2017, AgoraEnergiewende, Berlin 2017, p. 4.
217
Ibidem, p. 4.
218
http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/DE/Sachgebiete/ElektrizitaetundGas/
Unternehmen_Institutionen/Versorgungssicherheit/Stromnetze/Versorgungsqualitaet/Versorgungsqualitaet-node.html (accessed: 10.04.2017).
219
http://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/DE/Sachgebiete/ElektrizitaetundGas/Unternehmen_Institutionen/Versorgungssicherheit/Stromnetze/Engpassmanagement/
Redispatch/redispatch-node.html (accessed: 10.04.2017).
215
124
Nicole KAIM-ALBERS, Mariusz RUSZEL
The dimension of competitiveness is particularly discussed in Germany, as the costs for the transformation of the system have increased
more than expected. The Renewable-Energy-levy (“EEG-Umlage”)
that was implemented to inance the RES-subsidies also rose signiicantly from 2.05 cent/KWh in 2010 to 6.35 cent/KWh in 2016.
To ensure that German industry does not suffer a competitive disadvantage as a result, around 2000 energy-intensive companies (e.g.,
steel production) were freed from this levy. However, 48 % of the total
“EEG-Umlage” is still paid by industry, commerce, and service companies. Germany’s household electricity prices rose in average from
23.7 cent/KWh in 2010 to 28.7 cent/KWh today. Over 50 % of the electricity price are taxes and levies in Germany. In 2010 the total cost
for electricity for an average household was 69.1 € per month, which
rose to 83.7 € per month in 2016. Further costs have to be added to the
overall electricity bill: the costs for re-dispatch as well as the costs of
grid expansion on various levels. The decision to favor underground
cables instead of high-voltage lines above the ground to foster acceptance, will increase the delay and the costs likewise.220
The German “Energiewende” is constantly under debate. It represents the unique transition of an industrialized country, with a 23%
share of industry in the GDP, towards a decarbonized future. The longterm targets in energy policy have been set; however, the milestones in
between will not all be reached, and not all of the market assumptions
made are still valid. This sometimes leads to questions about the effectiveness of measures and to discussion about short term reactions. One
example is the early shutdown of 2.7 GW of old lignite power plants to
reduce up to 12.5 million t CO2. The utilities receive around 1- 3.6 billion euros as compensation, also to function as back-up capacity in case
of electricity shortage until 2020.221 It is necessary that the monitoring process and discussion about this unique transition continues to
ensure regular assessment about the past and the future. Sometimes
measures and targets have been confused, for example the target of the
share of renewables which could represent more of an instrument for
the reduction of fossil fuels in the electricity mix. Feed-in tariffs gave
opportunities for new businesses and for economies of scale, not exclu220
221
Energie für Deutschland 2016, Weltenergierat – Deutschland, p. 117.
https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/klimareserve-fragen-und-antworten-101.html
Energy Policy Transition – the German perspective
125
sively in the German market. It led to an important rise of renewable
electricity into the system, however, not without any conlict for market, technological, and even ecological questions, as the expansion of
renewables has not led to greenhouse emission reduction so far.
The “Energiewende” are leading to a change in the market with
more and more new actors emerging, offering new ideas in the sphere
of demand-side-management and storage, prosumers and small scale
systems of production and consumption (the “blockchain”), as well as
new investment structures.222 The success of most innovations are nevertheless highly dependent on the extremely regulated energy market.
Moreover, “Energiewende” is not a guarantee itself for an innovative
economy: in a globalized market, ideas, standards, and products could
be also well developed in other parts of the world and then imported
to the German market.
Energy eficiency
According to the American Council for an Energy-Eficient Economy, Germany is already the world champion in energy eficiency, and
scores the most points in the categories of national efforts, buildings,
and industry.223 Since the 1990s energy consumption in Germany has
been stagnating despite economic growth. Between 2008 and 2014
energy productivity rose annually by 1.6% on average. However, this
eficiency rate is still beyond the proclaimed target of 2.1% annually
until 2020. Also not on track is primary energy consumption reduction with its target of minus 20% in comparison to 2008, as in 2014
a reduction of only 8.7% was achieved. The same is true for electricity
consumption: in 2014 a 4.6% reduction was achieved in comparison
with 2008. It is likely that electricity consumption will rather rise
than decrease with the ongoing electriication of the society. Final
energy consumption in the transportation sector has increased about
1.7% in comparison with 2005 and will fail to reach the 10% reduction target in 2020.224
Energie für Deutschland 2015, ... op. cit., p. 19 ff.
P. Kiker, Germany, Italy, and Japan Top World Energy Eficiency Rankings, http://
aceee.org/press/2016/07/germany-italy-and-japan-top-world (accessed: 01.02.2017).
224
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Monitoring Report , p. 23 ff.
222
223
126
Nicole KAIM-ALBERS, Mariusz RUSZEL
To enhance the efforts for energy eficiency and comply with
European Union legislation, the German Government introduced
in 2014 the so called “National Action Plan for Energy Eficiency”
(NAPE) with several programmes and instruments such as legislation, inancial incentives, and information. At the centre of the
short-term measures of NAPE were the introduction of new competitive tendering for energy eficiency; funding for building renovation
and introduction of tax incentives, and the setting up of energy eficiency networks together with business and industry. The aim of
NAPE is to achieve a reduction of 390 to 460 PJ by 2020.225 To what
extent the various measures have been successful has to be evaluated in the future.
Figure 10. Short-term measures and long-term work processes
of NAPE for the 18th legislative term
Sources: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
The “eficiency potential” has various dimensions: it has to be distinguished between technological potential, economic potential, feasibility
https://www.bmwi.de/BMWi/Redaktion/PDF/M-O/nationaler-aktionsplanenergieefizienz-nape,property=pdf,bereich=bmwi2012,sprache=de,rwb=true.pdf
(accessed: 12.04.2017).
225
Energy Policy Transition – the German perspective
127
potential, and the realistic potential.226 Keeping the extreme complexity of industrial processes and value chains in mind, the deinition of
an absolute target is very dificult to achieve: various components of
the system have completely different dimensions of potential, including technical and economic limitations on different levels. Moreover,
with a growing demand for lexibility in the electricity system due
to the luctuation in renewable power production, eficiency is not
always the overall objective. In each branch, company, or production
site, the limitations of eficiency have to be considered. On the other
hand, the potential of demand-side-management in the industry is as
dificult to calculate as it is for eficiency: in the industry the potential
is estimated between 3 and 15 GW.227 In an electricity system, where
demand-side-management is crucial for stability, the controlling of
decrease or increase of demand for electricity represents a service
which has to be incentivized adequately (and compensate e.g., the loss
of production, the ineficient use of various components, extra time
for storage etc.). In Germany, this is partially the case in the industry
sector.228 Small consumers, however, are not yet part of the compensation system. Neither do consumers beneit from price differences
on the wholesale market as their price per kilowatt hour is ixed. With
the rollout of the smart meter from 2017 on and the further increase
of smart systems, demand-side-management might gain importance
in the future.229 Especially, energy productivity is relevant in the concept of energy eficiency. It can be assumed, however, that even if
eficiency is further enhanced, Germany is still increasing its energy
consumption. This is related to the so called “rebound effect”, which
argues that the energy which is saved due to eficiency measures is
spent elsewhere. It is estimated that up to 70% of the eficiency is lost
in the “rebound effect”.230
Energie für Deutschland 2015, ... op. cit., p. 85.
F. Holtrup, Potenzial für Demand Side Management der energieintensiven Industrie
in Deutschland, http://www.weltenergierat.de/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/201601-DSM-Papier-v8.pdf (accessed: 10.04.2017).
228
Ibidem.
229
U. Franke, N. Paladini, Intelligente Vernetzung – Notwendigkeit ... op. cit., p. 116.
230
Energie für Deutschland 2016, Weltenergierat – Deutschland, p. 110.
226
227
128
Nicole KAIM-ALBERS, Mariusz RUSZEL
Drivers for eficient eficiency policy
While the success of various policies and initiatives to enhance
eficiency has to be analyzed in the future, there are more relevant
drivers of energy eficiency: On one hand is the international promotion of German technological solutions in energy eficiency, enabled
among others through the “Export Initiative“ of the Ministry of Economy231; non the other , funding for research and development is another
driver for eficiency. Around one third of the total sum of 863 million Euros allocated by the federal government for energy research
projects in 2015 went to energy eficiency projects.232 Eficiency is key
in German energy policy to reach the political targets in 2020 and
beyond. On the other hand, the development of eficient technologies
as well as eficient policies are needed to keep costs for the transition
on a competitive level.
Energy security
In Germany, energy security (in German: Energiesicherheit) is
understood as the certainty of energy supplies at a reasonable price.233
Therefore, continuous, uninterrupted, and stable supply of energy
resources signiicant for the development of “Energiewende”234 and
energy is an important goal of energy policy. The analysis of Germany’s energy balance structure conirms that the country does not have
enough energy resources of its own and needs to import them, mostly
from the Russian Federation, Norway, and the Netherlands. The Russian Federation is the most important of those suppliers, supplying
to the Federal Republic of Germany hard coal, crude oil, and natural
http://www.eficiency-from-germany.info/ENEFF/Navigation/DE/Ueber_uns/
ueber_uns.html;jsessionid=4F081EF984712B7858229B3CBA7D877F (accessed:
10.04.2017).
232
http://www.bmwi.de/BMWi/Redaktion/PDF/Publikationen/bundesberichtenergieforschung-2016,property=pdf,bereich=bmwi2012,sprache=de,rwb=true.
pdf (accessed: 10.04.2017).
233
Streitkräfte. Fähigkeiten und Technologien im 21. Jahrhundert - Umweltdimensionen von Sicherheit - Teilstudie 1: Peak Oil. Sicherheitspolitische Implikationen
knapper Ressourcen, Zentrum für Transformation der Bundeswehr, Strausberg,
2010, p. 9.
234
Mineralische Rohstoffe für die Energiewende, Energie für Deutschland 2016, p. 112.
231
Energy Policy Transition – the German perspective
129
gas, i.e., all of the three energy resources imported by Germany. We
must point out that German energy policy relects the interests of the
main entities within the country which determine its form. Stephen F.
Szabo emphasizes the roles of the German government, political parties, and business.235 Florian Baumann notes that “a solely economic
understanding of securing the energy supply by means of trade and
business is not enough”236. Furthermore, Frank Umbach stresses that
in case of energy market mechanisms functioning improperly, the
state is expected to take responsibility for ensuring energy security
to its citizens.237 Nevertheless, German business is strongly oriented
at exporting products to the Eastern market. The analysis of strategic documents shows that the strategic character of German-Russian
relations may result in the need to make concessions in foreign policy
with regard to the Russian Federation in order to maintain the stability of supplies of Russian natural gas.238 The strategic character of
German-Russian relations in the energy sector dates back to the agreement for natural gas supplies of February 1, 1970 concluded between
Ruhrgas AG and Sojuzgazexport, under which Germany provided loans
for the purchase of 1.2 million tons of pipe from Mannesmann AG for
the construction of a gas pipeline in the USSR.239 Taking into consideration the completed and planned joint investment projects between
Russia and Germany, the relations are bound to remain strategic in
the near future. In 2015, the Russian Federation supplied almost 45
bcm to the Federal Republic of Germany.
The process of energy transition contributes to reduced dependence on imported energy resources and a higher amount of energy
produced from renewable sources. This results in improved energy
self-reliance, especially in the context of the growing proportion of
F. Szabo, Germany, Russia, and the Rise of Geo-Economics, Bloomsbury 2015, p. 35.
F. Baumann, Energy Security as multidimensional concept, Research Group on
European Affairs, CAP Policy Analysis, no. 1, March 2008, p. 4.
237
F. Umbach, German Debates on Energy Security and Impacts on Germany’s
2007 EU Presidency, in A. Marquina (ed.), Energy Security. Visions from Asia and
Europe, New York 2008, pp. 1-21.
238
Streitkräfte. Fähigkeiten und Technologien im 21. Jahrhundert - Umweltdimensionen von Sicherheit - Teilstudie 1: Peak Oil. Sicherheitspolitische ... op. cit.
239
B. Molo, Polityka bezpieczeństwa energetycznego w XXI wieku, Oicyjna
Wydawnicza AFM, Kraków 2013, p. 224.
235
236
130
Nicole KAIM-ALBERS, Mariusz RUSZEL
renewable energy in the structure of electricity balance and electriication of the heating industry and transport. In time, this will cause
reduced demand for crude oil and natural gas and a growing demand
for electricity, mostly produced from renewable sources in the German model of energy transition. Soon, the surplus of electricity may
be stored using the power-to-gas technology. This technology also
enables the production of hydrogen to be mixed with natural gas in
the appropriate proportion.
Strengthening Germany’s competitive position
Provided that one of the goals of EU energy policy is to develop
a common energy market through the extension of natural gas and
electricity interconnectors between states, Germany clearly has the
best developed energy infrastructure of all EU countries. The central
geographical location and numerous interconnectors enable it to serve
as the center of distribution of natural gas and electricity in Europe.
Price differences are going to intensify this process. In the case of natural gas, the pricing policy of the Russian Federation is crucial, since
Germany buys gas from Russia at a lower price than other countries of
Central and Eastern Europe and thus can resell its surplus gas. As for
electricity, in Germany it is cheaper on the wholesale market than in
Central and Eastern European countries. After the extension of electricity interconnections, this will contribute to the improvement of
Germany’s position as an energy distribution center. The planned energy
cooperation with Denmark involving the construction of a 1500 MW
electricity connection AC Network, and a 1400 MW connection with
Norway, Nord-Link, will improve the competitiveness of the German
energy sector.240 In addition, a 1000 MW connection between Germany
and Belgium, Alegro, is currently being built by Amprion company.241
The Federal Republic of Germany has a strong industrial potential
and it seems that in the context of developing low-emission transport
M. Ruszel, The political importance of energy cooperation between Germany
and Denmark on the European Union energy market, E3S Web of Conferences 10,
00135 (2016), p. 2.
241
Alegro, http://www.elia.be/en/projects/grid-projects/alegro/alegro-content
(accessed: 11.03.2017).
240
Energy Policy Transition – the German perspective
131
and electric vehicle networks it will play an important role. On the
one hand, German automotive concerns will try to create new models
of electric, hydrogen, or hybrid vehicles, which can be sold in Europe
and beyond.242 On the other hand, it is a challenge to create relevant
solutions for the creation of an infrastructure of electric- or hydrogen- vehicle charging and batteries able to accumulate high amounts
of energy. The R&D and technological potential makes the German
economy play an important role in the process. Taking into account
the assumptions of the German federal government, which predicts
that by 2020 almost a million electric vehicles will be used, this process will deinitely progress.243 The Federal Republic of Germany also
carries out innovative research concerning the use of power to gas
(P2G) technology, which could be applied in using surplus electricity
produced from renewable energy sources.244 The use of this technology
enables the storage of hydrogen or methane produced from hydrogen,
and then their retransformation into electricity. This way, P2G technology will have a signiicant application in the heating, automotive,
and chemical industries and may contribute to gradual replacement
of crude oil and natural gas by renewable energy. Carrying out pilot
projects in this regard and drawing up pioneer regulatory solutions
may contribute to the development of this technology in other EU
countries that have similar gas infrastructure.245
http://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/autoindustrie/bmw-und-daimler-wollen-das-wasserstoffauto-voranbringen-a-1130491.html (accessed: 10.04.2017)
243
As of January 1, 2017, there are 34,022 electric cars in Germany. See: Anzahl der
Elektroautos in Deutschland von 2006 bis 2017, https://de.statista.com/statistik/
daten/studie/265995/umfrage/anzahl-der-elektroautos-in-deutschland/ (accessed:
10.04.2017).
244
Potenzialatlas Power to Gas, DENA, Berlin 2016.
245
In Germany, 20 pilot power to gas projects are currently carried out: Windgas
Haßfurt, GrInHy, Leuchtturmprojekt Power-to-Gas Baden-Württemberg, Wasserstofftankstelle Stuttgart Talstraße, “Smart Grid Solar“ - ZAE Bayern und Bayerisches
Speichertestzentrum Arzberg betreiben Plattform für Erneuerbare Energien, Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe forscht im Projekt bioCONNECT, Rieselbettreaktor
GICON-Großtechnikum, Extyron Zero-Emission-Wohnpark, WindGas Hamburg,
Exytron Demonstrationsanlage, WindGas Falkenhagen, Windpark RH2-WKA,
Hybridkraftwerk Prenzlau, Audi e-gas Projekt, Wasserstofftankstelle Hafen City,
H2Herten, RWE-Demonstrationsanlage Ibbenbüren, Multi-Energie-Tankstelle,
H2-Forschungszentrum der BTU Cottbus, HYPOS, sunire, CO2RRECT, Pilotanlage
Allendorf, Power to Gas Biogasbooster, Power-2-Hydrogen-Tankstelle Hamburg,
242
132
Nicole KAIM-ALBERS, Mariusz RUSZEL
Strengthening Germany’s competitive position will also be supported through promoting the solutions of German energy transition.
According to Karoline Steinbacher, Germany may become an international leader of energy transition processes and then aim to diffuse
them. These activities comply with the concept of “leadership by diffusion”.246 The success of the Energiewende is on the one hand deined
by the accomplishment of its targets, and on the other is the balance
between environment, security of supply, and competitiveness. The
situation of the Energiewende and its impact on the three dimensions
of the “triangle of energy policy” is regularly measured by an oficial
monitoring report of the Ministry of Economy.247 The international
success of the “Energiewende” highly depends on its domestic success.
At the same time, Germany has developed a number of instruments
to promote climate policy, which is the catalyst of energy transition.
Jörn Richert points out that in 2003, BMWi established an export
initiative of renewable energy sources, and one year later, at the conference “Renewables 2004”, the REN21 network was formed with
German inancial support. Organizations such as IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) and REN21 were also established
on German initiatives and greatly contributed to supporting national
interests.248 The policy of imitation implemented by the Federal Republic of Germany provides a channel supporting the export of German
products, standards, management system, regulatory environment,
and services connected with renewable energy and energy eficiency.
Germany wants to export high quality surplus products.249 To achieve
BioPower2Gas, Methanisierung am Eichhof, Energiepark Mainz, Thüga, ZSW, Viessmann Power-to-Gas im Eucolino. See Pilotprojekte, http://www.powertogas.info/
power-to-gas/pilotprojekte-im-ueberblick/?no_cache=1 (accessed: 7.03.2017).].
246
K. Steinbacher, M. Pahle, Leadership by difiusion and the German Energiewende,
PIK, Discussion Paper, February 2015.
247
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy: Vierter Monitoring-Bericht
zur Energiewende, https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/DE/Publikationen/Energie/
vierter-monitoring-bericht-energie-der-zukunft.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=24
(accessed: 11.04.2017).
248
J. Richert, Global, gemeinsam, vernetzt. Wie eine deutsche Energiewende-Außenpolitik aussehen müsste, https://zeitschrift-ip.dgap.org/de/ip-die-zeitschrift/archiv/
jahrgang-2016/juli-august/global-gemeinsam-vernetzt
(accessed: 03.03.2017)
249
K. Solberg Soilen, Geoeconomics, Ventus Publishing ApS 2012, p. 84.
Energy Policy Transition – the German perspective
133
competitive advantage, it needs to create functional mechanisms for
creating sources of technological advantage.
Conclusion
Energy transition, which originated in the 1980s, accelerated in
the years 2000-2010, with the peak dynamic of EEG reform in 2005
and the energy concept in 2010. The goals of the process are climate
protection, improvement of energy security, and enhancing economic
competitiveness. After some time, this activity additionally led to
achieving the ability to inluence the political preferences of other countries and international institutions. The process of energy transition
also contributes to improving energy security by enhancing energy
self-reliance and reducing import dependency on energy resources and
electricity. This means that all the goals of Germany’s energy transition are external. Since climate protection is supported by German
foreign policy (e.g., during COP climate summits), energy security may
be manifested in lowering the import of energy resources, and thus,
change Germany’s position at the geo-political level.
Improving competitiveness is of fundamental importance. Therefore, Germany wants to disseminate the German model of energy
transition so as to make it an export product and a way of integrating
renewable energy with the electric system. Politicians may support
visions of extending renewable energy or standards at the regional
level, and give the country’s business access to foreign markets. This
is true, yet policies do not always have a positive economic effect. For
example, billions of Euros are spent every year to support renewable
energy, especially on solar panels and windmills, but the key producers of such technologies are mostly Chinese companies. This means
that business in other countries can make use of Energiewende. At
the same time, political conditions in Germany such as technological
preferences and high energy levies encourage companies to develop
their production in other countries.
Therefore, activities as part of energy policy should be intelligent
and lexible. It is increasingly obvious that innovation is a way to
improve competitiveness. This mostly refers to combining the world
of energy with digital technology, and in time, thanks to new technol-
134
Nicole KAIM-ALBERS, Mariusz RUSZEL
ogies (power-to-x), even with the gas system. Different instruments
at different levels are being used for this purpose.
The effectiveness of German energy policy is based on strong
energy partnerships, the most important of which is political relation
with the Russian Federation. The diversiied structure of directions
and sources of energy resources, diversiied contract structures, and
complex energy infrastructure provide the basis for building a distribution center of natural gas and electricity (a gas hub and an electricity
hub). Therefore, Germany has a strong position in the new global race
connected with the manufacture of electric, hydrogen, and hybrid
vehicles. The process of developing low emission transport means that
there will be a global race in the production chain of different goods
and services to increase export. The catalyst for this process, as well
as the process of energy transition, is climate policy.
Chapter 10
Energy transition in France:
towards green development
Tomasz MŁYNARSKI250
Energy transition in France involves different directions of reform,
such as improving energy eficiency, reducing the emission of greenhouse gases and fossil fuels consumption, and the growth of renewable
energy sources in the energy basket. The goal of energy transition is
to gradually change from energy generated from hydrocarbons (oil,
natural gas, coal) and centralized energy sources (nuclear energy) to
low emission, dispersed energy sources (RES). The scope of the works
included three main areas of reform: to decentralize the energy system
(gradual reduction of the share of nuclear energy), to enhance energy
saving and reduce energy consumption (energy eficiency and performance), and to ensure environmental protection and development of
“green” and energy-saving economy sectors.
Energy balance structure of France
The programme of nuclear energy introduced over political divisions has led to a signiicant lowering of energy dependency of the
country, compensated for the lack of its own fossil resources, and
allowed a departure from coal. Thanks to nuclear energy, France has
developed a unique model of energy security. In 2014, nuclear energy
covered 42% of total energy consumption. France’s energy independTomasz Młynarski, PhD, Associate Professor in Jagiellonian University,
Faculty of International and Political Studies, Institute of Political Studies and
International Relations, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, e-mail: tomasz.mlynarski@
uj.edu.pl
250
136
Tomasz MŁYNARSKI
ence is relative and mainly refers to the electricity sector, where almost
75% of energy production comes from nuclear power. Nuclear energy
has priority economic and strategic importance for France: it balances
over 1/3 of the costs of fossil fuels import. Nuclear energy meets three
fundamental goals: it enhances the energy self-suficiency and security
of supply in the country, ensures low and stable prices of electricity
(which increases the competitiveness of the French economy, especially in sectors with high demand for electricity), and is an instrument
in the ight against global warming. The nuclear power industry is an
important asset and link in the country’s economy, and export of electricity is an important source of extra income. Additional economic
beneits come from low emissions in the French sector of electricity
in the face of tightening the European system of quoting the emission of greenhouse gases (EU Emissions Trading System). Thanks to
nuclear energy, France has not only reduced the import of fossil fuels,
but has even become the main supplier of products and services for
the nuclear industry.
The share of fossil fuels (oil: – 30%, natural gas – 14%, and coal
– 4%) in the total amount of primary energy consumed in France
does not exceed 50%; it is the lowest rate in all EU member states.251
Thanks to the common use of nuclear energy, France’s import dependency rate is 48%.252 However, the dominance of nuclear energy has
caused signiicant backwardness and the lack of a consistent political
and economic strategy concerning the development of RES.253 France
has a rich potential of renewable energy sources, but apart from water
energy, they are rather poorly used. Renewable energy with a share
of 9.5% is developing, in 2015 employing about 170 thousand people
(in Germany, 355 thousand).254
New directions for France’s energy policy were determined by the
process “Grenelle de l’environnement” initiated in 2007 (with the particiCommissariat Général Au Développement Durable, Chiffres clés de l’énergie, Édition 2015, Commissariat Général Au Développement Durable, Février 2016, http://
www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/reperes-chiffres-cles-energie-2015.
pdf (accessed: 15.12.2016).
252
EU Energy in Figures, European Commission, Statistical Pocket Book, 2015, p. 194.
253
The basic drawback is the low diversiication of new renewable energy sources,
because the share of wind and solar energy in energy production is still very low.
254
Renewable Energy and Jobs Annual Review 2016, IRENA, p. 5, p. 11.
251
Energy transition in France: towards green development
137
pation of representatives of regional authorities, trade unions, employers,
and non-governmental organizations) in order to establish plans of
action concerning sustainable development. It was a special form of
consultation and inclusion of the community in the process of political
debate on the future of the energy sector in France. Public consultations
involved ive parties (trade unions, entrepreneurs, NGOs, members of
parliament, and the administration). The programme “Grenelle de l’environnement”, created a future framework for policies and measures,
setting ambitious goals for individual sectors and sources of energy
and guidelines to improve research and development for clean energy
technologies. Priority areas were the reduction of emissions in the construction and transport sectors, as well as the production industry.
Grenelle also introduced support for heating based on RES.
After the presidential election in spring 2012, public consultations continued as a form of national debate on energy transition. The
debate started on November 29, 2012, under the auspices of the Ministry of Ecology, included extensive regional consultations focused on
reducing dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear energy.255 As part of
the national energy debate there were hundreds of meetings with the
participation of local communities, non-governmental organizations,
companies, and universities. Recommendations for the future energy
law pertained, to the following issues: simpliication of administrative procedures necessary for the development of wind, solar, and
geothermal energy, and increased support for renewable energy. The
National Debate on Energy Transition (DNTE) provided the basis
for a governmental draft of the law concerning changes in the energy
sector. France adopted the assumptions of deep energy transition in
order to reduce emissions and promote energy eficiency. The French
act on energy transition (Act on energy transition for green growth/
Transition énergétique pour la croissance verte after Senate amendments of July 15, 2015256) inally adopted on July 22, 2015, includes
Ouverture du débat sur la transition énergétique, http://www.lepoint.fr/societe/
ouverture-du-debat-sur-la-transition-energetique-29-11-2012-1535085_23.php
(accessed: 15.12.2016).
256
Loi n° 2015-992 du 17 août 2015 relative à la transition énergétique pour la
croissance verte (1), JORF n°0189 du 18 août 2015,
https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT0000
31044385&categorieLien=id (accessed: 15.05.2016).
255
138
Tomasz MŁYNARSKI
a change of the energy model based on fossil fuels through promoting “green growth” and energy eficiency with gradual lowering of
nuclear energy. The key goals of French energy transition assume the
reduction of CO2 emission, in part through the development and integration of renewable energy sources with the energy system, with a
gradual reduction of nuclear energy. GHG emissions are to be reduced
by 40% before 2030, and by 75% before 2050 (as compared to 1990).
The French act on energy transition introduced a high tax on CO2
emission (“climate-energy tax” / “contribution climat énergie”, CCE)
from fossil fuels, depending on the generated emission.257 France has
also chosen to tax high emission sectors (heavy industry, energy sector, aluminum, etc.), and even to introduce an international carbon
tax. Its goal is to effectively encourage industry to reduce emissions
and invest in low emission energy sources.
Competitiveness on global and European energy
markets in light of the assumptions of energy reform
in France
France is one of the most industrialized countries, and at the same
time emits one of the lowest amounts of greenhouse gases. Its ratio
of CO2 emission/GDP is one of the lowest in the world. As a result,
contemporary France is trying to build its leadership capacities, not
only in traditional spheres of international relations (e.g., opposition
to the attack on Iraq in 2002 or its active role in the military intervention in Libya in 2011), but also in new areas, such as counteracting
climate change. Just like the EU, France displays strong ambitions
to be a leader in counteracting climate change, which is conirmed
by its role as a key player in international negotiations (see the role
of France in the negotiations before the COP21 summit). This is so
because France has ambitions to be a climate leader, which in practice
means support for tightening the objectives of GHG emission reductions, both regionally (EU ETS) and globally. The nuclear programme
developed on a scale unique in Europe has not only ensured the competitiveness of the French economy, but also enabled its exceptional
The CCE mechanism also occurs independently of the fuel tax (TICPE, la taxe
intérieure de consommation sur les produits énergétiques).
257
Energy transition in France: towards green development
139
success in activities aimed at preventing climate change, i.e., separating economic growth from pollution emissions. Therefore, France is
attempting to achieve global climate leadership by inluencing international institutions, which suits the Gaullist ambitions of building
a multipolar world where it would play the role of a leader. Thanks to
the signiicant role of nuclear energy, France is one of the few highly
industrialized economies with the lowest ratio of CO2 emissions per
capita and in the sector of energy production, so it is pursuing the
role of leader in the ight against climate change, promoting the development of nuclear technology as a zero emission source of energy.
As a nuclear world power, France strives to popularize civil nuclear
technologies at the regional and global level. This provides an opportunity to develop the industry sector, where it has had the know-how
advantage for several decades. In this way, climate policy may be an
instrument for improving the competitiveness of the French economy
on the global market. In this sense climate policy is becoming irst of
all an instrument of economic strategy.
Energy eficiency.
French law supports investments in the sustainable development of
energy sources e.g.., by interest-free loans for those who buy a house for
the irst time (if the building meets standards higher than those set in
construction law, i.e., is characterized by energy saving or low energy
consumption, the so-called BBC – bâtiments basse consommation)
and BEPOS – bâtiments à énergiepositive).258 The act also supports
the conversion of already existing houses, including a system of tax
deductions. In January 2011, a new system of tariffs was introduced
for electricity produced from biomass, and in March the same year,
for electricity produced using solar panels.259 EDF is obliged to purchase all the power produced from solar and wind energy. France is
T. Młynarski, Uwarunkowania transformacji polityki energetycznej Francji.
Między ekologiczną modernizacją a ekonomiczną kalkulacją [Determinants of
French energy transition policy: Between ecological modernization and economic
calculation], Rocznik Integracji Europejskiej, no. 9/2015, Wydział Nauk Politycznych
i Dziennikarstwa Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, p. 372.
259
T. Młynarski,Francja w procesie uwspólnotowienia bezpieczeństwa energetycznego i polityki klimatycznej Unii Europejskiej [France in the process of
communitizing energy security and climate policy of the European Union], Kraków
2013, pp. 70-71.
258
140
Tomasz MŁYNARSKI
making up for delays in the development of renewable energy sources
and supports investment in RES or energy saving technologies.
Energy saving and the growth of the eco-work sector One of the
main ways of reducing energy consumption by 20% in 2030 and by 50%
in 2050 in comparison to 2012 is to be energy eficient in the sectors
of construction and transport. In the housing sector (which accounts
for almost half of energy consumption in the country), activities will
include e.g., mandatory thermomodernization of public and private
buildings, so that they can achieve the standard of “low emission”
buildings by 2050. For this purpose, subsidizing loans is assumed to
support the energy eficiency of buildings (interest-free loans, lower
VAT), especially in the case of households with low incomes.260 A 30%
tax deduction for labor costs connected with improving eficiency is
also planned. The development of the energy saving sector is expected
to create tens of thousands of extra jobs (in construction, biosectors,
or projects of reducing energy consumption, e.g., the installation of
smart meters.
Another issue is the support for innovative energy-saving projects
and the policy of reducing waste by 50% (e.g., banning the use of disposable plastic bags or dishes). In that country, the age of disposable
plastic items has inished upon the decree of 31 March 2016: as of
July 1, 2016, all disposable plastic bags were banned and replaced by
reusable bags. One anticipated effect of energy transition is the creation of 100 thousand jobs.
The development of “green energy”.
Ségolène Royal, Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and
Energy, discussing the draft of the act on energy transition in April
2016 said: “The development of renewable energy is at the heart of
the transition to our energy model of the 21st century, more eficient and more sober, more diversiied…”261. The transition assumes
Establishment of a National Guarantee Fund, offering subsidies for less afluent families or people who buy a house for the irst time (if the building meets the
standards higher than those set in construction law, i.e., is characterized by energy
saving or low energy consumption, so-called BBC – bâtiments basse consommation) and BEPOS – bâtiments à énergiepositive). Other instruments of support are
e.g., tax deductions for the conversion of already existing houses.
261
Les objectifs pour le développement des énergies renouvelables. Programmations pluriannuelles des
260
Energy transition in France: towards green development
141
dynamic development and integration of renewable sources with the
energy system: their role is to ill the gap in reducing the share of
nuclear energy in electricity production. Dynamic development of
renewable installations is to be stimulated by administrative incentives for local governments, which will receive preferential state loans
for the achievement of the goals of energy transition. Instruments
stimulating the development of RES include inancial support for
small-scale energy generation for communes and local communities,
as well as facilitation of laws and simpliication of issuing permits
for innovative local government projects, such as wind energy, water
energy, and biogas (1,500 new installations are planned), as well as
special tariffs for electricity produced from RES. As a result, the
government assumes an increase in the share of renewable energy
in gross inal energy consumption from 14% in 2012 to 23% in 2020
and 32% by 2030. 40% of the consumed electricity is to come from
RES.262 Besides, roofs of all new commercial buildings with a surface area over 1,000 m2 will have to equipped with renewable energy
sources or vegetation that will ensure thermal insulation and will
help maintain biodiversity.
France has set ambitious operational goals to meet by 2023263:
growth of generating capacity in electricity production from renewable sources by more than 50% as compared to 2015 (from 43
GW to 71-78 GW),
double the power from land wind power plants,
triple the power from new photovoltaic parks,
double the generating capacity to produce electricity from timber,
developing France’s potential in sea renewable energy (including
3,000 MW from offshore wind installations, 100 MW from sea
liquid energy, and then expanding the capacities to 6,000 MW
and 2,000 MW respectively).
increase by more than 50% of heat production from renewable
sources in comparison to 2014 (including more than 20% of heat
investissements de production – PPI, Ministère de l’Environnement, de l’Energie et
de la Mer, 25 avril 2016, http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/201604-25_Obj-_Dvp-_Energies_Renouvelables.pdf.
262
Others: 38% of heat consumption, 10% of gas consumption, and 15% of engine
fuel consumption.
263
Les objectifs pour le développement des énergies renouvelables..., op.cit.
142
Tomasz MŁYNARSKI
production from biomass, seven-fold increase of heat production
from biogas (methanization), four-fold increase of heat production
from geothermal energy, increase by over 75% of heat production
from heat pumps, and increase by over 80% of heat production
from solar collectors),
improvement of effectiveness and energy recovery from the grid,
introducing to the gas network 8 TWh of biogas from anaerobic
fermentation and support for the development of the sector of
powering cars with natural gas (bioNGV) up to 20% in transport
consumption in 2023.
Reducing the share of nuclear energy and conventional fuels.
The act provides for lowering the share of nuclear energy in electricity production from 75% to 50% by 2050 as compared to the year
2012 (unlike Germany, France is not going to give up on it completely)
under the condition of maintaining a competitive price for electricity
and a guarantee of no increase in GHG emissions. Electricity production will remain at the previous stable level. For this purpose,
extending the life cycle of reactors is planned, and the reactors will
be shut down gradually as new renewable sources are launched.264
Thanks to retaining a stable share of nuclear energy, an uninterrupted
and evolutionary transition in French energy balance will be possible.
Simultaneously, the government assumes a reduction in fossil fuels
(oil, gas, coal) consumption by 30% (as compared to 2012), so as to
achieve 40% of electricity in France coming from renewable sources
by 2030 (besides 50% from nuclear energy).
The transport sector.
The sector in which a considerable reduction of CO2 emission is
possible is the sector of transport, being the main source of GHG
emissions apart from the heating sector. This goal is to be achieved by
popularizing electric cars and extending the infrastructure of electric
car charging stations.265 Another instrument is inancial incentives
for the purchase of an electric car or tax deductions for the construcIt must be emphasized that the French nuclear leet is obsolete, because as many
as 22 out of 58 reactors will have operated for 40 years in 2022, so EDF intends to
extend the life cycle of reactors from 40 to 50 or 60 years.
265
By 2020, 2-3 million electric cars are planned to be going on French roads, powered at home or from public grids.
264
Energy transition in France: towards green development
143
tion of an electric power station (approximately 7 million of them
are planned, compared to 10 thousand now functioning).266 Extension of battery technologies is planned in order to store energy. The
act on energy transition introduced subsidies for the replacement of
an old car with a new, ecologically powered one. The development
of the electric car sector is intended to support the system of “electric bonuses” applying when replacing an old Diesel car (older than
13 years) with a new, electric one (emissions up to 20 g CO2/km) or
purchase or lease of a new hybrid vehicle (emissions from 21 to 60 g
CO2/km).267 Both individuals and public entities (enterprises, local
governments, ofices etc.) may use the assistance. The reform of the
sector is to be supported by promoting bicycles and public transport
or car sharing.
Intensive development of clean public transport is a separate branch
of energy modernization. In addition, public institutions (in 50%)
and local governments (in 20%) were obliged to renew their transport leets based on low emission technologies (for vehicles up to 3.5
tons) before 2025. The replacement will apply to public transportation
(buses) – 50% from 2020 and 100% after 2025. Energy transition has
also introduced the requirement of ecologically clean vehicles for car
rental companies and taxis (at least 10% of the leet will have to have
low emission engines by 2020).268
Plans for competitive advantage / new branches of economy.
In February 2014, France and Germany announced the development and adoption of a common industrial and technological strategy,
and in the future, the establishment of a common consortium producing
components for renewable energy devices (photovoltaic panels, wind
turbines, etc.), oriented toward the export of low emission technoloT. Młynarski, Uwarunkowania transformacji… [Determinants of energy transition ...], op. cit., p. 372.
267
Voitures électriques et hybrides : Comment obtenir le nouveau bonus de 10 000 € ?,
http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/Voitures-electriques-et-hybrides.
html?var_mode=calcul (accessed: 15.12.2016).
268
Loi no 2015-992 du 17 août 2015 relative à la transition énergétique pour la
croissance verte (1), Chapitre II Eficacité énergétique et énergies renouvelables
dans les transports, article 37, http://www.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/IMG/
pdf/joe_20150818_0189_0001_1_-2.pdf (accessed: 15.12.2016).
266
144
Tomasz MŁYNARSKI
gies and the extension of smart grids.269 France hopes that as a result
of the agreement it will become (together with Germany) the center of
the world’s industry of advanced technologies in the “green energy”
and energy saving sectors.
Planes of competitive advantage and new branches
of economy
Energy transition fosters the creation of new jobs and may become
a stimulus to technological innovation. Energy eco-modernization is
an opportunity for re-industrialization in the industry sector. It is connected with the need to patent and implement technological ideas on
a large scale, and at the same time, develop new, advanced, energy saving technologies, not only for the internal market but also for export.
Socio-economic beneits of energy transition that may occur in
France are:
domestic energy and improvement of energy security due to reducing the importation of energy sources,
economic development and industrialization in the modern industry sector,
new eco jobs,
energy saving,
socio-ecological beneits connected with the improvement of environment and air condition,
technological leadership and the opportunity to proit from low-emission and energy consumption-reducing technologies.
Thus, France counts on the development of the biomass and biogas
sectors, sea renewable energy, small hydropower plants, the development of electromobility, projects for heat production from renewable
sources, and the development of innovation and research support. As
a result, 40 thousand jobs are to be created in the sector of onshore
wind energy and photovoltaics (plus 8 thousand in the thermomodernization industry) by 2023. Besides, the construction of 250 PV
stations, doubling the number of electric cars, and building 59 startups for green energy are assumed.
Conseil des Ministres Franco-Allemand du 19 Fevrier 2014, 16ème Conseil des
ministres franco-allemand à Paris, https://de.ambafrance.org/16eme-Conseil-desministres-franco (accessed: 15.12.2016).
269
Energy transition in France: towards green development
145
The impact of energy transition on the energy
security of France and recommendations for other
countries
The French transformation of the energy sector involves the development of RES, improvement of energy eficiency and energy saving,
the transition from hydrocarbons to electric cars in the transport sector, and ecologization of the public domain. All these initiatives are
to enhance the competitiveness of the country’s economy, to create
new jobs, and to improve the security of energy supply in the country. So energy transition is an expression of France’s pragmatism, and
if stable energy supplies can be ensured, it will be a strong stimulus
for technological modernization and the country’s economic growth.
French action on energy transition may be a source of inspiration
for innovative solutions in designing the “ecological and economic
modernization” of the energy industry in other countries that want to
achieve: 1) intensive development of renewable energy sources supplemented with governmental support, 2) creating a national programme
supporting energy eficiency growth, especially connected with the
construction industry (low-energy construction), 3) development of
modern forms of light eco industry which offers new jobs, 4) innovation in public transport (systems of municipal electric vehicles and
charging stations) supported by the creation of special no-trafic eco
zones in town centers, combined with popularization of park & ride
mobility, 5) promoting cogeneration and modernization of waste management, including the use of post-industrial (mining) areas.
Chapter 11
Energy Transition
in Great Britain
Marta KRAJEWSKA270
The British electricity market is in the middle of a rapid transition.
In the wholesale electricity market a system which has developed to
allow, almost exclusively, large scale thermal power stations to supply
customers who didn’t change their level of consumption, is moving
into something characterized by large levels of renewable generation,
huge volumes of distribution connections, extensive interconnection,
and an active demand side.
Meanwhile the retail market, long characterized by little switching,
large numbers of disengaged customers, and concerns about competition, is seeing a signiicant new entry. This market will continue to
face signiicant change as the indings of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which recently investigated the market due to
concerns about insuficient competition, are implemented. And on the
energy eficiency side there have been recent changes in Government
policy, prompted by concerns about their effectiveness which may put
the ability to meet objectives in doubt.
In addition, it seems clear that the decision of the British people to
leave the European Union could also have a signiicant, though currently unknown, impact on all aspects of the energy market.
Marta Krajewska, MSc, is a lawyer, holding an EU law degree from the Robert
Schuman University in Strasbourg (France) & an employee of National Grid Business
Development. She has previously been employed by Energy UK (the trade association
representing the British energy industry) and the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (a Brussels based organization representing
42 Transmission System Operators from 35 countries). The views expressed in this
article do not represent the views of any of these companies or organizations and
are entirely her own. E-mail:
[email protected]
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This report seeks to provide an overview of the British electricity
market and to provide an explanation of recent changes and current
issues, and to consider what might be some of the challenges ahead.
The structure of the energy mix
The irst important point is that it is a British Market (rather than
a market covering the entire United Kingdom). The market covers
England, Wales, and Scotland (following the merger of the two markets in 2005 as part of the British Electricity Transmission and Trading
Arrangements (BETTA) project). The market does not cover Northern
Ireland, which is part of a single “All Island’ market with the Republic of
Ireland and has a separate TSO271; separate regulatory authority272; and
a separate governance framework covering the entire Irish market.273
The generation market
Britain has a competitive generation market in which parties compete to supply customers at the lowest price. The table below shows
the electricity generation mix over the past decade. It can be seen
that nuclear has played a relatively constant role in the energy mix
(and will continue to do so over the next decade following the recent
Government approval of a new nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point C274).
Coal has played an important, but increasingly declining, role in the
energy mix; providing a much needed source of lexibility. Interestingly summer 2016 was the irst time for a century that there were
days when no electricity was generated from coal.275 Gas is currently
the fuel with the greatest share of the fuel mix. It can also be seen
that imports via interconnectors are playing an increasing role and
that wind and solar generation have seen a marked increase in the
past ive years or so.
System Operator Northern Ireland (SONI) which is wholly owned by Eirgrid,
the Irish SO.
272
The Utility Regulator for Northern Ireland (UREGNI).
273
A Single Electricity Market Committee containing both regulators and a number
of independent experts oversee the operation of the SEM.
274
See the coverage at: https://www.edfenergy.com/energy/nuclear-new-build-projects/hinkley-point-c (accessed: 13.10.2016).
275
See coverage at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/05/10/britain-getsno-power-from-coal-for-irst-time-on-record/ (accessed: 13.10.2016).
271
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Marta KRAJEWSKA
Chart 15. Generation mix by quarter and fuel source 2006-2016
Source: Ofgem276.
Chart 16. Shares of electricity generation by fuel for 2015 and 2016
Source: Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES)277
The generation market is relatively competitive, as shown in chart
15 below. EDF (28% of the market share) owns the nuclear leet, Scottish Power (owned by Iberdrola of Spain) own wind and thermal
assets, as do SSE278 (with respectively 7% of the market share for each
of them). German utilities RWE (13% of the market share) and E.ON
(which recently split the business to form E.ON and Uniper, with Uniper holding 6% of the market share) have generation interest, and the
See: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/data-portal/wholesale-market-indicators
(accessed: 13.11.2016).
277
See: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/
ile/633779/Chapter_5.pdf (accessed: 13.11.2016).
278
SSE stands for Scottish and Southern Energy.
276
Energy Transition in Great Britain
149
largest supplier, British Gas, has generation interests via Centrica (9%
of the market share). Other companies such as Drax or GDF/Engie have
shares of 8% and 3% respectively. An increasing share of small scale
and independent generation (19%) has recently entered the market.
Chart 17. Generation ownership by company, 2015
Source: Ofgem279.
Embedded generation
A signiicant feature of the market in the last few years has been
the connection of very large volumes of generation at distribution
voltages. This is typically wind and solar generation with variable
running patterns. The growth is shown in the diagram below. These
connections have tended to be concentrated in particular areas of the
country – particularly the South West of England and Scotland. This
new trend also means that there are times when distribution systems
export onto the transmission network, as opposed to taking power
from it as would have traditionally been the case.
The retail market
The British retail market has seen rapid changes in the past few
years as a situation in which a relatively small number of suppliers,
termed “the Big Six”280, who also own generation has been challenged
See: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/data-portal/wholesale-market-indicators
(accessed: 13.11.2016).
280
The “Big Six” is a term used to describe the six largest British energy suppliers
(being at the same time the oldest British electricity companies). They are made up
of British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON UK, npower, Scottish Power and SSE.
279
Marta KRAJEWSKA
150
by signiicant new entry. This is probably the most dramatic change
ever seen in a market which was opened up to competition in the late
1990s. The table below shows the growth in the number of suppliers
in both the gas and electricity markets over the past decade.
Chart 18. Number of active supply market participants
Source: Ofgem 281.
The table below illustrates this phenomenon in more detail and
shows the market shares per company. The most striking thing is perhaps the increase in the market share of smaller suppliers from 2013
and the relative decline in the market share of each of the “Big Six”.
While appearing as relatively small in the diagram, this is the irst
signiicant time that independent suppliers have gained any market
share and that there’s been a sustained decline in the “Big Six” companies’ market shares.
As of March 2016 there are 38 suppliers active in the British electricity market. Of those, 36 provide both gas and electricity. 86.6% of
the market is held by large suppliers and 13.4% by small and medium
sized suppliers. As discussed in the competition chapter, the CMA’s
recent investigation has scrutinized the level of competition within
both the wholesale and the retail market and proposed a set of remedies with the aim of further enhancing retail competition.
See: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/chart/number-active-domestic-suppliers-fuel-type-gb. (accessed: 13.11.2016).
281
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Chart 19. Market share of electricity supply market participants
(2004 – 2016)
Source: Ofgem282.
Networks and Interconnection
Britain’s electricity networks are owned by a variety of companies.
There are 12 separate distribution companies (with more than one owned
by the same party). The transmission network283 onshore is owned by
3 companies – National Grid Electricity Transmission plc, Scottish
Hydro Electric Transmission plc and Scottish Power Transmission plc.
In addition, various companies own parts of the offshore network
which have been awarded by competitive tender.284 The entirety of
the transmission network is operated by the National Grid – in its
role as System Operator.285 As renewable volumes increase, the prosSee https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/chart/electricity-supply-market-shares-company-domestic-gb (accessed: 20.04.2017).
283
Comprising the 275kv and 400kv networks in England and Wales and also the
132kv network in Scotland.
284
For details of the competitive OFTO regime see:
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/electricity/transmission-networks/offshore-transmission. There are also plans to expand the use of competition to the construction of
onshore transmission assets.
285
While not discussed in this report there are suggestions that greater separation
of the system operation would be desirable.
282
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Marta KRAJEWSKA
pect of distribution networks needing to be more actively managed
is becoming a reality.
Interconnection with neighboring countries has been a feature of
the British market since the Interconnexion France Angleterre was
commissioned in 1986. Britain is also connected to the Netherlands
(via the Britned interconnector), Northern Ireland (via Moyle) and the
Republic of Ireland (via the East West Interconnector). Plans are in
place for at least 6 GW of interconnection capacity with connections
to Denmark (the Viking Link), Belgium (the NEMO link), Norway,
and further French interconnectors, IFA2, ElecLink, and FAB link
projects, planned.286
The decision on whether interconnection should be built is market led and driven by the presence of price differences between GB
and other countries. Historically, the GB price has been above that in
surrounding markets hence creating a case for interconnection and,
in general, meaning that interconnectors which do exist have tended
to import from the continent (though an interconnector can change
direction several times a day). Interconnector imports and exports
are shown in the igure below.
Chart 20. Interconnector gross and net imports and exports
(2013 – 2016)
Source: Ofgem287.
The list of existing and future interconnectors projects can be found here:
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/electricity/transmission-networks/electricity-interconnectors (accessed: 13.11.2016).
287
See: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/data-portal/all-charts (accessed: 13.11.2016).
286
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Government Policy and Regulation
British Government policy is focused on resolving the so called
energy trilemma – of secure supplies, affordable energy for customers, and decarbonization.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change (recently
changed to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Industrial
Strategy 288) is responsible for making policy decisions – including decisions about supporting particular technologies and how
to encourage low carbon generation. The most signiicant piece of
energy speciic government policy has been the Electricity Market Reform (EMR) which introduced a Capacity Market, designed
to ensure suficient investment in Generation, and which replaced
the previous regime for supporting renewables with a new regime
based on Contracts for Difference. This is covered in more detail
in Chapter 4 on security of supply.
Chart 21. Electricity price comparison
for domestic usage in world
Source: BEIS, See https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/international-domestic-energy-prices (accessed: 13.11.2016).
The British market is regulated by the Ofice of Gas and Electricity
Markets (Ofgem) responsible for monitoring, enforcing, and improving
288
As from July 2016.
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Marta KRAJEWSKA
wholesale and retail market rules and setting price controls to determine the revenues which network companies can recover.289
Energy use
The transport sector is currently the biggest inal energy user in
the UK, accounting for 38% of the total in 2012. Households account
for 30% of inal energy use, industry 18%, tertiary 14% and agriculture approximately 1%. In general, a rule of thumb of 1/3 transport,
1/3 domestic and 1/3 industrial use tends to be used.290
Prices and the make-up of a domestic bill
The igure below shows where GB compares in a Europe-wide electricity price comparison for domestic usage.
The structure of an average domestic energy bill is shown in the
igure and the explanatory table below.
Chart 22. Structure of an average domestic energy bill
Source: Ofgem291
This is done via a model called RIIO, standing for Revenue = Incentives + Innovation + Outputs.
290
Source: Ofgem- see https://w w w.ofgem.gov.uk/data-portal/all-charts
(accessed:13.11.2016).
291
Source: Ofgem- see https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/data-portal/all-charts (accessed:
13.11.2016).
289
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Energy Transition in Great Britain
Table 6. Explication of the structure of an average
domestic energy bill
Annual cost
Wholesale costs
Network costs
Environmental and social obligation costs
Other direct costs
Operating costs
Supplier pre-tax margin
VAT
Percentage
40.09%
25.16%
12.99%
0.65%
15.40%
0.94%
4.76%
Source: Ofgem292.
Projections for the future
As noted in the introduction, GB is going through a signiicant
period of change. There are many projections about how the system
will develop in the future and considerable uncertainty – including
the impact of smart meters, the impact of batteries and electricity
storage, future interconnection development, fuel costs, Brexit; and
many other factors. The National Grid produces - on a yearly basis
- a series of Future Energy Scenarios (FES) which tend to form the
basis for consideration in the future.293
Energy eficiency
Energy eficiency is frequently described as the most cost effective
way of reducing carbon emissions. However, Britain’s energy eficiency
is still lagging behind, partly because of a relatively old housing stock
which is one of the least energy eficient in Europe. This section looks
at the context within which energy eficiency policies are set, their
content, the evaluation of those policies (including those which have
recently been removed) and the future.
Energy eficiency is essential to help consumers reduce their energy
consumption and improve the comfort of their homes. It is also central to achieving the UK’s commitment to reducing its greenhouse
gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050, relative to 1990 levels. It is
Ibidem. (Source: Ofgem- see https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/data-portal/all-charts
(accessed: 13.11.2016)).
293
See: http://fes.nationalgrid.com/ (accessed: 13.11.2016).
292
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Marta KRAJEWSKA
a key part of the Government’s strategy and is considered central to
reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving energy security, and
mitigating fuel poverty.
There is no doubt that further policy action is required. In June,
the Fifth Carbon Budget294 was adopted by the Government, setting
irm carbon targets for the period from 2028 to 2032. Parliament
approved them in July. Reaching those targets will require bold and
ambitious policy action across all sectors.
A number of important directives set EU-wide standards and targets for energy eficiency. First of those is the Ecodesign Directive295
that requires manufacturers of electrical appliances to increase the
energy eficiency of their products over time with increasing standards.
New buildings need to meet energy eficiency standards set by the
Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.296 Recent policy changes
in the UK such as scrapping the zero carbon homes target show that
buildings’ energy eficiency is not quite on top of the political agenda
right now.
Finally, it’s worth mentioning the Energy Eficiency Directive297
which requires all Member States to set irm energy saving targets
covering all sectors to reach the EU’s 20% energy eficiency target by
2020 (and subsequent targets thereafter). Article 7 of the Energy Eficiency Directive is central and requires Member States to introduce
energy eficiency obligation schemes (EEOSs).
Domestic households
Energy eficiency policy targeted at households in the UK has
worked through energy supplier obligations, where energy suppliers are required to offer consumers opportunities to be more energy
eficient. The government has obligated suppliers to improve homes’
energy eficiency in this way for more than 20 years.
See: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/carbon-budgets (accessed: 13.11.2016).
Directive 2009/125/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21
October 2009 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements
for energy-related product.
296
Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May
2010 on the energy performance of buildings.
297
Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy eficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU
and repealing Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC.
294
295
Energy Transition in Great Britain
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In 2013, the Government implemented two schemes with the
primary aim of improving household energy eficiency to reduce
CO2 emissions – the Green Deal298 and the Energy Company Obligation (ECO). 299 These replaced two previous energy eficiency
programmes, the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) and
the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP). The replacement
was mainly driven by concerns about the impact of the previous
policies on customer bills. ECO reduced suppliers’ obligatory CO2
savings and decreased the requirement for them to improve harder-to-treat homes.
Through ECO, the Government required energy suppliers with
more than 250,000 customers to install measures in homes,
such as loft or wall insulation, that would cumulatively reduce
CO2 emissions by a certain amount. Suppliers are given targets
based on their share of the domestic gas and electricity market.
Suppliers work with a range of suppliers to deliver the measures (such as installers for instance), and face penalties if they
do not meet the targets set by Government. The suppliers pass
on the costs of delivering the ECO to their customers through
energy bills.
The Green Deal is primarily a inance mechanism which enables
householders to borrow money so they can improve the energy eficiency of their homes. They repay this money through their energy
bills (“Green Deal inance”). This is complemented by a framework
of advice, accreditation, and assurance intended to increase homeowners’ trust in the supply chain for home improvements.
Government is now designing a policy that will supercede ECO in
April 2017 and has committed to an annual funding of £640 million
for the policy, which will focus increasingly on the fuel poor. Under
the current consultation proposal, a one year transition to the fouryear long scheme would see social housing included under ECO, as
well as a greater role for Local Authorities to identify customers eligible for ECO.
See: https://www.gov.uk/green-deal-energy-saving-measures/overview (accessed:
13.11.2016).
299
See: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-programmes/eco (accessed:
13.11.2016).
298
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Marta KRAJEWSKA
Industrial energy eficiency
The EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), which covers 40% of
UK emissions, is a key EU measure driving energy eficiency improvements in the industry sector. In addition, the UK introduced the Climate
Change Levy300 – a tax on the business use of fossil fuel energy – in
2001. Companies that are part of Climate Change Agreements (CCAs)
and which successfully meet the conditions of their agreement are eligible for a discount on the levy.
The Government has also implemented the CRC Energy Eficiency
Scheme301 which targets large, non-energy intensive businesses and
public sector organizations and emissions not already covered by the
EU ETS or Climate Change Agreements.
In July 2015, the Government announced that it would not provide any further funding for Green Deal loans, effectively bringing
the scheme to an end. ECO will end on 31 March 2017, and will be
replaced with a smaller scheme that focuses on mitigating the main
causes of fuel poverty.
This decision was, in part, motivated by an assessment by Britain’s
National Audit Ofice (NAO) – which seeks to ensure that Government
funds are used effectively. Sir Amyas Morse, Head of the NAO said on
14 April 2016: “Improving household energy eficiency is central to
government achieving its aims of providing taxpayers with secure,
affordable and sustainable energy. The Department of Energy and
Climate Change’s ambitious aim to encourage households to pay
for measures looked good on paper, as it would have reduced the
inancial burden of improvements on all energy consumers. But in
practice, its Green Deal design not only failed to deliver any meaningful beneit, it increased suppliers’ costs – and therefore energy
bills – in meeting their obligations through the ECO scheme. The
Department now needs to be more realistic about consumers’ and
suppliers’ motivations when designing schemes in future to ensure
it achieves its aims”302.
See: https://www.gov.uk/green-taxes-and-reliefs/climate-change-levy (accessed:
13.11.2016).
301
See: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/crc-energy-eficiency-scheme-qualiication-and-registration (accessed: 13.11.2016).
302
Full report can be found here: https://www.nao.org.uk/report/green-deal-and-en300
Energy Transition in Great Britain
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The report goes on to state: “The Green Deal has not achieved
value for money. The scheme, which cost taxpayers £240 million
including grants to stimulate demand, has not generated additional
energy savings. This is because DECC’s design and implementation
did not persuade householders that energy eficiency measures are
worth paying for”.
Also, following the decision to bring ECO to an end, the Energy
and Climate Change Committee (ECCC) in the House of Commons
has made its own investigation into reducing home energy eficiency
and demand. The Committee examined what lessons could be learnt
from these and previous energy eficiency schemes. The results of this
parliamentary inquiry were published in a report in March 2016.303
In particular the ECCC expressed serious concerns regarding the
Government’s proposed approach to tackling fuel poverty through commercial energy suppliers, arguing that they might not be the best placed
to reach those households who need it most. In addition, the Committee has underlined that the Government should be doing much more
to reduce consumer energy bills by improving the energy eficiency of
new and existing homes. Finally, the MPs have also stressed the need
for the Government to promptly demonstrate a renewed commitment
to tackling energy eficiency by establishing adequate policies with longterm, ambitious objectives, which restore conidence to the industry.
Government is now designing a policy that will succeed ECO in
April 2017, and has committed to an annual funding of £640 million
for the policy, which will focus increasingly on the fuel poor. Under the
current consultation proposal304, a one year transition to a four-year
long scheme would see social housing included under ECO, along with
a greater role for Local Authorities to identify customers eligible for ECO.
However, with those recent changes many are asking the question how feasible the current targets set in the Fifth Carbon Budget
are. In its recent statement, the Association for the Conservation of
Energy has underlined: “The last 18 months have been a major setergy-company-obligation/ (accessed: 13.11.2016).
303
Full report can be found here: https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/
committees-a-z/commons-select/energy-and-climate-change-committee/inquiries/
parliament-2015/home-energy-eficiency/ (accessed: 13.11.2016).
304
For more information see: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/energy-company-obligation-eco-help-to-heat (accessed: 13.11.2016).
160
Marta KRAJEWSKA
back in the British policy landscape affecting carbon emissions from
buildings: the trajectory to zero carbon new build has been paused;
Government support for Green Deal inance was withdrawn with no
alternative mechanisms in place to encourage and enable investment
by able-to-pay households; the government announced that funding
from the Energy Company Obligation will be reduced again; and
a review of business energy taxes has led to proposals for a new tax
structure but, as yet, no coherent supporting framework to encourage energy eficiency action”.
It goes on to state: “(…) the Government’s own projections for
abatement show that the UK will not meet the 5th Carbon Budget
in buildings. Taken together, policies as they currently stand are the
Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to
achieve a 21% cut in direct emissions from buildings by 2030 compared to 1990, just 12% below the ’business as usual’ emissions for
2030. This means that the UK’s emissions from buildings will exceed
those recommended by the Committee on Climate Change for the Fifth
Carbon Budget, in 2030, by 18%”.305
In addition, while BEIS’ work focuses on policies that will succeed
ECO, there are no measures in place to incentivize the able-to-pay
market in the UK. Several groups are also calling for energy eficiency
to become a national infrastructure policy.
Competitiveness
Building on the data on historic and current market shares presented in Chapter 1, this section focuses on the CMA’s investigation
into competition in the energy market and the ’remedies’ which it
brought forward.
Following signiicant pressure, Ofgem referred the market to
the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in June 2014.306
Full statement can be found at: http://www.ukace.org/2016/10/the-uk-willmiss-its-climate-targets-without-a-step-change-in-buildings-energy-eficiency/
(accessed: 13.11.2016).
306
Decision to make a market investigation reference in respect of the supply and
acquisition of energy in Great Britain from 26th June 2014, see https://www.ofgem.
gov.uk/publications-and-updates/decision-make-market-investigation-reference-respect-supply-and-acquisition-energy-great-britain (accessed: 13.11.2016).
305
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The CMA, which is the UK’s competition authority and has broader
powers than a regulator, then undertook an investigation into competition in the market. This investigation took 2 years and concluded
in June 2016.307
It identiied a number of features in the wholesale and retail markets which might constitute an Adverse Effect on Competition (AEC)
and, where it did so, it proposed remedies, which the regulator will
need to implement, to address these problems. Perhaps equally interestingly, it also reached some conclusions about the competitiveness
of wholesale markets and about vertical integration – however without prescribing remedies.
a) Factors that led to the CMA referral
Concerns about the competitiveness of the British energy market
have existed for some time. They have included:
the presence of vertical integration – i.e. the ownership of supply
and generation interests by the same companies and the suspicion
that this could create a barrier to entry in both the wholesale and
retail markets;
the low levels of switching by customers and microbusinesses and
a lack of trust in the market – in particular a concern that up to
80% of consumers were not willing or able to engage with the
energy market and that levels of generation were low;
insuficient generation market competition including a worry that
excessive proits were being made in one or both of the wholesale
and retail markets, as well as the idea of prices going up quickly
and coming down slowly308;
a lack of transparency – about trades being undertaken within the
market as well as about proits.
Prior to the referral, Ofgem itself undertook several investigations
into these issues. However, it was felt that the CMA investigation could
“offer an important opportunity to clear the air (…) helping rebuilding consumer trust and conidence in the energy market as well as
provide the certainty investors have called for”309.
See: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-publishes-inal-energy-market-reforms (accessed: 13.11.2016).
308
Being now collectively referred to as “rockets and feathers”.
309
Extract from Dermot Nolan’s, Ofgem Chief Executive’s statement made on 24th
June 2014 to be found at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/
307
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Marta KRAJEWSKA
b) The CMA’s diagnosis of competition in the British wholesale power
market
The CMA’s conclusions suggest that competition is working well
in the wholesale gas and electricity market, despite the presence of
vertically integrated irms.
Excessive proits
CMA concluded that there is no evidence to suggest that the main
energy irms earned excessive proits from their generation business or
that wholesale market prices were above competitive levels. The CMA
conclusions states: “We have considered a range of aspects of electricity wholesale market design and operation. Generally we have found
that the wholesale electricity market appears to be working well. In
particular: (…) our view is that our analysis of proitability does not
provide evidence that, overall, the Six Large Energy Firms earned
excessive proits from their generation business over the period or
that wholesale market prices were above competitive levels”310.
Vertically integrated electricity companies
With respect to vertical integration, the CMA found that vertical
integration of energy generators and suppliers is not problematic for
competition. In particular it found311:
no evidence that independent generators were unable to compete
effectively because of the prevalence of vertically integrated suppliers;
that a lack of unilateral market power made it implausible that
vertically integrated generators would be able to discriminate by
refusing to supply independent suppliers, or by supplying them
on worse terms. In concluding this, CMA pointed to the recent
increase in the number of suppliers discussed in Chapter 1; and
that vertically integrated irms carried out extensive external trading, and that the liquidity in the product that vertically integrated
irms used to hedge their exposure to wholesale market risk was
decision-make-market-investigation-reference-respect-supply-and-acquisition-energy-great-britain (accessed: 13.11.2016).
310
CMA, Energy market investigation - inal report, 24th June 2016, point 6.2
(b) pp. 262-263, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5773de34e5274a0da3000113/final-report-energy-market-investigation.pdf (accessed:
13.11.2016).
311
CMA, Energy market investigation- inal report, op. cit. pp. 312-340.
Energy Transition in Great Britain
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suficient for independent irms to hedge in a similar way. Therefore, vertical integration didn’t seem to raise barriers to entry and
growth by new suppliers due to dificulties in securing suficient
wholesale supply.
Other features creating AECs
The CMA didn’t give electricity wholesale markets a totally clean
bill of health and suggested that the absence of locational charging
for transmission losses (where charges vary to relect the distance
power needs to travel to reach customers and vice versa) constitutes
an AEC. This is because it sees a cross subsidy which distorts short
term energy dispatch decisions.
It is also interesting that the CMA was critical of the method the
Government had used to allocate Contracts for Difference (long term
contracts intended to provide stable revenues to low carbon generators) and argued that it was insuficiently competitive.312
c) The CMA’s diagnosis of competition in the British retail power
market
However, the CMA did ind a number of features of the retail market
that did distort or prevent competition.313 Most of these were focused
on the concern that a signiicant proportion of customers were not
aware of opportunities to switch. The CMA’s work in this area was
also critical of previous regulatory interventions by Ofgem.
The CMA concluded that:
there was a weak customer response and lack of engagement with
domestic retail energy markets;
the “Big Six” companies enjoyed unilateral market power over
their inactive customer base (i.e. those who do not switch), which
they had been able to exploit through their pricing policies; and
the regulatory framework governing domestic retail market competition had contributed to the issues – particularly through
restrictions on regional price discrimination and by limiting the
number of available tariffs.
Overall the CMA found that customers who were on a tariff with
the cheapest of the “Big Six” energy irms were paying around £95 less
than a customer on a tariff with the most expensive of the “Big Six”
312
313
CMA, Energy market investigation- inal report, op. cit. pp. 263-311.
Ibidem, p. 342.
164
Marta KRAJEWSKA
energy irms.314 The CMA also found that possible savings are often
ignored by customers. These customers tend to have certain characteristics, such as low incomes, lack of internet access, relatively old
meters, and ind it hard to engage with the market, tending to stick
with the same supplier.
However, CMA found no evidence of tacit co-ordination between
retail suppliers in relation to price announcements.
d) Proposed retail remedies
The CMA came up with a series of remedies to try and deal with
these issues315:
disengagement by domestic and microbusiness customers – a number of remedies are proposed to tackle the CMA’s central inding
– lack of customer engagement – including the roll-out of smart
meters; a penalty for irms that fail to switch customers within
the mandated period; the introduction of speciic measures to
facilitate switching for customers living in rented accommodation;
Ofgem to provide an independent price comparison service. A key
proposal is the introduction of a “default” regulated tariff for those
disengaged customers who do not switch
the “simpler choice” component of the so-called Retail Market
Review (RMR 316) rules –remove from domestic energy suppliers’
licenses the “simpler choices” component of the RMR rules, which
would seek to enhance competition amongst domestic retail energy
suppliers by allowing them to offer customers as many tariffs and/
or tariff structures as they wished. This would give domestic retail
energy suppliers an incentive to tailor tariffs to the needs and/
or preferences of different customers, allowing them to compete
vigorously for these customers.
regulatory framework - the CMA proposes giving Ofgem more
enforcement powers by measures including: revising its statutory
objectives and duties to increase its ability to promote effective
Ibidem, p. 1026.
Ibidem, pp. 634-675.
316
The Retail Market Review (RMR) was launched by Ofgem in late 2010 due to concerns that the energy market was not working effectively for consumers. One of the
components of the RMR was based around “simpler choices”, which included in particular: four core tariffs for gas and electricity from each supplier, a single standing
charge, advanced notice of when the customer’s deal ends etc.
314
315
Energy Transition in Great Britain
165
competition; introducing a formal mechanism to address disagreements with the Government over policy decisions; improving
the accounting framework so that Ofgem has a better, more consistent set of data from suppliers to work with; and giving Ofgem
more powers to develop and implement industry code changes.
e) Conclusions
The CMA investigation has been an important driver for reviewing
the functioning of the GB energy market and enhancing its competitiveness.
Government, Ofgem, and industry have expressed their strong
commitment to give full effect to the remedies suggested by the CMA.
This will be an important yet challenging task. In particular, implementing the remedies related to the disengagement by domestic and
microbusiness customers (e.g. the database of all the “sticky” customers) will require a signiicant effort from all the parties involved. Also,
the future will show how the full success of the measures proposed
by CMA will be measured.
As once again demonstrated by the CMA investigation, the UK has
tended to follow a market based approach to energy policy. This willingness to foster the development of competitive markets for both gas
and power has been a key factor for the UK to strengthen its position
on the European (if not global) energy market. This has been a relatively successful approach with new investment, for example in LNG
facilities, being developed in GB. It is the combination of prices determined by supply and demand and a stable regulatory regime which
the UK relies on to ensure competitiveness. That said, political discussion is currently focussed on creating an industrial strategy which
may see particular technologies supported.
Security of Supply
This section considers the circumstances which saw Britain, traditionally seen as a good example for energy only market design,
implement a capacity market and other policies driven by security of
supply concerns. It also considers the potential impact of future technologies and of Brexit on electricity security of supply.
Since the introduction of competition in the England and Wales
market in 1990 Britain has had an energy only market. That is, it was
166
Marta KRAJEWSKA
expected that prices would rise when generation capacity was scarce
until a point when new investment would be encouraged. This market design, some have argued, was particularly well suited to a market
with, at least initially, excess capacity and which was broadly perceived as stable. Hence, when the GB Pool was changed to the New
Electricity Trading Arrangements in 2001 (a bilaterally traded market replacing a pool design) no explicit means of rewarding capacity
outside the market was introduced.
a) The advent of the capacity market
In the early 2010s there started to be concerns about security of
supply and a worry about a “missing money” problem. That is, that
prices would never rise high enough (or perhaps be allowed to rise
high enough) to allow new investment to be inanced. Some have also
argued that this problem was compounded by a more interventionist
approach from policy makers and a greater political prominence for
energy within the mainstream media.
As such, the Government launched its “Electricity Market Reform
(EMR)”317 program. The key components of EMR were the introduction
of a capacity mechanism, with the aim of bringing forward suficient
new generation capacity, and a change in renewable subsidies from
a certiicate based scheme (Renewable Obligation Certiicates) to
a system of Contracts for Difference, with the aim of providing more
stable returns to investors in low carbon technologies.
Explanation
The EMR capacity market (CM) works by offering the opportunity
to all capacity providers (new and existing power stations, electricity
storage, capacity provided by demand side response and the interconnectors318) of a steady, predictable revenue stream termed capacity
payments. The cost of the CM will be met by consumers via the supplier levy on electricity suppliers. Those costs should be minimized
due to the competitive nature of the auction process which aims at
ensuring the lowest cost provision of capacity to meet the level of secuSee: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140405112802/https:/www.
gov.uk/government/policies/maintaining-uk-energy-security--2/supporting-pages/
electricity-market-reform (accessed: 13.11.2016).
318
Although the interconnectors were allowed to participate in the capacity market
auction as from 2015.
317
Energy Transition in Great Britain
167
rity of supply determined by the Secretary of State. In return for this
revenue, providers must deliver energy when needed or face penalties. The auction is organized on a yearly basis.
Results of the irst auction
The irst CM auction took place in December 2014 (the 2014 T-4
auction), for delivery in 2018/19. 49.3 GW of capacity was procured in
the 2014 T-4 auction at a clearing price of £19.40/kW/year.
These results were interesting in many ways.319 First, the price was
far lower than predicted. Second, and linked, a much larger volume
of small, diesel generation participated – raising signiicant concerns
within the government about carbon emissions. Third, no new generation plant received a contract.
Results of the second auction and the third capacity market
The second CM auction took place a year later (i.e. in December
2015), for delivery in 2019/20. This was also the irst auction where
the interconnectors – both existing and prospective – were allowed
to participate.
A total of 46.4 GW of capacity was awarded in the T-4 Auction at
a clearing price of £18.00/kW/year. This resulted in 1.689 GW of extra
capacity being awarded over the target level. The majority of cleared
capacity was existing generating capacity (42.0 GW). New build generating capacity accounted for around 1.94 GW of total acquired capacity,
whilst the interconnector capacity accounted for another 1.86 GW.320
The auction cleared at slightly lower than in 2014. While low prices
are good for consumers, some experts are raising concerns that plants
failing to clear in the 2019/20 auction may choose to close, putting
pressure on security of supply between now and 2018/19. Some also
highlight that due to closures and possible delays in the commissioning of a new plant, a larger than expected amount of capacity will now
need to be procured in the T-1 auction for 2018/19 raising concerns
about a lack of supply in that auction.321
See: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/iles/docs/2015/06/annual_report_
on_the_operation_of_the_cm_inal_0.pdf (accessed: 13.11.2016).
320
See: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/system/iles/docs/2016/06/annual_report_
on_the_operation_of_the_capacity_market_6_june_2016_inal.pdf (accessed:
13.11.2016).
321
See: https://www.frontier-economics.com/de/documents/2015/12/lcp-briefing-review-of-the-second-capacity-auction_dec-2015.pdf (accessed: 13.11.2016).
319
168
Marta KRAJEWSKA
Once again we can see a large amount of newconstruction smallscale diesel and gas generation clear in the auction. However, no new
gas power stations have been contracted. The third capacity market
auction will take place on 6th December 2016.322
The most front-page security of supply related news of 2016 was the
new Prime Minister, Theresa May’s, decision to re-examine the decision
of the former coalition323 to grant inancial support to a nuclear project
at Hinkley Point C. The project, a joint venture by EDF of France and
General Nuclear Power Corporation of China, will see a new nuclear
plant commissioned in 2025. The plant will receive inancial support
of £92.50/MW guaranteed for 35 years.
Whether the project was examined for reasons of the countries
of ownership, its value for the money, or due to concerns about the
need for nuclear generation in 2025, is unclear. However, following
deliberations the project was granted approval on the original terms.
As shown in igure 5 above, Britain has historically been a net
importer of electricity from continental Europe, and interconnectors
can make a substantial contribution to security of supply. However
there has been a reluctance to treat them on an equivalent footing to
domestic generation in the capacity mechanism, where they’re only
eligible for one year contracts, and there has been a tendency to apply
relatively conservative de-rating factors. With a number of projects
currently in the pipeline, one can predict they are likely to play a much
greater role in future.
In Britain security of supply has tended to be seen as an issue of
capacity – are there enough MWs to meet demand at winter peak?
However, as the energy transition gathers pace many are questioning whether it is lexibility that is important. Britain is already seeing
prolonged periods of low prices, principally when the wind blows and
the sun is shining, and has seen negative prices on wholesale markets.
It has also seen very high prices (up to £800/MWh in the balancing
market in recent months324) on summer days where wind and solar
See: https://www.emrdeliverybody.com/Lists/Latest%20News/Attachments/69/
Capacity%20Market%20Auction%20Guidelines%204th%20Nov%202016.pdf
(accessed: 13.11.2016).
323
Coalition between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats with Ed Davey (a liberal democrat) as energy minister.
324
See: https://www.elexon.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/22_Panel246_02_
BSC_Ops_Headline_Report.pdf- pp. 2 (accessed: 13.11.2016).
322
Energy Transition in Great Britain
169
haven’t been available. In these circumstances it is generation technologies or customers who can alter their consumption very quickly
which are of the greatest value to the system.
The capacity mechanism, as designed, does not take a plant’s
capabilities into account and, as such, could struggle to incentivize
the construction of this sort of plant, particularly if environmentally
motivated measures are introduced to reduce the advantages of diesel generators. This seems to suggest that ancillary service markets325
are going to need to be a greater source of value for these generators.
Indeed, recently the National Grid signed contracts for Black Start
totaling £113m326 which may be the start of this trend.
The decision of the British people to leave the European Union may
well raise questions for security of supply. Britain requires considerable
investment in new generation, in network infrastructure, and in new
technology in the coming decades. The regulatory and policy regimes
in Britain are heavily inluenced by European Regulation (which Britain
has heavily inluenced). At present it is unclear on what basis, if any, Britain will interact with the European Energy Market; whether barriers to
trade could be introduced; and whether companies, many of which operate across Europe, will be able to access the skills and workforces they
need. As such, there is the danger of an investment hiatus – which may
lead to higher prices due to the increased return investors will demand.
While not the key issue of this report, it is also interesting to consider how Brexit could impact on the single market in Ireland. The Irish
market has recently been redesigned to comply with European rules
and to be ready to “market couple” with the rest of Europe. In the event
that the United Kingdom does not apply the same rules as the rest of
Europe, it is dificult to see how the single market in Ireland could continue. In this case, the Republic of Ireland would lose access to the wider
European market and costs in Northern Ireland might be expected to
increase and the security of supply could potentially deteriorate.
Security of supply is by far the most important of the three trilemma
outcomes for Britain and Britain’s policy makers. Concerns about it
have driven the vast majority of recent energy sector policy changes
and have seen a capacity mechanism introduced and the Government
Markets for system services.
See: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/system/iles/docs/2016/08/decision_letter_iae_
notice_17_08_2016inal.pdf (accessed: 13.11.2016).
325
326
170
Marta KRAJEWSKA
taking a much more active role in energy mix decisions. While it is
possible that the capacity mechanism, energy market, and ancillary
service markets may interact to bring forward a fuel mix (including
the demand side) with suficient capacity and lexibility, there appears
to be a risk, aggravated by Brexit, of future market interventions. It
will be interesting to see what the Government’s Industrial Strategy
will involve in energy.
Final remarks
This report has provided a very brief snapshot of the very signiicant energy transition taking place in the British market. We examined
the important changes in market structure and shares in the last few
years. We also relected on the recent changes in energy eficiency policy, highlighting that it remains to be seen whether it would become
a national infrastructure policy. In the context of competitiveness,
we talked in detail about the CMA’s energy market investigation and
the relatively clean bill of health that has been given to the wholesale
market and vertical integration, as well as the suite of changes proposed to promote further switching and greater trust in retail markets.
Finally, to address the recent security of supply concerns we provided
an in-depth description of the capacity market and discussed how new
concerns about having suficient lexible capacity to operate the system are emerging. In this context, our analysis also briely speculated
on what the impact of Brexit on the British energy sector might be.
As an island system with relatively low current levels of interconnection and high volumes of intermittent and distributed generation,
Britain may experience issues before countries in the continental
European synchronous area. If so, then it is possible that there are
lessons to learn, both in terms of how and how not to do it. What is
clear is that the last decade has seen an unprecedented amount of
change in the GB energy sector and that the change does not show
signs of slowing.327
As a closing thought, I will mention what has not been included in the report.
On the technology side - the impact of batteries and storage; a new smaller nuclear
plant, or the role of aggregation. On the market design and regulation side - market
splitting; North Sea Grids; or the creation of a more independent system operator.
327
Chapter 12
Energy transition in Poland
Lidia GAWLIK328
The aim of the energy and climate policy being promoted and gradually implemented in the European Union is to thoroughly change the
economies of EU countries so as to dramatically reduce emissions in
accordance with the principles of sustainable development. In some
EU countries (e.g., Denmark, Germany or France) energy transition
is being carried out through the elimination of fossil fuels in favor
of renewable energy sources. In practice, for a number of countries,
it simply means the replacement of conventional energy with RES,
promotion of energy saving, and improvement of energy eficiency.
Transforming the economy so as to reduce emissions is one of
the most serious economic and environmental challenges faced by
Poland as a member state. Within the past 25 years, despite dificulties
and substantial social costs, Poland has shortened its developmental
distance from Western Europe, going from an ineffective centrally
planned economy to the market model, European integration, and
competition on the globalized market of goods, services, and capital.
Modernization of industry has played an important role in the process. The modernization involved: liquidation of ineffective heavy
industry plants, investment in mechanization of other enterprises,
development of new areas of industrial processing, and producing
for both the developing internal market and for export.329 However,
Lidia Gawlik, DSc, Eng., Associate Professor in Mineral and Energy Economy
Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Mineral and Energy Economy
Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, 31-261 Kraków, ul. Wybickiego 7,
e-mail:
[email protected]
329
M. Bukowski, A. Kassenberg, A. Śniegocki, Perspektywy niskoemisyjnej transformacji w Polsce [Prospects of low-emission transition in Poland], Redakcja
Pol-int, https://www.pol-int.org/pl/salon/perspektywy-niskoemisyjnej-transformacji-w-polsce-pl (accessed: 27.07.2016).
328
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Lidia GAWLIK
there is still a lot to do, especially in the broadly understood power
system, characterized by high dependence on fossil fuels. Emissions
and high concentrations of harmful pollutants are becoming a developmental problem. The emissions come from different sources, but
the dominant role is played by emissions connected with fossil fuels
consumption in the economy. 78% of all emission in Poland is emission from fossil fuels combustion.330 Broadly understood the system of
energy use is one signiicant area in which Poland still needs serious
modernization. The most important sectors that need to be modernized are the energy sector, transport, and the use of fuels in buildings.
Due to extensive use of coal, the energy sector is associated with
high emissions. Besides, despite partial modernization performed
so far, most functioning production capacities are obsolete and have
low eficiency.
For several decades, the model of development of road transport
was based (in many cases, for inancial reasons) on the import of old
cars from Western European countries, in poor technical condition
and causing high emissions. As in Poland the consumption of fuels per
capita is lower than the EU average, we need to face further growth
of fuel consumption in transport, which will mean higher emissions,
even if the number of new means of transport grows.
Against the background of the European Union, Poland has quite
a high share of coal in the inal use of energy in residential buildings
(30%) and non-residential buildings (10%).331 Heating and hot water in
households is coal-based to a much greater extent than other EU countries, as it is more price-competitive than gas or electricity. Often, low
quality coal is combusted in old, low eficiency furnaces, and rooms
have low thermal insulation. New houses have better thermal parameters, but the number of houses is growing all the time, and although
the rate of energy use for heating purposes per surface area unit is
improving, it is still much lower than the EU average. All this makes
the problem of low emission more and more serious.
Therefore, the country’s challenges do not only result from the
directions of the EU climate policy. Actually, they need to be met to
National Programme of Low-Emission Economy, draft, version of August 4, 2015,
Ministry of Economy, Warsaw, 2015.
331
Ibidem.
330
173
Energy transition in Poland
ensure the long-term welfare of the state and its citizens. The speciicity of the country (the only one in the EU to have considerable
deposits of hard coal and lignite and a well developed system for using
them) combined with economic and geopolitical determinants means
that Poland has to ind its individual way of further development.
Although the governmental document directing Poland’s energy policy until 2050 is not ready yet, we can see more and more clearly that
the emphasis is put on issues connected with energy and geopolitical
security. It means that Poland is going to keep its coal-based energy
sector, at the same time looking for competitive advantages and new
possibilities for the industry. The costs of transition, which will ultimately need to be covered by the citizens, also play a role.
The structure of electricity production in Poland is considerably
determined by historical decisions concerning the sources of energy
production, mostly based on the available resources. The Polish sector
of commercial heat and power plants is mainly based on production
capacities using hard coal or lignite as the fuel.
Table 7. Electricity production in Poland in selected years by energy
carriers, TWh
Energy carrier
Hard coal
Lignite
Natural gas
Other non-renewable
carriers
Renewable energy
sources
Year
2004
90.5
52.2
4.9
2006
93.4
53.4
4.6
2008
85.7
53.2
4.7
2010
87.8
48.7
4.8
2014
76.2
53.4
5.3
2015
77.7
52.8
6.4
3.5
6.0
5.3
5.6
4.4
5.3
3.1
4.3
6.6
10.9
19.8
22.7
Source: Statystyka Elektroenergetyki Polskiej [Polish electricity statistics], Agencja
Rynku Energii SA, Warsaw (2005-2016), Energia ze źródeł odnawialnych [Renewable energy], Central Statistical Ofice, Warsaw (2005-2016)
In 2004, when Poland accessed the European Community, even
92.5% of electricity was produced from solid fuels (Table 7). This unique
situation of the country and the level of economy, differing from other
EU countries (e.g., high energy intensity and low energy eficiency), has
contributed to introducing activities aimed at energy transition. Polish
174
Lidia GAWLIK
energy policy formulated in successive governmental documents332,333
has declared for the diversiication of production structure, at the same
time stressing an increase in the energy eficiency of the economy.
The direction of changes necessary in the Polish economy corresponds to the directions set by the energy and climate policy of the
European Union, and potential nuisances connected with the early
stages of ETS have been eliminated thanks to derogations. Poland
adopted the conditions of the 3 x 20 package, which in the energy system translates into the development of renewable energy. At the same
time, the share of solid fuels has dropped (Chart 23).
In the years 2004-2015, the share of hard coal decreased from
58.7% to 47.1%. The reduction of lignite use was slightly lower (from
33.9 to 32%), and in some years, due to the competitive price of the
fuel and available production capacities, generation of electricity from
lignite even grew: in 2013, up to 56.2 TWh, which was 34.1% of the
share of the fuel in electricity production in that year.
Chart 23. Fuel structure of electricity production in Poland
in the years 2004-2015, [%]
Source: Statystyka Elektroenergetyki Polskiej [Polish electricity statistics], Agencja
Rynku Energii SA, Warsaw (2005-2016), Energia ze źródeł odnawialnych [Renewable energy], Central Statistical Ofice, Warsaw (2005-2016)
Polityka Energetyczna Polski do 2025 r. [Polish Energy Policy until 2025] Document adopted by the Council of Ministers on 4.08.2005.
333
Polityka Energetyczna Polski do 2030 r. [Polish Energy Policy until 2030] Document adopted by the Council of Ministers on 10.11.2009.
332
Energy transition in Poland
175
In the 2004-2015 period, electricity production from RES was regularly growing. The share of energy carriers in that production was
changing. Chart 24 shows the amount of electricity generated using
the dominant energy carriers, such as solid biofuels, wind, water and
biogas.
Chart 24. Electricity produced from renewable energy carriers
Source: Energia ze źródeł odnawialnych [Renewable energy], Central Statistical
Ofice, Warsaw (2005-2016)
Generation of electricity in wind power plants was dynamically
growing then. In 2004, approximately 140 GWh came from wind
energy, while in 2015, it was 10.9 TWh, which means a 77-fold increase.
Wind has become the dominant renewable energy carrier in the energy
sector, and with a 47.9% share in energy production from renewable
sources in 2015 it outstripped solid biofuels (39.5%). In 2004, production of electricity from renewable sources was only 2% of the produced
electricity (nearly 3.1 TWh), more than 2 TWh of which (almost (68%)
came from hydropower plants. Production in hydropower plants
remains at a stable level. But we can see dynamic growth of electricity
production in power plants and heat and power plants using solid biofuels, although recently the co-combustion has slowed down, and the
use of biomass in energy industry has become dominant (in 2012, over
three fourths of biomass used to produce electricity was combusted
together with coal). In terms of installations using biogas, there has
also been an increase in electricity production, with small but regular
176
Lidia GAWLIK
increments. In 2015, twice as much such energy was produced as in
2011. Apart from these four dominant renewable energy carriers, in
recent years electricity has also been produced from photovoltaic cells.
At the end of 2015, the generating capacity of the national electricity system was 40.4 GW. The generating capacity of commercial
heat and power plants was 79% of the whole system capacity, 19.3 GW
of which was based on hard coal, and 9.3 GW, on lignite (Chart 25).
Chart 25. Percentage structure of generating capacity in the national
electricity system in 2015
Source: Struktura mocy zainstalowanej w KSE [Structure of generating capacity
in National Electricity System], [in:] Raport 2015 KSE [2015 report of the National
Electricity System], Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne SA. http://www.pse.pl/index.
php?did=2870 (accessed: 27.07.2016).
The current condition of Poland’s energy system needs to be seriously modernized. This results, irst of all, from the considerable
degree of decapitalization of the majority of the existing production
capacities in the sector. Over thirty-year-old units account for more
than 53% of all power plants and more than 66% of the total capacities.
Because of the advanced age structure and high wear level of production infrastructure, medium- and long-term maintaining of the
existing capacities will be very dificult. Expenditure on renovation
and modernization of existing units and on investment in new capacities will be necessary. The shutting off of units may additionally be
because of environmental standards imposed on the sector by imple-
Energy transition in Poland
177
menting the directive on industrial emissions (IED)334 in national law,
and further limitations resulting from the detailed conclusions of BAT
(Best Available Techniques).335
Currently, more than a dozen projects for constructing new production capacity units are being carried out in Poland. The initiated
investments in hard coal power plants in Kozienice, Opole, and Jaworzno will ultimately (by 2019) increase the generating capacity by
3.785 GW. More distant developmental plans include the construction of a power plant in Ostrołęka based on hard coal. Launching
a 450 MW lignite block is planned for 2020 in the Turów power plant.
In several heat and power stations there are also new investments,
with hard coal (sometimes including the possibility of burning biomass or RDF) or gas as the basic fuel.
Governmental plans include the development of the energy industry
towards hard coal use to ensure the continued functioning of Polish
mines. It is also emphasized that new capacities will be highly eficient
(even 46% performance). Revitalization and restoration of power on
the basis of 200 MW blocks336 is a change in the previous approach
to the issue of ensuring the required volume of production capacities
in Poland. In the next decades, the existing 200 MW blocks may be
used thanks to lengthening their exploitation periods by thorough
modernization. This solution is cheaper than the construction of new
blocks. The proposed scope of work includes:
identifying blocks where modernization is most proitable (the
other blocks should be assigned to strategic reserve),
reconsidering support for co-combustion as the means of lowering
blocks’ emissions,
analyzing which solution will give the most measurable technological beneits, such as enhancing the system’s eficiency. The
following solutions can be chosen for this purpose:
Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (Oficial Journal L 334/17, 17.12.2010).
335
Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document for Large Combustion
Plants, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies and Sustainable Production
and Consumption Unit European IPPC. Bureau. Final Draft 2016.
336
Program ramowy Energetyka 200+ rewitalizacja i odbudowa mocy na bazie
bloków 200 MW [Framework Programme 200+ revitalization and power restoration using 200 MW blocks], Ministry of Energy, 2016.
334
178
Lidia GAWLIK
building duoblocks – by combining two modernized boilers
with one turbine set it is possible to make a 500 MW block
with higher eficiency and lower technical minimum (about
20 % of the rated power),
● hybrid systems, allowing the use of substandard fuels, e.g.,
coal slurry or industrial and municipal waste. In the coal
mining industry the annual production of slurry is estimated
at approximately 2 million tons. There is high potential to use
these resources. The technology would be based on pre-combustion of slurries or municipal waste, which would give extra
environmental beneits as otherwise they should be disposed,
transformation of some of the blocks into exclusively biomass
blocks,
the use of oxy-combustion technology with CO2 capture e.g., to
support the extraction of oil and gas. This would allow reduction
of emissions by as much as 80%.
Another important area is cogeneration. Here, the emphasis is
put on restoration of cogeneration capacities on hard coal, including
a partial shift of capacity to commercial power plants from commercial and local (municipal) heating plants. This solution will allow
using coal very eficiently, which will translate into reducing emissions. At the same time, providing district heat to a higher number
of users will allow partial elimination of low-stack emissions in the
area of households. This is important since 73% of the heat produced
in 2015 by licensed heating enterprises came from hard coal, and in
the case of cogeneration, the share of heat produced from hard coal
was 81%. The use of coal to produce heat on the licensed market was
13,491.29 thousand tons.337
The act on RES amended in 2016338 changed the auction system
towards greater support for the production of energy from biomass
and co-combustion. As a result, together with the act on wind investments339, conditions were created to promote, mainly, stable generation
from renewable energy sources. The reduction of support for unstable
●
Energetyka cieplna w liczbach – 2015 [Heat power sector in numbers – 2015],
Energy Regulatory Ofice (ERO), Warsaw 2016.
338
Act of 22 June 2016 amending the act on renewable energy sources and certain
other acts (Journal of Laws 925.2016).
339
Act of 20 May 2016 on wind power plants investments. (Journal of Laws 961.2016).
337
Energy transition in Poland
179
production capacities in the energy sector will deinitely slow further development of wind energy, but despite that, and despite the
reduction of support for some prosumers, it seems that the indicated
targets concerning RES for 2020 will be achieved. Later, Poland will
face more strict targets set by the European Union340, which means
the need to further reduce CO2 emissions and increase the share of
energy from renewable sources.
The Polish Nuclear Power Programme adopted in 2014341, assuming the construction of 6 GW capacity of nuclear energy, has had
a number of technical, social, and irst of all inancial barriers, and
its future is unknown.
For these reasons, anticipating the future energy mix in Poland
is not easy. We may only be sure that coal will remain the dominant
fuel in the energy sector of Poland for more than ten years. It should
be supported by already developed capacities based on renewable
energy, and new capacities that will display economic eficiency and
be inanced in the changed conditions of support. Among them, gas
sources have a chance to do so, especially if used for cogeneration.
It is also crucial for natural gas supplies to be more diversiied,
which has been partially achieved by opening the LNG terminal in
Świnoujście. The purpose of building the Baltic Pipe, with the aim to
supply natural gas from Norwegian deposits, also involves reducing
the dependency on its supplies from the East, and thus, improving
the security of gas supply.
Poland’s priority goals are: to improve energy security, reduce
the dependence on imported energy raw materials, increase energy
self-suficiency, and achieve sustainable development based on innovative technologies.
Basing development of the energy industry on coal with the support
of stable renewable energy and diversiication of the direction of gas
import enhances the country’s energy security. Sustainable development of the energy system, apart from the security of fuels and energy
A 2030 framework for climate and energy policies. Green paper. European Commission (EC). COM(2013) 169 inal. http://cor.europa.eu/en/activities/stakeholders/
Documents/comm169-2013inal.pdf (accessed: 27.07.2016).
341
Resolution No. 15/2014 of the Council of Ministers of 28 January 2014 on the multi-year project “Polish Nuclear Power Program” (Oficial Gazette of 2014, item 502).
340
180
Lidia GAWLIK
supply, should ensure electricity at prices acceptable for the community and the industry. The adopted direction of the energy transition
means that electricity production will be relatively cheap. This is an
important aspect of competition on the European market, but irst of
all, it may ensure cheaper economic development and introduce the
element of competitiveness in international trade.
Having considerable resources of hard coal and lignite, it is important to develop new economic areas based on this potential. The
desirable direction is development of energy technologies that are
highly eficient in energy processing and environment-friendly. Another
vital aspect is to ensure the stability of operation of the energy system,
thus, such properties as high operational lexibility or fuel lexibility.342 Technologies based on supercritical parameters and Integrated
Gasiication Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plants potentially meet
these criteria to a higher or lesser degree and can be applied on an
industrial scale.
Innovative solutions in the area of clean coal technologies are
the key to sustainable development. The economic priorities in R&D
and innovations include national smart specializations concerning
sustainable energy, the development of which is supported and subsidized (from national and Union funds), in order for new solutions
to accelerate the transformation of the national economy through its
modernization and structural transformation. The emphasis is on:
highly-eficient, low-emission, and integrated systems of production, storage, transmission, and distribution of energy,
smart and energy-saving construction,
environmentally friendly transport solutions.
These three areas of activity are determining the direction of Polish
energy transition. In order to make the country’s economic development follow sustainable development, the stress is on transforming
the economy towards low emissions. The basic assumption is energy
saving and improved energy eficiency, which can be achieved thanks
to innovations and adapting them to the existing system, leading to
D. Kryzia, L. Gawlik, M. Pepłowska, Uwarunkowania rozwoju czystych technologii wytwarzania energii z paliw kopalnych [Determinants of the development
of clean technologies of energy production from fossil fuels], “Polityka Energetyczna
- Energy Policy Journal”, 19, 4/2016, pp. 63-74.
342
Energy transition in Poland
181
economic growth with a relatively low increase in demand for energy
and to minimal costs of energy production. The aim of such transition is to develop the competitiveness of industry, to strengthen gross
domestic product, to create new jobs, and to improve energy security.
This way of thinking is relected in launching the national electromobility programme, which is expected to popularize electric, hybrid,
and hydrogen cars. Research and development connected with this
and the inal implementation of the results may contribute to reducing emissions from transport and increasing demand for electricity,
which may be based on coal coming from Polish mines. As a result,
many new jobs will be created, and the country may achieve competitive advantage on the international market.
The essence of sustainable development is to ensure economic,
social, and environmental beneits from activities that reduce emissions. Energy transition should make electricity available for citizens
and develop enterprises now and in the future, i.e., to make it suficient and not too expensive.
Unfortunately, it is not clear whether such changes will be suficient
in the long run due to the expected growth in electricity consumption,
despite activities taken to improve energy eficiency and support for
them in the form of new regulations.343 System changes concerning
energy eficiency management and improvement should contribute
to concretization and intensiication of pro-eficiency activities in
Poland, but long-term economic growth will be impossible without
higher energy consumption.
The need for development of prosumer energy, energy storage technologies, and production of fuels from energy surpluses (e.g. P2G) is
emphasized; further investment will also be necessary in the energy
industry, preferably in low-emission technologies. So perhaps nuclear
energy will inally ind its place in the Polish energy mix, though later
than anticipated. The construction of a nuclear power plant in Poland
is associated with huge inancial expenditure, and big nuclear power
plants are inlexible and cannot be regulated. On the other hand, they
do not cause emissions, and technological development in this area is
evident. Currently, pilot works are being carried out under the name
SMR (Small Modular Reactors), which involve low power units from
343
Act of 20 May 2016 on energy eficiency (Journal of Laws 851.2016).
182
Lidia GAWLIK
35 to 350 MW, with a simpliied and reproducible structure, which
might be used in the future.
Assuming that the use of Polish coal in the Polish energy sector
remains one of the priorities, we need to realize that even after successful restructuring of the coal mining sector, the possibilities for
using coal will be limited by the competitiveness of other energy carriers, which must be taken into consideration when planning long-term
development of the electricity sector.
The situation is made even more complicated by the EU proposal
for further changes on the energy market, presented by the European
Commission in the so-called Winter package of 30.11.2016.344 The proposal includes changes in the functioning of the capacity market and
modiications in directives concerning renewable energy and energy
eficiency. Apart from the targets for 2030, i.e., a 40% reduction of
CO2 and 27% share of RES in the energy mix, it proposes the introduction of an emissions limit below 550 g/kWh for power plants which
will be allowed to be a part of the capacity market, which in practice
excludes the coal energy industry.
In its future transformation activities, Poland must stick to coal, at
least for the time being, at the same time improving the performance
of energy blocks, investing in the technological process of coal combustion, and in this way reducing emissions. There is also a need to
develop new sources of low-emission energy, green industry, and dispersed energy. Poland must move towards a low-emission economy,
because the development of advanced technologies reducing emissions and raising energy eficiency potentially means new jobs, and
innovative solutions may be an export product.
Poland needs to build its long-term energy policy and strategy of
energy transition going beyond the energy sector, taking into consideration the internal and external determinants and priorities, and then
negotiate its own path of development within the Union, consistent
with the direction of proposed changes but also with its capabilities.
Czysta energia dla wszystkich Europejczyków, czyli jak wyzwolić potencjał
wzrostu Europy [Clean Energy for All Europeans – unlocking Europe’s growth
potential], European Commission – press release, Brussels, November 30, 2016.
344
Chapter 13
Energy transition in Austria
Anna KUCHARSKA345
Energy balance structure
The character of Austria’s energy sector is signiicantly inluenced
by its location. It lies inside the continent, has no deposits of energy
resources, and is relatively small. For these reasons, it obviously needs
to import conventional fuels, which account for approx. 64% of the
Austrian energy mix.346 Imported energy carriers are predominantly
natural gas (29.5%), coal (10.8%) and oil (48.1%).347 In Austria, import
of energy from fossil sources costs approx. 12 billion euros a year,
which equals about 42% of GDP of the country.348
Despite the high import level, Austria has a quite well balanced
energy mix, in which about 37% of the primary energy demand (as
of 2014) is covered by domestic production.349 Renewable energy
sources have a share of 77.2% in national primary energy production, including 38.2% of water energy and 29.7% of wood fuel.350
Anna Kucharska, MSc, PhD Candidate, Faculty of International and Political
Studies, Jagiellonian University, e-mail:
[email protected]
346
C. Morris, M. Pehnt, Niemiecka transformacja energetyczna. Przyszłość oparta
na odnawialnych źródłach energii [German energy transition. Future based on
renewable energy sources], Heinrich Böll Foundation, 28.11.2012, pp. 80-81.
347
Data as of 2014: Energiestatus 2016. Abteilung III/2 – Energiebilanz und Energieefizienz, Bundesministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Wirtschaft,
Vienna, May 2016, p. 9.
348
C. Morris, M. Pehnt., Niemiecka transformacja… [German energy transition...]
op. cit., pp. 80-81.
349
Fossil Fuel Support Country Note, OECD, September 2016, http://www.oecd.
org/site/tadffss/data/ (12.11.2016).
350
Data as of 2014: Erneuerbare Energie in Zahlen. Die Entwicklung Erneuerbarer
Energie in Österreich Datenbasis 2014, BMLFUW, Vienna, December 2015, pp. 15-17.
345
184
Anna KUCHARSKA
Large-scale use of hydropower stations was mostly possible thanks
to the mountainous landform features. Hydroelectric power plants
have been operated and developed in Austria since the 1950s. Until
the 1990s, Austrian electricity supply had been almost exclusively
based on the combination of hydropower plants and heat supply
industry.
Chart 26. Structure of energy import in Austria for 2016 [%]
Source: Energie in Österreich. Zahlen, Daten, Fakten, BMWFW, Vienna 2017, p. 6.
Gross national energy consumption is 1,381 PJ (about 383 TWh),
including only 513 PJ (ok. 142.5 TWh) from domestic production.351
Transport had the highest share in Austria’s inal energy consumption
in 2015: 33.9%, followed by industry: 29.3%, and households: 23.4%;
services: 11.2%, and agriculture: 2.1% consumed less.352 Currently,
Data as of 2014: Energiestatistik. Energiebilanzen Österreich 1970 bis 2014,
Statistik Austria, 29.02.2016, http://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/energie_
umwelt_innovation_mobilitaet/energie_und_umwelt/energie/energiebilanzen/
index.html (accessed: 12.11.2016).
352
Energieverbrauch in Österreich 2015 zugelegt, DiePresse.com 04.05.2016,
http://diepresse.com/home/wirtschaft/energie/4981825/Energieverbrauch-in-Osterreich-2015-zugelegt (accessed: 12.11.2016).
351
Energy transition in Austria
185
the existing studies and scenarios for Austria allow us to expect that
national consumption of electricity by 2030, even with moderate economic growth, may rise by approx. 50 PJ (14 TWh).353
Chart 27. Total inal energy consumption in Austria for 2016
Source: Energie in Österreich. Zahlen, Daten, Fakten, BMWFW, Vienna 2017, p. 6.
Since 2000, there has been intensive integration of electricity production from wind, photovoltaics, biomass, gas from waste and sewage
treatment plants, and geothermal energy. In Austria the use of wind
energy and photovoltaics is relatively low. The share of wind energy
is 3.7% (3,827 GWh), and photovoltaics, 0.7% (785 GWh) in the total
inal energy consumption.354 This results directly from unfavorable
weather conditions in the country and the small and mountainous
territory, leaving little area to be used to construct such installations.
Still, the use of wind energy and photovoltaics has risen considerably
within the last ten years, under the inluence of the policy of support
introduced along with the Act on electricity production from renewable energy sources (Ökostromgesetz). In general, it was an increase
Land am Strom. Jahresbericht Oesterreichs Energie 2016, Oesterreichs Energie,
July 2016, http://oesterreichsenergie.at/medien/publikationen-452/land-am-strom.
html?i le=i les/oesterreichsenergie.at/Downloads%20Publikationen/Land%20
am%20Storm/Jahresbericht%20OE%202016.pdf (accessed: 12.11.2016), p. 15.
354
Erneuerbare Energie in Zahlen…, op. cit., pp. 15-18.
353
186
Anna KUCHARSKA
by 242%, i.e., almost 15% a year. In the case of wind, the growth was
approximately 189%, and photovoltaics, 3,600%. In comparison to the
year 2013, in 2014 the growth was 22% and 34,9% for wind and photovoltaics, respectively.355 In 2015, the production of those renewable
sources was almost 12 TWh.356
Chart 28. Domestic energy production in Austria for 2016 [PJ]
Source: Energie in Österreich. Zahlen, Daten, Fakten, BMWFW, Vienna 2017, p. 6.
The Austrian Energy Strategy adopted in 2009 (EnergieStrategie
Österreich) describes the dominant challenges to the state’s energy
sector and economic sectors related to it, as well as the main assumptions of the national energy policy. The Strategy stresses the extension
of renewable energy sources, especially water energy, wind power
plants, biomass, and photovoltaics. The increase of renewable energy
carriers in gross inal energy consumption is expected to reach 34%
by the year 2020.357 In accordance with the plan from the Strategy,
Energiestatus 2016. Abteilung III/2 – Energiebilanz und Energieefi zienz,
BMWFW, Vienna, May 2016, p. 48.
356
Land am Strom… op. cit., p. 15.
357
EnergieStrategie Österreich, BMWFW, BMLFUW, Vienna 2010, pp. 7-8.
355
Energy transition in Austria
187
the use of RES is anticipated to reach 395.6 PJ, and the total gross
inal energy consumption is to be 1,114.9 PJ. The Austrian Strategy
also assumes that by 2020, the use of oil and oil derivatives will drop
to 362.3 PJ, and natural gas, to 191.2 PJ. Hence, growth in the share
of biofuels up to 34 PJ is anticipated.358
Strategy of energy eficiency growth
The three pillars of energy policy being implemented by the Austrian
Energy Strategy are, apart from the development of RES, consistent growth of energy eficiency in all the main sectors. In December
2013, a governmental programme was established for another 5 years,
describing the goals, challenges, and a wide range of means to carry
out Austria’s energy policy. Ensuring long-term supplies of energy and
the related costs, as well as the environmental impact, largely affect
the economic eficiency and performance of the country. Thus, it is
necessary to keep energy consumption at the lowest possible level,
to conservatively use the country’s resources of natural resources, to
develop RES, diversify the necessary import, and in this way ensure
and protect the energy transport infrastructure and suficient storage capacity.359
By raising its energy eficiency, Austria is striving to overcome the
tendency of ever-growing energy demand. Stabilizing inal energy
consumption by 2020 at the level of consumption in 2005 (1,118 PJ) is
the target of this priority set in the Austrian Energy Strategy. Reducing inal energy consumption is to occur through certain measures
to enhance energy eficiency which refer to many areas. Effective
implementation of these measures is to be a guarantee that the goals
set in the Strategy will really be achieved by 2020. Activities in this
regard involve the consideration of energy and climate objectives in
the spatial development policy, reform of the ecological tax, a wide
review of instruments of support, and subsidies for the development
of research, technology, and innovation.360 The effects of previous
activities in Austria are already visible: in the area of heat engineerIbidem, p. 11.
Ibidem, pp. 7-8.
360
Ibidem, p. 9.
358
359
188
Anna KUCHARSKA
ing, emissions have been reduced by 34% in comparison to the level
of 1990.361 The newest data shows that in 2014, Austria reduced its
inal energy consumption by 4.3% in relation to the year 2013.362 The
increasing growth of energy eficiency in the country is also visible
in the example of natural gas. In 2015, the demand for this resource
grew by 6% up t almost 7.9 bcm (89 TWh). At the same time, national
production dropped by 5%, reaching 1.2 bcm, and net import of gas
was reduced by 1.6 bcm (-22%).363
Chart 29. Energy intensity of the economy in Austria 2005-2015
– Gross inland consumption of energy divided by GDP (kg of oil
equivalent per 1 000 EUR)
Source: Eurostat, Energy intensity of the economy, http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/
table.do?tab=table&plugin=1&language=en&pcode=tsdec360 (accessed: 25.08.2017).
In the Austrian Energy Strategy it is anticipated that in 2020, the
area of heat engineering and transport will play the biggest role in
inal energy consumption in Austria, so signiicant attention is being
concentrated on these sectors. The share of the construction sector
C. Morris, M. Pehnt, Niemiecka transformacja energetyczna... [German energy
transition ...] op. cit., pp. 80-81.
362
Erneuerbare Energie in Zahlen…, op. cit., p. 10.
363
OMV Geschäftsbericht 2015, OMV AG, Vienna, https://www.omv.com/SecurityServlet/secure?cid=1255769898259&lang=de&swa_id=1117068374618.7583&swa_site=
(accessed: 12.11.2016), p. 6.
361
Energy transition in Austria
189
currently accounts for approx. 1/3 of Austrian inal energy demand.364
Plans for enhancing energy eficiency in this area assume the improvement of building standards to the level of minimum energy demand.
The package of activities to be implemented in raising energy eficiency
in construction includes e.g., a 3% rate of building renovation by 2020,
aimed at gradual optimization of heating in buildings, conforming to
regional concepts of spatial development. This means the choice of
the source of energy should be appropriate to the potential existing
in the region and in conformity with it; should assume central heating with the use of waste, cogeneration, or biomass; and individual
heating with the use of solar energy, biomass, or heat obtained from
the environment (e.g., heat pumps).365 It must be noted that Austria
is already the European pioneer in terms of the proportion of passive
houses. The main stimulus for development in this ield is state subsidies, being an incentive to renovate buildings.366
Equally important is electricity and heat consumption in households, smaller production facilities, and enterprises, especially
energy-intensive ones. Here, special attention is given to energy counselling and educating the community in energy awareness, i.e., more
effective consumption of primary energy and heat.367
Transport is also signiicant in the energy sector. In this ield, Austria is planning to develop alternative drives, especially electric, but
also hydrogen. Furthermore, public transport and car sharing, as well
as mobility management services, are being extended and promoted.
The package of activities for mobility also includes lowering emissions
by greater use of RES, understood primarily as a higher share of biofuels (10% in accordance with the EU Directive).368 The total share of
energy consumption in road transport is expected to drop from 87.7%
(in 2010) to 74.3% in 2050.369
C. Morris, M. Pehnt., Niemiecka transformacja… [German energy transition...]
op. cit., pp. 80-81.
365
EnergieStrategie Österreich..., op. cit., pp. 7-10.
366
C. Morris, M. Pehnt., Niemiecka transformacja… [German energy transition...]
op. cit., pp. 80-81.
367
EnergieStrategie Österreich..., op. cit., p. 7.
368
Ibidem, p. 7.
369
S. Schleicher, A. Köppl, Energieperspektiven für Österreich. Zielorientierte Strukturen und Strategien für 2020 und 2030, published by WIFO, October 2013, p. 37.
364
190
Anna KUCHARSKA
Apart from activities in the above-mentioned areas, it is also necessary to develop transmission and distribution networks and energy
storage facilities. The existing network infrastructure must be adapted
in the future to strong, decentralized energy production and higher
levels of energy low combined with the lowest loss of energy during
transmission.370
Development of competition
on international markets
Austria, as a small and rather poorly populated country, mostly
bases its economic model on quality categories and thus predominantly counts on improving research, technological development, and
innovations. In this way, it wants to create highly specialized jobs and
support long-term economic growth and its labor market. Austria’s
objective is to leave the group of countries importing innovative technological solutions and to join the leaders of innovation and exporters
of new knowledge.371 The energy sector is especially attractive for
Austria in this regard, as it is driven by stimuli from environmental
and climate policy. Therefore, Austria wants to create new technologies marked Made in Austria, recognizable abroad. Austria intends
to become the most innovative region in Europe in terms of energy.
This is to be achieved through support for enterprises and research
institutions so as to strengthen their competitive position.372 The
scope of priorities in this area is presented in the Austrian Strategy
for Research, Technology and Innovation (Strategie der Bundesregierung für Forschung, Technologie und Innovation – hereinafter:
FTI Strategy) of 2011.
RES technologies have a long tradition in some regions of Austria, originating from the high level of national economy and a well
developed community with high expectations referring to the quality
of life, but also awareness concerning protection of the natural environment. Many patents and research competences guarantee Austria
EnergieStrategie Österreich..., op. cit., p. 8.
Der Weg zum Innovation Leader. Strategie der Bundesregierung für Forschung,
Technologie und Innovation, Vienna, March 2011, p. 4.
372
EnergieStrategie Österreich..., op. cit., p. 14.
370
371
Energy transition in Austria
191
a good economic position in Europe, which in turn gives domestic companies great opportunities to join export markets, and later ensure
substantial proits for the national economy.373 Within the latest 20
years, the number of RES patent applications has grown six-fold in
Austria, and 42% of patents before 2010 were connected with thermal
energy374. For the last 4 years in a row, Austrian economy has seen
steady growth, 0.8% annually (2015).375
In Austria, energy-saving construction, geothermal energy, smart
electric grids, and electromobility development are all areas of special
potential. Austria has ambitions to become a technological pioneer in
the global trend of departure from fossil fuels in energy production
and CCS – Carbon Dioxide Capture & Storage.376 Elements such as
new products on the market and innovation, an increase in export of
advanced technologies, high tech products, and knowledge-based services are expected to make Austrian enterprises recognizable world
leaders in high tech industry. Public procurement and political infrastructure oriented toward innovation is to contribute to the increase of
demand for high technology products and knowledge-based services.377
Austria has the potential to develop the use of biomass energy,
especially connected with wood and wooden products. Nowadays,
two out of three biomass boilers installed in Germany come from Austria.378 Apart from Germany, the main export countries are France,
Italy, and Spain. Great Britain may become a potential market in the
future because of ongoing work on an act concerning subsidies for heating from renewable sources.379 The upward trend is also visible in the
Erneuerbare Energie in Zahlen…, op. cit., p. 26.
R. Bointner, P. Biermayr, et al., Wirtschaftskraft Erneuerbarer Energie in Österreich und Erneuerbare Energie in Zahlen, “Blue Globe Report. Erneuerbare Energien”,
no. 1/2013, Vienna, p. 57.
375
OMV Geschäftsbericht…, op. cit., p. 16.
376
Energietechnologie, BMWFW, Abteilung Energie/Technik und Sicherheit,
http://www.bmwfw.gv.at/EnergieUndBergbau/Energieefizienz/Seiten/Energietechnologie.aspx (accessed: 12.11.2016).
377
Der Weg zum Innovation…, op. cit., pp. 12-13.
378
Umwelt und Energie im Überblick, Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft,
https://www.ffg.at/content/umwelt-und-energie-im-berblick (accessed: 12.11.2016).
379
Erneuerbare Energie in Zahlen…, op. cit., pp. 30-31.
373
374
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Anna KUCHARSKA
sector of liquid biofuels, in the case of which Austria is one of the EU
pioneers. Bioethanol is produced on a large scale, and the produced
191,000 tons exceeds more than twice the country’s demand.380 A lot
of potential also lies in Austrian experience acquired in biogas production. Wide competencies in this area are visible in the puriication of
raw gas and processing it to biomethane with quality corresponding
to natural gas, then allowing it to enter into the network. In the construction of bio gasworks and cogeneration installations, the knowledge
and experience of Austrian enterprises is at a particularly high level
in the EU.381 Austria’s experience in water energy is also considerable. For this country, the technology of building hydropower plants
and their necessary components has become an export service. Austria produces photovoltaic modules, too, 47% of which are exported,
mostly to other EU countries. As regards photovoltaic components,
Austria manufactures inverters, in which case global export accounts
for approx. 89%. The total sale of Austrian heat pumps to foreign
markets was 9,858 in 2014, which accounts for 33.7% of the export
quota.382 The share of Austrian export of solar collectors is 82%. As
for components for wind power plants, the level of export is 96%.383
Planes of competitive advantages in the economy
The goals set in Austrian plans for economic development from
the perspective of energy transition are based on three basic priorities: decarbonization, decentralization, and digitalization. One of the
elements decisive for the future of the Austrian energy system is the
development of technology and solutions for optimum system integration of the high share of RES combined with an increase in the
eficiency of distribution (transmission) and consumption of energy.
Thanks to improved technologies, a comprehensive approach to system integration, and innovative ICT technologies, system eficiency can
be considerably enhanced and the quality of energy services can be
improved. Because of dificulties with electricity storage and the speciic
Erneuerbare Energie in Zahlen…, op. cit., pp. 32-33.
R. Bointner , P. Biermayr, et al., Wirtschaftskraft Erneuerbarer…, op. cit., p. 30.
382
Erneuerbare Energie in Zahlen…, op. cit., pp. 35-37.
383
Umwelt und Energie…, op. cit.
380
381
Energy transition in Austria
193
character of electricity networks with the need to ensure appropriate
stabilization of frequency and voltage, but also because (in accordance
with present tendencies) the signiicance of energy carriers is going to
increase considerably in the future, the need for research in this area
is particularly high.384 Thanks to the use of innovative technologies,
more than 50 TWh energy was produced from RES in 2014, reducing
emissions harmful to the climate by 10.8 million tons of CO2 equivalent.385 On the basis of previous achievements and taking into account
the government’s speciic support for improving the innovativeness
of domestic enterprises, Austrian industry has the chance to achieve
great success in energy and environmental technologies.
The newly developed ield of electric transport provides great
potential for Austria. First of all, this is because the country is already
a pioneer in the sector of liquid biofuels in the EU, although it still
needs to import a lot. It is a relatively new economic area in Austria,
developed intensively since 2004, and especially attractive for its
environmental beneits. Biofuels may contribute to a considerable
reduction in greenhouse gases in the transport sector. For the same
reasons, biogas produced from waste is attractive for the industry. In
2014, the combined capacity of 384 bio gasworks was 113.9 MW.386
Moreover, Austria is working on the development of power-to-gas
technology, which will ultimately also be applied in transport. It is
carrying out a pilot project wind2hydrogen to develop the technology of obtaining hydrogen from surpluses of electricity produced by
RES installations. The wind2hydrogen project is being implemented
mainly by the energy concern OMV as part of a programme including
broader research on electricity.387
Climate changes combined with insuficient energy resources and
the need to ensure a proper quality of life in the face of demographic
transformations are deinitely global challenges of our times which
Intelligente Energiesysteme der Zukunft. Smart Grids Pioniere in Österreich.
Strategien – Projekte – Pionierregionen, BMVIT, Vienna 2010,
https://nachhaltigwirtschaften.at/resources/edz_pdf/broschuere_smart_grids_
pioniere.pdf (accessed: 12.11.2016), p. 5.
385
Umwelt und Energie…, op. cit.
386
Erneuerbare Energie in Zahlen…, op. cit., pp. 32-34.
387
Factsheet: Research project wind2hydrogen, OMV Aktiengesellschaft, August
2015.
384
194
Anna KUCHARSKA
need appropriate solutions. The Austrian FTI Strategy includes “Climate change and limited resources” as one of the country’s priority
challenges. In this regard, the Strategy points to the need to develop
new technologies as a means to ighting those threats.388 Another activity in the ield was reform of the Austrian Act on renewable energy
(Ökostromgesetz) in 2011, allowing introduction to the network of more
wind and solar energy. The work on the act may be considered as an
attempt to make Austrian energy transition more dynamic. According
to estimates connected with the reform of the act, by 2020, Austria
will probably reach an 80% share of electricity from RES, which could
give it the position of EU leader.389
The FTI strategy also implements an interesting concept of so-called
Smart Cities (Stadt der Zukunft), which are to be model urban centers
with a modern energy system. One central aspect of such cities is the
role of modern technological solutions in smart urban infrastructure
involving ICT. Another priority is to maintain and try to improve the
quality of the environment and life in cities. The primary element is
still the use of RES, including integration of photovoltaics and solar
panels into construction, and an increase in energy eficiency, not only
of buildings, but also energy industry and mobility.390
Energy security
Energy transition in Austria faces important challenges connected
with future social, economic, and climate aspects and threats to which
solutions need to be found. What is important is that national energy
production is not suficient for consumers’ needs, hence the necessary
import of energy and resources plays an important role in the country’s energy balance. It is necessary to ight the problem of diminishing
energy and environmental resources, which includes the transition
Österreichischer Forschungs- und Technologiebericht 2016. Lagebericht gem.
§ 8 (1) FOG über die aus Bundesmitteln geförderte Forschung, Technologie und
Innovation in Österreich, BMWFW, BMVIT, Vienna 2016, p. 3, p. 81.
389
C. Morris, M. Pehnt, Niemiecka transformacja energetyczna... [German energy
transition ...] op. cit., pp. 80-81.
390
Österreichischer Forschungs- und…, op. cit., p. 83.
388
Energy transition in Austria
195
to new and renewable energy sources.391 Intensiication of activities
aimed at developing RES is very important for securing national energy
supplies and thus, strengthening national energy security. Additionally, this means the creation of highly specialized jobs, strengthening
the competitiveness of the Austrian economy, and the achievement of
EU climate objectives.
The Austrian governmental programme concerning the future
of the energy industry in the country emphasizes that an eficient,
affordable and socially acceptable energy system should guarantee
the security of supplies, afluence of the society, competitiveness of
the economy, and environmental protection.392 Thus, the energy and
political goals of Austrian Energy Strategy assume the following elements: security of supply, the environment-friendly character of the
system, social acceptability, economic competitiveness, and inancial
eficiency.393
The task of energy policy is to ensure the security of energy supplies
in two ways. On one hand, by guaranteeing suficient infrastructure
for energy transmission and distribution, both in domestic production and in imported energy. The requirements for ensuring supply
security must be formulated especially in the area of network transmission and distribution. In the future, network infrastructure must
meet the needs of stronger, decentralized production, higher volumes
of energy low, and higher requirements in supply security. An appropriate set of measures includes the extension and modernization of
Austrian transmission and distribution networks, development of
systems of central heating and cooling, extension of the energy storage system, as well as smart grids and counters. On the other hand,
the state should strive to lower its energy demand. Attempts to ensure
secure and long-term supply of energy are a necessary factor due to
Austria’s location and society. The level of diversiication of energy
resources and sources, whose import is still unavoidable, should be
enhanced all the time. Therefore, European and global energy markets are of strategic importance for Austria.394
Der Weg zum Innovation…, op. cit., p. 9.
Energiestatus 2016. Abteilung III/2…, op. cit., p. 74.
393
EnergieStrategie Österreich..., op. cit., p. 14.
394
Ibidem, p. 25.
391
392
196
Anna KUCHARSKA
Activities connected with the liberalization of the energy market, which are expected to strengthen the national economy, are also
important. Consumers should beneit from it too, as by assumption
they can expect a higher quality of the services provided by competitive energy providers. Generally, energy users are becoming more and
more important because, thanks to new market rules and products,
they receive the possibility of active participation in the energy market and can optimize their own energy demand. This way, they also
make an important contribution to the security of the whole energy
system.395
The progressive liberalization of European energy markets has
also made the Austrian energy system more and more connected with
the systems of neighboring countries. So in addition, there is international energy trade, and it has become necessary to balance the supply
and demand, not only internally, but also supranationally.396 In the
case of Austria, good conditions for the development of importation
are ensured by its central location in Europe, which is conducive to
crossing trans-border networks within it, and to exchanging energy
with the neighboring countries. This leads to the country’s responsibility for European energy transmission and supplies, as well as
a chance for the development of the Austrian economy.397 But it also
means that, regarding the transit of energy resources, Austria is still
dependent on other countries.
Empowering Austria. Die Strategie von Oesterreichs Energie bis zum Jahr 2030,
Österreichs E-Wirtschaft, Vienna 2015, p. 5.
396
Erneuerbare Energie in Zahlen…, op. cit., p. 18.
397
EnergieStrategie Österreich..., op. cit., p. 8.
395
Chapter 14
Energy transition in Switzerland
Anna KUCHARSKA398
Energy balance structure
As a result of a combination of several factors, Switzerland is unique
among European countries. First, it is located in the middle of Europe,
so it has naturally become a trans-border corridor of energy transmission. Second, it is not a member of the EU or EEA, which gives
it a unique legal status in the face of advancing physical integration
with neighboring countries belonging to the EU. Besides, Switzerland
is 100% dependent on the import of oil, natural gas, and uranium.
Because of the high level of civil development, the country has a great
demand for energy despite its small surface area and population. And
inally, the decentralized character of the political system and the
tradition of citizens’ direct participation in political life through referenda make changes in the country occur slowly and gradually, and
they cannot affect citizens too much, since otherwise they simply do
not agree to the reforms.
In Switzerland their full dependence on fossil fuels is connected
with the high demand for energy. In 2014, the total inal energy consumption in Switzerland was 825,770 TJ, in which 21.4% was energy
from RES. In 2014, the share of RES in inal energy consumption
was 176,902 TJ, which means a decrease by 6.4% in comparison to
2013 (189,001 TJ). The share of so-called new RES (i.e., without water
energy) was 9,415 TJ in 2014 (in 2013: 7,913 TJ; i.e., growth by 19%),
which in 2014 made it possible to produce 3.9% of electricity. Total
Anna Kucharska, MSc, PhD Candidate, Faculty of International and Political
Studies, Jagiellonian University, e-mail:
[email protected]
398
198
Anna KUCHARSKA
production of electricity from RES was 142,446 TJ (2012: 142,697
TJ, i.e., a decrease by 0.2%). In 2014, 47,768 TJ of heat from RES was
consumed (2013: 52,447 TJ; a reduction of 8.9%).399
The share of non-renewable energy carriers in total consumption
is 78.58%. Oil is mostly imported from Africa. In Switzerland, there
are huge reineries, so it is a signiicant importer of oil derivatives
for Europe (e.g., gasoline). Most natural gas imported to Switzerland comes from EU countries and Norway, and 1/4 from Russia.
Switzerland has no direct agreements with Russia. For the import
of natural gas, Switzerland is totally dependent on the transmission network of EU countries. Switzerland’s problem is the lack of
its own gas storage facilities. For geological and technical reasons,
Switzerland was unable to develop great gas storage facilities, so it
only has transmission networks and small containers to balance
daily gas demand.
Currently, 5 nuclear power plants in Switzerland ensure 40-45%
of its electricity. A higher share in energy production occurs in winter due to the lower use of RES. Uranium is supplied from politically
stable regions such as e.g., the USA, Canada, or Australia, so dependence on this resource is not considered in terms of any threat to the
country’s security. It is also emphasized that Switzerland has learnt
to store radioactive waste in a safe way, and the amount of needed
nuclear fuel is many times lower than other fossil fuels. Besides, it is
a zero emission source of energy with a stable volume of production,
which is important for the mostly obsolete Swiss transmission networks.400 Despite substantial social support for nuclear energy, after
the Fukushima disaster Switzerland began work on Energy Strategy
until 2050 (Energiestrategie 2050) assuming a gradual resignation
from nuclear energy, which was to begin by not building new blocks
or extending the use of existing ones unless necessary for safety reasons.401
Schweizerische Statistik der Erneuerbaren Energien. Ausgabe 2014, UVEK,
BFE, Bern, September 2015, pp. 40-41.
400
J. Lundsgaard-Hansen, Energiestrategie 2050 – das Eis ist dünn. Die Schweiz
und Deutschland auf neuen Wegen, published by NZZ, Zürich 2013, p. 82.
401
Energiespeicher in der Schweiz. Bedarf, Wirtschaftlichkeit und Rahmenbedingungen im Kontext der Energiestrategie 2050, Schlussbericht 12. December 2013,
UVEK, BFE, Bern 2013, p. 30.
399
Energy transition in Switzerland
199
Chart 30. Domestic energy production in Switzerland for 2016 [%]
Source: Schweizerische Elektrizitätsstatistik 2016, BFE, Bern, p. 3.
Swiss model of energy strategy
Energy Strategy Until 2050 is an extension of the document of
2007, which applies to the period until 2035: Energy perspectives
(Energieperspektiven 2035). The document that refers to Switzerland’s
energy strategy until 2050 updates socio-economic data, technical
requirements and energy policy, and presents goals assuming gradual
transformation of the Swiss energy system until 2050. The Strategy includes 3 scenarios for the development of energy supply and
demand in Switzerland and 7 priorities for Swiss energy policy. The
key ones raise the share of RES in electricity production, strengthen
research on the energy industry, and extend and transform energy
200
Anna KUCHARSKA
networks and storage facilities.402 The increase in electricity production from RES assumed until 2050 involves, according to different
sources, an annual increase in the share of water energy by 3.2 TWh
up to 38.6 TWh; wind energy should reach the production capacity
of 4.3 TWh; photovoltaics, 11.2 TWh. It is also necessary to guarantee enough available capacity through appropriate storage capacities
and suficient network capacity, already emphasized by the Ministry
of Energy in the Strategy Until 2035.403
Chart 31. Energy consumption in Switzerland in 2016 [%]
Source: Schweizerische Elektrizitätsstatistik 2016, BFE, Bern, p. 4.
The Swiss Energy Strategy presents 3 possible scenarios of development for Swiss energy policy before 2050. Thus, Switzerland not
402
403
Die Energieperspektiven für die Schweiz…, op. cit., p. 1.
Energiespeicher in der Schweiz.., op. cit., p. 34.
Energy transition in Switzerland
201
only has aplan, but it is lexibly developing its energy policy to allow
the adoption of whatever variation is the most beneicial socially and
economically. The introduction of scenarios depends i.a., on technological advancement allowing the application of speciic system
activities.404 The general priorities of energy policy set in the Strategy
refer to all three scenarios, but differ in the ways and degree of their
achievement. All scenarios assume a decrease in importation of fossil
energy carriers, reduction of CO2 emissions, an increase in the use of
RES, and rising energy eficiency.405
All the scenarios assume a decrease in the import of fossil energy
carriers from the current 80% of total energy consumption to 29-62%
depending on the scenario. 406 The increase in the share of RES in
electricity production assumed for 2050 is by 11 TWh for photovoltaics, 4 TWh for wind power plants, 4 TWh for geothermal energy,
and 16 TWh for run-of-river hydroelectricity. The Swiss energy networks adopting the anticipated volumes of electricity from wind,
solar, and geothermal power plants will be possible for all three scenarios thanks to the high lexibility of pumped storage power plants
and power plants at water reservoirs.407 They are of key importance
in securing Swiss electricity supply. With their huge energy potential,
they are currently able to cover in critical situations the majority of
Swiss electricity demand.
The least demanding scenario in terms of achievement of general
energy priorities is the Weiter wie bisher – WWB scenario (The same
as before), whose name clearly shows the policy direction. WWB is
oriented to the existing situation and the possibilities of developing
energy policy on the basis of currently available instruments and
tools.408 This variant is most often referred to when planning current
activities and the near future.
Ist das geplante Stromsystem der Schweiz für die Umsetzung der Energiestrategie 2050 aus technischer Sicht geeignet? Swiss Energy Strategy 2050 and
the Consequences for Electricity Grid Operation – Full Report , SATW, Zürich,
Mai/Juli 2014, http://www.satw.ch/publikationen/SATW_Energiestudie_def.pdf
(accessed: 6.11.2016), p. 82.
405
Die Energieperspektiven für die Schweiz…, op. cit., p. 617.
406
Ibidem.
407
Ist das geplante Stromsystem…, op. cit., p. 11.
408
Die Energieperspektiven für die Schweiz…, op. cit., p. 3.
404
202
Anna KUCHARSKA
a) Development of renewable energy sources
The scenario titled Neue Energiepolitik – NEP (New energy
policy) is the scenario of the federal government of May 2011. It
presents a probable path for changing electricity consumption and
production in Switzerland until 2050, providing the basis for the
assumption of reducing CO2 by 1.0-1.5 tons per capita. This would
mean that the goal of reducing CO2 emissions before 2020 by 20%
in comparison to 2000 is met. An important aspect of this scenario
assumes that constantly available biomass resources are limited,
both within the country and globally. Therefore, the NEP scenario
excludes the possibility of basing itself on the unlimited import of
biogenous energy carriers. It points to the need for international
cooperation, especially in terms of research and development, in
order to have a uniform policy of CO2 reduction and energy eficiency
improvement. In particular, it emphasizes the need to develop and
implement new technologies on the basis of division of tasks on the
international scale. 409
The Swiss Ministry of Energy anticipates extending the power of
pumped storage power plants from 1.8 GW to approx. 6 GW before
2025. At the same time, the storage capacity of the water tanks is
to be increased up to 200 GWh. 410 In 2015, 37 hydropower plants
operated. 15 of them were newly built, 12 were restructured, and
10, adjusted. The Russein power plant has the highest energy production: 66.8 GWh. At the end of 2015, more hydropower plants
that were being built will ensure the level of electricity production
of 321 GWh. As much as 18% of that will be provided by the extension of the Krafthaus Prutz/Ried hydropower plant. 411 Despite their
high potential and importance for the Swiss energy industry, hydropower plants have losses. The classic economic model in which water
is released at the maximum load has lost its proitability since the
differences in wholesale electricity prices (so-called spreads) began
decreasing during the day. This is the result of factors such as low
prices of fossil fuels and rights to CO2 emissions in previous years.
An important factor was also the extension of installations using
Ibidem, p. 4.
Ist das geplante Stromsystem…, op. cit., p. 7.
411
Schweizerische Elektrizitätsstatistik 2015, BFE, Bern, p. 39.
409
410
Energy transition in Switzerland
203
solar radiation, which have priority for entering higher amounts of
energy into the network in the afternoon. 412
Achieving 11.2 TWh electricity from photovoltaics a year, which is
the Ministry’s target, means the necessity to extend solar installations
by 9 GW a year. With the technology available now, 17% of the surface
area (about 80 km2) allocated for development (industry, residential
areas) will be used for this purpose, which conforms to Swiss spatial
requirements. The problem is, however, that the assumptions of the
Swiss Ministry of Energy are based on optimum solar exposure, i.e.,
1,250 full hours of load a year. However, data reported by companies
applying for subsidies from the instrument of support for RES shows
that actual solar exposure is approx. 900 full hours a year. Taking
this data into consideration, the value of necessary capacity of 12 GW
should be used instead of 9 GW, so that the target of annual electricity production could be 11.2 TWh. In this case, the above-mentioned
data concerning spatial demand must be raised by 1/3.413 Forecasts
of growth in the use of photovoltaics in Switzerland connected with
the development of the expected potential of this source of energy
are estimated at between 0.1 and 2.7 TWh by 2035, and by 2050, the
values will be 0.2-9.7 TWh.414 This increase means the multiplication
of current electricity production, i.e., 0.02 TWh, 6- or even 100-fold
by 2035. Before 2050, growth by 10 to even 500 times is expected
in comparison to contemporary production. In terms of production
costs, photovoltaics is currently the most expensive technology of
electricity production in Switzerland; the price of produced energy
is 40-100 Rp./kWh.415
A wind power plant already functions as a mature and economically
competitive technology with high developmental potential. The costs
of production are lower than in the case of a small hydro power plant,
but largely depend on location. This kind of energy source, however,
is not usually approved by the local community. In Switzerland, the
development of wind energy is very limited by territorial conditions,
Energiespeicher in der Schweiz.., op. cit., p. 34.
Ist das geplante Stromsystem…, op. cit., p. 51.
414
Span depending on the adopted scenario from the Energy Strategy Until 2050.
415
Energie-Strategie 2050. Impulse für die schweizerische Energiepolitik. Grundlagenbericht, Energie Trialog Schweiz, Zürich 2010, pp. 50-59.
412
413
204
Anna KUCHARSKA
because there are few available locations appropriate for the development of such installations. Currently, in Switzerland there are 13
wind installations, which produce 0.02 TWh annually. Approximately
90 more installations are planned. To achieve the target of producing 2 TWh, set in the Energy Strategy, it would be necessary to install
approximately 1,200 wind turbines. According to many studies carried out by research centers at the request of the Ministry of Energy,
the increase in the use of such an energy source could reach 0.6 to 2.2
TWh a year by 2035. This way, today’s production would be increased
by 40 or even 100 times. It is estimated that the level of wind energy
use will grow considerably by 2035, but before 2050, this progress
will no longer take place. However, the development of wind energy
is strongly dependent on the demand and location possibilities.416
b) Increase in energy eficiency and international competitiveness
The “Political Measures” scenario (Politische Massnahmen – POM)
assumes a politically coordinated set of instruments used to achieve the
goals of energy transition. The priority in this scenario lies in raising
energy eficiency and results from the intention to secure in the future
suficient electricity supplies because of giving up on nuclear energy.
For these reasons, different variants of covering electricity demand are
taken into consideration. For example, a number of in-depth analyses
were prepared, concerning the effects of the growing share of luctuating energy production from RES in the energy mix, cogeneration,
electromobility, and biomass potential.417
The emphasis on raising energy eficiency is considered to be much
more beneicial than extending energy production. What is important
in this aspect is such energy sources as photovoltaics, wind energy,
and biomass, which are not a valuable and freely available resource
because of the established density of energy and power per surface
area unit.418 In other words, due to spatial limitations, in Switzerland
there are not many opportunities to extend wind or solar farms. Therefore, the goal is to maximize energy eficiency in energy production
using the available locations.
Ibidem.
Die Energieperspektiven für die Schweiz…, op. cit., p. 1.
418
Ibidem, pp. 4-5.
416
417
Energy transition in Switzerland
205
Chart 32. Energy eficiency in Switzerland (1990-2015)
Source: Bundesamt für Statistik, Umweltindikator – Energieefizienz, Bern 2016
[Internet:] https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/raum-umwelt/ressourcen/umweltindikatorensystem/nutzung-natuerliche-ressourcen/energieefizienz.
html (accessed: 27.08.2017).
The aspect of raising energy eficiency is connected with the issue of
capturing and storing energy surpluses. Further, energy storage facilities are connected with the area of industrial networks, because they
have to be integrated with them. It is necessary to raise eficiency, not
only in the sphere of production, but also the whole energy infrastructure. The classic tasks of energy storage facilities involve compensating
annual changes in consumption and luctuations of daily peaks, so
the signiicance of RES grows along with their development. The
strong need to store energy occurs when energy production from RES
dependent on external conditions is periodically insuficient to meet
the demand. On the one hand, the development of research concerning new technologies plays a big role in the development of storage
facilities. On the other hand, changes in the system of remunerations
for controlled RES, i.e., hydro power plants, are also important.419
The goal of the implementing political instruments proposed by
the POM scenario is to activate the potential of energy eficiency. As
a result of the activities, the inal consumption of energy may drop by
33% before 2050 in relation to present consumption. It is anticipated
419
Energiespeicher in der Schweiz.., op. cit., pp. 35-37.
206
Anna KUCHARSKA
that this may stabilize the consumption of electricity, and growth will
begin again after 2035 because of stronger electriication of trafic by
approx. 3.4%.420
Unlike in the NEP scenario, the assumptions of POM include pursuing the nation’s autonomy and independence in satisfying the demand
for energy at the cost of lowering the degree of achievement of energy
policy priorities. Activities proposed in POM may be implemented in
Switzerland independently of international energy policy, except the
boundary values of emissions in trafic. Dependence on measures
implemented internationally occurs in industries which are not very
well developed in Switzerland, e.g., the automotive industry, because
Switzerland does not produce vehicles. Hence, the growth of vehicle
eficiency in this country is closely connected with the activities of
countries that are producers of cars.421
The increase of energy eficiency in all kinds of fuel, including alternative (biogenous) fuels, is still signiicant. In the end, electromobility
is expected to be competitive to conventional combustion engines
in terms of eficiency. A technological leap in solutions for batteries
may make the market share of electric vehicles grow, but increasing
the performance of combustion engines may temporarily inhibit the
expansion of electric cars. Hybrid vehicles make use of the development of technology in both areas and may be regarded as an element
of the transition phase to electric mobility together with so-called
range extenders. Electromobility must develop as part of a collaboration of world actors and responsible regional development, and be
properly carried out in this sense.422 In the case of Switzerland, the
automotive parts industry, with a turnover of approx. CHF 14 billion,
is an important branch of industry. Thanks to investments in R&D
and the production of highly specialized parts it has good recognition
all over the world.423 Hence, the potential existing in this area can be
used in the ield of electromobility along with technologies developed
in Switzerland, such as power-to-gas.
Die Energieperspektiven für die Schweiz…, op. cit., p. 615.
Ibidem, pp. 4-5.
422
Elektromobilität 2012. Bericht des Bundesamts für Strassen ASTRA,UVEK,
ASTRA, October 2012, p. 3.
423
Ibidem, p. 5.
420
421
Energy transition in Switzerland
207
c) New technological solutions
The increase of luctuating production of energy combined with the
increase of national share of RES in electricity production is associated with some challenges. What is necessary is both higher shares of
regulatory production (pumped storage and reservoir power stations,
gas-steam systems, or cogeneration installations), but also the extension of extra seasonal storage capacities. It is still not stated clearly
in Swiss documents what the combination of changeable energy production with the needed storage capacities or control through market
stimuli will look like. Yet, the need for change in the present market
structure is forecast. This also involves the improvement of distribution networks and the distribution system.424 So far, the emphasis is
on the development of technology for storing energy surpluses.
Hydrogen produced in the process of electrolysis from electricity
generated from wind or solar energy, but also from a temporary energy
surplus from conventional power plants, can be used for storage of
energy surpluses produced by RES. Hydrogen obtained this way can
then be reused to charge vehicles or in power plants. Hydrogen can also
be used like current hydropower plants in emergency situations. The
potential of this technology is attractive because it enables both shortterm (e.g., a week) and seasonal energy storage.425 For these reasons,
research is being carried out in Switzerland to work out concepts appropriate for small photovoltaic power plants combined with hydrogen
production and the use of fuel cells.426 In 2015, Switzerland launched
a pilot programme of a power plant generating electricity from RES,
where installations using power-to-gas were installed. As planned, gas
produced this way is to be used as eco fuel for vehicles. The companies
involved in the project assume that the concept will be used on a large
scale in the future in the area of environment-friendly mobility.427
Making up for the lack of possibilities of gas storage, Switzerland
decided to develop modern technologies and supplement the energy
reserves system with storage facilities in the form of batteries, comDie Energieperspektiven für die Schweiz…, op. cit., p. 617.
Energiespeicher in der Schweiz.., op. cit., p. 42.
426
Elektromobilität 2012…, op. cit., p. 3.
427
ETOGAS constructs the First Power-to-Gas plant in Switzerland, Press
Information, 22.01.2015, , http://etogas.com/ileadmin/documents/news/Pressemitteilung_EN/2015-01-22_EtG_PI_inal_EN_irst_PtG_plant_Switzerland.pdf
(accessed: 6.11.2016).
424
425
208
Anna KUCHARSKA
pressed air containers, or electrothermal tanks. These, however, are
technologies that are still being tested and only have the potential to be
used short-term. The Vehicle to Grid (V2G) programme is one such concept. It assumes vehicles can be used as buffers for irregular, unplanned
surpluses of energy from RES. At the moment, the life cycle of batteries
is too low for a vehicle, and additionally shortens after each charging.
Therefore, the aim of this concept is also to develop a technology that
would solve problems typical of batteries, such as an insuficient life
cycle for the vehicle, additionally decreasing at each charging.428
The problem is, however, that at present, the process of electrolysis in order to obtain hydrogen and its re-conversion to electricity is
still not very effective and involves substantial loss of energy. Despite
intensive research in this regard, the approach of the government to
this solution and to batteries is rather conservative, because we cannot be fully sure yet that it will be possible to really apply the solutions
to store electricity.429
Energy security
Geopolitical location and relationships with the European Union
are very important for the energy security of Switzerland. The location
of Switzerland in the center of Europe gives the country a strategic
character in terms of international energy trade, as more than 40
cross-border connections cross there430, ensuring it a considerable
share in the international exchange of energy: 10% of all European
transmission of electricity. Switzerland is practically an integral part
of the European energy system, which causes mutual dependence of
Switzerland and the European Union. Access to the internal European energy market is attractive to Switzerland due to its economic
attractiveness and the security of supply guaranteed by the Union.431
Elektromobilität 2012…, op. cit., p. 3.
Ibidem.
430
W. Kwinta, Rynek energii: Szwajcaria [Energy Market: Switzerland] [in:] Polska Energia, no. 6/2011.
431
Europäischer Markt für die Schweiz wichtig, Schweizerische Bundeskanzlei, Bern,
https://w w w.news.admin.ch/message/index.html?lang=de&print_style=
yes&msgid=55212 (accessed: 6.11.2016).
428
429
Energy transition in Switzerland
209
For the EU, Switzerland is a corridor of electricity transmission.
The country is located on the north-south axis of energy transmission, especially useful for Italy, which imports its electricity this way.
Import of natural gas from a gas pipeline running through the Swiss
Alps is equally important for Italy, accounting for 20% of the Italian
demand for gas. Switzerland has more than a dozen interconnections
with gas pipelines running from Germany and France. Besides, Swiss
storage capacities of hydropower stations in the Alps, which are available much quicker than those of traditional fossil fuel power stations,
play an important role.432 Thus, Switzerland is a hub of cross-border
connections of European energy trade.
Switzerland is a member of the European Network of electricity
transmission system operators (ENTSO-E) and shares with neighboring EU countries numerous points of entry to and exit from the
transmission network. From that system of high voltage transmission
networks, electricity is distributed to supra-regional, regional, and
local end customers.433 For decades, Swiss energy enterprises have
been participants of the European energy market as sellers, distributors, shareholders, and network or power plant operators. With the
environment-friendly production of electricity dominant in its energy
mix, and because of being the center of European energy exchange
due to its location, Switzerland is very important for the EU.434
The basic energy-related goals of the EU are the security of energy
supplies in three categories: reliable and suficient, competitive and
economically proitable, and environment- and climate-friendly. This
understanding of energy supply security results in certain tasks and
obligations. The development of the energy market in the EU also has
an inluence on Swiss energy legislation, supply security, electricity
lows, and thus, requirements of the transmission network. It is essential for Switzerland to become part of the future European system of
high voltage transmission networks (the Super grid).435
Analyse der Schweizer Energieversorgungssicherheit. Eine Abschätzung der
Verwundbarkeit des Energiesystems, ETH-UNS Projekt-Schlussbericht, Zürich
2013, p. 12.
433
Ibidem.
434
Stromabkommen mit der EU, UVEK, https://www.uvek.admin.ch/uvek/de/
home/energie/stromabkommen-mit-eu.html (accessed: 6.11.2016).
435
Zukunft Stromversorgung Schweiz, Akademien der Wissenschaften Schweiz,
Bern, July 2012, p. 34.
432
210
Anna KUCHARSKA
But Switzerland is neither a member of the EU or of the EEA. Individual agreements and contracts necessary for luent collaboration or
facilitating it, including bilateral electricity agreements, have been
negotiated with the EU. The electricity agreement, which is an element
of the third package of regulations concerning internal energy market,
allows Switzerland free exchange of electricity with other countries
and thus, equal chances on the European energy market. The goal of
this agreement between Switzerland and the EU is a common, competitive, and consumer-friendly electricity market with high security
of supplies for Europe.436
Using its negotiating position, during negotiations on the electricity agreement, Switzerland rejected the issue of extending renewable
energy sources and improving energy eficiency. It was regarded as
unnecessary because of considerable inancial encumbrances for the
society that cannot be fully forecast, especially in the area of heat
engineering and transport.437
Both entities, Switzerland and the EU, have some interest in cooperation. The bilateral agreement should allow the Swiss energy industry
and ofices to further develop as part of the European connections
system. But individual bilateral agreements are not enough to ensure
Switzerland energy security, especially since adopting the Lisbon
Treaty. In this document, the EU established its own and its member states’ competence regarding energy policy and made a division
between them; moreover, it was set out that third party states, such
as Switzerland, would be treated as secondary in the case of emergencies or import needs.
The delayed liberalization of the Swiss energy market is also a problematic issue. Its goal is to strengthen competition on the energy
market and to reduce the role of previously dominant energy producers and energy system operators, and thus, to allow consumers free
choice of energy providers. As expected by the EU, liberalization will
be one element of guaranteeing energy supply security and sustainaStromabkommen EU – CH. Hintergrundnotiz, swisselectric, UVEK, Bern, http://
www.stromversorgungsrecht.ch/Internationales.html?ile=tl_iles/media/Themen/
Internationales/20100519_swisselectric_Hintergrundnotiz_Stromabkommen.pdf
(accessed: 6.11.2016).
437
Stromabkommen EU – CH.., op. cit.
436
Energy transition in Switzerland
211
ble prices of energy for end customers. Liberalization will involve the
ensuring of stable general conditions for the functioning of the energy
market on the basis of transparent legal regulations; it will also help
achieve climate and environmental goals.
Cooperation between Switzerland and the EU deinitely gives beneits for both entities in the area of energy security. Mutual dependence,
which results from the geographical location, is also a fact. However,
the tradition of isolationism and substantial direct inluence of citizens on Swiss policy means that the legal and institutional integration
of the energy system with the EU is rather slow.
Chapter 15
Energy transition in the USA
Rafał JAROSZ438
Since 1943, when the USA was irst affected by a lack of access to
energy resources, ensuring the energy security of the country and
inluencing the direction of American energy transition have been the
priority of each cabinet of the federal government and state authorities.
The main reason is the fact that for many years, the economic development of the US has been closely connected with access to energy
sources. As a result, the direction of changes in the energy sector are
discussed in the US both in terms of internal policy and as part of
the debate on the character and goals of international involvement of
the United States.439
Currently, energy security is closely connected with the country’s
national security, hence ensuring the security is part of the competence of many entities of the administration responsible for foreign,
defense, and internal policy. The direction of the transition in the
energy sector is established both by the President himself and by
a number of governmental institutions, such as: the Department of
State, Department of Defense, Department of the Interior, National
Security Council, and the Congress (especially the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Committee on International Relations).
Since the 1970s, in order to alleviate public moods, all American
Presidents have pointed to the need to reduce the consumption of
energy resources, mainly oil, and the need to make the United States
Rafał Jarosz, PhD, First Counselor, Trade and Investment Section of the Embassy
of the Republic of Poland in Washington, DC, e-mail:
[email protected]
439
This was manifested by the establishment of a separate Bureau for Energy
Resources in the Department of State in 2011. The goals of activity of the new
bureau were to solve global energy conlicts, to ight “energy poverty” and to promote energy transition in the USA and on the global market.
438
Energy transition in the USA
213
independent from its importation. During his Presidential campaign
in 2012, when the price of a barrel of oil reached or exceeded a record
USD 140 and the high cost of military involvement in the Gulf region
evoked growing opposition of the American community, B. Obama
called to increase the extraction of American energy resources. He
presented the solution to this problem as a national challenge and
one of the key goals of his presidency.440 At the same time, he was the
irst US president to try to combine the issue of reduction in fuel consumption with the need to implement renewable and energy-eficient
technologies that would not only lower American dependence on the
import of oil and gas, but also have a beneicial effect on the environment and reduce the negative effects of climate changes.
The future presidency of Donald Trump seriously questions the
maintenance of the direction of the “green” energy transition in the
USA initiated by his predecessor.441 But on the other hand, it is hard
to imagine that the transition carried out now by both the American
and global private sectors, based on the development and implementation of clean technologies reducing the emission of greenhouse gases,
could be easily and quickly reversed. Still, the core of the present
energy transition is the so-called shale revolution. It may be assumed
that the newly elected Republican Congress led by a Republican President will continue the implementation of the national energy strategy
“all of the above”, which assumes the use and promotion of different
sources of energy in the USA. In the near future, unlike during the
rule of the Democratic Party and President Obama, we may expect
greater support by the federal government for the American sector of
fossil fuels, especially oil and gas, at the expense of reducing previous
governmental subsidies and grants for the development of renewable
energy sources. However, the future structure and speed of changes
Barack Obama and Joe Biden: New Energy for America,
http://energy.gov/sites/prod/iles/edg/media/Obama_New_Energy_0804.pdf
(accessed: 20.04.2017).
441
Some candidates for the function of administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are strongly sceptical about the issues of climate change, such as
Myron Ebell from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Robert Grady, or Joe Aielllo.
The function of the Secretary of Energy will probably be served by a current advisor
to Donald Trump, billionaire Harold Hamm, being the president of an oil and natural gas exploration and production company Continental Resources.
440
214
Rafał JAROSZ
in the US energy balance will not only depend on the energy policy of
the federal government, but largely on the competitive power of different sources of energy. Access to cheap sources of energy will ensure
America the possibility to reindustrialize its national economy using
the advantages of technical advancement. The newly formed state
administration of the USA is planning to shape both the improvement
of American afluence and the competitive position of the American
economy on that basis.
Energy balance structure
Analyzing the changes in the historical and future structure of
the USA’s energy basket, it is worth stressing that for more than 100
years, three sources of fossil fuels – oil, natural gas, and coal – have
accounted for more than 80% of the energy consumed in the USA. In
2015, the share of fossil fuels in energy consumption exceeded 81.5%,
and according to the statistics of the U.S. Energy Information Agency442,
their share is going to drop to 76.6% by 2040 (Chart 32). Consumption
of energy produced from renewable sources oscillates around 10-15%,
and the highest increases occur in solar and wind energy. Considerable decreases can be observed in the coal sector, where production is
falling year by year: in 2015, coal extraction dropped by 13%, which
was the greatest decrease in production of the resource in the US
within the last 50 years.
Changes in the American energy market are mostly connected
with technological advancement in each of the analyzed sources of
energy. It is technological progress that has become the main factor
determining the competitive position of different energy sources in
the US. Commercial use of the technologies for hydraulic fracturing
and horizontal drilling in the extraction of natural gas and oil has
dominated the American energy market, lowering the competitive
position and the development of other technologies like small, modular reactors in the sector of nuclear energy, clean coal technologies, or
the cost competitiveness of producing solar panels or wind turbines.
But it is worth remembering that EIA forecasts do not take into account either
future changes in the directions of the country’s governmental policy, or technological progress.
442
Energy transition in the USA
215
Chart 33. Energy consumption in the USA in the years 1776-2040
(in quadrillions of Btu)
Source: Annual Energy Outlook 2016, Monthly Energy Review, U.S. Energy Information Administration, https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=26912
(accessed: 19.03.2017).
The United States is still one of the world’s biggest producers of oil
and natural gas. In 2015, oil production exceeded the record level of
9.4 million barrels a day, and more than 90% of the extra production
came from the exploitation of shale rocks. It source was the enormous
deposits of unconventional gas from formations in the north-eastern
(Marcellus), north (Bakken), middle (Woodford, Fayetteville) and
southern (Barnett, Eagle Ford) part of the country. Now, more than
65% of the oil consumed in the US comes from domestic production.
As for natural gas, the data of EIA suggests that the United States,
by continuing its current consumption of 650-700 bcm, may ensure
the supply of natural gas from domestic sources for 25 to 80 years.
EIA forecasts that the extraction of natural gas from conventional and
unconventional sources will grow from approx. 700 bcm in 2011 to
over 900 bcm in 2040. Nearly all the forecast growth in national gas
production is connected with the development of the shale gas sector
(increasing from 220 bcm in 2011 to 470 bcm, respectively). The year
2015 proved to be record-breaking in terms of natural gas production, as its extraction amounted to 767 bcm (by comparison Russia
produced 635 bcm). As a result, within less than a decade, the United
States did not only solve the serious problem of its growing demand
216
Rafał JAROSZ
for imported natural gas, but also faced an opportunity to export the
resource to foreign markets.
Thus, the shale revolution and relatively high growth of production
of renewable energy sources, connected with the unprecedented scale
and speed of technological advancement, show that the direction of
energy transition of the American economy based on the development
of technologically guaranteeing the competitiveness of the country’s
resources will ensure a varied structure of the USA’s energy basket in
the nearest decades. A big question is the real potential for developing
technology in the American nuclear energy and coal sectors, ensuring
competitiveness on the domestic market. It seems certain that a longterm effect of gas production from unconventional sources in the USA
is the gradual departure from the use of coal in energy production
(this phenomenon is mostly observed in the south-eastern part of the
USA). It also has an indirect impact on American energy and climate
policy and the potential possibilities for reducing CO2 emission.
Energy eficiency443
Doubtless, recently, activities in the area of climate policy have
become a new element of the USA’s energy policy, including economic
issues, defense, and the very energy security. The risk of climate change
is nowadays one of the biggest threats to the security of the US as
deined in the National Security Strategy.444 In the case of the US, the
The DOE emphasizes that the American energy sector (2.6 million miles of pipelines, 414 natural gas storage facilities, 330 ports and oil reineries, and over 140
thousand miles of railroad transporting oil, gas and coal) is still one of “the most
developed and effective“ energy sectors in the world. It also points out, using the
example of gas infrastructure, that most investments were in the 1950s and 1960s
(23% and 24%, respectively; only about 9% new gas pipelines were built in the latest
decade). Currently the United States supplies approximately 3.875 terawatt hours
of electricity to more than 159 million customers, with the use of 7 thousand power
plants and 19 thousand individual generators of electricity.
444
The US Department of Defense has appointed within its organizational structure
a special climate change working group. In October 2013, Pentagon published the
irst report analyzing the impact of climate change on the security of the USA. The
Department of Defense has also announced a new strategy concerning the Arctic,
in which climate change is deined as one of the main threats to the area. An example of activities of the American army is the roadmap for US marines concerning
443
Energy transition in the USA
217
improvement of energy eficiency aimed at reducing the level of GHG
emissions is one of the key elements of the country’s energy transition.
This year in June, the American Council for an Energy-Eficient
Economy (ACEE) analyzed the energy eficiency of the world’s 16 biggest economies, which account for more than 70% of global energy
consumption.445
Chart 34. Energy eficiency of the US economy
(on a scale from 0 to 25 points)
Source: The 2016 International Energy Eficiency Scorecard, The American Council
for an Energy-Eficient Economy (ACEE), http://aceee.org/portal/national-policy/
international-scorecard.
The analysis included a number of different factors, such as
programmes for reducing energy consumption, standards of fuel
consumption, or standards of energy eficiency for devices. Although
the USA improved its ranking position from 13 in 2014 to 8 in 2016
(Chart 34), energy eficiency in the American economy is still relatively low. It primarily refers to areas such as construction law, the
level of eficiency of devices, or standards of fuel consumption and
fume emissions for cars and trucks.
This year in April, the White House published at the request of the
Presidenta Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) prepared by the experts
of the American Department of Energy (DOE). The aim of QER was
to identify areas in the American energy sector that needed extra
investment, and to work out speciic activities and recommendations
to streamline its functioning by 2030. The DOE446 pointed out in the
climate change, which points to climate change as a potential factor that may cause
armed conlicts in the world.
445
http://aceee.org/portal/national-policy/international-scorecard (accessed:
19.03.2017).
446
The US Department of Energy is going to allocate 70 million dollars to improving the energy eficiency of production processes alone.
218
Rafał JAROSZ
report that by 2030, in order to improve the energy eficiency of the
American economy, the United States would have to invest more than
USD 1.5 trillion in modernizing and developing the American energy
sector, including over 900 billion in distribution. One key element of
building a new energy system in the US will be the modernization and
extension of the natural gas transmission infrastructure. The costs
of investment estimated for the years 2015-2030 will be approx. USD
2.6-3.5 billion a year (depending on future demand). Thus, the US on
the one hand intends to increase the extraction and share of natural
gas at the expense of hard coal, and on the other hand to maintain
the dynamic growth of energy production from renewable sources.
But is this strategy a guarantee for improving the energy eficiency
of the country?
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the higher
extraction of shale gas, which is increasingly replacing coal as an energy
resource in the US, has led to the greatest decrease in CO2 emission.
The Agency’s data shows that annual emissions of CO2 in the US have
fallen within the last ive years by 450 million tons; this is the greatest drop in emissions observed in all countries surveyed by the IEA.
Fatih Birol, IEA chief economist, attributed this fall to improvements
in fuel eficiency in the transport sector and a “major shift” from coal
to gas in the power sector. “This is a success story based on a combination of policy and technology – policy driving greater eficiency
and technology making shale gas production viable,” Mr Birol told
the Financial Times.
Economists Travor Houser and Shashank Mohan from the Rhodium
Group, however, are of a different opinion. Promoting the book Fueling Up: The Economic Implications of America’s Oil and Gas Boom
published in January 2016, they explain that the beneits of transition to a cheap energy resource will eventually increase the demand
from households, the transport sector, and industry. This, in turn, will
mean that by 2035, the effects of reducing GHG emissions as a result
of the transition to natural gas will not be very signiicant, i.e., from
5.5 billion tons a year in 2013 to 5.4 billion in 2035. In their opinion,
if there had been no “shale revolution”, and thus the price of natural
gas remained relatively high, in 2035 coal, natural gas, nuclear energy,
and renewable energy sources would maintain a similar, approx. 25%,
Energy transition in the USA
219
share in the energy mix. The authors calculate that the shale revolution
will cause a 60% share of natural gas in the American energy basket
in 2035 (in addition, the share of coal will dwindle from 44% to 7%).
Competition on the global energy market
The growing domestic production of energy resources improves
the security of access to energy, but on the other hand, it dramatically
changes the global balance of power in the oil and natural gas trade.
In terms of analyzing the direction and further speed of energy transition in the US, changes on the global energy market are currently
the greatest challenge to the United States.
It seems, then, that the technological revolution in American energy
irreversibly changes the global energy market. Technological advancement has not only occured in the area of extracting energy resources
and producing energy from renewable sources, but also on the markets
of energy sellers and customers. It is a chain of changes whose aim
is to totally modernize the way of using energy. Hence, it is a whole
process of technological changes, where energy security will not only
require access to energy resources but also their effective use, at the
same time meeting the challenges of reducing CO2 emissions. In this
context, fossil fuels will maintain priority importance in the US. It is
on the global market of natural gas and oil the greatest changes are
occurring at the moment, involving the ight for a share in the global
energy market.
Even 10 years ago, the United States faced the challenge of the lack
of a suficient amount of natural gas and a growing dependence on
the import of oil, as well as a considerable decrease in domestic production of those resources. In 1999, the EIA forecast some growth in
the import of natural gas to the US by 12.9% before 2020. The situation appeared so serious that the American government took decisive
action to ensure the appropriate supply of gas. One of them was support for the private sector in the construction of terminals importing
LNG. In the years 2000-2005, American energy companies built 5
regasiication terminals, greatly increasing the capacity of the units.447
447
At the moment, there are 12 terminals in the USA with total import capacity of
396 million m3 a day (i.e., about 141 bcm a year).
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Rafał JAROSZ
In 2005, the situation changed dramatically. Thanks to the use of
hydraulic fracturing technology on an industrial scale, the American
natural gas sector experienced a historical revolution. Its source was
the enormous deposits of unconventional gas from formations in the
north-eastern (Marcellus), north (Bakken), middle (Woodford, Fayetteville) and southern (Barnett, Eagle Ford) part of the country. As
a result, within less than a decade, the United States not only solved
the serious problem of growing demand for imported natural gas, but
also faced an opportunity to export the resource to foreign markets.
So far, the export of gas from the US has not been signiicant and
has been limited to transmission through gas pipelines to Canada and
Mexico (95% of the export in 2011; between 1999 and 2011, the level
of export grew 11-fold). In 1969, with the construction of the export
terminal Kenai LNG in Nikiski in Alaska, the United States transmitted a small amount of LNG to Japan. Not so long ago, there was
a public debate in the US concerning the effects of launching natural
gas export from the country. It involved representatives of the private
sector and government administration and research and development
circles. On one side, the existing strong lobby of energy companies
demanded that the Department of Energy issue more permits for the
export of LNG from the US. Their main argument was the fear that
low prices of natural gas on the American market would block further
research and extraction of shale gas in the US. Another argument was
that the export of LNG would accelerate development of the American
gas sector, improve the country’s position on the global energy market, and ensure extra revenue in the budget. Opponents of launching
LNG exports pointed out that the relatively low prices of natural gas
on the American market ensured the US economy a global competitive advantage, and thus its stable development and new jobs.
Now we know that the United States is simplifying the process of
issuing government licenses for gas export, and the federal government
strongly supports American companies in their attempts to conclude
commercial agreements. It must be emphasized, yet, that the scale of
future economic beneits for the US will be the product of: (1) the possibility of maintaining high production of shale gas at a relatively low
price; (2) dynamic growth of global demand for natural gas, and (3)
limited production capacity of gas exporters from other regions. The
irst American LNG load for a foreign recipient left the Sabine Pass
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Energy transition in the USA
terminal on February 24, this year. Next year, the Cove Point terminal
in Maryland is going to be launched. In the years 2018-2019, another
four installations should be launched. All of them will be located in
the Gulf of Mexico (Table 8).
Table 8. List of selected applications submitted to the Department
of Energy concerning LNG export
Company
Sabine Pass Liquefaction
Freeport LNG Expansion
Quantity (bcf/day)
2.2
1.4
Lake Charles Exports
Carib Energy
Dominion Cove Point LNG
Jordan Cove Energy Project
Cameron LNG
Freeport LNG Expansion
2.0
0.04
1.0
2.0
1.7
1.4
Gulf Coast LNG Export
Cambridge Energy
Gulf LNG Liquefaction
LNG Development Company
2.8
0.27
1.5
1.25
SB Power Solutions Inc.
Southern LNG Company
Excelerate Liquefaction Solutions I
0.07
0.5
1.38
Golden Pass Products
Cheniere Marketing
Main Pass Energy Hub
Total:
2.6
2.1
3.22
45.3
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
The rapid growth of the supply of gas on the global market combined with decreasing demand in Asia has led to increasing competition
between LNG suppliers. The growing supply of LNG may, however,
become a serious challenge to traditional suppliers such as Russia.
Gazprom is becoming more and more lexible nowadays: it is increasing its engagement in European markets, and adapting to the rules of
price competition. The conditions for commercial agreements being
signed for the purchase of LNG are also changing with the growing
role of spot transactions and short-term agreements.
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Rafał JAROSZ
In the case of oil, the years 2014-2015 brought the unique phenomenon of a three-fold drop in the price of oil within just 17 months. The
main factor leading to that was the decrease in demand for the resource
resulting from the economic crisis. Another was the doubled extraction of oil in the US. In 2008, the US produced 4.5 million barrels of
oil a day, and in 2016 the extraction amounted to 8.84 million barrels of oil a day. The overproduction was mostly caused by extracting
oil from the deposits of shale rocks. It aroused national debate on the
potential effects of abolishing the ban on export of the resource from
the USA, applicable for more than 40 years. Finally, on December 18,
2015, the Congress decided, by virtue of an act setting out budgetary
expenses for 2016, to abolish the ban, thus releasing the possibility
of export of the resource and enlivening the competition in areas so
far monopolized by the group of resource producers. The reluctance
to reduce the production of oil, especially by OPEC member states,
combined with the US reducing its import, have caused the instability and low prices of oil recently.
Within a short period of time, due to the currently persistent low
prices of oil and thus the decreasing price difference between Brent
and WTI oil, the possibility of the US quickly entering the market
as an exporter seems to be limited. Equalizing the benchmarks of
American and European oil means that a large group of American
reineries will return to importing heavy oil from the markets of Nigeria or Algeria, maintaining an advantage in the costs of transport of
the resource.448 It seems, however, that in the long run, starting to
export American oil will strengthen the USA’s global position and
improve its competitiveness on the global energy market. As a result,
export of American oil may in the future reduce the susceptibility to
disturbances in supplies of countries importing from American producers, strengthening the negotiating position of the USA in political
relationships with the main actors on the energy market (i.e., Russia,
and the Middle East). With the present ight of exporters for maintainIn order to compensate for the losses of American reineries that were against
abolishing the ban on oil export because of beneiting from the low price of the
resource, Congress has granted them tax deductions, thanks to which they will be
able to deduct more costs of transport of the resource, which will cost the budget
approx. USD 1.8 billion within the next 10 years.
448
Energy transition in the USA
223
ing their market shares, the potential of extra supply of the resource
from the USA on the global market may be the factor preventing the
increase in oil prices in the following years. The winners in this scenario will be great importers such as India, China, Japan, or many
developing countries. Low prices of oil will foster economic growth and
lead to a reduction in the prices of basic products. On the other hand,
there will be the fear that the lack of market reasons for the growth
of oil prices in the near future may initiate even seismic changes in
the global balance of power, especially including the growth of crime
and fear of insolvency of many former export powers such as Russia,
Venezuela, Algeria, or Nigeria.
So natural gas and oil, which even 10 years ago contributed the most
to the growing commercial deicit of the USA, weakening its position
on the global market, now are the source of the greatest potential in
the USA’s geopolitical ight on the international arena. One expression
of the growing importance of the energy sector in US foreign policy
was appointing in 2011 as part of the Department of State a separate
Bureau for Energy Resources, today made up of over 70 specialists.
The goals of activity of the new bureau are to solve global energy conlicts, to ight “energy poverty”, and to promote energy transition on
the global market. Another task of the bureau is to lobby American
diplomacy to include domestic companies in energy investments all
over the world.
Planes of competitive advantages / new branches
of the economy
Energy transition in the US caused by the release of cheap resources
of natural gas and oil has signiicantly improved the attractiveness of
the American economy, especially industrial producers. In combination with the power of creating innovations, protecting intellectual
property, and developing the “made in America” brand, the American economy is experiencing an unexpected increase of interest
from foreign companies and domestic business in investment in the
US. According to IEA data, the US currently has the lowest cost for a
megawatt of all the countries that provide data on energy production.
Besides, the prices of natural gas and diesel oil will remain relatively
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Rafał JAROSZ
low. As a result, companies from industrial sectors (e.g., German BASF,
Canadian Methanex Corp, Austrian Voestalpine, or Dutch Royal Dutch
Shell) are choosing to move their production to the United States. As
estimated by the American Chemistry Council, until 2020, over USD
70 billion of new investment will take place in the USA in the chemical
sector alone. In its report of 2012, PwC points out that employment in
this sector will grow from the current 2.1 million to 3.9 million jobs
by 2025. Energy transition involves dynamic growth of employment
and production also in other energy-intensive sectors, such as the
production of fertilizers, synthetic resins, iron, or steel. The energy
sector itself is becoming an important source of economic development and new jobs. The U.S. National Association of Manufacturers
estimates that the extraction of natural gas and oil from shale rocks
will cause an increase in employment from current 900 thousand to
2 million new jobs in 2035.449
Energy security
Energy security of the United States has continuously affected
the general security of the country for many years. Although the US
has the world’s largest stocks of energy resources (total documented
resources of coal, oil, and natural gas are 973 billion barrels of oil
equivalent)450, at the same time it imports nearly 10 million barrels of
oil daily, thus ensuring the functioning of a global oil market inanced
with American dollars and controlled by the USA. Therefore, despite
its “energy independence” caused by the “shale revolution”, it still has
some obligations towards its previous suppliers, mainly those from
the Persian Gulf. For the strategic role of the US, it is the crucial area
of control of global fossil fuels resources, currently being sent to the
economically developing region of Asia. Thus, reduced dependence
of the US on oil from Arab countries is causing new opportunities to
“manage” the balance of power in the region.
A practical aspect of the US becoming independent from import of
449
IHS released America’s New Energy Future: The Unconventional Oil and Gas
Revolution and the US Economy, October 2012.
450
The others are: Russia – 955 billion barrels, China – 480 billion barrels, Iran –
291 barrels.
Energy transition in the USA
225
energy resources is the reduction in oil prices on global markets, whose
effects are geopolitical. Actually, considerable reduction of income from
trade in oil in Arab countries may cause a further expansion of Muslim fundamentalism. The other energy power, Russia, must face the
challenge of budgetary imbalance and changes on the demand side.
China is quickly increasing its presence on the energy market, at the
moment being the biggest oil importer in the world. China is currently
most dependent on oil supplies from the Middle East: almost 15 million barrels a day (the USA imports around 2 million of barrels, and
Europe, almost 3 million barrels).
In addition, the security of the US is largely dependent on the
American military stationed both in the country’s territory and more
than 63 bases located in countries all over the world. The American
military is the world’s biggest single consumer of energy. In 2015, it
spent nearly USD 20 billion, consuming more than 90 million barrels
of oil, 60% of which was imported.
A new element of US security policy, applying to economic, defense,
and energy security issues, is climate policy. One of the most measurable successes of American diplomacy in recent times, certainly,
is the climate agreement with China, setting GHG emission limits,
and the global climate agreement in Paris. Future engagement of the
USA in global activities aimed at climate change lies in the hands of
the developing new administration of president Trump, who has so
far expressed scepticism concerning the need for further US leadership in this matter. This is manifested in his appointment of former
Texas governor Rick Perry – a heated denier of climate change – as
Secretary of Energy.
Conclusion
Energy transition in the US, moving towards growing extraction
of natural gas and oil, has dramatically changed the position of the
American energy sector recently, making the country one of the key
actors in the global energy sector, competing with such powers as
Russia or Saudi Arabia.
Thus, the United States is changing its status on the global energy
market completely, from the role of the biggest importer of energy
resources to the role of energy exporter. The achieved independence
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Rafał JAROSZ
in the energy sector will translate into the direction of US international policy.
The success of energy transition has also become the source of hundreds of thousands of new jobs, not only necessary for the construction
of pipelines, railroad systems, drilling machines, and equipment, but
also in other energy-intensive sectors such as the chemical, metal,
machinery, metallurgic, glass, or even textile industries. Access to
cheap shale gas and the low price of energy also fosters export and is
attract more and more foreign investors to the USA.
The important role of the federal government in setting the direction of US energy transition means that the change of power and the
election of D. Trump as President will cause an adjustment in the
assumptions of the vision of US energy transition. However, it is not
only deregulation in the fossil fuels sectors, but predominantly the
future role of the United States in the ight against the negative effects
of climate change. The current administration has taken the US out
of the Paris climate agreement. The President has signed numerous
directives eliminating environmental standards and requirements.451
The budgets of government agencies that carry out climate policy
are being slashed (e.g., the President’s proposal to reduce the budget
of EPA for 2018 by 1/3, to USD 5.6 billion). The key environmental
reform by B. Obama, the so-called Clean Power Plan, limiting GHG
emissions in different states, has been reviewed.452 And the positions
in key environmental institutions are now manned by heated sceptics of climate change.
On August 15, 2017, the President signed the directive Executive Order on Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting
Process for Infrastructure, which cancelled the environmental standards introduced in 2015 by President Barack Obama (Executive Order 13690), which imposed
restrictive environmental requirements on infrastructure projects. President Trump’s
directive establishes the limit of 90 days as the maximum period for issuing decisions for the implementation of infrastructure projects.
452
President Trump’s directive The Energy Independence Executive Order of March
28, 2017.
451
Chapter 16
Energy transition in Denmark
Yingkui YANG453, Jingzheng REN454
Introduction
Denmark is one of the world pioneers in wind energy technology.
Wind supplies about 40% of the electricity in Denmark today. Denmark
is also a pioneer in the green energy system transition (in Danish grøn
omstilling) such as widespread use of district heating and encouraging energy eficiency codes in buildings, etc. Over the past decades,
the proportion of fossil fuel energy production has declined dramatically, but the share of renewable energy has increased considerably,
as seen in Chart 35. Wind power was given the highest priority in
promoting renewable energy sources. From the mid-70s to the mid90s, Denmark was endowed with a number of strategic efforts for
promoting wind power.455 The rationales for focusing on wind power
are: (1) Denmark’s long tradition of exploiting wind power, and (2) its
limited energy resource base. The national energy policy for supporting wind energy is a basket of a number of policies that are concerned
with securing energy supply and protecting the environment. This
basket is based on three key pillars: (1) research and technologically
oriented support, (2) market oriented support, and (3) regulation
Yingkui Yang, PhD, Department of Sociology, Environmental and Business Economics, University of Southern Denmark, Address: Niels Bohrs Vej 9, DK-6700
Esbjerg, Denmark, tel.: +45 65501527, e-mail:
[email protected]
454
Jingzheng Ren, PhD, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The
Hong Kong Polytechnic University k, Address: Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China,
tel.: +852 27666596, e-mail:
[email protected]
455
For detail, please refer to Meyer, N. (2004). Renewable energy policy in Denmark.
Energy for Sustainable Development, 8 (1), pp. 25-35.
453
228
Yingkui YANG, Jingzheng REN
oriented support.456 Each support pillar contains a number of instruments. For instance, the market oriented support consists of subsidies
to renewable energy technology producers and also to investors; green
certiicates, and fees for other alternative technologies, etc. The regulation oriented support pillar consists of requirements for physical
plants and conditions for connecting to the grid. Indeed, the basket
embraces all six types of energy policy approaches.457 The advantage
of such a basket of policy is that every single policy can complement
each other and generate a synergic effect in terms of effectiveness to
achieve environmental targets, economic eficiency, administrative feasibility, and political acceptability. The key disadvantage is the heavy
inancial cost. In fact, approximately two-thirds of electric bills paid
by Danish consumers are different forms of taxes such as a CO2 tax,
value added taxes, etc. Nonetheless, Danish energy policymakers have
established a successful feed-in model for stimulating the expansion
of wind power. Under this model, Danish utilities were required to
buy wind power at 85% (at 1992 levels) of the electricity retail price.
Meanwhile, a tax reimbursement was paid to the producers to stimulate environmentally friendly production. 458 Table 9 presents the
historical feed-in tariff. The high level of feed-in tariff makes it highly
proitable to set up new wind turbines, relecting a rapid increase in
wind power share. Combining with the increasing cost effectiveness
of wind power, the wind industry has become more and more competitive.459 Today, Denmark is the most wind intensive country in the
world, meaning that Denmark has the highest rate per capita of wind
installations. The share of wind power production in 2014 was over
20 times that of 1990, see Chart 35.
K. Skytte, S.G. Jensen, p/ E. Morthorts, & O. J. Olsen, Støtte til vedvarende
energi? (Support for renewable energy?). København/Copenhagen, Denmark:
Jurist- og Økonomforundets Forlag/The Danish Association of Lawyers and Economists Press 2014.
457
M. Jaccard, Sustainable Fossil Fuel: the unusual suspect in the quest for clean
and enduring energy. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press 2005.
458
N. Meyer, Renewable energy policy in Denmark, “Energy for Sustainable Development” 2004, 8 (1), 25-35.
459
R. Redlinger, & P. M. Andersen, Report on New and Renewable Sources of Energy,
Wind Energy, for the UN Committee on New and Renewable Sources of Energy and
On Energy for Development. United Nations, Report of the secretary General 1998.
456
Energy transition in Denmark
229
Table 9. The feed-in tariff for wind turbines in Denmark
Time of installation
Before the end of 1999
Feed-in Tariff
about DKK0.60/kWh for speciic full-load hours or
until the turbine is 10 years old.
After 2001 and before about DKK 0.43/kWh for speciic full-load hours
2003
or until the turbine is 10 years old; green certiicate
income failed to reach the date for liberalization.
After 2003
all new renewable installation will be through a free
green certiicate market; the market has a minimum
price of DKK0.10/kWh and a maximum price of DKK
0.27/kWh.
Source: Meyer& Koefoed, 2003. 460
However, wind is the most variable energy source, thus it is dificult to predict its output. Moreover, the grid has almost zero tolerance
of outages and signiicant voltage or frequency luctuations.461 Due to
the industrial structure in Denmark, domestic demand is rather limited. The large volume of wind power feed-in is problematic. To solve
this issue, therefore, interconnection with its neighboring countries
is needed.
In addition to wind power, bio-mass also plays a signiicant role
in renewable energy power production, shown in Chart 35. Indeed,
biomass energy accounts for about half of the total renewable energy
output. Renewable energy waste, wood waste, and irewood are the
top three contributors of biomass energy generation, see Chart 36.
The major pitfall of biomass energy generation is greenhouse gas
emission. Although biomass can function as an alternative for coaland gas-fueled power plants in order to achieve the goal of fossil fuel
independence, the effect of greenhouse gas reduction, especially the
emission of carbon dioxidize, is limited. Chart 37 presents CO2 emissions from energy consumption across four sectors. The transport
sector is the largest contributor of CO2 emissions, accounting for
approximately 60% of total CO2 emissions from energy consumption.
CO2 emissions reached a peak in 2005 and afterwards began to fall
slightly. CO2 emissions have remained almost constant from 2012.
N. I. Meyer, A. L. Koefoed, Danish energy reform: policy implications for renewables. “Energy Policy”, 2003, 31(7), 597-607.
461
B. Hively, J. Ferrare, Understanding today’s electricity business. San Francisco,
CA: Enerdynamics LLC, 2005.
460
230
Yingkui YANG, Jingzheng REN
Commercial and industrial services and the household sectors are the
two next largest contributors in terms of CO2 emissions. Unlike the
transport sector, CO2 emissions in these sectors has fallen considerably over the past decades.
Chart 35. Development of energy production in Denmark
Source: Danish Energy Agency
Chart 36. Development of renewable production in Denmark
Source: Danish Energy Agency
Energy transition in Denmark
Chart 37. Development of biomass energy in Denmark
Source: Danish Energy Agency
Chart 38. CO2 emission of energy consumption by sector
Source: Danish Energy Agency
231
232
Yingkui YANG, Jingzheng REN
The long term goal is to become a fossil fuel independent nation by
2050.462 Increasing the share of renewable energy supply plus possible
carbon capture storage (CCS) and taking energy eficiency measures
so as to minimize energy consumption across all sectors are the two
primary tools for achieving the goal of being a fossil fuel independent
nation, as shown in Figure 11.
Figure 11. The two pillars of the Danish energy transition:
energy eficiency and increasing renewable energy (RE) according
to Energy Strategy 2050.
Source: Energy Strategy 2050 - from coal, oil and gas to green energy, Danish
Government, 2011.
Energy Strategy 2050 - from coal, oil and gas to green energy, Danish Government, 2011.
462
Energy transition in Denmark
233
According to Energy Strategy 2050, gross energy consumption
in 2020 should be reduced by 4% as compared to the 2006 level463,
and net energy consumption in 2020 should be decreased by 12% as
compare to the 2006 level.464 The penetration of renewable energy differs across sectors.465 For the electricity sector, half of the electricity
consumption should come from wind energy in 2020. All coal-ired
power plants should be phased out by 2030, and all electricity should
come from renewable energy by 2035. For the heat sector, all oil boilers should be phased out by 2030. The entire heat sector should be
powered by 100% renewable energy by 2035. For the transport sector,
biofuels should be used in the transport sector by 10% by 2020 and
100% by 2050. Meanwhile, several milestones have been set by the
government in order to achieve the goal of a fossil fuel independent
nation by 2050, see Table 9. Furthermore, it is also expected that greenhouse gases should be reduced by 40% by 2020 in relation to 1990.
Table 10. Milestones for a fossil independent nation
Year Energy Policy Milestones
2020. 50% of electricity consumption should come from wind energy by 50%
2030. 100% renewables in electricity and heat supply
all coal ired power plants and oil burners should be phased out by
2035.
renewables
100% renewable energy supply across all sectors, including transport
2050.
sector
Source: Energy Strategy 2050 - from coal, oil and gas to green energy, Danish
Government, 2011.
This chapter provides an overview of the energy transition in Denmark. It describes how Denmark is going to modernize its structure
Aftale mellem regeringen (Socialdemokraterne, Det Radikale Venstre, Socialistisk Folkeparti) og Venstre, Dansk Folkeparti, Enhedslisten og Det Konservative
Folkeparti om den danske energipolitik 2012-2020, den. 22 marts 2012 (The Energy
Agreement of 2012). Copenhagen: The Government of Denmark.
464
Aftale mellem regeringen (Socialdemokraterne, Det Radikale Venstre, Socialistisk Folkeparti) og Venstre, Dansk Folkeparti, Enhedslisten og Det Konservative
Folkeparti om om strategi for solcelleanlæg og øvrige små vedvarende energi
(VE)-anlæg, den 15 november 2012 (Agreement on the Strategy for Solar PV of
2012). Copenhagen: The Government of Denmark.
465
Energy Strategy 2050…, op.cit.
463
234
Yingkui YANG, Jingzheng REN
of energy balance and strengthen its energy eficiency using instruments resulting from energy transition. Moreover, it also discusses
how Denmark is going to strengthen its competitiveness on the integrated European energy market through its energy transition. Finally,
this chapter will also discuss how energy transition contributes to its
energy security. The chapter is organized as follows. Section 8.3 provides the current status and future trend of energy balance structure
in Denmark. Section 8.4 presents how Denmark used the energy
eficiency instrument for energy transition. Section 8.5 presents how
Denmark is going to strengthen its market competitiveness on the
market through its energy transition. Section 8.6 describes its competitiveness in the power market. Finally, energy security issues are
discussed.
Energy balance structure: current state
and future scenarios
Cross-border interconnection
Denmark has one of the highest degrees of regional interconnection
in the world. The Danish electricity market is part of the integrated
Nordic electricity market. The wholesale market is the common Nordic market. On a voluntary basis, all electricity generators and traders
are trading freely on the Nordic electricity exchange, Nord Pool. Nord
Pool is Europe’s leading electricity market and provides services across
nine European countries. To become a wholesaler one does not need
to own either generators or end-users/consumers. In the physical
market at Nord Pool, electricity can either be traded on a spot market
for the next 24 hours, namely Elspot, or on the forthcoming day after
the day-ahead market, namely the Elbas.466 Power grids from Norway,
Sweden, Finland, and Demark are the major owners in the Nordpool
spot market. The wholesale price is determined on the basis of the
marginal production cost. The wholesale prices in Denmark luctuate
with market conditions both domestically and internationally (primarily its neighboring countries)467, e.g., in case of a rainy season,
Nordic market report 2014 - Development in the Nordic electricity market, NordREG, Helsinki 2014.
467
Lessons from Liberalised Electricity Markets, OECD/IEA, Paris, France(2005).
466
Energy transition in Denmark
235
electricity from the hydroelectric stations in Norway and Sweden is
likely to be cheap, and in case of a windy season, electricity from wind
farms in Denmark is likely to be cheap. Figure 11 illustrates real time
cross-border electricity transmission in Denmark from Energinet.dk.
As shown in Figure 12, western Denmark is synchronized with the
power system in Norway, Sweden, and Germany while Eastern Denmark is synchronized with the Swedish power system. Thus, Denmark
functions as a bridge for interconnection between the Scandinavian
power systems and the German power system and, thereby, the continental European power system.
Figure 12. Cross-border Electricity Transmission in Denmark
Source: Energinet.dk
The total interconnection capacity from Denmark to its neighboring countries is about 6.4 GW, of which the interaction capacity from
Demark to Sweden and Norway is 4072 MW and to Germany is 2380
MW. The total cross-border interconnection capacity is slightly higher
236
Yingkui YANG, Jingzheng REN
than the peak demand of 6 GW in Denmark. Thus, the cross-border
interconnection countries are important for power balancing because
they allow Denmark to send power abroad on windy days and to import
power in times of low wind.
Promoting lexible consumption
As the share of renewable energy, especially wind power, increases
in energy production, the current energy system will face important
challenges. Energy production will luctuate more than currently. To
achieve a balanced and yet sustainable energy supply will require signiicant changes in the structure of both the supply and the demand of
energy. On the one hand energy producers will need to coordinate the
interaction between different ways of producing electricity, such as wind
power, natural gas, and thermal power, so as to minimize the emission
of CO2 and production costs. On the other hand, energy end-users will
have to change their current energy behavior in order to synchronize their
demand with the inherent luctuations in the sustainable energy supply.
During the energy transition stage, rather than supply being
expected to meet the growth and variation of energy demand over
time, demand will need to be actively managed to it the energy supply
over time. Whereas renewable energy technology innovation is certainly
important, technology alone will probably not be able to manage the
demand side and change consumption habits to synchronize demand
with the inherent variations in supply from a 100% renewable energy
system in which wind and solar energy are important factors.468 Thus,
the transition to a sustainable society will have to involve consumers,
as well as insight into their consumption behavior and lifestyle and
also into how changes in consumption behavior and habits such as
daily routines with respect to energy can be triggered.469
By motivating lexible energy consumption, consumers can contribute to optimizing the operations of a 100% renewable energy
system, particularly when the 100% renewable energy system contains a dominant share of wind power. This can eventually bring
S. G. Hauser, K. Crandall, Chapter 1 - Smart Grid is a Lot More than Just “Technology”, P. S. Fereidoon (Ed.), Smart Grid, Boston: Academic Press, 2012, pp. 3-28.
469
J. Axsen, J. TyreeHageman, A. Lentz, Lifestyle practices and pro-environmental
technology, Ecological Economics, 2012, 82(0), pp. 64-74, C. P. Stern, Individual
and household interactions with energy systems: Toward integrated understanding, Energy Research & Social Science, 2014, 1(0), pp. 41-48.
468
Energy transition in Denmark
237
important economic and environmental beneits to the society. In
line with current environmental and energy research we will focus on
the theories of consumer behavior that place emphasis on ’interpersonal inluence’, and draw from multiple perspectives (i.e., diffusion,
conformity, dissemination, translation, and relexivity) on consumer
behavior to develop a model of energy consumption habits.
To build a 100% renewable energy system, signiicant changes in
the structure of both supply and demand of energy will be needed.470
Rather than supply being expected to meet the growth and variation of
energy demand over time, demand will need to be actively managed to
it the energy supply over time. Whereas renewable energy technology
innovation is certainly important, technology alone will probably not
be able to manage the demand side and change consumption habits to
synchronize the demand with the inherent variations in supply from
a 100% renewable energy system in which wind and solar energy will
be important factors.471 Although there is a paucity of energy research
incorporating social science methodology and insights compared to
energy research rooted in the technological sciences and economics472,
several studies clearly indicate the need for understanding consumer
energy consumption habits, especially their daily routines of energy
usage and lifestyle, what drives or triggers their consumption behavior, and the necessity for engaging consumers in energy technology
innovations in order to be able to realize the potential of such projects.473 Thus, research has shown that human behavior/responses to
new energy improving technologies often offset the beneicial effects
of the new technology, which is also known as the “rebound effect”474.
P. F. Sioshansi, Smart grid : integrating renewable, distributed & eficient energy,
Boston: Elsevier/Academic Press, Amsterdam 2012.
471
S. G. Hauser, K. Crandall, Chapter 1 - Smart Grid, op.cit.
472
J. Axsen, J. TyreeHageman, A. Lentz, Lifestyle practices…, op.cit., pp. 64-74,
B. K. Sovacool, What are we doing here? Analyzing ifteen years of energy scholarship and proposing a social science research agenda, Energy Research & Social
Science, 2012, 1(0), pp. 1-29.
473
F. Gangale, A. Mengolini, I. Onyeji, Consumer engagement: An insight from smart
grid projects in Europe, Energy Policy, 2013, 60(0), pp. 621-628, P. C. Honebein,
F. R. Cammarano, C. Boice, Building a Social Roadmap for the Smart Grid, The
electricity journal, 2011, 24(4), pp. 78-85.
474
G. H. P. Berkhout, C. J. Muskens, J. W. Velthuijsen, Deining the rebound effect,
Energy Policy, 2000, 28(6–7), 425-432, M. Binswanger, Technological progress
470
238
Yingkui YANG, Jingzheng REN
Besides, even with detailed feedback information about an individual’s energy consumption, actual energy savings can be very different
from the expected savings.475 Moreover, although most people seem to
accept that climate change fundamentally will alter living conditions
on earth unless the amount of CO2 emissions is reduced drastically476,
most individuals also fail to react to this problem by switching to green
energy, and/or by changing usage habits so as to reduce their energy
consumption. 477 Since energy is a necessity and a low involvement
good, it may be a great challenge to change energy behavior, which
may become a non-technical barrier for achieving the national goal
of being a fossil fuel independent nation.
The future energy structure: grid expansion
The current grid in Denmark has suficient capability to accommodate the increasing share of wind power low into the system.478
Depending on the level of voltage of the transmission line, the grid
network consists of three levels: 400-kilovolt transmission lines for
connections between central power stations and interconnection with
neighboring countries, 150-kilovolt regional transmission lines for west
of the Big Belt, 132-kilovolt regional transmission lines for east of the
Big Belt, and a 60-100 kilovolt line for distributing electricity from
and sustainable development: what about the rebound effect? Ecological Economics, 2001, 36(1), pp. 119-132, R. Brännlund, T. Ghalwash, J. Nordström, Increased
energy eficiency and the rebound effect: Effects on consumption and emissions,
Energy Economics, 2007, 29(1), pp. 1-17, H. Herring, R. Roy, Technological innovation, energy eficient design and the rebound effect, Technovation, 2007, 27(4),
pp. 194-203.
475
W. Abrahamse, L. Steg, C. Vlek, T. Rothengatter, The effect of tailored information, goal setting, and tailored feedback on household energy use, energy-related
behaviors, and behavioral antecedents, Journal of Environmental Psychology,
2007, 27(4), pp. 265-276, K. Buchanan, R. Russo, B. Anderson, Feeding back about
eco-feedback: How do consumers use and respond to energy monitors?, Energy
Policy, 2014, 73(0), pp. 138-146.
476
Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
IPCC, 2014, Privat engagement skal drive klimakampen videre, Mandag Morgen,
2014, 36, pp. 4-5.
477
Ibidem.
478
S. Ropenus, H. Jacobsen, A Snapshot of the Danish Energy Transition: Objectives,
Markets, Grid, Support Schemes and Acceptance, Agora Energiewende & DTU, 2015.
Energy transition in Denmark
239
high voltage electricity to end-users.479 Energinet.dk owns the transmission lines over 100 kilovolts. The planning of the grid in Denmark
includes biannual grid development plan, the Kabelhadlingsplan, and
the cross-sectoral system plan.480 Energinet.dk publishes a plan for
grid development every second year. Following the Energy Agreement
from 2008, the entire grid lines of 132-150 kilovolts should be laid
as underground cables completely by 2030, and the new 400 kilovolt
lines should also be laid as underground cables.481
Energy eficiency
Improving energy eficiency is an important part of Danish energy
policy. It is also a crucial element in the transition towards a fossil-fuel-independent society. According to its energy plan in 2050,
inal energy consumption (excluding consumption for non-energy
purposes) should be reduced by 7.2% in 2020 compared with 2006.482
Primary energy consumption should be reduced by 12.6% in 2020
compared with 2006. To ensure accomplishment of the goal of being
a fossil-fuel-independent nation, the gird and distribution companies in Denmark (which includes about 70 electricity operators, 3
natural gas distributors, about 400 district heating companies, and
6 oil companies) have set a target of annual energy savings of 3%
in energy end use excluding transport between 2015 and 2020. 483
Energy savings are supposed to be achieved through improved
energy eficiency. Examples could be improved insulation of buildings, and replacing oil boiler heating systems with district heating
or a heat pump.
Energy eficiency measures in Denmark
Energy eficiency is an important measurement for achieving
the 2050 goal, see Figure 13. Denmark has a relatively high share of
Ibidem.
Ibidem.
481
Ibidem.
482
Aftale mellem regeringen (Socialdemokraterne, Det Radikale Venstre, Socialistisk Folkeparti) og Venstre, Dansk Folkeparti, Enhedslisten og Det Konservative
Folkeparti om den danske energipolitik 2012-2020, den. 22 marts 2012 (The Energy
Agreement of 2012). Copenhagen: The Government of Denmark.
483
Ibidem.
479
480
240
Yingkui YANG, Jingzheng REN
combined heat and power plants (CHPs), which brings on challenges
for maintaining a high level of energy eficiency.484 Energy eficiency
measures consist of two major parts: energy eficiency obligations are
assigned to energy companies, and requirements to the commercial
and building sectors. In 2020, a decrease in net energy consumption
of 12% as compared to 2006485 is expected.
Figure 13. Measurements for achieving the goal of fossil fuel
independent by 2050
Source: Energy Strategy 2050 - from coal, oil and gas to green energy, Danish
Government, 2011.
H. Lund, A. P. Østergaard, I. Stadler, Towards 100% renewable energy systems,
Applied Energy, 2011, 88(2), pp. 419-421.
485
Energy Strategy 2050 - from coal, oil and gas to green energy, Danish Government, 2011.
484
Energy transition in Denmark
241
Competitiveness in the power market
The Danish electricity market is structured around generators,
retailers (also known as “electricity suppliers”), wholesalers, distribution system operators, and system operators.486 Energinet.dk has
the primary task of regulating and controlling the electricity market. After the market liberalization, the supply function on both the
generation and the retail sales side was removed from the earlier
monopolies. Wholesalers and retailers acquire electricity from the
generators and sell to each other and to the end-users. Electricity is
delivered from generators to end-users and money lows from end-users back to generators. In the entire transaction process, electricity
suppliers function as intermediaries who buy and sell electricity in the
market. An important role for the electricity suppliers is to sell more
green electricity in the energy transition, thereby pushing generators
to build more renewable plants to increase the renewable capacity. The
end-users can be divided into three segments: residential customers,
commercial customers, and industrial customers.
Retail competition and product offerings
As of 2011, there are around 60 electricity retailers in the Danish
market competing against one another, among which 33 are default
suppliers and 10 in the electricity retailing market.487 The retailers’
terms of retail sales and prices are publicly available on www.elpristavlen.dk, a website for comparing all available electricity products and
prices in Denmark. The wholesale price is the underlying price for
retail market products. 488 Although the retail market is fully open
to households, the majority of the electricity suppliers are actually
regionalized or local monopolies with market shares of 94% in their
region.489 Because of this, these 33 default suppliers take up approximately 90-95% of the total market share.490
Price is the primary competitive factor in the retail market. The
electricity price is a sum of (1) the electricity price paid to the electricity suppliers, (2) transportation related costs, (3) electricity taxes,
www.energinet.dk
Nordic market report 2012, NordREG, Helsinki 2012.
488
Ibidem.
489
Konkurrencen på detailmarkedet for el (The competition in the electricity retail
market), Konkurrencestyrelsen, Copenhagen 2009.
490
Ibidem.
486
487
242
Yingkui YANG, Jingzheng REN
and (4) VAT (i.e., value-added tax, moms in Danish). About half of the
total price is derived from ixed taxes, and the electricity price is only
about one-fourth of the total price.
In addition to price, the environmental quality of the electricity is
another important competitive factor. Products known as green electricity
(or grøn strøm in Danish) have a variety of forms. Currently, only a few
electricity suppliers are offering green electricity. Due to the nature of
environmental-friendless nature, green electricity has a price premium.
Although the retail market is well-established, the supplier switching rate in Denmark remains surprisingly low, see Chart 39. Factors for
the low switching rate can be explained by the small economic beneit
from switching, psychological lock-in with the current supplier, and
good relationship management from the supplier.491
Chart 39. Supplier switching in the deregulated electricity
market in Denmark
Source: Nordic market report 2012, NordREG, Helsinki 2012, Nordic market report
2014 - Development in the Nordic electricity market, NordREG, Helsinki 2014.
Conclusion
Denmark is one of the irst movers in implementing a renewable
energy transition. The long-term national goal is to become a fossil-fuY. Yang, Understanding household switching behavior in the retail electricity
market, Energy Policy, 2014, 69, pp. 406-414.
491
Energy transition in Denmark
243
el-independent nation by 2050. This chapter presented an overview of
the energy transition in Denmark from three main aspects: the energy
balance structure, energy eficiency, and competitiveness in the power
market. Due to its geographic location and historical energy experience, wind power is a very important role in the future energy mix.
The intermittent wind power output will bring challenges on balancing
the grid. Cross-border interconnection, increasing the share of renewable energy consumption, and promoting lexible energy competition
are three important tools for utilizing the increasing share of wind
power in the future. The Danish power market is quite competitive
and well-established, but the switching rate for consumer remains at
a very low level. There is a need for establishing a new pricing structure and market mechanism to encourage consumer involvement in
their energy consumption.
Chapter 17
Energy transition in Italy
Andrea PRONTERA492
Italian transition and the National Energy Strategy
Italian energy transition began in the 1990s hand in hand with
the parallel development of EU energy, environmental, and climate
policy. During the 2000s several new policy instruments have been
deployed in order to promote energy eficiency and renewable energy.
Since 2009, according to the 20-20-20 EU targets, Italy is also committed to achieve 15.5 Mtoe of energy savings in annual inal energy
consumption between 2011 and 2020, a 17% share of renewable energy
in inal gross consumption, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions
(GHG) by 18% compared with 2005. However, only in 2013 did the
Italian government issue a new, comprehensive and forward-looking policy document approving a National Energy Strategy (the last
national energy plan dated back to 1988).
The National Energy Strategy (NES) conirmed the Italian commitment to the progressive decarbonization of the economy and proposed
different actions for achieving and exceeding all the EU targets for
2020.493 In particular, with regard to the reduction of GHG emissions,
a 21% lower level than in 2005 is provided, thus exceeding the previous EU objective of 18%. With regard to the development of renewable
energy, according to the NES it is expected that Italy will reach, by
2020, 19-20% of gross inal consumption, exceeding the 17% target set
Andrea Prontera, PhD, Assistant Professor, International Relations and European
Union Institutions and Policies, Department of Political Science, Communication
and International Relations, University of Macerata, Italy, e-mail:
[email protected]
493
Italy’s National Energy Strategy: For a more competitive and sustainable energy,
NES, Ministry of Economic Development, Rome 2013.
492
245
Energy transition in Italy
in the 2010 National Action Plan. Finally, with regard to energy eficiency – an area where the 20-20-20 targets are not binding – Italy
intends to outdo the European targets of 20% compared to inertial
consumption, with expected savings of up to 24% (equivalent to a reduction of about 20 Mtoe of primary energy compared to 2011).
Energy eficiency, in particular, is considered crucial by the NES to
achieve decarbonization of the Italian economy. New targets for energy
eficiency are put forward not only in the NES but also in the 2014
Italian Energy Eficiency Action Plan (NEEAP 2014). This document
has updated the precedent plan issued in 2011 and better clariied the
measure-by-measure and sector-by-sector contribution to achieve the
global targets for 2020 set in the NES (table 11). It is worth noting,
however, that mainly as a result of the economic crisis between 2005
and 2012, Italy has already exceeded by 58% the target for 2016 set
in the Energy Eficiency Action Plan of 2011.494
Table 11. Energy eficiency targets and measures for 2020
(inal and primary energy, Mtoe/year)
Final energy
Primary
consumption
Planned measures for 2011-2020
Sectors
Residential
Services
Public authorities
Private
Industry
Transport
TOTAL
Measures
Regulatoand investry standments for
ard
mobility
1.60
0.20
0.10
0.10
3.43
5.23
TherTax demal
ductions
account
White Expected
certii- savings by
cate
2020
0.54
0.93
0.43
0.15
0.10
0.04
3.67
1.23
0.57
Expected savings by
2020
5.14
1.72
0.80
0.06
5.10
0.10
5.45
0.66
5.10
5.50
15.50
0.92
7.14
6.05
20.05
1.38
0.50
1.97
1.97
1.47
1.38
Source: Italian Energy Eficiency Action Plan, NEEAP, July 2014, available at:
https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/iles/documents/2014_neeap_en_italy.pdf
(accessed: 7.10.2016).
Italian Energy Eficiency Action Plan, NEEAP, July 2011, European energy
market reform. Country proile: Italy, Deloitte, available at https://www2.deloitte.
com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/Energy-and-Resources/gx-er-market-reform-italy.pdf (accessed: 3.10 2016).
494
246
Andrea PRONTERA
With regard to renewable energy, according to the NES, about
21.4 Mtoe of inal energy consumption should come from renewables
in 2020, compared to 17 Mtoe in 2012, 11 Mtoe in 2008 and 8 Mtoe
in 2004: this means that an additional 5.3 Mtoe will still be needed
by 2020. 495 However, looking at recent trends this target seems to
be reachable: in 2014 Italy had already surpassed the 17% EU target
(Chart 39).
Chart 40. Percentage of renewables in Italian inal energy
consumption
Source: Italian Energy Eficiency Action Plan, NEEAP, July 2014, available at:
https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/iles/documents/2014_neeap_en_italy.pdf
(accessed: 7.10.2016).
This important result has been possible especially thanks to the
signiicant progress made in the electricity sector, where Italian governments have enacted several policy instruments and granted very
generous inancial support (above the EU average for Renewable energy
sources for electricity support schemes, or RES-E support schemes).
Finally, with regard to the CO2 emissions targets – according to
the 2020 EU requirements – Italy is committed to an 18% reduction
in global GHG emissions compared to 2005 (a 21% reduction in the
sectors covered by the Emission Trading System, ETS, and a 13%
reductions in non-ETS sectors). However, also in this case, Italy has
achieved and surpassed its targets before the 2020 schedule. By 2012
Italy had achieved 130% of its target for non-ETS sectors and 109% of
its target for global GHG emissions.496 This important achievement
is the result both of the measures to promote energy eficiency and
495
496
European energy market reform..., op.cit.
Ibidem.
247
Energy transition in Italy
renewables and the effects of the economic crisis. As we saw, against
this background, the 2013 NES set more ambitious targets with a 21%
decrease in global GHG emissions (for ETS and non-ETS sectors) by
2020 compared to 2005.
As a result of the above-mentioned measures (and of other measures included in the NES) an important transformation of the Italian
energy mix by 2020 (table 12.) is expected, with a prominent role, especially in the electricity sector, for renewables and natural gas, which is
expected to be a crucial source in the Italian energy transition (also by
virtue of its relative lower environmental impact in respect to oil and
coal) (table 13.). This trend, on the other hand, conirms the special
role that natural gas has traditionally played in Italy since the 1980s,
when this source became the ’Italian way’ to partially replace oil.497
Italy, in this regard, is a peculiar case in Europe because in comparison to the other major European consumers it has no nuclear energy
(two referendum held in 1986 and 2011 twice halted the development
of a nuclear programme in the country) and a very low contribution
of coal in its energy mix.
Table 12. Italian total gross primary energy consumption (Tot, in
Mtoe) and source mix (%): 2010 and 2020
Electricity imports
Coal
Renewables
Oil
2010
2%
9%
11%
37%
2020
1%
8-9%
23%
30-32%
Gas
41%
35-37%
Tot (Mtoe)
165
155-160
Source: Italy’s National Energy Strategy: For a more competitive and sustainable
energy, Ministry of Economic Development, NES, March 2013, Rome.
In what follows, the main policy instruments and achievements
in the area of energy eficiency and renewables are illustrated. In
particular, with regard to renewables the focus will be mainly on the
L. De Paoli, Italian Energy Policy: From Planning to an (Imperfect) Market, in
F. McGowan, (ed.), European Energy Policies in a Changing Environment, Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag, 1996, pp. 88-129.
497
248
Andrea PRONTERA
measures adopted in the electricity sector, where dramatic changes have
recently occurred. Finally, in the last section, the chapter illustrates
the main implications of the energy transition for Italian competitiveness, growth, and energy security.
Table 13. Source mix of gross electricity consumption:
a shift to a gas-renewable mix
Oil
Imports
Coal
Renewables
Gas
Other
2010
3%
13%
16%
22%
44%
1%
2020
2%
7-10%
15-16%
35-38%
35-40%
1%
Source: Italy’s National Energy Strategy: For a more competitive and sustainable
energy, Ministry of Economic Development, NES, March 2013, Rome.
Promoting energy eficiency: main instruments
and achievements
In line with EU policy, Italy has enacted several policy instruments
to meet its energy eficiency targets. The main horizontal measures
implemented in recent years are498:
Transposition of Directive 2002/91/EC and implementation of
Legislative Decree No 192/05 with regard to the requirement of
minimum energy performance standards for buildings.
Granting of tax deductions (‘iscal deduction 55%’) for improvements in the energy eficiency of existing buildings.
Energy eficiency certiicates (‘White Certiicate’ scheme).
Measures to encourage an environmentally sustainable renewal
of the leet of cars and commercial vehicles up to 3.5 tons and
implementation of the EC Regulation No 443/2009.
Table 14 below highlights the contribution expected by each instrument in different sectors and the irst important results already
Italian Energy Eficiency Action Plan, NEEAP, July 2011, Italian Energy Eficiency Action Plan, NEEAP, July 2014, available at: https://ec.europa.eu/energy/
sites/ener/iles/documents/2014_neeap_en_italy.pdf (accessed: 7.10.2016).
498
249
Energy transition in Italy
achieved. In particular, by 2011, Italy had already reached more than
20% of the inal 2020 targets in the residential and industrial sectors, while minor results have been achieved in transport and services
(Table 14.).
Table 14. Annual energy savings achieved in the period 2011-12
and expected by 2020 under the NES (inal energy, Mtoe/y)
Sectors
Leg.
White CerDecree tiicates
192/05
Residential
Services
Industry
Transport
TOTAL
0.62
0.02
0.05
0.68
0.14
0.03
1.04
1.20
Fiscal
Incentives
deductions (pursu(55%)
ant to
443/2009)
0.21
0.01
0.01
0.22
0.23
0.22
Saving
Expected Targets
achieved savings
met
2011-12 by 2020 (%)
0.96
0.05
1.09
0.22
2.33
3.67
1.23
5.10
5.50
15.50
26.2%
4.1%
21.4%
4.0%
15.0%
Source: Italian Energy Eficiency Action Plan, NEEAP, July 2014, available at:
https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/iles/documents/2014_neeap_en_italy.pdf
(accessed: 7.10.2016).
Another important energy eficiency policy instrument, not included
in table 14, is the so-called ’Conto termico’ (Thermal Account), introduced in 2012. This measure represented the irst nationwide direct
incentive scheme for the generation of renewable thermal energy, but
also the irst scheme encouraging public authorities to implement
energy eficiency actions in buildings and technical installations.499
The scheme is addressed both to public authorities and to private parties i.e. individuals, condominiums, businesses, and farms. All these
beneiciaries can implement the energy saving actions via an Energy
Service Company (ESCO), by means of a third-party inancing contract, an energy service contract, or an energy performance contract.
As for the ‘White Certiicates’, this scheme is also managed by the
GSE (Energy Service Operator), a public company established by the
Italian state. Examples of energy eficiency actions supported by this
policy instrument include: thermal insulation of walls; replacement
of windows; installation of screening and shading systems; replacement of heating systems with condensing boilers; etc.
499
Italian Energy Eficiency Action Plan...2014, op.cit.
250
Andrea PRONTERA
Measures have also been enacted for supporting energy audits
and energy management systems, including the metering and billing systems for which Italy is at the forefront in Europe. Additional
set of measures include many information and communication campaigns, professional training and support for the ESCO, measures for
the simpliication and harmonization of the legislative framework,
and other inancial instruments to support energy eficiency in buildings’ construction and maintenance.500 Finally, it is worth noting that
other actions have been taken by regional and local governments in
the context of the EU structural funds for the periods 2007-2013 and
2014-2020. Italian local governments are also widely involved in the
‘Covenant of Mayors’ programme launched in 2008 by the European
Commission after the adoption of the Climate and Energy Package.
In particular, Italy is irst in the covenant as to its number of signatories, coordinators, and supporters: 2,081 signatories for a total
of 2,185 municipalities involved, including the largest Italian cities
(Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Bologna, Florence, Bari, Venice, and many more).501 In line with this program, local governments
have formulated and enacted Sustainable Energy Action Plans which
are considered key instruments for improving energy eficiency at
local level.
Promoting renewable energy: main instruments,
issues, and achievements
In the last two decades Italian governments have implemented
various policy instruments (RES-E support schemes) to promote
renewables in the electricity sector (table 15.). A briely review of the
history, achievements, and problems of these schemes is offered below
(based on Prontera 2014).
The irst important decision of the Italian government in the area
of renewables traces back to 1992, when the support scheme known
as CIP 6/92 was established. This scheme was based on a feed-in tarP. Sospiro, Le Politiche europee e nazionali energetiche e di eficienza energetica, in P. Sospiro (ed.), Case PRO.P.RI.E proposta di un piano di ristrutturazione
energetica del patrimonio immobiliare, pp. 27-43. Rome: Aracne 2015.
501
Italian Energy Eficiency Action Plan...2014, op.cit.
500
Energy transition in Italy
251
Table 15. The main policy instruments (RES-E support schemes)
of Italian renewable electricity policy
Instrument
denomination
CIP 6/92
Certiicati
Verdi
Conto Energia
Start/
End
Type of Instrument
Main elements of design/amendments (*)
19921999
Feed-in tariffs
19992012
Tradable
Green
Certiicates
No distinction among res-e technologies; open to «assimilated» sources;
8 years of duration of the incentives
Quota system for net generation;
no distinctions among res-e technologies; tgC’s duration 12 years.
tgC’s minimum size 100mwh.
20052012
Feed-in
premium
(*) = Amended in 2008: increase
of quota obligation for suppliers;
extension of tgC’s duration from 12
to 15 years; differentiation of tgC for
res-e technologies. tgC’s minimum
size 1mwh.
For Pv only, duration of incentives:
20 years
(*) = Amended in: 2007 (’Secondo
Conto Energia’), 2010 (’Terzo Conto Energia’), 2011 (’Quarto Conto
Energia’).
Tariffa
Onnicomprensiva
20082012
Feed-in
tariffs
Nuovo Sistema
2012-
Feed-in
tariffs/premium
Tendering
system
’Quarto Conto Energia’: incentives
gradually decreasing over time plus
annual cap.
For power plants under 1 mw (or
under 200 kw for wind), duration
of incentives 15 years, differentiation for res-e technologies.
Pv (’Quinto Conto Energia’): fIt on
generation feeding the grid coupled
with a premium on generation used
onsite, spending cap set at 6.7 billion euro.
res-e except Pv: fIt for power plants
up to 1 mw and Feed-in Premium for
res power plants above this threshold; Tendering system above 5 mw
(10 mw for hydroelectricity and 20
mw for geothermal power); total
spending cap set at 5.8 billion euro
per year.
Source: A. Prontera, Process Sequencing and Policy Change. The Evolution of Italian Renewable Electricity Policy Over Two Decades, in ’Rivista Italiana di Politiche
Pubbliche’, 2014, 9(2), pp. 287-320.
252
Andrea PRONTERA
iff (FIT) for all renewable energy technologies and was also open to
so-called ‘assimilated’ sources (e.g. co-generation plants, heat recovery,
waste fumes, and other types of recoverable energy from processes
and equipment, equipment which uses waste materials/energy and/or
processes, and those which use sources of fossil fuels produced exclusively by minor isolated deposit). However, the implementation of the
CIP 6/92 was very problematic both in terms of costs and due to the
fact that the system was more favorable to ‘assimilated’ than renewables. As a result, the instrument was irst suspended, in 1997, and
then abandoned with the policy reform of 1999 (known as the Bersani
Decree), which introduced a new scheme based on a quota system and
Tradable Green Certiicate, TGC (‘Certiicati Verdi’) to be managed by
the GSE. The implementation of the quota system, however, was very
problematic. But this measure, along with generous inancial support,
resulted in a rapid increase of renewables’ electricity production, that
almost tripled in four years: from about 11 TWh in 2008 to about
28 TWh in 2011. Despite this result, the government was concerned
about the limited rate of development of solar energy and of smaller
installations, which found dificulties under the TGC regime. In 2005,
a 20-year feed-in tariff designed for photovoltaic solar panels (PV),
the ‘Primo Conto Energia’, was introduced. Thanks to the generosity
of the tariff the instrument was a success: it allowed for a maximum
of 100 MW of solar power to be admitted to incentives, but this target
was reached in nine days, and in the following two months a further
request arrived for 300 MW more; thus the cap was increased to 500
MW per year.502 In 2007 a ‘Secondo Conto Energia’ was introduced.
The scheme was very similar to ‘Primo Conto Energia’, however its
impact was impressive. PV electricity production grew dramatically:
from 2.1 GWh in 2006 to 700 GWh in 2009 (Chart 41). However, also
the total cost of the incentives – which are covered, with the exception
of the TGC, through a component (A3) of the electricity bills – began
to become considerable, reaching 110 million euros in 2008 and 303
million in 2009.503
C. Stagnaro, How Solar Subsidies Can Distort the Power Market: The Case of
Italy, in: ‘European Energy Review’, 5 July 2012.
503
Incentivazione degli impianti fotovoltaici. Relazione delle attività, GSE, Rome
2013.
502
Energy transition in Italy
253
Chart 41. Italian PV electricity production (in GWh)
under ‘Conto Energia’ (2006-2011)
Source: Incentivazione degli impianti fotovoltaici. Relazione delle attività, GSE,
Rome 2013.
Nevertheless, the success of the scheme was highly appreciated
by the renewables producers’ organizations, and established an
important precedent for the advocates of green technologies and decision-makers. With Budget Law 2008 (Law n. 244 of 24 December
2007) a feed-in scheme (‘Tariffa Onnicomprensiva’) was introduced
for non PV small generations up to 1 MW (with the exception of
wind plants, whose limit is 200 KW), that until then had the choice
between selling their green certiicates on the market or receiving
a feed-in tariff. In 2010 a ‘Terzo Conto Energia’, with only a limited
revision of the incentives, was introduced. The partial revision of the
incentives did not slow down the investment boom in PV (in 2010
PV electricity production reached 1,850 GWh), and the government
decided to adopt a new decision to slow down the cost of the system. In 2011, a ‘Quarto Conto Energia’ was established, designed
with lower inancial incentives gradually decreasing over time and
an annual cap. However, using a special law passed in 2010 (the so
called ‘Decreto Salva Alcoa’) many PV producers were able to access
the generous scheme provided by the ‘Secondo Conto Energia’ until
June 2011.504 The incentives became more than 3.9 billion euros in
one year, forcing the government to adopt a ‘Quinto Conto Energia’,
with the explicit aim of putting the system under control. The ‘Quinto
504
C. Stagnaro, How Solar Subsidies…, op.cit.
254
Andrea PRONTERA
Conto Energia’ also introduced a new cap: when total spending for
the support scheme reaches an approximate cost of 6.7 billion euros,
it will no longer be possible to access the incentives.
A more important policy change occurred for the TGC system,
which in 2012 was abandoned in favor of a new system (‘Nuovo Sistema’) which combines feed-in tariffs/premium measures, a tendering
system and a spending cap (table 15). As a result, in 2014-15, the total
costs of the RES-E schemes were more effectively put under control
(chart 42). However, renewable electricity production has continued
to grow surpassing the 60 TWh in the same period (chart 43).
Chart 42. Total costs (in billions euros) of RES-E supporting schemes:
Certiicati Verdi, Conto Energia, Tariffa Onnicomprensiva, and Cip
6/92 (only renewables)
Source: Relazione annuale sullo stato dei servizi e l’attività svolta, Autorità per
l’energia elettrica, il gas e il sistema idrico, AEEG, Rome 2016, available at: http://
www.autorita.energia.it/allegati/relaz_ann/16/RAVolumeI_2016.pdf (accessed:
26.09.2016).
Along with electricity generation, important contributions for meeting the renewable energy target are also expected by other sectors: the
residential and tertiary sectors, heating and cooling and transport. In
the irst case, the use of biomass and other renewables is to be promoted mainly through a ‘Thermal Account’. For heating and cooling
the main promotional measures are energy eficiency credits and tax
deductions that cover different technologies, including solar thermal
installation, biomass boilers, heat pumps, and geothermal cogeneration systems. For transport as well, different measures are provided
to promote the use of biofuel through binding minimum quotas (especially in public transport leets). The energy eficiency credits scheme
might also be extended to support the use of electric vehicles.
Energy transition in Italy
255
Chart 43. Total of renewables electricity production (in TWh) under
RES-E supporting schemes: Certiicati Verdi, Conto Energia, Tariffa
Onnicomprensiva, and Cip 6/92
Source: Relazione annuale sullo stato dei servizi e l’attività svolta, Autorità per
l’energia elettrica, il gas e il sistema idrico, AEEG, Rome 2016, available at: http://
www.autorita.energia.it/allegati/relaz_ann/16/RAVolumeI_2016.pdf (accessed:
26.09.2016).
Finally, it is worth noting that along with these important policy
instruments managed by the central government and the GSE other
instruments to promote renewables are in the hands of regional governments. In 2012, the central government established methods to
divide the national targets set for renewables between the Italian
regions, including possible sanctions for non-compliance (with the
so-called Decree ‘Burden sharing’, Decree 15 March 2012 of the Ministry of Economic Development). Accordingly, all the Italian regional
governments have implemented Regional Energy and Environmental Plans in order to facilitate the diffusion of renewables and support
national decarbonization objectives. The Regional plans provide additional inancial and regulatory measures and are usually coordinated
with the cycles of EU structural funds.
Competitiveness, green economy and energy security
With its energy transition strategy, the Italian government not
only aims at the decarbonization of the national economy but also
at achieving other important goals: strengthening national competitiveness by reducing energy prices; supporting growth, employment,
and technological innovation (a ’green economy’); and improving
256
Andrea PRONTERA
the country’s energy security. With regard to the irst goal, the government aims to align Italian energy prices with those of other EU
countries, and possibly with other competitors outside Europe (like
the United States). Both the instruments in the areas of energy eficiency and renewables are considered important to this end. As we
can see, incentives for renewables have been traditionally very high
in Italy and this situation has favored a dramatic increase in renewables production in recent years. However, with the last reform the
government has managed to get the system under control while continuing to support these new technologies. According to the NES,
with the measures envisaged by the government it will be possible, by
2020, to reduce the overall costs of energy bills by 13,5 billion euros
(in respect to 2012) and improve the competitiveness of Italian irms.
Another important contribution to lowering the overall energy bill for
the country is expected by decreasing the import of energy. Energy
dependency is expected to decrease from about 85% to about 67% by
2020. As a result, it is expected that Italy will save about 14 billion
euros each year after 2020. The savings expected on energy imports
will represent about 1% of national GDP and will have important positive effects on the Italian commercial balance.
On the other hand, natural gas will play an important role also in
the future Italian energy mix (35-37% by 2020 according to the NES).
The Italian government has continued to focus on diversiication of
its gas supply, especially after the 2006 and 2009 Russian-Ukraine
gas crisis and the recent deterioration of EU-Russia relations in the
wake of the war in Eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea.
Italy is the second EU consumer of Russian gas (after Germany) and
Russian gas accounts for about 35% of Italian gas imports. Moreover,
Russian gas is supplied to Italy mainly through the Ukrainian route.
Up to 2014, Italy and the Italian gas company ENI supported the
South Stream project to diversify Russian export route from Ukraine,
but this project was halted by the European Commission. Italy is also
involved in the development of the Southern Gas Corridor. Thanks to
the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline Azerbaijani gas is expected to arrive in
Italy (and other EU markets) in the following years (about 8 bcm/y).
To improve its diversiication of gas supply, the Italian government
has also supported the construction of new LNG terminals. The irst,
Energy transition in Italy
257
with a capacity of 8 bcm/y, was opened in 2009 in the North of Italy
(near Ravenna) and the second (a FSRU with a capacity of about 4
bcm/y) in 2013 near Livorno in Tuscany. Through these projects the
government aims at supporting energy transition and energy security but also at gaining additional economic beneits by transforming
the country into an ’energy hub’ for the wider European gas market.
Finally, as anticipated, investments in energy transition are
intended also to create growth and jobs. According to the NES, by
2020 a cumulative investment of 60-70 billion euros in the area of
renewables (40% of which comes from the private sector) and about
50-60 billion euros in the area of energy eficiency (60% of which
is from the private sector) is expected. These investments, paralleled by the regaining of competitiveness in sectors with high energy
consumption, are eventually expected to create wider beneits on economic development. Although the overall impact of these measures is
dificult to quantify, some indications from the existing data are signiicant in this regard. In the area of energy eficiency, the estimated
total volume of investments which beneited from tax deductions in
2012 alone was about 14 billion euros. These investments accounted
for an estimated 207,000 direct jobs and 311,000 total jobs (this igure is particular signiicant considering that in the same period the
building sector, where many energy eficiency actions are concentrated, lost about 200,000 jobs due to the economic crisis).505 Another
important igure regards the progressive shift of the Italian expenditure for research and development in the energy sector: in 2007 most
of the expenditures were still concentrated on traditional fossil fuels,
while in 2014 energy eficiency and renewables surpassed fossil fuels
and became the irst (31%) and second (19%) areas of expenditures.506
More broadly, the impact of a ’green economy’ on overall Italian
growth is more and more evident, and sustainability is now a key for
innovation in all sectors of the national economy. In 2015, the green
economy in Italy was worth about 102 billion euro and guaranteed 3
Italian Energy Eficiency Action Plan, NEEAP, July 2014, available at: https://
ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/iles/documents/2014_neeap_en_italy.pdf (accessed:
8.10.2016).
506
La situazione energetica nazionale nel 2015, MISE, Italian Ministry for Economic Development, Rome 2016.
505
258
Andrea PRONTERA
million job opportunities.507 Recent data shows that there are 372,000
Italian enterprises (about 25% of all businesses) that since the 2008
economic crisis have invested in green technology in order to reduce
their environmental impact, conserve energy, and limit CO2 emissions. This trend involves all sectors – from the most traditional to
the high-tech, from agribusiness to construction, from manufacturing to chemistry – and is very high (32%) in manufacturing, where it
has proved to be a strategic factor for ’Made in Italy’508. An additional
294,200 new jobs connected to the green economy (’green skills’) are
expected also in 2016, accounting for about half of the total demand for
labor. To support this trend, at the end of 2015, the Italian government
also enacted new comprehensive legislation on the ‘green economy’
(Law No. 221 of December 28, 2015, ‘Provisions on the Environment
to Promote a Green Economy and Restrict the Excessive Use of Natural Resources’). This law covers a very broad range of policy sectors,
including environmental impact assessment, waste management,
environmental liability, green public procurement, water, energy and
soil protection, the so-called circular economy, and measures to promote sustainable mobility (e.g., the improvement of public transport,
car-pooling, bike-sharing and the creation of cycle lanes).
G. Latour, Italy’s green economy is bigger than people think, in Il Sole 24
Ore, 5 November 2015, available at: http://www.italy24.ilsole24ore.com/art/
business-and-economy/2015-11-04/anti-crisis-green-economy-italy-the-sector-accounts-for-372-thousand-enterprises-for-turnover-of-102-billion-143736.
php?uuid=ACQZONTB (accessed: 5.10 2016), Relazione sullo stato della green
economy in Italia 2015, Sustainable Development Foundation-Green Italy, Rome
2015, available at: http://www.statigenerali.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/
relazione_lo_stato_della_green_economy_in_Italia.pdf (accessed: 18.09.2016).
508
Italy’s green economy...op.cit., Relazione sullo stato...op.cit.
507
Chapter 18
Energy transition in Slovakia
and the Czech Republic509
Matúš MIŠÍK510
Energy sectors of the Czech Republic and Slovakia are very closely
connected as they were for the most part developed as a single system
during the period when they formed Czechoslovakia. Although the
country broke up in 1993, many energy related legacies are visible also
nowadays (for example, excellent electricity grid interconnection). The
energy sectors of both republics underwent a signiicant change after the
fall of Communism during which high energy demand sectors (especially
heavy industry) dominated their economies. Change in their economic
systems meant a signiicant decrease in heavy industry characterised
by high energy consumption and very low energy eficiency, and gave
way to less energy demanding sectors of industry and an increase in the
share of services. These changes (together with other measures) meant
also a very signiicant decrease of greenhouse gases emission – in the
case of Slovakia the change from 1990 levels was 41 % in 2013511; it was
27.9 % in the Czech case for the period 1990 to 2011.512
Energy transition started very rapidly at the beginning of the 1990s
with the dramatic change of economy, however, it slowed down sigThe work on this paper was supported by VEGA grant no. 1/0136/16.
Matúš Mišĭk, PhD, Department of Political Science, Comenius University in Bratislava Gondova 2, POBox 32, Bratislava 814 99; e-mail:
[email protected]
511
Energy Policy of the Slovak Republic, Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic
(MoE), 2014, http://www.economy.gov.sk/energy-policy-of-the-slovak-republic_
october-2014-qci/145533s (accessed: 2.05.2017).
512
GHG trends and projections in the Czech Republic, European Environment
Agency, 2013, http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/greenhousegas-emission-trends-5/assessment-1 (accessed: 3.05.2017).
509
510
260
Matúš MIŠÍK
niicantly later on. Energy transition has been signiicantly connected
to the development of renewable sources of energy (RES) that have
been sensitive especially towards the feed-in tariffs introduced in
both countries at the end of 2000s. At the same time, however, both
countries utilise thermal power plants for electricity generation that
support the status quo within the energy sector. Nuclear power is considered by both countries to be an emission-free source of electricity
contributing to the development of a carbon-free economy.
Moreover, nuclear energy and thermal power plants are considered
by the Czech Republic and Slovakia to be cornerstones of their energy
security, which is one of the main issues of interest for these countries.513
Thanks to domestic sources of coal the Czech Republic is “fully self-suficient in electricity production”.514 On the other hand, RES – crucial for
the energy transition and development of a carbon-free economy – have
been subject to unstable development caused by challenges connected
to the implementation of feed-in tariffs and technical issues connected
to grid stability. Therefore, for example the Slovak strategic document
on RES claims that these energy sources can improve energy security
only to “some extent and to partially diversify the energy supply”.515 The
Czech strategic document516 questions especially the economic feasibility of the RES – their competitiveness vis-à-vis other sources of energy
and the subsequent competitiveness of the whole EU in a global market
with many players using cheaper sources of energy.
Energy balance structure
The energy mixes of the Czech Republic and Slovakia are characterised by a few common traits (utilisation of nuclear energy, level of
RES) while they differ in others (especially a higher share of solid fuels
M. Mišík, On the way towards the Energy Union: Position of Austria, the Czech
Republic and Slovakia towards External Energy Security Integration, Energy,
2016, vol. 111, pp. 68-81.
514
Státní energetická koncepce České republiky, Ministerstvo průmyslu a obchodu, 2014,
http://www.mpo.cz/assets/dokumenty/52841/60959/636207/priloha006.pdf
(accessed: 20.05.2017).
515
National Renewable Action Plan, Ministry of Economy and Construction of the
Slovak Republic (MoEC), 2010.
516
Státní energetická koncepce České republiky, op.cit.
513
Energy transition in Slovakia and the Czech Republic
261
but also a lower share of natural gas in the Czech case). The energy
mix of the Czech Republic is characterised by the dominant position of solid fuels and the use of nuclear power (Figure 36). Thermal
power plants cover 60 % of electricity demand and therefore in spite
of environmental concerns this energy source is “irreplaceable … from
a security as well as an economic point of view”517. Nuclear energy
covers more than 30% of electricity consumption and thus also has
a prominent role within the Czech energy mix. Renewables contributed
to the energy mix with 8% in 2013, while the binding national target
set within the 2020 Climate and Energy Package is 13% by the end of
2020. Contrary to Slovakia, hydropower in the Czech Republic has
only a very small share of total electricity consumption – only about
3%, which is also the whole potential of hydropower in the country.
However, a common factor is their rather small utilisation of biomass,
which in both countries has signiicant potential.
The Slovak energy mix is characterised by almost equal distribution among different energy sources, which is considered to be an
advantage from the energy security point of view. Renewable sources
of energy are, however, used less (8.2%) and nuclear energy is used
more (23.8%) compared to the EU average.518 Renewables thus covered very similar portions of gross domestic consumption of primary
energy sources in both countries in 2013 (chart 44).
The main contributors to the share of RES in Slovakia are big
hydroelectric power plants, especially the Gabčíkovo hydropower plant
(which produces up to 19% of domestic electricity consumption). Overall, more than 90% of all RES came from hydropower before 2010.519
However, with the introduction of feed-in tariffs and other supporting measures (preferential grid access) at the end of the 2000s, other
types of RES also started to play a prominent role in the Slovak energy
mix. Act No 309/2009 on the promotion of RES approved in 2009
brought a long-term guarantee of feed-in tariffs for 15 years as well
as preferential access for these types of sources to the grid. Thanks to
this support the installed capacity of photovoltaic power plants had
Státní energetická koncepce České republiky, op.cit., p.13.
Country Factsheet Slovakia. State of the Energy Union, European Commission, 2015,
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52015SC0237&from=EN (accessed: 21.05.2017)
519
National Renewable Action Plan, op.cit.
517
518
262
Matúš MIŠÍK
reached 537 MW by the end of 2013. The support scheme introduced
by the Act 309/2009 was cancelled in 2011 as “legislative support
for installations above 10 kW is no longer needed given the current
installed capacity of solar power plants and the price development of
technologies at grid parity”.520
Chart 44. Energy mixes of Slovakia and the Czech Republic (2013)
Source: Country Factsheet Slovakia. State of the Energy Union, European
Commission, 2015, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52015SC0237&from=EN, Country Factsheet Czech Republic. State of the Energy
Union, European Commission, 2015, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/
TXT/?qid=1449825446922&uri=CELEX: 52015SC0220. (accessed: 20.05.2017).
The Slovak target within the Climate and Energy package 2020
is 14 % of renewable sources of energy in the energy mix until 2020.
This goal was set in the National Renewable Action Plan that forecasts
a 15.3 % share of RES in the energy mix by 2020.521 The biggest potential is in biomass that can produce up to 120 PJ of energy in Slovakia.
In order to reach the 14% target only 80 PJ are needed – which means
that Slovakia has enormous biomass potential that can signiicantly
contribute to the increase of RES in its energy mix in the future. This
potential is currently not utilised to a high degree; however, thanks
to its potential it has seen a signiicant increase in the recent past,
and further increase of its utilisation is expected by the Ministry of
Economy.522 Biomass can compete in terms of price with fossil fuels
and therefore has been prioritised by the strategic documents of the
Energy Policy of the Slovak Republic, op.cit.
National Renewable Action Plan, op.cit.
522
Ibidem.
520
521
Energy transition in Slovakia and the Czech Republic
263
Slovak government. Moreover, it can, together with energy savings
and other types of RES (for example geothermal energy), be used to
decrease the amount of natural gas used for heating purposes (and
thus also decrease its import and thus increase Slovak energy security).
Neither Slovakia nor the Czech Republic have binding targets in
the area of renewables utilisation in the case of the Energy 2030 proposal. However, Slovak strategic documents expect that the country
will reach 20% of RES by that date.
From the energy transition point of view, both countries can be characterised by high level of utilisation of solid fuels for electricity generation
and also the use of nuclear power for this purpose. Both countries are
supporters of nuclear energy and are currently building or planning
to build new nuclear reactors. Slovak nuclear power plants Mochovce
3 and 4 are supposed to be commenced in 2017/2018 while the Czech
Temelín 3 and 4 was stopped for now in 2014 in its preparation phase
due to problems during the procurement procedure. The Czech Republic
uses much more coal for production of electricity (almost 60%523) compared to Slovakia (thermal power plants produced 22 % of generated
electricity in 2013524). However, the share of solid fuels in the energy
mix of the Czech Republic has decreased rather substantially since
1995 (by 18%) while the share of RES and nuclear energy has increased
(from 3 to almost 8 % and from 8 to 18% respectively).525 A high share
of domestic coal in energy production is considered, especially by the
Czech authorities, to be a guarantee of energy security and the strategic documents consider coal to be an irreplaceable source of electricity
in spite of acknowledging its environmentally challenging nature.526
Energy eficiency
Energy eficiency is a rather challenging issue for both countries.
Although the trend is very positive with energy eficiency steadily
improving, the Czech Republic as well as Slovakia are currently lagStátní energetická koncepce České republiky, op.cit.
Energy Policy of the Slovak Republic, op.cit.
525
Country Factsheet Czech Republic. State of the Energy Union, European Commission, 2015 , ht tp://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal- content/EN/
TXT/?qid=1449825446922&uri=CELEX: 52015SC0220 (accessed: 4.04.2017)
526
Státní energetická koncepce České republiky, op.cit.
523
524
264
Matúš MIŠÍK
ging behind the EU average in this area. Slovak energy eficiency issues
are currently governed by the Third Energy Eficiency Action Plan prepared in line with Act No 476/2008 on eficiency in energy use.527 The
document sets goal of energy saving amounting to 11% of the average
inal consumption for the period from 2001-2005 until the year 2020.
General energy eficiency target for the country is thus 16.4 Mtoe (tons
of oil equivalent) of primary energy. Although consumption decreased
during 2005-2013, later this trend was reversed and Slovakia is facing
a challenge to increase its energy eficiency during a period of continuous economic growth.528 Energy intensity is, however, still a problem
as it remains in absolute terms almost twice the EU average.529
The Czech energy eficiency target for 2020 is 39.6 Mtoe of primary energy. The Commission assumes that the Czech Republic will
meet this goal if the current trend of energy eficiency improvement
is kept. Similarly to Slovakia, energy intensity has stayed almost double the EU average, in spite of a fast decrease in the last period. The
biggest decrease was recorded in the industry sector where energy
intensity decreased by 35% in the period between 2005 and 2013.530
Energy transition and the resulting increase in energy savings and
higher rate of RES utilisation will positively contribute to the increase
of energy eficiency. The on-going effort to decrease energy consumption in all sectors of the economy combined with the increase of RES
production in both countries paves the way for a gradual decrease of
fossil fuels utilisation for electricity generation. However, the recent
low price of electricity complicates these efforts, as old coal-ired
power plants can provide currently more economically feasible solutions. For example, the gas-ired power plant in Slovak Malženice was
shut down just after a couple of months of production in 2013 due to
low utilisation rate. The potential of the power plant as an electricity
Energy Eficiency Action Plan 2014-2016 with an Outlook up to 2020, Ministry
of Economy of the Slovak Republic (MoE), 2014, https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/
ener/ iles/documents/NEEAP_EN_ENER-2014-01001-00-00-EN-TRA-00.pdf
(accessed: 7.04.2017).
528
Country Factsheet Slovakia. State of the Energy Union, European Commission, 2015,
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52015SC0237&from=EN (accessed: 7.04.2017).
529
Ibidem.
530
Country Factsheet Slovakia..., op.cit.
527
Energy transition in Slovakia and the Czech Republic
265
source using a “bridging” source (i.e. gas – creating a bridge between
fossil fuels and renewables thank to its low emissions) and a back-up
source for RES was thus not utilised.
Planes of competitive advantages
/ new branches of economy
Neither Slovakia, nor the Czech Republic are leaders in developing new technologies connected to energy transition in general or
RES in particular. Their main agenda when it comes to transition to
a zero-emission economy is support of nuclear energy, which is considered to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
as the production of electricity in nuclear power plants is basically
emission-free. The Czech Republic and Slovakia are therefore also trying to support further utilisation and development of nuclear energy
within the EU. In cooperation with the European Commission, the
Czech Republic and Slovakia established the European Nuclear Energy
Forum in 2007.531 Its main current aim is to support discussion of
nuclear-energy-related issues especially in the post-Fukushima nuclear
accident world. The Forum meets annually in Bratislava or Prague;
participants include EU member states, EU institutions, regulators,
energy companies, and other stakeholders.
Both the Czech Republic and Slovakia are keen supporters of nuclear
energy being two of the very few countries within the EU that are
preparing or actually building new nuclear reactors (although expansion of the Czech nuclear power plant Temelín was cancelled in its
preparation phase when the tender was cancelled, Mochovce 3 and
4 have been being built since 2008). Nuclear energy is considered to
be a “low-carbon” technology that will help reduce fossil fuel consumption and thus also greenhouse gas emissions. Slovakia does not
directly includes nuclear among RES and is not part of its strategic
documents about this type of energy source; however, Slovak energy
policy claims that “the preservation of nuclear energy in the energy
mix has also played an important role…[in:] continuous reductions
Nuclear energy forum launched in Bratislava, Euractive, 2007,
http://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/nuclear-energy-forum-launched
-in-bratislava/ (accessed: 11.04.2017)
531
266
Matúš MIŠÍK
in the carbon intensity of GDP”.532 Later it is even more direct when
the document claims that “Nuclear energy is the driving force of low
carbon growth in Slovakia”.533
Energy security
Energy security is an issue that is very important for both countries. The Czech Republic is much more active in this area and many
of its energy sectors underwent changes in order to improve energy
security. Slovakia had been a rather passive observer until the 2009
gas crisis which meant a crucial change in the country’s perspective
on energy security and diversiication. However, from the energy
transition point of view, energy security is an issue that supports the
status quo (especially in the Czech case) as “traditional” energy sources
are considered to be the most secure ones. Moreover, RES have been
connected in the region especially with high prices caused by feed-in
tariffs and problems with grid stability.
The state energy conception of the Czech Republic states that the
signiicant share of thermal power plants burning domestic brown and
hard coal is a crucial contribution to energy security of the country.534
Contrary to the Czech Republic coal does not play such an important
role in Slovak energy security as the main part of coal consumed in this
country is imported (in 2012 Slovakia imported 4861 kilotons of coal out
of 7153 kiloton of total coal consumption what represented almost 68%).
Also nuclear energy is considered to be a very “secure” source of
energy by the Czech strategic documents as it enables, contrary to
other energy sources, creation of a strategic reserve for a longer period
given the high concentration of the fuel.535 Therefore Czechs, but also
Slovaks, sometimes go so far as to consider nuclear to be a “domestic” source of energy.536
Renewables (especially biomass) are considered by the Slovak
Energy Policy of the Slovak Republic, op.cit., p. 40.
Ibidem, p. 41.
534
Státní energetická koncepce České republiky..., op.cit.
535
Ibidem.
536
M. Mišík, The Inluence of Perception on the Preferences of the New Member
States of the European Union: The Case of Energy Policy, Comparative European
Politics, 2015, Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 198-221.
532
533
Energy transition in Slovakia and the Czech Republic
267
authorities to have an important position in decreasing dependency
on natural gas supplies from abroad.537 This is based on the idea that
renewables are domestic energy sources. Moreover, according to the
Ministry of Economy, these sources of energy will help to reduce
greenhouse gasses and pollution. However, as noted above, the Slovak position is cautious in this area and strategic documents mention
also the challenges connected with the utilisation of RES. The National
Renewable Action Plan states that RES carries several risks including
luctuations that have “an adverse effect on the safety and reliability
of grid operations”538 and signiicant price hikes caused by feed-in
tariffs. Therefore, other documents, for example, the Energy Policy of
the Slovak Republic, states that the country support “particular those
[RES] with predictable generation” that are able to deliver energy at
a price that is “close to market prices”539.
Renewables and their consequences for the electricity grid thus
present a challenge for the analyzed countries. Although there are the
above mentioned issues at the domestic level, there are also challenges
connected to the stability of the grid at the regional level. Especially,
German RES cause problems for the Czech and Slovak electricity grids.
Energiewende signiicantly supported development of RES capacities
in northern Germany, where there are much better conditions for wind
as well as photovoltaic power plants than in other parts of the country.
However, after the Fukushima nuclear accident, Germany revisited
its decision to shut down its nuclear program and decided to close all
nuclear power plants by the end of 2022 and fully concentrate on RES.
Moreover Germany immediately shut down several of its oldest reactors located mostly in the southern part of the country. This has created
a regional unbalance between electricity supply and demand – while
the northern part of the country produced a signiicant surplus of electricity from RES, there was a shortage in the southern part of Germany.
Electricity produced in the north started to be consumed in the south.
However, the internal German grid was insuficient to support
such a huge volume of electricity and therefore it started to low to
southern Germany through neighboring countries – especially Poland
National Renewable Action Plan, op.cit.
National Renewable Action Plan, op.cit. p 5.
539
Energy Policy of the Slovak Republic, op.cit., p. 60.
537
538
268
Matúš MIŠÍK
and the Czech Republic (so called loop lows). Moreover, the bidding
zone between Austria and Germany enabled the export of electricity
from German RES to Austria without the necessary infrastructural
support thus adding to the problem (transit lows). These unscheduled lows emerged shortly after the German decision to shut down
nuclear power plants and already by August 2011 were causing severe
problems for electricity grids in Central Europe including Czech and
Slovak ones.540 For example, overall transit through Slovakia increased
by 79 % in 2011 compared to 2010.541 These lows were unscheduled
due to the partly unpredictable nature of RES, thus putting extra
pressure on the grids and its operators, threatening the grids’ stability and enabling possible blackouts.
Many levels of cooperation have been used to deal with this issue.
First, it was addressed at the ENTSO-E (Network of electricity transmission system operators) level; however, neither this nor at the bilateral
or regional (Visegrad four) levels brought the desired outcomes. The
problem became less urgent after 2012 as Germany started to limit
the amount of unscheduled lows, and better coordination between
grid operators enabled the prevention of blackouts. However, Poland
decided to solve this problem by building a phase shifting transformer
that received inancial support from the European Union through the
Project of Common Interest scheme.542 The Czech Republic approaches
this issue through improved cooperation at the regional level – collaboration with Germany and Austria on this issue was one of the
priorities of its 2015-2016 presidency of Visegrad group.543
Position of ČEPS, MAVIR, PSE Operator and SEPS regarding the issue of Bidding
Zones Deinition, 2012, http://www.mavir.hu/c/document_library/get_ile?uuid=513b0eee-8eb1-405b-85f1-3df85c47237d&groupId=10262 (accessed: 13.04.2017)
541
Ibidem.
542
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/89 of 18 November 2015 amending Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council
as regards the Union list of projects of common interest. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/
legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ:JOL_2016_019_R_0001&from=EN (accessed:
13.04.2017).
543
V4 Trust – Program for the Czech presidency of the Visegrad Group, Visegradgroup, July 2015–June 2016, http://www.visegradgroup.eu/documents/
presidency-programs/20152016-czech (accessed: 14.04.2017).
540
Energy transition in Slovakia and the Czech Republic
269
Conclusion
Energy transition in the Czech Republic and Slovakia can be characterised by several traits. Nuclear energy is an important part of the
transition for both countries as it is considered to be a low-emission
source of energy and at the same time an important part of energy
security as it is considered to be a “domestic” source of energy. In the
Czech case also coal-ired power plants using domestic coal stocks
contribute signiicantly to energy security which is considered by both
countries to be one of the most important energy-related issues. On
the other hand, renewable sources of energy are being approached
cautiously after very fast development at the end of the 2000s and
the beginning of the 2010s that brought concerns about the ability
of these energy sources to be implemented in the existing electricity
grid as well as issues connected to the feed-in tariffs and their inluence on the price of electricity for end consumers (households as well
as businesses). Neither of the two countries are leaders in developing
new technologies or policies connected to energy transition. Their
position when it comes to energy transformation is rather passive
with a dominant interest in energy security issues.
Conclusion
Energy transition is an inevitable process, currently going on in
many countries. At the national level, it requires a coordinated policy
involving cooperation between different institutions, and especially
the world of science and industry. With the diversity of energy balance structure of different countries in mind, we can also see different
approaches to the issue of energy transition. Energy transition based
on low-emission energy sources is connected with real social and
economic beneits such as alleviating the effects of climate change,
its inluence on human health, and enhancing energy independence
or energy system lexibility. Transition-focused thinking means the
ability to see many different forms of energy production beyond the
commonly used fossil fuels.
Transforming the economy into a low emission economy (energy
transition) is one of the biggest economic-environmental challenges
of the 21st century. The longer the emitting countries wait to start the
transition, the higher will be its costs and the more dificult its implementation, because present investment in the traditional technologies
producing energy from conventional fuels will form the energy mix
for many years544. Properly designed energy and climate policy has
a stimulating inluence on all areas of socio-economic life and fosters
the building of a modern and highly developed economy, and modernization of the energy sector seems the only solution allowing the
maintaining of energy security and competitiveness of energy production in the age of climate change545. Associating environmental
policy with energy policy results from the fact that energy is the sector
with the greatest impact on the quality of air and is the source of the
concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere responsible for
global warming. The sector of energy production is one of the greatest
T. Młynarski, Bezpieczeństwo energetyczne i ochrona klimatu w drugiej dekadzie XXI wieku. Energia - Środowisko – Klimat [Energy security and climate
protection in the second decade of the 21st century. Energy – Environment – Climate], Kraków 2017, p. 189.
545
Ibidem.
544
Conclusion
271
CO2 emitters and must play a fundamental role in the decarbonization
of the world’s economy. Energy transition forces the modernization
of the energy infrastructure and reduction of energy intensity of the
economy through investment in innovative green energy technologies. Growing awareness in the international community of the need
to counteract GHG emissions has increased the importance of the
ecological aspect of energy security, which includes the reduction of
negative effects on the natural environment at each stage of energy
management (extraction, processing, transport, storage, and consumption). The threat resulting from climate change, in turn, requires
revaluation of the traditional concept of energy security, including the
still present preference for cheap energy sources that actually prevent
the effective reduction of CO2 emissions.
The process of energy transition is seeding up globally as a result
of the growing role of electricity in new branches of the economy,
including transport. It will contribute to the replacement of previous
fossil fuels (oil) with electricity perceived as “fuel” for vehicles. The
global leet of electric vehicles nearly doubled in the years 2014-2015,
reaching the level of 1.3 million. In the irst quarter of 2017 alone, the
number of registered electric vehicles in three countries which are
the leaders in this regard, i.e., China, the USA, and Japan, exceeded
1.3 million. The IEA estimates that the number will grow up to 30
million cars by 2025 and exceed 150 million in 2040. Such development of electric cars will reduce the demand for oil by approximately
1.3 mb/d in 2040546. T. Seba assumes a much more dynamic development of electromobility. He anticipates within 8 years that all land
transport will be powered with electricity, which will lead to a slump
in oil prices and the collapse of the petroleum industry.547 Surely, the
dynamics of electromobility development will depend on the speed
of overcoming different barriers to it, such as the development of an
energy infrastructure for charging electric vehicles, production of eficient batteries, the growth of public acceptance, and irst of all, lower
prices for electric cars. This will help countries that spend considerable inancial resources on the import of oil and fuels to rather spend
World Energy Outlook 2016, IEA.
J. Arbib, T. Seba, Rethink X. Disruption, Implications and Choices. Rethinking
Transportation 2020-2030.
546
547
272
Conclusion
it on electricity, which is mostly generated on domestic markets, and
so the low of funds may become a lever for economic development
in each country. The crucial question is how different countries will
decide to invest in it and whether they will achieve in this way certain
sources of economic advantage.
It is clear that despite technological development, fossil resources
are still dominant in the structure of primary energy (nearly 80%).
However, in the coming decades, the situation will likely change,
given the dynamics of development within the last 15 years of energy
technologies based on RES, which do reduce emissions. The process
will additionally stimulate a dynamic growth in demand for electricity, whose production has increased 4-fold in the last 40 years.
The development of ICT systems, digitalization, and robotization are
bound to make the demand for electricity grow in the future. The
development of renewable energy also leads to changing the model of
relations between the producer and consumer of electricity, as the previous consumer may now also produce energy, becoming a prosumer.
Restrictive environmental standards also favor nuclear energy, which
is regarded as one of the low-emission forms of inal energy production. But it seems that nuclear energy will play only an intermediary
role in the process of energy transition, because by 2040 nearly 200
out of 450 nuclear reactors may be discontinued. Within the nearest
several decades, nuclear energy will mostly develop in Asia. Natural
gas may also prove to be an intermediary fuel in the transition process.
As a result of developing LNG technology, the natural gas market is
becoming more and more integrated and globalized. Transition processes also involve new forms of contracting energy resources and
electricity as a result of the development of energy exchanges and
electronic platforms for energy trade. The formation of physical and
virtual gas hubs provides conditions for a new architecture of energy
contracts, which are alternative to long-term contracts.
It must be emphasized that one way of reducing GHG is to improve
energy eficiency by optimum use of energy resources. Energy transition processes mean that optimum energy management in smart
grids will soon become a challenge. It seems that the improvement
of energy eficiency is the most economically optimal way of reducing GHG emissions. The growing demand for electricity causes the
Conclusion
273
need to ensure stable and secure supplies to end customers. It also
contributes to maintaining the proper quality of electricity, and this
increases the demand for electricity storage facilities, which may help
improve the lexibility of the electricity system and balance energy
supply and demand. Nowadays, different methods of storing electricity are available, and ongoing work in new technologies mean there
will soon be more.
Analyzing the model of energy transition in selected countries, we
can see that the process not only leads to the modernization of the
energy balance structure, but also to changes in thinking about the
energy sector. Even a decade or two ago, nobody would have expected
the US, which used to import over 100 bcm/year, to become an exporter
of natural gas. The process of technological change that has taken
place in the last few decades in the US refers to the area of extraction and production of energy resources, which will soon make the
country change from being an importer of natural gas to being its net
exporter. The so-called shale revolution, which began with natural gas
and then also applied to oil, has affected the global market of energy
resources and become one of the factors of transition. Considerable
amounts of oil and natural gas entering the American market have led
to lowering energy prices, and together with the intellectual potential
has become a factor that attracts investments to the American market. In the case of the US, the process of transition has caused the
creation of a huge number of jobs in areas of the economy connected
with the energy sector.548
In the EU, one of the irst countries to begin the transition involving
extensive implementation of renewable energy is Denmark. Similar
activities are being taken in the Federal Republic of Germany, which
is pursuing the regular growth of renewable energy in its energy balance structure. These activities are also a response to the oil crisis of
the 1970s, when Western European countries felt the effects of excessively high dependence on imported oil. It is important, however, that
Germany, having a substantial share in renewable energy technologies,
M. Paszkowski, Analiza implikacji zniesionego przez Stany Zjednoczone Ameryki
zakazu eksportu ropy naftowe [Analysis of implications of the ban on oil exporting
abolished by the USA]. POLITYKA ENERGETYCZNA – ENERGY POLICY JOURNAL, 2017, vol. 20, part 1, p. 37.
548
274
Conclusion
has made it one of their export goods, which have become a source of
their competitive advantage. Denmark has noticed a similar opportunity and is the leader in wind energy technologies. At certain times
of the day, surpluses of electricity may be sent (exported) to other
countries. Therefore, well developed energy structure and electricity
interconnections are a signiicant element affecting the position of Germany (the second greatest exporter of electricity in the EU, just next
to France) and Denmark on the integrating energy market in the EU.
Among EU countries, Italy has also found the potential for developing its competitive energy sources as part of a “green economy”. This
way, Italy has created many new jobs. Recent signiicant investments
by Italian companies in the development of renewable energy technology is giving the economy some beneits. France has been building
its position in another way. Initially, it based the modernization of its
energy sector on nuclear energy, which not only enabled it to lessen
its dependence on fossil fuels import, but also made the country one
of the main suppliers of products and services for the nuclear industry. The Act on energy transition adopted in 2015 showed priorities
such as the development of renewable energy and energy eficiency,
combined with the reduction of nuclear energy.
Whereas France is planning to reduce nuclear energy, the Czech
Republic and Slovakia perceive this form of electricity production as
the solution ensuring a low-emission energy sector. Apart from the
existing nuclear power plants, they are also planning to construct new
installations, which will facilitate the process of energy transition,
also supported with the development of renewable energy. Nuclear
energy is also an important element of the energy balance structure
in Great Britain, which is planning to build another installation as
well. Recently, that country has developed its energy infrastructure
and liberalized its energy market, in some elements becoming the
point of reference for many emerging energy exchanges. One of the
British priorities is currently to improve energy eficiency, both in
households and in industry.
Within the last several decades, Poland has had signiicant successes. Previously, it based its energy balance on hard coal and lignite
deposits, which are used to produce the majority of its electricity. Evidently, on the one hand, Poland’s future energy transition is going to
Conclusion
275
involve the improvement of coal blocks, which may contribute to the
reduction of greenhouse gases emission. On the other hand, the country
is looking for its sources of competitive advantage, trying to determine
its way of energy transition by considering the speciicity of the previous
energy balance structure. Austria and Switzerland skilfully use their
central location in Europe. In the case of the former, its location enables it to serve the transit function for the import of energy resources
to other European countries. On one hand, it provides an opportunity for developing the Austrian economy, but on the other hand, it
makes the country dependent on others. Regarding the national priorities of the energy sector, further improvement of energy eficiency
is important, and the sources of competitive advantage are based on
technological development resulting from the extensive research sector, and technological ideas then become the export product. Similar
assumptions were adopted in Switzerland, which mainly pursues technological development. The factor that makes Switzerland different
from many other European countries is pumped storage power plants,
which ensure the possibility to store electricity. Switzerland can also
see the potential in developing the technologies of energy storage and
the use of hydrogen in the energy sector and transport.
To sum up, we can see that energy transition in different countries
is not the same. This mainly results from the variety of the previous
energy balance structure. However, in each country, energy transition
is an opportunity for re-industrialization of industry and building new
branches of the economy, as well as creating competitive advantage.
It is in the interest of each country to strengthen its energy security
and to create new jobs as part of the economy. Social expectations and
renewable technologies correspond more and more to the countries’
industrial strategies. In many countries, energy transition occurs
by evolution, not revolution. Daniel Yergin emphasizes that technological speed is not the only factor to affect the pace of transition.549
Apart from this factor, there are others. Therefore, it is even more
dificult to reduce the phenomenon of energy transition to one common denominator.
Editors
549
D. Yergin, Quest, Penguin Books, New York, p. 722.
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List of charts, tables and igures
List of charts
Chart 1. Global consumption of primary energy carriers in 2014 ....................... 51
Chart 2. Percentage share of each region in terms of oil, natural gas and coal ... 53
Chart 3. Structure of energy carriers used in electricity production in
selected years ................................................................................................... 56
Chart 4. Gross electricity production by fuels in the European Union (EU-28)
in the 1990-2014 period, TWh ........................................................................ 58
Chart 5. Development of the use of renewable energy sources in electricity
production in the European Union in the 1990-2014 period, TWh .............. 60
Chart 6. Directions of inal consumption of the main energy carriers globally
in the years 2004 and 2014, Mtoe .................................................................. 61
Chart 7. World emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels combustion in
selected years, millions of tons of CO2............................................................ 62
Chart 8. Accumulated increase in primary energy consumption (left axis)
and energy per capita (right axis) for world regions in the years 1965-2015 79
Chart 9. Energy savings in the EU by sector ......................................................... 82
Chart 10. Progress in energy eficiency in different countries (without the
services sector) ................................................................................................ 84
Chart 11. Share of pumped-storage hydroelectricity in the global electricity
storage system (in MW) .................................................................................. 98
Chart 12. Trading volume on natural gas exchanges in Europe in 2015 (TWh) ..104
Chart 13. Trading volume and structure in selected European energy markets
in 2015..............................................................................................................107
Chart 14. Objectives of the German Energy Concept ...........................................121
Chart 15. Generation mix by quarter and fuel source 2006-2016 .......................148
Chart 16. Shares of electricity generation by fuel for 2015 and 2016 ...................148
Chart 17. Generation ownership by company, 2015 ..............................................149
Chart 18. Number of active supply market participants.......................................150
Chart 19. Market share of electricity supply market participants (2004 – 2016)....151
Chart 20. Interconnector gross and net imports and exports (2013 – 2016) ......152
Chart 21. Electricity price comparison for domestic usage in world ...................153
Chart 22. Structure of an average domestic energy bill .......................................154
Chart 23. Fuel structure of electricity production in Poland in the years
2004–2015, [%] ...............................................................................................174
Chart 24. Electricity produced from renewable energy carriers .........................175
Chart 25. Percentage structure of generating capacity in the national
electricity system in 2015 ................................................................................176
List of charts, tables and igures
297
Chart 26. Structure of energy import in Austria for 2016 [%] .............................184
Chart 27. Total inal energy consumption in Austria for 2016 .............................185
Chart 28. Domestic energy production in Austria for 2016 [PJ] .........................186
Chart 29. Energy intensity of the economy in Austria 2005-2015 – Gross
inland consumption of energy divided by GDP (kg of oil equivalent per
1 000 EUR) ......................................................................................................188
Chart 30. Domestic energy production in Switzerland for 2016 [%] ...................199
Chart 31. Energy consumption in Switzerland in 2016 [%]..................................200
Chart 32. Energy eficiency in Switzerland (1990-2015) ......................................205
Chart 33. Energy consumption in the USA in the years 1776-2040
(in quadrillions of Btu) ....................................................................................215
Chart 34. Energy eficiency of the US economy (on a scale from 0 to 25 points) ...217
Chart 35. Development of energy production in Denmark ..................................230
Chart 36. Development of renewable production in Denmark ............................230
Chart 37. Development of biomass energy in Denmark .......................................231
Chart 38. CO2 emission of energy consumption by sector ....................................231
Chart 39. Supplier switching in the deregulated electricity market in
Denmark ..........................................................................................................242
Chart 40. Percentage of renewables in Italian inal energy consumption ...........246
Chart 41. Italian PV electricity production (in GWh) under ‘Conto Energia’
(2006-2011)......................................................................................................253
Chart 42. Total costs (in billions euros) of RES-E supporting schemes:
Certiicati Verdi, Conto Energia, Tariffa Onnicomprensiva, and Cip 6/92
(only renewables) .............................................................................................254
Chart 43. Total of renewables electricity production (in TWh) under
RES-E supporting schemes: Certiicati Verdi, Conto Energia, Tariffa
Onnicomprensiva, and Cip 6/92 .....................................................................255
Chart 44. Energy mixes of Slovakia and the Czech Republic (2013) ...................262
List of tables
Table 1. Global production of fossil energy carriers in the years 2010-2015 ....... 52
Table 2 Proved recoverable reserves of fossil fuel deposits in the world ............. 53
Table 3. Largest producers of oil, natural gas and coal in 2015 and their share
in the global production of those energy sources .......................................... 54
Table 4. Electricity production by energy carriers in selected years, TWh ......... 55
Table 5. Increase of energy eficiency in the main sectors since 2000 in
Poland and EU countries ................................................................................ 86
Table 6. Explication of the structure of an average domestic energy bill ............155
Table 7. Electricity production in Poland in selected years by energy carriers,
TWh .................................................................................................................173
Table 8. List of selected applications submitted to the Department of Energy
concerning LNG export...................................................................................221
Table 9. The feed-in tariff for wind turbines in Denmark ....................................229
Table 10. Milestones for a fossil independent nation ............................................233
298
List of charts, tables and igures
Table 11. Energy eficiency targets and measures for 2020 (inal and primary
energy, Mtoe/year) ..........................................................................................245
Table 12. Italian total gross primary energy consumption (Tot, in Mtoe) and
source mix (%): 2010 and 2020 ......................................................................247
Table 13. Source mix of gross electricity consumption: a shift to a gasrenewable mix..................................................................................................248
Table 14. Annual energy savings achieved in the period 2011-12 and expected
by 2020 under the NES (inal energy, Mtoe/y) ..............................................249
Table 15. The main policy instruments (RES-E support schemes) of Italian
renewable electricity policy.............................................................................251
List of igures
Figure 1. Evolution of battery energy density and cost. ....................................... 42
Figure 2. Evolution of the global electric car stock, 2010-15. .............................. 47
Figure 3. Energy sources in energy transition ...................................................... 74
Figure 4. Global and regional primary energy consumption in the years
1965-2015 in Mtoe ........................................................................................... 79
Figure 5. The role of storage .................................................................................. 90
Figure 6. Application of electricity storage facilities ............................................ 91
Figure 7. Services in electricity engineering which can be ensured thanks to
energy storage.................................................................................................. 92
Figure 8. Diagram of selected energy storage technologies: discharge time –
power................................................................................................................ 93
Figure 9. Methods of thermal energy storage ....................................................... 99
Figure 10. Short-term measures and long-term work processes of NAPE for
the 18th legislative term ..................................................................................126
Figure 11. The two pillars of the Danish energy transition: energy eficiency
and increasing renewable energy (RE) according to Energy Strategy
2050. ................................................................................................................232
Figure 12. Cross-border Electricity Transmission in Denmark ...........................235
Figure 13. Measurements for achieving the goal of fossil fuel independent by
2050 .................................................................................................................240
Authors
MARIUSZ FILIPOWICZ – DSc, Eng., Associate Professor in AGH
University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Energy and Fuels,
Head of the Department of Sustainable Energy Development. Main
areas of research are related with renevable energy technologies (mainly
biomas, solar and wind), the effective use of energy and nuclear physics (nuclear fusion reactions in the range of ultra-low energy). Autor
and co-author of more than 250 scientiic papers. Lider of scientiic
projects in part of AGH, e.g.: “BioORC: Construction of cogeneration
system with small to medium size biomass boilers” under KIC InnoEnergy support. E-mail:
[email protected]
LIDIA GAWLIK – DSc, Eng., Associate Professor in the Mineral
and Energy Economy Research Institute Polish Academy of Sciences
in Kraków, Deputy Director of the Institute for Research. The ield of
her expertise covers the issues of mining and engineering geology, and
especially the issues related to the economics of mineral and energy
resources acquisition and processing, mineral resources management
and environmental protection. She has done a number of scientiic
and research works on the restructuring of hard coal mining, domestic and international coal and other fossil fuel markets, coal pricing,
costs of coal exploitation, energy policy and energy security. Author
and co-author of over 200 publications, including 14 books. Member
of the international group of experts “Resources - coal” in the World
Energy Council. E-mail:
[email protected]
RAFAL JAROSZ – PhD, an economist, adjunct professor at the
Faculty of Economics and Management, Lazarski University. Currently, the head of the Trade and Investment Section of the Embassy
of Poland in Washington D.C. The author of many scientiic articles,
analyses, reports and books. The area of scientiic interests related to
geopolitics, the economics of foreign direct investments (FDI), energy
policy, energy security, as well as the role of the US energy policy in
the global economy. E-mail:
[email protected].
300
Authors
NICOLE KAIM-ALBERS – MA, the head of ofice at the Weltenergierat – Deutschland, which represents the German energy
industry in the global organization “World Energy Council”. It is the
main impartial energy network promoting an affordable, stable and
environmentally sensitive energy system. Since 2011, Nicole has been
working at the interface between the national and international level,
as well as between the public and the private energy sector. Holding
a Master’s degree in European Studies, Nicole studied at Universities
in Bremen/Germany, Kraków/Poland, Bath/UK, Paris and Berlin.
MARTA KRAJEWSKA – MSc, a lawyer and graduate of the Robert
Schuman University in Strasbourg (France). Marta has an extensive
legal, regulatory and commercial experience through a number of
roles with national and pan-European associations, major international electricity and gas companies, Government ministries and the
European Commission. She has been involved in the GB and European energy sector for a number of years, working for National Grid
and Energy UK in London, as well as for ENTSO-E in Brussels. Her
areas of interest cover market integration, large energy infrastructure
projects and energy investment into future solutions that will make
energy more affordable, secure and sustainable. E-mail :
[email protected].
ANNA KUCHARSKA – MSc, PhD candidate and graduate of political
science in the Institute of Political Science and International Relations
of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. Scholarship holder from
Duisburg-Essen University in Germany and expert of Ignacy Łukasiewicz Energy Policy Institute in Rzeszów. Her academic contribution
includes a number of scientiic articles, analyses and reports. The
area of scientiic interests is related to the energy policy and energy
security with the main focus on German-speaking countries. E-mail:
[email protected]
MICHAŁ KURTYKA - PhD, graduated from Ecole Polytechnique
in Paris, then he practiced in the National Institute of Standards and
Technologies (Gaithersburg, MD), in the team headed by Prof. William
D. Phillips, the physics Nobel prize winner. In 1998 he completed his
Authors
301
studies in the area of international economics and European policies
at Louvain La Neuve University in Belgium and Warsaw School of Economics in Poland, where he holds a master degree. In the beginning of
his career Dr. Kurtyka served in Polish governmental administration
in the Ofice of the Committee for European Integration; subsequently,
he became a strategy and management consultant in the private sector.
He also fostered European exchanges in the area of industrial change
and restructuring management in the framework of European Labor
University and the Dublin Foundation. Based on this work he holds
his Ph.D. in economics from the Warsaw University. His publications
include: “From restructuration to modernization. Belated transformation of the Polish energy industry 1990-2009”, and “Management of
change. From strategy to action” (as co-author). After 2012 he turned
his interest to the innovation ield and promoted the development of
advanced business models related with the future of energy. Based on
international research he published “New Electricity and New Cars.
The Future of European Energy Doctrine” (as co-author). On January 1,
2016, the Prime Minister appointed Michał Kurtyka as Undersecretary
of State at the Ministry of Energy. As Deputy Minister, he is responsible
for implementation of energy policy in the oil and gas sector, international relations, design and implementation of economic policy in the
area of innovation in energy sector. Minister Kurtyka is Chairman of
the Steering Committee of Electromobility Programme, co-author of
the Strategic Directions for Development of Energy Innovations, and
coordinates the cooperation of the Ministry of Energy with sectoral
entities in implementing innovative projects. He is also responsible
for negotiating the Winter Package, eight European electricity markets legislation proposed by the European Commission in late 2016.
TOMASZ MIROWSKI – PhD, Eng., is a senior researcher in the Division of Minerals and Energy Sustainable Development of the Mineral
and Energy Economy Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences
in Kraków, Poland. His main areas of research are the estimation
of eficiency of renewable energy sources (with particular attention
given to biomass), estimation of renewable energy sources potential
in Poland and analyses of energy eficiency potential in the domestic housing sector. He is the author of the analysis of the potential for
302
Authors
energy savings in the housing sector: the 2030 perspective. Author
and co-author of over 70 publications, including 4 books. He was the
coordinator of four research groups in PLGrid Plus and PLGrid NG
projects. The PLGrid project serves internal as well as international
cooperation in the ield of research in the area of e-Science, including
the Energy Sector. He is an adviser in the Smart Growth Operational
Programme 2014-2020 and Regional Operational Programme for
Małopolska in 2014-2020 term in the area of Regional Energy Policy
(RES and energy eficiency). E-mail:
[email protected]
MATÚŠ MIŠÍK – PhD, Assistant Professor at the Department of
Political Science at Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. His
main area of expertise is energy security within the EU. He also studies the role of perceptions within the EU decision-making mechanism.
He is the author of Energy policy in the Enlarged European Union
(IIR Prague, 2013, in Slovak) and Decision-making process in the
European Union after the Eastern Enlargement (Comenius University Bratislava, 2016), has published articles in Energy, Energy Policy,
Geopolitics, Czechoslovak Psychology, Journal of Popular Culture,
Comparative European Politics, Asia Europe Journal and Slovak
Sociological Review. He regularly writes for the leading Slovak dailies
and comments on energy policy related topics in the electronic media.
He has undertaken study/research trips to Norway (2006), Kazakhstan (2009), Finland (2009), Great Britain (2011), Austria (2012) and
Canada (2015-2016). He has conducted empirical research in many
European countries and regularly attends main political science forums
including ECPR General Conference and IPSA World Congress.
TOMASZ MŁYNARSKI – PhD, Associate Professor, political scientist and lecturer at the Institute of Political Studies and International
Relations of the Jagiellonian University, holder of scholarships of the
l’Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris and the Sorbonne University.
He specializes in issues related to energy security, international environmental protection and French foreign policy. Author of numerous
publications and monographs including: Energy security in the irst
decade of XXI century, France in the process of communitarization of
the European Union Energy Security and Climate Policy (2013), Nuclear
Authors
303
Power Towards Global Energy Security and Non-Proliferation Regime
Challenges in the Climate Change Era (2016), Energy Security and
Climate Protection in the Second Decade of the XXI century. Energy
- Environment - Climate (2017). E-mail:
[email protected]
ANDREA PRONTERA – PhD, Assistant Professor of International Relations and EU Institutions and Policies in the Department
of Political Science, Communication and International Relations of
the University of Macerata, Italy. His main research interests lie in
the areas of international political economy, comparative public policy
and energy security. He has recently published in Comparative European Politics, Journal of International Relations and Development,
Mediterranean Politics, Journal of Public Policy and the Journal of
Comparative Policy Analysis. His latest book is The New Politics of
Energy Security in the European Union and Beyond. States, Markets,
Institutions (Routledge, 2017). E-mail:
[email protected]
JINGZHENG REN – PhD, Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering in The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, he is an expert of
Engineering Operations Management and an Energy Scientist, and
he was an associate professor at the University of Southern Denmark
(Denmark) prior to joining PolyU. He also serves as the Associate
Editor of SCI indexed Journal-Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, Associate Editor of Renewable Energy & Sustainable
Development, and Guest Editor of several leading SCI indexed international Journals. His research focuses on Engineering Operations
Research for energy and environment management. Recently he has
specialized in developing mathematical models for solving energy and
environmental problems and promoting sustainability transition. He
has also authored or co-authored more than 80 papers in the leading refereed journals, and many of his papers have been selected as
the Essential Science Indicators top 1% highly cited papers or identiied and highlighted as the Key Scientiic Article contributing to the
excellence in Energy research. He was interviewed by the most read
newspaper in Denmark, Jyllands-Posten, in the column of famous
names in Denmark and was also featured in the Ny Viden magazine.
For his excellence in Sustainability Engineering he is recurrently
304
Authors
invited to give lectures in many countries, i.e. Japan, Italy, China,
Greece, Switzerland, Finland and Sweden.
MARIUSZ RUSZEL – PhD, political scientist, Assistant Professor at the Department of Economy of the Faculty of Management,
Rzeszow University of Technology. Graduate of Faculty of International and Political Studies of University of Lodz. President of the
Management Board and expert of Ignacy Łukasiewicz Energy Policy Institute. The author of a few dozen scientiic articles, analyses,
reports and books. Reviewer of Polish and international scientiic
journals. The area of scientiic interests related to the geopolitics,
geoeconomics, energy policy, energy security as well as natural
gas market. His research is concentrated on Poland and Germany.
E-mail:
[email protected]
MARCIN SIENKIEWICZ – PhD, political scientist, Assistant Professor at the Institute of International Studies, University of Wroclaw.
President of the Board of The Lower Silesian Institute for Energy
Studies. Lecturer in postgraduate studies “Contemporary issues of
designing, construction and the operation of gas pipeline systems” at
the Wrocław University of Technology. Publicist and reviewer of the
“Wiadomości Naftowe I Gazownicze” monthly journal published by
The Scientiic and Technical Association of Engineers and Technicians
of the Oil and Gas Industry. In the years 2008 – 2010, cooperation
expert in the ield of national and energy security with BBN and The
Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland.
ADAM SZURLEJ – DSc, Eng., research and teaching fellow of the
Gas Engineering Department at the Faculty of Drilling, Oil and Gas,
AGH University of Science and Technology, Kraków. He graduated
from the Department of Fuels and Energy, AGH University of Science
and Technology, Kraków. Expert of Ignacy Łukasiewicz Energy Policy
Institute. Head of postgraduate studies (natural gas market). Author
and co-author of more than 100 scientiic publications. The area of his
scientiic interests is related to the widely understood energy economics, technological processes in natural gas industry and energy policy.
Authors
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YINGKUI YANG – PhD in Business Administration with an emphasis
on green power marketing, he is an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology, Environmental and Business Economics, University
of Southern Denmark. His current research areas focus on sustainable
energy market integration and sustainable energy consumption. His
research has appeared in a number of international energy journals
and conferences. He has participated in EU energy projects “Energy at
sea” and projects inanced by Danish energy authorities. He has also
worked in close collaboration with large utility companies.
In my opinion, the strongest point of the publication is that it is so
comprehensive, showing the main elements of energy transition against
the background of their practical applications in ten selected countries.
I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to understand the
comprehensive approach to the analysis of energy transition as well as
the practical forms of its implementation.
Władysław Mielczarski, Full Professor
Lodz University of Technology
It is a book for all those who are interested in an active participation in
the process of energy sector transition at any level of political, economic,
or technological structures. It provides, first of all, the “food” for matterof-fact discussion and debate on the trends connected with energy
policy transitions, the reasons for them, and the ways of implementing
different models of energy transition in different countries. The authors
of the volume have put considerable effort into preparing a list of
valuable references, which should be helpful in further studies of the
discussed issues.
Piotr D. Moncarz, NAE, Adjunct Professor
Stanford University
ISBN: 978-83-946727-2-0