The push for clean energy has caused a rapid growth of renewables in the electricity supply mix of the EU. Although one would assume that the impact of these technologies is entirely positive, recent research and experience indicate that there is reason for concern namely regarding the security of supply. In this context, the concern is how renewable energy sources (RES) affect the business case of conventional power generation. In response to this concern, capacity mechanisms are being considered or have already been implemented by various member states of the EU. However, in a highly interconnected electricity system, such as the one in Europe, there appears to be a risk that the uncoordinated implementation of capacity mechanisms may cause unintended cross-border effects. This research explored the performance of various capacity mechanisms in an electricity system with a strong growth in the portfolio share of variable renewable energy sources (RES). The cross-border effects of implementing various capacity mechanisms in an interconnected power system were also analyzed. In this research, two capacity mechanisms, namely a strategic reserve and a capacity market, were modeled as extensions to the EMLab-Generation agent-based model. Furthermore, two variations of a capacity market were analyzed. The first was a yearly capacity market design and the second was a forward capacity market with long term contracts. A survey of experts on the US capacity markets supplemented the modeling work with practical insights. / <p>QC 20161006</p><p>The Doctoral Degrees issued upon completion of the programme are issued by Comillas Pontifical University, Delft University of Technology and KTH Royal Institute of Technology. The invested degrees are official in Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden, respectively.</p><p>copyright (c) 2016 P. C. Bhagwat</p>

Dans le premier chapitre, nous avons travaillé sur l’impact d’une réévaluation réelle de la monnaie chinoise sur ses excédents commerciaux. Nous avons suggéré une nouvelle approche pour mesurer cet impact, en utilisant des données de panel relatives aux exportations et aux importations des entreprises à capitaux étrangers et domestiques implantées dans vingt-et-huit provinces chinoises. Nous avons constaté que l’effet d’une réévaluation du Yuan sur les exportations et les importations était plus accentué après l’accession de la Chine à l’OMC. Enfin, d’autres facteurs comme le taux de change nominal et les prix relatifs entrent en jeu dans l’explication de la dynamique des exportations et des importations de la Chine.Dans le deuxième chapitre, nous avons étudié les effets spatiaux sur les exportations et les importations provinciales des entreprises multinationales et domestiques. Nous avons utilisé trois différentes matrices de poids spatiales et maintenu la même division de période qu’au premier chapitre. La méthodologie d’estimation spatiale utilisée a révélé des effets spatiaux importants sur les exportations et les importations des deux types d’entreprises, mais a aussi permis de faire un état des lieux sur l’intégration du marché domestique de la Chine. Dans le troisième chapitre, nous avons étudié les flux de capitaux vers la Chine déguisés en valeur d’échanges commerciaux. Nous avons proposé une nouvelle approche en utilisant les prix des produits échangés les plus susceptibles à la manipulation et étudié leur sensibilité à l’anticipation d’une réévaluation future de la monnaie chinoise. Nous avons trouvé que la balance commerciale de la Chine était surestimée. / In the first chapter, we investigate the impact of a revaluation of the China’s Yuan on its trade balance. We use panel data on export and import of multinational and domestic firms, disaggregated at a regional level in the period 1996-2012.We find significant impact of a revaluation of the Yuan on export and import, the impact differs regionally, time period, and by firms. We also find that other factors like nominal exchange rate and relative prices play significant role in explaining China’s trade balance.In the second chapter, we investigate the spatial effects on China’s trade performance. In fact, we use the same data as in the first essay.We use three different weight matrices to take into account the dynamism in the China’s decentralization policies.We find significant spatial effects on export and import, varying between firms, regions and time period. This essay also reveals important facts on the China’s domestic market integration. In the last chapter, we put forth a new approach to measure capital inflows into China hidden in the regular trade flows. This phenomenon known as trade misinvoicing is suspected to actually overstate China’s trade surpluses.We measure the sensitivity of the prices for some commodities which are the most susceptible to trade misinvoicing to the non-deliverable forward exchange rate for the Yuan in Hong-Kong. We find that, in fact China’s trade balance is relatively overestimated.