The focus of this thesis is to explore a new mechanism to give added incentive to invest in new capacities in deregulated electricity markets. There is a lot of concern in energy markets, regarding lack of sufficient private sector investment in new capacities to generate electricity. Although some markets are using mechanisms to reward these investments directly, e.g., by governmental subsidies for renewable sources such as wind or solar, there is not much theory to guide the process of setting the reward levels. The proposed mechanism involves a long term planning model, maximizing the social welfare measured as consumers’ plus producers’ surplus, by choosing new generation capacities which, along with still existing capacities, can meet demand. Much previous research in electricity capacity planning has also solved optimization models, usually with continuous variables only, in linear or non-linear programs. However, these approaches can be misleading when capacity additions must either be zero or a large size, e.g., the building of a nuclear reactor or a large wind farm. Therefore, this research includes binary variables for the building of large new facilities in the optimization problem, i.e. the model becomes a mixed integer linear or nonlinear program. It is well known that, when binary variables are included in such a model, the resulting commodity prices may give insufficient incentive for private investment in the optimal new capacities. The new mechanism is intended to overcome this difficulty with a capacity price in addition to the commodity price: an auxiliary mathematical program calculates the minimum capacity price that is necessary to ensure that all firms investing in new capacities are satisfied with their profit levels. In order to test the applicability of this approach, the result of the suggested model is compared with the Ontario Integrated Power System Plan (IPSP), which recommends new generation capacities, based on historical data and costs of different sources of electricity generation for the next 20 years given a fixed forecast of demand.

This dissertation contains three essays. The first and second essays examine intergenerational mobility in earnings in Brazil using a data set spanning three generations. I use data from PNAD{a nationally representative household survey in Brazil. I build a three-generations data set consisting of 5,125 grandfather-father- son triplets by restricting the sample to households with adult sons. The first essay estimates some relationships between a child's earnings and family background implied by the Becker-Tomes model. I find that the estimates contradict some of its predictions, like the negative relationship between child's earnings and grandparent's earnings when controlling for parent's earnings. I propose a modified version of the Becker-Tomes model and find that the estimates are consistent with its predictions. I find that family background explains 34.9% of the variation in earnings among young males who live with their parents. If it were possible to eliminate the differences in investment in the children's human capital, the variation in earnings would fall by no more than 21.1%. Additionally, if there were no differences in endowments among children, the variation in earnings would fall by no less than 26%. The second essay examines the evolution of the intergenerational elasticity across generations and im- plications of marriage, education and fertility on mobility. I find that the estimate of the intergenerational elasticity in earnings is 0.847. The elasticity of earnings between son-in-law and father-in-law, 0.89, is approximately the same as the elasticity between son and father, 0.9. Additionally, controlling for fathers' percentile in the earnings distribution, each additional sibling decreases the sons' percentile by 1.77 percentiles. The third essay estimates an indicator of the optimal investment in electricity generation in Texas, and the associated efficiency gains. The essay presents a method to estimate the optimal investment in each technology available to generate electricity. The estimation considers the expected entry and exit of generation plants, future fuel prices, different demand elasticities and a potential carbon allowance mar- kets. Considering a carbon allowance price equal to two times the level in Europe, the optimal investment in electricity generation in Texas is zero.

This thesis considers economic factors for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from utility-scale electricity generation in California. The statewide Emission Performance Standard and Renewables Portfolio Standard have led to the announced and projected retirement of many coal power facilities serving California electricity load. This reality requires new baseload power sources to meet growing energy demands over the next several decades. The economic and environmental feasibilities of competitive baseload generation technologies are assessed to determine suitable replacements for decommissioning coal power plants. Geothermal is identified as the optimal replacement due to its economic baseload functionality, low greenhouse gas emissions, small environmental impact, and resource abundance in many regions of California. Developing geothermal capacity from the Salton Sea could provide southern California with a reliable energy source for decades while simultaneously reducing adverse environmental impacts and greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation in California.

Electricity consumption in Guatemala has been steadily increasing during the recent years, challenging the generation sector to keep up with the pace of electricity demand in the long term. To tackle this problem, the government of Guatemala has delineated the Electricity Generation Expansion Plan for the period 2014-2028, proposing several hypothetical future scenarios of the energy mix for electricity production. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate how the fulfillment of this plan would influence energy security and sustainable development prospects in the country.  Following an assessment framework that allows a systematic evaluation of the system, indicators that reflect potential vulnerabilities and sustainability concerns are applied to the scenarios. The results show that energy security in the electricity sector could increase as a consequence of the capacity expansion and transformation of the energy mix to rely more on indigenous sources, taking into consideration scenarios with a more diversified portfolio that include the expansion of biomass and geothermal capacity to compensate for the vulnerability of hydroelectricity to weather events. The prospects for sustainable development in the country can be supported by the provision of secure electricity supply that takes into account efficiency and mitigation measures in the exploitation of natural resources, as well as social impact assessments to ensure that the plan will not affect the livelihood of vulnerable groups and has the possibility to contribute to increase equity in electricity access.

Orust Kretsloppsakademi is a nonprofit organisation, with a goal of annually generate the same amount of electrical energy that is consumed. Orust is an island on the west coast of Sweden, north of Gothenburg. The population of 15 000 reaches 40 000 during summer, due to the large amount of vacationer. The total electricity demand is 174 GWh a year with a maximum power need of 32 MW. This report presents an analysis for the plausibility of their plan and from a power system stability perspective, the effects on the electrical grid. The conclusion is that the restraints for development of power generation from wind, solar and wave generation, are the power systems capability to transfer power, primarily in the transformers of the grid. Various actions, such as constraints of power output at certain times, and clever location of generation facilities, reduces the utilisation rate of the line segments. In order to substantially decrease the utilisation rate of the line segments, the actions need to be combined. Executed simulations showed that Orust needs to be provided with reactive power, even if Orust is self-sufficient of active power, through its connection to the Swedish power system. The need for reactive power decreased when the feeding transformer allowed a reduced voltage in the regional network. Additionally, generation of reactive power could further increase the possibility for Orust to become self-sufficient on electricity generation.

Orientador: Carlos Alberto Mariotoni / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-12T13:49:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Agapito_CassianoAugusto_M.pdf: 873706 bytes, checksum: 7857de431ef19393521f03474f7ecdad (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: O objetivo desse estudo é explorar os caminhos da expansão da geração no setor elétrico brasileiro. Com uma avaliação econômica das diferentes opções de projetos selecionados através da simulação de Tarifas de Equilíbrio, este estudo busca analisar a competitividade das fontes renováveis de geração no mercado brasileiro de energia elétrica e o impacto da evolução dos conceitos da economia ambiental e a colocação destes conceitos em prática através da alteração da legislação vigente. Através de uma pesquisa com especialistas são levantados os dados necessários para elaboração dos modelos econômico-financeiros individuais de cada fonte. Os resultados obtidos com a pesquisa mostram que as fontes renováveis devem manter participação elevada na expansão do sistema, e o novo paradigma ambiental deve elevar essa superioridade ainda mais. / Abstract: The purpose of this study is to explore the ways of expansion of generation in the Brazilian electricity sector. With an economic evaluation of different options for selected projects through the simulation of Rates of balance, this study aims to analyze the competitiveness of renewable generation in the Brazilian electricity market and the impact of the development of concepts of environmental economics and putting these concepts into practice by amending the existing legislation. Through a search specialists are raised with the data necessary to produce economic and financial models of each individual source. The results of the research show that renewable sources must maintain high participation in the expansion of the system, and the new paradigm environmental superiority that should raise even more. / Mestrado / Recursos Hidricos, Energeticos e Ambientais / Mestre em Engenharia Civil

Electricity generation is both a major contributor to the root causes of environmental unsustainability and an energy source that will likely play an important role in the transition to a sustainable society. Because renewable sources of electricity generation are seen as sustainable as a group, there is a danger that investments will be made in renewable technologies that do not effectively move society towards sustainability. We propose the use of a scientific, principles-based definition of sustainability to compare current and future renewable electricity options on their sustainability potential. This study presents a pilot decision-support comparison tool, Guide for Sustainable Energy Decisions (GSED), designed to give investors, policy makers, and manufacturers strategic guidance on the most effective renewable technologies to invest in for sustainability. The tool is based on a modified version of life cycle assessment (LCA) that allows comparisons of the upstream and downstream effects of generation technologies from a whole-systems sustainability perspective. Early feedback by experts suggests that the tool has strong potential to serve as an effective comparison tool and help decision-makers make strategic investments for sustainability.

The South African Government, in the Budget Review of 2008, proposed to impose a 2c/kWh tax on the sale of electricity generated from non-renewable sources, to be collected at source by the producers/generators of electricity. This tax will create distortions in the South African economy. The research study aims to identify measures that can be taken to negate the negative competitiveness impact of the tax. In the first part of the study, we applied the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model, which is coordinated by the Centre for Global Trade Analysis at Purdue University. The GTAP model is the pre-eminent modelling framework for the analysis of trade and environmental issues across countries. GTAP is a multi-region CGE model designed for comparative-static analysis of trade policy issues. Various versions were constructed and the closure was changed to reflect the South African reality more accurately. After the national as well as international economic and environmental impacts were analysed, we considered Border Tax Adjustments (BTAs) as a possible remedy to negate the negative competitiveness impact of the tax. Utilising theoretical Heckscher-Ohlin methodology, as well as the GTAP model, we showed that BTAs will not negate the adverse economic impact of an environmental tax. Instead, reversed BTAs, through gains of trade, could reverse the negative economic impact of an electricity generation tax, while enabling an economy to retain most of the environmental benefits of the tax. We also considered the impact of an integrated approach, consisting of an electricity generation tax and a demand side policy, on the welfare of households. To analyse this, we used the University of Pretoria General Equilibrium Model (UPGEM). The model was extended to reflect Equivalent Variation values and we updated the database to include import tariffs. It was then shown that reversed BTAs could be used to offset the regressiveness of the electricity generation tax. Policy implications from the study will be useful for macroeconomic policies, international trade negotiations and environmental policies to increase the welfare of society. / Thesis (DCom)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Economics / unrestricted

South Africa emerged as a country that fought and overcame arduous oppression.. Following the democratic revolution of 1994, the new government regime embarked on an enormous electrification rollout with the mandate of ensuring all households in the country have access to electricity. This did not come without huge challenges and the electricity supply network was already under pressure. This led to load shedding and in turn impeded economic growth. Consequently South Africa requires significant investment in new electricity infrastructure. In order to ensure sustainable economic growth, the provision of reliable electricity is a critical strategic imperative. One of the objectives (according to the Electricity Regulation Act, No. 4 of 2006) is to facilitate investment in the electricity supply industry. To empower and encourage electricity producers, including foreign investors, to enter into the market, it is imperative to critically assess the current tax allowances available for the construction of power station assets within South Africa's domestic shores. In addition, the concept of load shedding is not limited to South Africa, but is a form of reducing demand on the energy generating system and is experienced internationally. To understand the tax incentives offered by international countries to reduce demand on the electricity supply network, will form part of this assessment. Benchmarking will be done on South Africa's domestic tax incentives offered to local electricity generators against international suppliers of electricity. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / lmchunu2014 / Taxation / unrestricted

The report investigates the feasibility of accessing waste heat at kiln 7 in the Cementa AB cement plant in Slite, Gotland. The background is provided, with a description of the cement manufacturing process. Most of the report concerns itself with the heat transfer capabilities of the plant, therefore a short description of the heat flow within the most essential equipment is provided. The investigation follows a set of steps to derive the conclusion. The first step investigates previous studies to obtain the three most feasible heat sources. The second step investigates the available heat of the selected sources. In the third step, accessing the source is discussed and investigated for both convection and radiation heat transfer methods. It also includes the sizing of the required heat exchangers. Using the new sources, the connection possibilities to existing infrastructure and its benefits are investigated in step four. The connections were made to the existing infrastructure used at kiln 8 for electrical generation and district heating supply. The selections of the most feasible solutions are provided based on heat recovery, payback period and practicality. The final step in the study provides for the final design, which consists of three possible connections or all of them combined. In the conclusion, the final design would provide for a reduction in oil burned, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions and an increase in electricity generated by the existing system. It is recommended that only one of the three connections be installed. / <p>The thesis was conducted at Cementa AB in Slite, Gotland. The supervisor at the plant was Fred Grönwall.</p>