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This paper deals with improving the feed-in tariff policy for green energy advancement in Ukraine's households based on assessing the economic efficiency of investment project implementation under the current state support mechanisms. This study was conducted for solar and wind power plants with different installed capacities. The Levelized Cost of Electricity and the payback period for such power plants were calculated considering the ongoing feed-in tariffs and discount rates determined by various equity and debt capital ratios. The results showed that the state support provides attractive payback periods for solar and wind power plants with an installed capacity of ≥30 kW. In comparison, 5 kW solar power plants and wind power plants with a capacity of up to 10 kW are not paid off during the power plants' lifecycle. It confirmed that the ongoing energy policy in Ukraine's residential sector is still designed to obtain profits by the owners of generating facilities by selling the excess electricity. In the meantime, its main goal—providing households energy independence—has been levelled. To resolve the issues caused by such a state support model, a methodical approach to improve the feed-in tariff calculation is proposed. In addition, recommendations for reconsidering other policy measures to ensure effective renewable energy development in the residential sector have been made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of renewable energy sources is one of the measures that have had a significant contribution in reducing greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring sustainable development. Hence, this necessitates the need to ensure a sustainable national socio-economic development pathway that supports low emissions through the development and use of renewable energy. This paper analyses data from a systematic review that was conducted to understand how research is approaching the state of public policies of renewable energy and climate change in Tanzania. The review screened more than 500 published papers and unpublished reports containing 120 unique studies related to renewable energy, climate change and sustainable development. Results indicate that renewable energy sources have the potential of contributing to the reduction of about two-thirds of the total global energy carbon dioxide emission. The results further indicate that renewable energy may save carbon dioxide for the range of global cumulative savings of about 220-560 GtCO2 in the period 2010-2050. The results also show that Tanzania has targeted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by between 30% and 35% by 2030. Thus, more appropriate renewable energy policies would enable the country to further efficiently contribute to the global goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while achieving its sustainable development. This underscores the need for Tanzania to adopt appropriate policies for the utilisation of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro and geothermal energy for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, while achieving its sustainable development goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iran is situated in a wind belt. However, the installed wind capacity in Iran is around 300 MW, which is minuscule compared with the global 651 GW capacity as of 2021. Using novel data from wind trackers across Iran, the paper's findings show immense potential for wind energy in Iran from a technical perspective. While attractive policies are already in place to incentivize wind energy development in Iran, the feed-in tariff (FiT) for wind energy has dropped to around 3 cents per kWh because of the sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial between 2018 and 2020. This paper shows that there is no economic justification for the development of wind farms in Iran at such low FiTs. A minimum FiT of 12 cents per kWh is required to reinvigorate Iran's wind energy industry investments. Given the extremely tight fiscal space of the Iranian government due to the sanctions and consequently reduced oil exports, the paper argues that a mere 2.14% of Iran's wasteful fossil fuel subsidies are sufficient to provide a FiT of 12 cents per kWh for wind energy to meet 5% of the country's total electricity demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity is by far the most valuable energy commodity for households; hence, it is of the utmost importance for national regulatory authorities and the European Commission (EC) to guarantee affordable and unimpeded access for European citizens to this vital social good. The existing academic literature mainly focuses on the effect of specific renewable energy resources (RES), such as solar, wind, etc., on electricity prices, thus neglecting the crucial impact of the electricity market structure. In an effort to fill this gap, the present paper attempts to clarify whether the real effect of the share of total renewable energy production in the generation scheme and certain electricity market liberalization indices constitute key determinants of household electricity prices. The study is further innovative on the grounds that the empirical analysis utilizes both static and dynamic panel methodologies for a dataset including several variables introduced for the first time in academia. The dataset consists of yearly observations regarding 26 EU countries for a time horizon from 2003 until 2019. The econometric outcomes revealed the complex relationship between RES deployment and generation concentration with the level of household electricity prices. In contrast, the deregulation of the retail market and especially the presence of many retailers with a market share exceeding 5% can benefit European consumers by reducing electricity prices. Additionally, the relative costs concerning the outward-orientation of the economy and the power system's upgrade were found to be transferred to the final electricity price. The opposite applies to environmental taxes, allowing European governments to accumulate considerable funds for ecological and environmental protection actions. Lastly, due to the estimated slow adjustment rate of electricity prices, policymakers are advised to develop long-term strategic energy planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of the enthusiasm for green energy, previously contested energy and mining projects can be framed as part of a green transition. When state authorities decide to forego the standard procedural protections and the processes and forums for deliberation and local influence, it contributes to constructing green sacrifice zones. This paper compares two Swedish energy policy processes. The first is occurred during World War II and the hydropower expansion of the 1940s and 1950s. The second takes place today when wind power is expanding to increase renewable energy production. In Sweden, policymaking seems to be back to square one in the green transition, leaving out both important knowledge of the past and contemporary voices of the ongoing and probable consequences. In certain issues, such as how the recognition of the Indigenous status of the Sámi actually affects the legislative process and how to address the Indigenous rights of the Sámi, policymaking is particularly slow to adapt. The green transition industry is already affecting the Sámi, as the construction of the Nordic welfare society has done during the last century, and still does. It deepens an ongoing colonial wave that started in the 1300s. By showing how the Swedish legislative process, historically as well as currently, has neglected to involve Sámi representatives, this study points to the importance and obligation of Swedish policymaking to engage Sámi representatives in an early phase to avoid further sacrifice zones in Sápmi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the application of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) for evaluating what technologies using renewable energy sources (RES) for electricity production have the chance to develop in Poland under the current socio-economic conditions. First, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was used to determine the weights of the optimization criteria. Five main criteria and 30 sub-criteria were identified. Next, the authors modified numerical taxonomy (NT) to rank eight RES technologies (such as onshore and offshore wind farms, photovoltaics, or biogas plants). The results show that offshore wind farms are the RES technology with the greatest development opportunities in Poland. The following three technologies: distributed photovoltaic energy, biogas plants, and biomass power plants, respectively, received a similar rating in the ranking. Hydropower and geothermal were the lowest-ranked technologies. The ranking, which is the result of multi-criteria analysis, in several respects, is significantly different from the directions of activities indicated in the state energy policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last 10 years Brazil has accelerated the incorporation of new wind capacity into its power matrix. This situation has generated the need for increased transport capacity. However, there have been delays in the planning process for new transmission line construction, thus inducing trapped electricity in the system; in other words, electricity that cannot be dispatched to the interconnected system. Using system dynamics modelling, this paper assesses energy policy alternatives for improving the synchronisation between the construction of both power generation and transmission capacities. Simulation results show that policy synchronisation within the wind industry may provide important opportunities regarding security of supply. This paper concludes that in Brazil's case it is possible to attain a balance between wind power expansion and interconnection capacity through synchronised and systemic interventions. • Power systems require a sustainable balance between supply and demand. • Wind power industry could be affected by energy policy fragmentation. • This article assesses alternative policy options to contribute to the existing literature on grid congestion. • New insights on the synchronisation of energy policies for the wind industry expansion is offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on socio‐technical transitions analyses multi‐scale, nonlinear changes in societal systems, but has tended to ignore the geography of these changes. This paper addresses this gap by focusing on a geographical periphery, rather than on the urban core, and considers a transition–periphery framework to provide a way to conceptualise and examine the dynamics of resource peripheries within a socio‐technical transition. The concepts of socio‐technical transitions and resource peripheries have been connected in previous work examining wind energy projects in Scotland. This study extends that work by refining its framework, explicitly drawing from the concept of peripheralisation as a process, and applying the framework to a wider set of contexts. The focus of peripheralisation is on the processes involved in creating peripheries rather than simply the periphery as a geographic location. This attention to peripheralisation uncovers the multi‐dimensional, relational, and multi‐scalar relationships and processes of the dynamics within resource peripheries during a socio‐technical transition. This paper draws on a set of energy policy case study sites in Scotland, including the North Yell Tidal Scheme, the proposed Shetland interconnector, and the Cruachan and Coire Glas Pumped Hydro schemes. It argues that transition–periphery dynamics are an effective analytical tool for understanding the geographically uneven multi‐scalar dynamics created as socio‐technical transitions occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of wind power has gained prominence on the world stage, especially in Brazil. In addition to generating energy free of emissions, wind technology is the second cheapest generation option in Brazil. At the same time, it has contributed to reducing hydrological vulnerability caused by climate variation. Although wind power has experienced a steady expansion in the last decade, recent poor outcomes of wind auctions produced uncertainty about the future of this technology in the country. This paper analyses the influence of contract mechanisms used in Brazilian energy auctions for the growth of wind generation. To do this, a scenario analysis based on a hybrid simulation model is used, combining agent-based modelling (ABM) and system dynamics (SD). From the hybrid simulation, the effect of the wind project cancellation policy is analysed, on the one hand, and different ceiling prices for competing sources in the auctions are assessed, on the other. Moreover, the simulation model shows how hydro conditions affect reserve energy auctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a discussion on the paper titled “Assessing feed-in tariffs on wind power installation and industry development in Taiwan” published by Hsu et al. In the discussed paper, there were several missing variables in the historical test of the system dynamics (SD) model, and thus the test was not integrated and valid. Additionally, the simulated results of the missing variables were used as important indexes to observe the behavior of the SD model. Therefore, it was highly likely that the solution and related policy analysis based on the simulated results were incorrect. Accordingly, the present study illustrated the structure characteristics of the SD model with respect to the fore-mentioned problems, discussed the reason for missing variables and proposed a method to assess whether or not the historical test was integrated. Finally, after a careful analysis, this study offered suggestions to perfect the historical test proposed in the discussed paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty alleviation and environmental improvement are two important targets which most developing countries try to achieve. In order to promote the poverty alleviation by using clean energy sources, this paper develops a joint poverty alleviation project including the green energy investment company (GEIC), solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant (SPP) and wind power plant (WPP). By using a tripartite evolutionary game model, evolutionary stable strategies are evaluated. Influence estimate results of key factors show that longer annual operation time and higher on-grid electricity price will increase the participating intention of all the three participators. The government should increase the on-grid electricity price of the SPP properly, but control that of the WPP as the joint poverty alleviation project can also progress well even with relatively low on-grid electricity price of the WPP. A reasonable investment ratio of the SPP and WPP is the guarantee for the smooth development of the joint poverty alleviation project. In this study, the investment ratio of the SPP and WPP of 6:4 is relatively proper and can make the three participators all have relatively high increasing rates of participating intention simultaneously. The results will be of reference value for formulating relevant governmental policies on the poverty alleviation and clean energy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind energy, which is a clean energy source and does not disrupt the natural balance, is today's one of the most popular renewable energy sources. In this paper, the factors which are utilized to determine a suitable site for wind farms have been analyzed by using the FUCOM (Full Consistency Method) method which is a relatively new subjective weighting method. FUCOM is a linear programming-based method and needs less pairwise comparisons than other weighting methods. The evaluation model in the study takes three main dimensions and twelve factors into consideration. The findings showed that the preference of a wind farm site depends largely on the wind potential and distance from residential areas. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis was performed to demonstrate the consistency and usefulness of the suggested method. The results of this study could be used to determine the wind energy policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Comprehensive review on individual and hybrid wind-solar energy policy. • Evolution and current status of Indian wind and solar energy policy framework. • Techno-economic parameters for the hybridization of wind and solar power projects. • Barriers and recommendation regarding renewable energy policies. Wind and solar energy are currently the most prominent and reliable sources of renewable energy. Wind and solar power deployment largely depend on government policies and have a specific policy and regulatory provisions. The declaration of hybrid wind–solar policy has changed the dynamics of individual wind and solar power projects by introducing the scope for developing hybrid power projects to harness wind and solar energy simultaneously. The techno-economic structure and the existing scenarios of the fractional contribution of wind and solar sectors are going to play an important role in the development of hybrid power projects. This paper aims to present a comprehensive review of the impact of the existing individual wind and solar energy policies along with the recently declared hybrid policy in India and how this hybrid policy will affect the techno-economic structure of the existing and new power projects. Further, various kind of barriers faced by project developers while establishing renewable energy-based power projects and recommendations which can be practically implemented have been elaborated to facilitate and achieve the faster deployment of wind and solar power generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an approach to analyze the economic feasibility of offshore wind energy under influences of government financial subsidies, dynamic weather conditions (including typhoon), taxation, expectation of investor, optimal maintenance schedule, generated electricity under real weather conditions, and benefits from reduction of CO 2 emission. Economic criteria are calculated and used to assess efficiency of the government financial subsidies. This paper further proposes more appropriate subsidies for the government in term of satisfying both of investor’s expectation and the government’s target. In the case of Taiwan, government has been currently adopting Feed-in-tariff (FIT) subsidy and offering subsidy on capital cost to promote the development of offshore wind system. However, the currently applied subsidy on capital cost is not attractive enough for the investors and the current FIT subsidy is applied equally for all regions of Taiwan regardless the distinct conditions of each region. This paper proposes a more appropriate subsidy for capital cost, and suggests establishing regional FIT subsidy to subsidize differently for different regions. The results indicate that the proposed subsidy for capital cost and the proposed regional FIT subsidy are more appropriate to promote the expansion of offshore wind system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The consumption of fossil fuel has resulted in global warming, environmental pollution, and many other crucial problems. Replacing fossil fuel with renewable energy has become an important issue over the recent decades. As a renewable clean energy, wind power is a relatively well‐developed and promising energy method for current technology development in China. Under the background of growing demand for electricity and enhancing awareness for environmental, the “Internet+ wind power” concept has emerged based on both the wind power's characteristics that renewable and non‐polluting, and the rapid development of the Internet in China. Through querying an amount of literature and information, this paper reveals the resource endowment and policy environment about wind power and energy Internet at first. Then, the PEST‐SWOT strategy analysis model is used to analyze the internalities (strengths and weaknesses) and the externalities (opportunities and threats) of “Internet+ wind power”. According to these results, the paper puts forward some measures (development and utilization, business mode) for wind power accommodation. Then some policy recommendations have been proposed. The government should provide favorable conditions for wind power grid with the “Internet+” technology innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently China's wind power industry is challenged by many problems such as wind power integration and wind curtailment, which seriously hinders the development of onshore wind power. Since China's policy has a direct and significant influence on wind power industry, it is vital to analyze and evaluate published policies. This paper explores in detail 134 China's onshore wind power policies from 2005 to 2015 so as to provide analytical support for future formulation and implementation of wind power policy. Based on policy summary from equipment manufacturing industry, wind farms and power grid industry, this paper evaluates the policies from the perspective of overall plan, support policy and policy implementation using fitting method, game theory and empirical analysis. The results indicate that China's wind policy is gradually becoming perfected, for example, there are more reasonable objectives and improved support policies. However, many problems remain to be solved, like unreasonable planning, imperfect support policies, immature trading systems and uncoordinated actions among interest related parties. Furthermore, combined with international experiences, suggestions on improving China's wind power policy are proposed from seven aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investments in energy sector are usually long term processes both in construction and exploitation phase, and therefore require many conditions to be satisfied, mostly from legislative and technical sector. While the legislative can change in accordance with economy activities in the country, technical data (on-site measurements) which are the main base for energy facility design, need to be reliable as much as possible. Wind energy has a significant global potential which exceeds the world's electrical energy consumptions. This paper presents the estimation of wind energy potentials in Montenegro, based on all previous available studies in this field. The wind energy potential in Montenegro is based on a combination of 3-D numerical simulations of wind fields on the entire territory, and comprehensive on-site measurements. The preliminary studies show that there is a potential of areas with high and mean values of a capacity factor about 400 MW, and annual production of 900 GWh of electric energy. The share of wind parks in the total installed power in Montenegro is planned to be about 8%, while an adequate ratio of wind parks in an annual production from renewable sources (large hydro power plants are included here) is estimated to be 11.4%. The paper presents the current state of art in the field of building of wind parks in Montenegro. A particular attention was paid to the legislation framework and strategic documents in the energy area in Montenegro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today the global energy industry is undergoing major changes shifting towards the green growth and circular economy solutions. The paper offers the outcomes of the foresight study of the Russian renewable energy sector and focuses on three areas: converting solar energy into electricity; converting wind energy into electricity; and converting biomass into thermal energy and electricity. The goal of the study was to foresee and agree on the visionary future for the nascent renewable energy sector in the country, as well as to provide the scientifically justified grounds for government and corporate decision-makers. The research is based on a mixture of methods: bibliometric analysis and text mining, literature review, expert surveys and interviews, workshops, STEEPV analysis of trends, scenario analysis, and applied policy analysis. As a result of the study, major trends and uncertainties that may affect the Russian and global renewable energy sector in the next 15–20 years were identified. Other results include the scenarios for Russia's renewable energy sector that are proposed together with recommendations for the Russian companies and public authorities. The study's policy and market implications go beyond Russia: the outcomes may be useful for similar studies, early stage renewable energy policy planning and investment decision. • The foresight study of the Russian renewable energy sector is presented. • The focus is on solar, wind and biomass energy production until 2035. • Four scenarios of the Russian renewable energy sector are discussed. • Recommendations may be used in research, policy planning and investment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, there are many technologies to supply buildings with heat, cooling and electricity as well as technologies for energy storage. With regard to the energy transition, it is needed to switch the energy supply to renewable resources, to apply energy storage to balance the volatile resources available and to link the different energy sectors with each other. However, the current structure of taxes and levies does not lead to the application of corresponding energy systems. The motivation of this research work is on the one hand to investigate the influence of current regulation, taxes and charges on energy carriers on building energy systems. Furthermore, the aim is to show which regulatory approaches represent the most cost-effective solutions for energy supply that lead to carbon dioxide (CO 2) neutrality and also to the use of energy storage systems. A mixed-integer linear programming is used to optimise the different supply components considering variable electricity tariffs. The perspective of the analysis is on the individual building. Since the use of district heating is not an individual economic decision and district heating plays a minor role apart from e.g. some northern European countries, it was not considered in the studies presented here. In the studies, technologies for the use and storage of renewable energy were considered that can be integrated into individual buildings and are subject to an individual economic decision. Technologies that cannot be integrated into buildings but are essential for the energy transition, such as wind energy, are integrated indirectly via the flexible electricity price determined by the merit order. Here, government forecasts and scenarios as well as various concepts for the taxation of energy sources had been considered. A new method for the estimation of investment costs between 2015 and 2050 is developed and applied. The paper shows how an optimal building energy supply would look like under changed legal framework conditions as well as different tax burdens and reliefs. The paper concludes with a series of inference s and recommendations for adapted regulation to achieve the goals of defossilisation of the building sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Korea's new energy transition policy was declared in 2017 as citizen demand grew for solutions to safety problems caused by successive earthquakes affecting areas with many nuclear power plants in 2016 and 2017 as well as health problems caused by coal-fired power plants contributing to high condensable particulate matter in spring. This policy focuses on both a reduction in nuclear and coal-fired power plants and further development of eco-friendly and sustainable power generation and supply. The South Korean government is thus planning a large-scale transition toward improved energy efficiency as well as safe and clean energy sources. Its announced goal is to supply a 20% share of renewable energy in the national energy mix, including 37 GW of photovoltaic power, 3 GW of onshore wind power, and 13 GW of offshore wind power by 2030; the latter is expected to play a strategic role in the Renewable Energy 2030 plan. As South Korea's geographic conditions enable large-scale offshore wind farm projects that are relatively free from complaints and visual effects caused by transportation, installation, noise, vibration, and damage to natural environments, it is highly likely that wind power will become one of the nation's major renewable electricity sources. This paper discusses the potential for developing offshore wind farm projects in South Korea with particular focus on analyzing offshore resources and reviewing government policies and support programs that could limit or otherwise challenge the deployment of such projects, with further considerations of policy choices that could improve the deployment of offshore wind power. As the greatest hindrances to offshore wind power development are frequently-changed government policies and support programs, the adoption of consistent, stable, and efficient guidelines and supports would be most beneficial for meeting South Korea's goals of increased offshore wind energy supplies. • A broader approach to analyze the S. Korea's offshore wind energy policy, regulatory frameworks, supports and supply chain. • An overview of the offshore wind energy potentials and the current projects in South Korea. • Identifies the key barriers faced by the offshore wind energy industry. • Emphasizes the importance of the government's policy development to achieve the offshore wind power deployment target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides a complete and reliable ranking to the states of India in the renewable energy generation arena. The methodology adopted in the article rests on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). One of the recently developed super-efficiency DEA formulations is integrated with a procedure to allow for non-discretionary input variables. The integration may fail to be feasible in certain cases. To deal with infeasibility, a heuristics is proposed. Using a simulation, it is demonstrated that the approach yields complete and fairly reliable rankings in the vast majority of the cases. Tamil Nadu appears as the leader followed by Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh are the laggards. Rankings will be useful for policy-makers in identifying the leaders and the laggards in the renewable energy sector, and hence, for fine tuning the policies to promote better renewable energy deployment. Rankings will also be helpful for investors in the sector by providing them with a simple tool to identify lucrative investment options. The approach is fairly generalizable to many other practical cases. Image 1 • Super-efficiency DEA model is amalgamated with non-discretionary input model. • A heuristics is used to avoid infeasibility; its efficacy is shown via simulation. • Indian states are ranked based on performance in renewable energy sector. • Tamil Nadu appears as the leader and Madhya Pradesh as the laggard. • Further application is demonstrated by providing ranks to countries in wind energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid growth of China׳s installed wind power capacity in recent years is closely related to the wind energy policies issued by the Chinese government. Using content analysis and quantitative analysis methods, this paper studies the historical evolution of Chinese wind energy policies. Based on 72 wind energy policies issued in the past two decades (1995–2014), this paper analyzes the issuing organization, form, number and stringency of wind energy policies and compares different policy instruments in two periods. The results show that the number and stringency of wind energy policies fluctuated greatly from 1995 to 2014 and that more than twenty organizations had independently or jointly issued the policies. The main organization issuing wind energy policies, however, is the department that controls key economic and administrative resources and not the one that is in charge of wind energy. Of the 72 policies issued, twenty-three took the form of notices, and eleven were measures. As to the policy instrument, environmental policies are most widely applied by the Chinese government, and “regulation control” and “goal-planning” instruments are the ones most frequently adopted. Furthermore, the application of supply- and demand-type policies is inadequate, and few effective instruments have been adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to assess the viability of wind energy projects in China, this paper takes a real options approach by accounting for flexibility over deployment of the technology in response to a stochastic non-renewable energy cost. The difference between the latter and the R&D-enhanced cost of renewable energy operation may be thought of as a benefit from using wind. On the other hand, the Chinese government provides feed-in tariffs to encourage further adoption of wind, which should be included as a cost. This work, thus, shows that there is substantial options value to China's wind energy program, which is bolstered if the cost of carbon dioxide emissions is internalized. Moreover, by varying the rate of feed-in tariffs, the model may be used to show plausible ranges for the feed-in tariffs, which could be a useful policy insight. Furthermore, the study hypothesizes that with the likelihood of renewable energy to replace non-renewable energy, wind power in China can potentially reduce CO 2 emissions by approximately 6.4% by 2020 comparing to the 2005 level and highlights the significant role of wind power in China's emission targets and energy security. This is a relevant paper, especially given the importance of a sustainable energy transition for China. More generally, using the real options approach from a policy perspective could provide insights about the viability of renewable energy programs and robustness of feed-in tariffs rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an enquiry into the role of State policies in influencing wind installed capacity. The paper studies the impact of policies on deployment of wind potential across the States of India over two decades. Aggregate indices are computed for each of the seven wind resourceful States of India indicating attractiveness for installed capacity of wind energy. For computing the indices, four policies, Feed-in-Tariff, Renewable Purchase Obligation, Banking facility, and Wheeling charges are considered. Panel data techniques are then employed to investigate the impact of the policy differences on wind potential deployment over the 19 year period (1993–2012) after controlling for three State-specific factors. The controlling factors include per-capita income of the State, power deficit, and ratio of installed capacity of wind to geographic potential indicating unmet capacity. The results show that that policy index positively impacts wind deployment whether control variables are included or not. Moreover, the control factors like the per-capita income of the State and unmet capacity have positive influence over the investment in wind energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limiting the negative effects of human-induced global warming is the focus of climate policy worldwide. In the European Union (EU), the target for reaching carbon neutrality is set to 2050, including a proposed renewable energy target of 45% for 2030. In Finland, the government has pledged to reach net-zero emissions already by 2035, which is expected to require large increases in wind and nuclear capacity, as well as sector coupling with, e.g., transport and heating. In view of these plans, this study evaluates the feasibility of attaining carbon neutrality in Finland by 2035, while considering delays from potential bottlenecks, such as limited raw material availability, fuel availability, manufacturing capacity, and import reliance. The literature review highlights the considerable dependence of renewable technologies on critical raw materials and other minerals, largely imported from non-EU countries. Modelling revealed how increased biomass usage considerably reduces the size of national carbon sinks, vital for reaching net-zero emissions in Finland in the coming decade. In light of this, current climate strategy was shown to be partially outdated and short of reaching carbon neutrality by 2035, already without including potential delays from the analyzed bottlenecks. Subsequently, alternative measures to improve sustainability and reduce emissions are presented. The findings of this paper are also relevant for other countries aiming to reach net-zero emissions, especially for those which have climate strategies emphasizing bioenergy and wind power. [Display omitted] • Raw material and manufacturing bottlenecks can delay renewable implementation. • Maintaining carbon sinks critical for climate neutral Finland in 2035. • Limits to biomass usage are needed, but result in adverse industrial impacts. • Further nuclear capacity needed for 2035 climate target and electricity sufficiency. • Finland will rely on electricity imports in 2035, despite plans to become exporter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper analyzes the drivers of wind power development in the United States, focusing on government renewable energy incentives and access to the electricity grid. The effects of wind capacity, electricity transmission line coverage and grid regulation, as well as state and federal subsidies from 1998 to 2007 are estimated via random effects Tobit, Probit, and ordinary least squares instrumental variables regression. The results indicate that the federal production tax credit, state-level sales tax credit and production incentives play an important role in promoting wind power. In addition, higher wind power penetration levels can be achieved by bringing more parts of the electricity transmission grid under independent system operator regulation. This paper concludes that state and federal government policies play a significant role in wind power development both by providing financial support and by improving physical and procedural access to the electricity grid. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper aims to advance research into the effectiveness of policies for encouraging technological transition in the energy sector (in general) and wind power (in particular). It contends that the ineffectiveness of wind power development policy in most nations stems from a linear approach to policy design that is unsuited to complex adaptive markets. The paper argues that in complex adaptive markets, policies are required that foster competition on a level playing field. Insights are extracted from complexity theory to advance four principles for effective wind power policy in such markets. These principles include establishing policy initiatives to: encourage technological diversity, establish clear and progressive short to medium-term targets, enhance environmental monitoring systems and establish a malleable policy regime that directly resolves emergent challenges while simultaneously sustaining market momentum to ensure long-term targets are met. In order to demonstrate the applied relevance of these principles, the paper applies these concepts to a historical analysis of Denmark''s wind power development policies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The matching between random wind supply and electric vehicle (EV) charging demand can reduce the requirement of traditional power sources and the emission of CO2. This problem is of great practical interest but involves system dynamics in multiple timescales. We consider this an important problem in this paper. In order to capture the randomness in the wind supply and EV charging demand, we formulate the problem as a bilevel Markov decision process. At the upper level, the charging demand of EVs in different locations is aggregated into multiple aggregators. The system operator dispatches power among the aggregators in a coarse timescale to maximize the wind power utilization. At the lower level, the aggregator schedules the charging process of individual EVs at a finer timescale to minimize the charging cost. In order to solve this large-scale problem, a bilevel simulation-based policy improvement (SBPI) method is developed. It is mathematically proved that the SBPI can improve from base policies in both levels. The performance of this multi-timescale and bilevel coordination approach is demonstrated through case studies in the city of Beijing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper measures the policy effectiveness of power purchasing agreements, capital grants, tax incentives, preferential loans, and research, development, and demonstrations for photovoltaic (PV) and wind power development in the member countries of the European Union (EU). The empirical findings confirm that the feed-in tariff is more efficient than renewable portfolio standards (RPS) for PV and wind power development, although RPS does have an effect on wind power development. However, the other economic instruments are all inefficient for PV development but are efficient for wind power development, except for tax incentives. Moreover, the economic growth required, serious financial deficits, and dependence on imported energy that discourage PV development are unrelated to wind power development. The energy intensity of the economy will have a negative impact on both PV and wind power development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since wind energy is rapidly growing, new wind farms are installed worldwide and a discussion is going on concerning the optimal political framework to promote this development. In this paper, we present a wind energy index, which is supportive for wind farm planners, operators, and policy-makers. Based on long-term and low-scale reanalysis wind speed data from MERRA and true production data, it can predict the expected wind energy production for every location and turbine type. After an in-sample and out-of-sample evaluation of the index performance, it is applied to assess the wind energy potential of locations in Germany, to compare different turbine types, and to derive the required compensation in terms of locally different feed-in tariffs. We show that in many parts of South Germany, profitability of new wind farms cannot be achieved given the current legal situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acceptance plays an important role in the successful adoption of wind energy technology. This article identifies factors influencing the acceptance of wind energy and selects those factors which have the highest relevance for wind energy acceptance in Bavaria. We decided to analyze the Federal State of Bavaria in Germany as its current policy governance decelerates the building-up of wind turbines in this federal state. Using a qualitative approach, the results indicate that the perception of political processes, such as the recent enacting of the 10-H regulation in Bavaria, influences the acceptance towards wind energy, as trust and transparency in political processes are essential. In addition, the paper reveals the importance of the distributive justice, focusing in particular on the subitem envy, which can be considered on a neighboring or regional level. Additionally it reveals additional factors which are relevant for wind energy acceptance in the specific case of the analyzed federal state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offshore wind energy generation has experienced an important growth in the last five years, reaching currently an installed capacity of almost 8000 MW. The most important references in this type of technology are Denmark, Holland, Sweden, Germany and United Kingdom. In Spain, previsions for technology, have been set at around 750 MW of installed power during the period 2011–2020. However, Spanish coastal features, social opposition to installations near the coast and lack of a stable regulatory environment guaranteeing the investments are factors which are restraining the development of this technology. This paper presents a brief review of the state of the art of offshore wind technology and it describes the most frequently used types of turbines, transmission systems and support structures in Europe. It also presents the current situation and the expected growth of offshore wind power facilities, introducing the characteristics of the operational – and under construction – windfarms. Finally, it analyses particular problems and solutions for its development in Spain which can be extrapolated to countries with similar circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of offshore wind power is becoming increasingly important towards a sustainable growth worldwide. In Italy, as well as in other countries where wind energy is provided only by onshore plants, the interest in the deployment of offshore wind resources is rapidly growing, despite relatively modest average wind speeds, compared to typical wind conditions in the North Sea. Research efforts have, so far, addressed the exploration of the most promising locations, based on wind characteristics; however, more extended evidence of technical and economic feasibility is now needed to raise awareness in the decision makers and secure to this source of renewable energy a proper role in the future energy policies. Within such a context, the paper presents the first feasibility study for the development of an offshore wind farm off the coast of Rimini, in the Northern Adriatic Sea. The study is based on an anemometric campaign started at the site in 2008 to provide a statistical assessment of the wind characteristics and the related wind energy potential, and on a 10-year wave measurement record next to the area, together with a thorough analysis of the site geological and environmental characteristics. Environmental data are interpreted with a proper consideration of the extreme events distribution and relevant results are used to select the most appropriate commercially available wind turbine and to design the site-specific support structure. A comprehensive evaluation of the investment costs and revenues is then carried out with reference to two wind farm layouts (a first smaller, constituted of 15 elements, and another one, featuring up to 60 elements) and in relation to two different scenarios, conservative and comparatively more realistic. Results of the study clearly show that the Northern Adriatic Sea is potentially suitable for the development of a large wind farm and should encourage investments on more advanced experimental campaigns and related studies in order to prove the feasibility of innovative technological solutions that would substantially increase the profitability of such installation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expansion of renewable energies in Germany is strongly associated with decentralization of energy provision. In the case of wind energy there are especially strong regional-level spatial, technical, economic, and social ramifications of this energy source. In addition to differing natural conditions and the strong push from the federal feed-in tariffs, policies and initiatives at the state, county, and municipal level need to be considered when explaining the pattern of wind energy expansion across time and space and to improve the coordination of multi-level energy policies. This paper uses panel regressions at the level of German counties from 2001 to 2012 to explore the growth of wind power capacity. Based on the estimates obtained, we then analyze counterfactual scenarios in which factors influenced by the regional (county) level are varied individually. Our focus is on party policy preferences and coalitions on the one hand, and the unemployment rate on the other. While strict causality is difficult to establish, our results reveal heterogeneous incentives between states, within states, and between different county types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Since 2005, there has been dramatic progress in China''s wind power industry. The annual growth rate of newly constructed capacity reached a miracle of 105% and the total installed capacity has increased from 1.27GW in 2005 to 44.73GW in 2010, which has exceeded the target of China''s energy long-term planning for 2020. During the 11th Five-Year-Plan (FYP), the Chinese government has issued a series of polices to promote and regulate the development of wind power industry, which is the underlying force driving its rapid development. This paper is a systematical review on the current status and policies of wind power industry in China. Firstly the current status including achievements and shortcomings is presented, and then the relevant polices and regulations released during the period of 11th FYP are reviewed. Meanwhile, the main approaches of the policies and regulations in promoting the development of wind power industry are discussed and the issues of the current policies are analyzed. Finally, the paper concludes on the perspectives of wind power policies in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The current conventional approach to determining the primary energy associated with non-combustible renewable energy (RE) sources such as wind energy and hydro power is to equate the electricity generated from these sources with the primary energy supply. This paper compares this with an approach that was formerly used by the IEA, in which the primary energy equivalent attributed to renewable energy was equated with the fossil fuel energy it displaces. Difficulties with implementing this approach in a meaningful way for international comparisons lead to most international organisations abandoning the primary energy equivalent methodology. It has recently re-emerged in prominence however, as efforts grow to develop baseline procedures for quantifying the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions avoided by renewable energy within the context of the Kyoto Protocol credit trading mechanisms. This paper discusses the primary energy equivalent approach and in particular the distinctions between displacing fossil fuel energy in existing plant or in new plant. The approach is then extended provide insight into future primary energy displacement by renewable energy and to quantify the amount of CO 2 emissions avoided by renewable energy. The usefulness of this approach in quantifying the benefits of renewable energy is also discussed in an energy policy context, with regard to increasing security of energy supply as well as reducing energy-related GHG (and other) emissions. The approach is applied in a national context and Ireland is case study country selected for this research. The choice of Ireland is interesting in two respects. The first relates to the high proportion of electricity only fossil fuel plants in Ireland resulting in a significant variation between primary energy and primary energy equivalent. The second concerns Ireland's poor performance to date in limiting GHG emissions in line with its Kyoto target and points to the need for techniques to quantify the potential contribution of renewable energy in achieving the target set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the simultaneous scheduling of electrical vehicles and responsive loads to reduce operation cost and emission in presence of wind and PV powers in microgrid. In the proposed method, the electrical vehicles are used for peak shaving and load curve modification while the responsive loads are employed to supply the reserves needed to compensate the intrinsic uncertainties of wind and PV powers. Furthermore, a developed two-stage model is proposed to determine the expected operation cost of microgrid (energy and reserve). In the first stage, the generation and reserve power costs are minimized while in the second stage, the costs associated with unit scheduling changes resulting from wind and PV power variations are minimized. The proposed model is implemented in a microgrid with various distributed generations. The simulation results have shown that the incorporation of electrical vehicles and responsive loads leads to decrease the system operation costs and emissions while the uncertainties related to wind and PV are compensated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impacts of uncertainties in U.S. renewable energy policy on the investment decisions of renewable electricity producers. We develop and solve a dynamic optimization model to understand how investment in wind energy depends on market and policy uncertainties. These uncertainties include the federal government’s uncertain decision about the continuation of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) policy and the stochasticity of prices in the market for Renewable Electricity Credits (RECs). Our results show that investors require higher REC prices to invest without the PTC policy. Results contribute to our understanding of how policy uncertainty affects the profitability threshold required for investors to commit to renewable energy projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the problem of generation expansion planning and the integration of an increasing share of renewable energy sources (RES) technologies in the power grid. A survey of papers addressing the use of optimization models for electricity generation planning is presented. From this, an electricity planning model able to integrate thermal and RES power plants was proposed. An analysis of different electricity scenarios for a mixed hydro–thermal–wind power system is presented using the proposed mixed integer optimization model. The results show the importance of these tools to support the strategic energy policy decision making under different regulatory or political scenarios. The expected impacts in terms of costs and CO 2 emissions are evaluated for a 10 year planning period, and a set of optimal scenarios is analyzed. The use of the model to obtain and characterize close to optimal scenarios is shown to be strategically useful. In particular the impact of different wind power scenarios is addressed, demonstrating the relevance of assessing other possible strategies that, despite not being original Pareto solutions, may be worth considering by the decision makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the Malaysian government has attempted to develop renewable energy (RE) through newly introduced regulatory supports after 30 years of failure to achieve a greater than one percent non-hydroelectric RE share in the total power mix. The government is currently assessing the onshore wind energy potential in Malaysia to determine the possibility of including wind energy in its FiT scheme. However, wind energy development in this low-energy location is not as straightforward as it would seem. Many previous wind studies in Malaysia have relied on poor data and simplistic or inadequate methodologies, resulting in grossly inaccurate estimates of wind potential. Moreover, two wind turbine generator demonstration projects executed by the government have failed. However, above all, the greatest factor impairing the progress of RE development in Malaysia is the weak and uncertain political support of these efforts. This lack of robust support is particularly true where fossil fuels are still heavily subsidised amid the subsidy reform in 2013. A review of global wind energy development shows that successful projects depend heavily on a sound and robust regulatory framework supported by strong and consistent political will. This dependence is not observed in Malaysia, where the government continues to subsidise private independent fossil fuel power producers but levies taxes on electricity consumers to fund RE development. These levies do not effectively support RE development, given the magnitude of the RE fund compared to fossil fuel subsidies. In the absence of strong and sincere political will, the progress of RE development in Malaysia has been notably slow. As a result, the prospect of wind energy development in Malaysia currently remains vague. This paper discusses the above issues in detail and recommends selected regulatory mechanisms based on the global experience of supporting RE development in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of human society, the demand for energy has accordingly increased, and along with this increasingly serious energy and environmental crises have developed. Many countries have been focusing on new energy resources to combat these crises, and offshore wind energy resources are especially attractive; they are safe, non-polluting, renewable, and widely distributed with large reserves, which has made them become the focus of developed countries. However, the distribution of wind energy has strong regional and seasonal differences, which determines the success and efficiency of wind energy developments. Therefore, there is a clear need for “resource evaluation and planning in advance” in the wind energy development. Previous research has made a great contribution to the evaluation of offshore wind energy resources, mostly through analysis of the climatic characteristics of wind energy. In the actual development process of wind energy resources, these analyses of the climatic characteristics of wind energy provide a reference for site selection. However, after constructing wind farms, to aid their operation, there needs to be a more comprehensive understanding of other factors, such as the short-term forecasting and medium- to long-term predictions of wind energy. This paper reviews the research progress of the wind energy resource evaluations, and then considers where future research needs to focus, for the evaluation of wind energy resources. This mainly includes further analyses of the climatic characteristics of wind energy, short-term forecasting, medium- to long-term predictions, early disaster warning systems, the establishment of a wind energy development index (WEDI) and an integrated application system, in hope of providing a reference for offshore wind power generation, seawater desalination and other wind energy resource developments, and accelerating the industrialization and utilization of offshore wind energy. Doing this will alleviate the energy and environmental crises, and promote the sustainable development of human society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambitious policy targets together with current and projected high growth rates indicate that future power systems will likely show substantially increased generation from renewable energy sources. A large share will come from the variable renewable energy (VRE) sources wind and solar photovoltaics (PV); however, integrating wind and solar causes challenges for existing power systems. In this paper we analyze three major integration challenges related to the structural matching of demand with the supply of wind and solar power: low capacity credit, reduced utilization of dispatchable plants, and over-produced generation. Based on residual load duration curves we define corresponding challenge variables and estimate their dependence on region (US Indiana and Germany), penetration and mix of wind and solar generation. Results show that the impacts of increasing wind and solar shares can become substantial, and increase with penetration, independently of mix and region. Solar PV at low penetrations is much easier to integrate in many areas of the US than in Germany; however, some impacts (e.g. over-production) increase significantly with higher shares. For wind power, the impacts increase rather moderately and are fairly similar in US Indiana and Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy can play a strategic role in India in meeting the country’s growing energy demands, as well as combating climate change. Policymakers have recognized this potential and over the last decade have intensified their efforts towards creating a conducive regulatory and policy framework. Policy instruments such as renewable obligations, feed-in-tariffs and generation based incentives have specially aided the transformation towards large scale generation, enabling higher efficiency and lower costs of generation. However, financing has emerged as a significant barrier for sustaining the momentum gained in recent years. Given this background this paper provides an overview on the evolution of large scale generation and the consequent changes in financing requirements. It further reviews the emerging trends and barriers in the financing landscape and analyses the impact of policy performance in this context. Finally, it considers the design of a national renewable finance framework complete with targeted finance push instruments that can complement existing demand pull policies in facilitating investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating variable and non-dispatchable renewable power generation into existing power systems will have consequences for their operation and future expansion. These impacts will depend on two factors: (1) the variability of the total renewable power generation on different time scales and (2) the possibilities of accurately forecasting these fluctuations. In this paper, previous research on variability assessment and forecasting of solar, wind, wave and tidal energy resources is reviewed. The aim is to summarize the state of knowledge in each area and to compare the approaches used for the respective resources. For temporal variability, methods and models used for assessing the variability are surveyed, as well as what is known about the variability at individual sites and for larger aggregates of sites. For forecasting, an overview of forecasting methods for the different resources is made, and selected forecasting methods are compared over different time horizons. An important finding is that it is hard to draw strong conclusions from the existing studies due to differences in approaches and presentation of results. There is a need for further, more coherent studies that analyze the variability for the different resources in comparable ways, using data with the same resolution, and for studies that evaluate the smoothing effect and complementarity of combinations of several renewable energy resources. For forecasting, future research should suggest ways to evaluate forecasts from different renewable energy sources in easily comparable ways, using data from the same locations or regions, with the same temporal and spatial resolution, and with comparable metrics for the forecasting errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent time, the concern for grid integration of wind power has been a subject of discussion in the academic community. At present, the penetration level is still moderate for most grids to accommodate. As the penetration level increases, wind power may cause additional problems to the grid due to its intermittent nature. One of the intending solutions to this problem is the adoption of energy storage. This paper examines the state of the art energy storage technology options that are capable of mitigating wind power intermittency on the grid and their challenges. It also highlighted the existing policies that aided the development of wind power and discusses the limitations of its integration into the grid. It was found that, the ability of storage technology to be effectively utilised in mitigating the wind power intermittency depends on the ramp rate of the technology, response delay time, duration of storage, maturity of technology, installation cost, efficiency of the technology, its environmental impact and the suitability of the site topology. Therefore, no single storage technology is capable of providing total solution at mitigating the effect of wind power intermittency on the grid. The effectiveness of the storage technology lies in the hybridization of the storage technologies depending on the level of cost and technical requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant number of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analyses of renewable energy technologies is available in the literature, even though there is a lack of consistent conclusions about the life cycle impacts of the different technologies. The reported results vary consistently, according to the size and the technology of the considered plant, thus limiting the utility of LCA to inform policy makers and constituting a barrier to the deployment of a full awareness on sustainable energies. This variability in LCA results, in fact, can generate confusion regarding the actual environmental consequences of implementing renewable technologies. The article reviews approximately 50 papers, related to more than 100 different case studies regarding solar energy (Concentrated Solar Power, Photovoltaic), wind power, hydropower, and geothermal power. A methodology for the harmonization of the results is presented. The detailed data collection and the results normalization and harmonization allowed a more reliable comparison of the various renewable technologies. For most of the considered environmental indicators, wind power technologies turn out to be the low end while geothermal and PV technologies the high end of the impact range where all the other technologies are positioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Wind power is one of the world׳s major renewable energy sources, and its utilization provides an important contribution in helping solve the energy problems of many countries. After nearly 40 years of development, China׳s wind power industry now not only manufactures its own massive six MW turbines but also has the largest capacity in the world with a national output of 50millionMWh in 2010 and set to rise by eight times of that amount by 2020. This paper investigates this development route by analyzing relevant academic literature, statistics, laws and regulations, policies and research and industry reports. The main drivers of the development in the industry are identified as technologies, turbines, wind farm construction, pricing mechanism and government support systems, each of which is also divided into different stages with distinctive features. A systematic review of these aspects provides academics and practitioners with a better understanding of the history of the wind power industry in China and reasons for its rapid development with a view to enhancing progress in wind power development both in China and the world generally. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In addition to providing a review of electricity generation developments in China, this paper features the development of a framework for understanding the socio-political economy influencing electricity market development. It documents and presents a critical evaluation of the social, technological, economic and political forces which influence electricity generation policy in China. The analysis provides insight into why China's electricity generation shopping basket is being filled with both coal and CO2-reduced electricity generation technologies. It concludes that installed capacity of hydro power, wind power, nuclear power and solar PV power will outpace government projections due to inter alia a proclivity on the part of the Chinese government to set conservative (and achievable) targets, waning apathy toward pollution associated with coal-fired power, progressive improvements in grid connection and resilience, increased economic viability of these alternative energy sources and government support for these industries as strategic commercial sectors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]