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The main objective of this paper is to analyze and propose the United Arab Emirates (UAE) plan of Renewable Energy mix in 2030 to achieve the government target of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of CO 2 while maintaining the electricity price to a minimum. The study includes many proposals of the energy mix for electricity to achieve the target, and a comparison study to IRENA's proposal to select the most suitable energy mix plan in terms of CO 2 reduction while maintaining the electricity price. The analysis has been conducted in two different cases: the first case analyzed where the government of UAE does not implement CO 2 taxation of hydrocarbon fuels used to generate electricity; however, the second case analyzed if the government apply CO 2 taxations what would the results be. Further on, calculations of the surplus energy were implemented for future studies on utilization of the excess energy or reducing the power capacity. This paper provides a background analysis of UAE's electricity consumptions and future government plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing countries, mini-grids are seen as an important option to improve electrification rates in rural areas. In order to be successful, mini-grids face issues of operation and sizing of generation capacities. Current studies on the optimal sizing of mini-grids do not include capacity expansion feedbacks regarding the operator's or investor's long-term economic performance on growth in electricity usage, e.g. gap between demand and supply impacting the operator's income. Using a System Dynamics model, this paper compares the impact from two capacity expansion strategies on rural mini-grid operator's long-term economic performance. The two capacity expansion strategies are: a strategy with minimized costs and a strategy where only diesel power is allowed. Research shows that a cost-minimized capacity expansion strategy might not be the most beneficial solution for the operator's long term financial performance. Specifically, the high investment costs prohibit the implementation of the cost-minimized expansion strategy. In addition, the diesel-only expansion strategy suffers from high operational costs, which creates long-term challenges as the share of diesel increase. Therefore, the timeline of the investments and when to implement different strategies is important, creating a benefit for a System Dynamics approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several parts of the Mediterranean basin are experiencing grid parity nowadays, which is a sign that Photovoltaic (PV) technology has become competitive to conventional energy sources and may continue to develop without support. The net-metering policy takes advantage of the grid parity situation and is considered a step away from fading Feed-in Tariff schemes. Nevertheless, several policy variations make the decision about a specific net-metering scheme a complicated task. Therefore, the aim of this paper that deals with residential PV systems is two-fold. The first aim is to present a methodology that identifies the appropriate general net-metering scheme given the particularities and local conditions. The second goal is to examine the parity situation and compose net-metering policy recommendations in 6 Mediterranean countries. The current net-metering policy in Cyprus, which sets a grid charge on PV prosumers, is used as a case study under 3 scenarios. The first simulates the current policy in Cyprus, the second simulates self-consumption and different partial-netting schemes, and the third a partial-netting scheme with variable netted network charges. The results reveal that partial-netting policies with shorter timeframes of rolling credits and higher grid charges offer advantages that can be utilized for effective net-metering policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The price effect of the rising share of renewable electricity, which is called ‘merit-order-effect’, leads to noticeable changes in the German power industry and debates about the electricity market design. This paper estimates the merit-order-effect induced by variable renewable energy in the German-Austrian electricity sector with a multivariate regression model. The research focus lies on the impact of the estimated effects on the marketability of variable renewable electricity generation. The results show a systematic decline of the average market revenues for wind and photovoltaic plants in the period from January 2011 to December 2013. Current market data shows a continuation of this trend into 2016. According to the German long term goals for the use of renewables, wind and solar power will play a crucial role in the future electricity generation mix. If investments in these technologies will be profitable without any regulatory remuneration mechanisms in addition to the market revenues, depends on the further cost degression and the development of the merit-order-effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the cost effectiveness of wind energy policy options by using a cost–benefit analysis approach. In comparison with other studies, the main contribution of this paper is the use of real financial and operational information of 318 wind projects in Spain between 2006 and 2013. The projects represent 83% of total new wind capacity additions in Spain during the 2006–2013 period. Under real market conditions, it is found that the most cost effective option for promoting wind energy development from the government perspective is to use an investment credit policy given the capital intensive nature of wind technology. The analysis shows that an investment credit yields similar results as other policy options like feed-in tariffs and feed-in premiums, but at a cheaper cost and with less risk to the taxpayers or electricity consumers because costs do not fluctuate with electricity market prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]