Concerns over climate change impacts, goals to increase environmental sustainability, and questions about the reliability of fuel supply have led several countries to pursue the goal of increasing the share of renewable energy sources in their electricity grid. Portugal is one of the leading countries for wind electricity generation. Wind diffusion in Portugal started in the early 2000’s and in 2013 wind electricity generation accounted for more than 24% (REN 2013b). The large share of wind in Portuguese electricity production is a consequence of European Union (E.U.) mandates and national policies, mainly feed-in tariffs. Discussions on the appropriate policy design and level of incentive to promote renewable energy adoption and meet further renewable capacity goals are ongoing in Portugal, namely in what concerns the level and duration of feed-in tariffs that should be provided to independent power producers. This, in turn, raises the question of whether the past feed-in tariff levels were well designed to achieve the goals of a larger penetration of renewables in the Portuguese grid. The policies to induce wind adoption have led to a growth in wind installed capacity and share of electricity generated by wind in Portugal from less than 1% in 2000 to approximately 24% in 2013, but questions arise on their cost-effectiveness and whether alternative policy designs would have led to the same goal. vi The Portuguese wind feed-in tariffs are a guaranteed incentive which has varied between $85- $180/MWh over the last 20 years (ERSE 2011), and remained approximately constant since 2001 at $101/MWh. They are currently guaranteed for 20 years of production or 44GWh of electricity generation per MW installed (Diário da República 2013) - the longest period among countries with high wind electricity share. They do not incorporate any digression rate besides inflation, and are guaranteed for every unit of electricity fed to the grid. There are no power plants that have already been decommissioned despite being in operation for more than 20 years, favoring from new, detailed and hard-to-follow agreements in the legislation. All wind parks that are currently in operation have received feed-in tariffs since they connected to the grid, and are expected to keep receiving them at least until December 2019, and up to December 2036 - depending on year of connection and agreement under the most recent legislation (Diário da República 2013). The 2020 renewable energy goals in Portugal include having 6.8 GW of installed wind capacity, which implies the connection of 2 GW in the next years. If no further grid investments are made and wind capacity increases up to 100 MW to the connection point that we analyze, total annual electricity spill is likely to range the 20% to 40%. If the connection grid policy is designed to allow for wind spill, already ‘occupied’ connection points will be available to new entrants, lowering the total investment costs for new wind parks and increasing their profitability. This thesis is divided in three main parts: a first introductory section, a retrospective study of wind power in Portugal and a prospective analysis of the Portuguese wind power sector. The introductory section is a brief overview of the global renewable status, described in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 compile a retrospective study of wind power and the policies that have incentivized wind diffusion. We include in the discussion some references to the future wind vii power goals, but the results and policy recommendations are directed towards the existing connected wind power capacity. Chapter 2 is a qualitative piece that describes in detail the motivation behind the Portuguese wind power diffusion, the policy changes over the last 20 years and the mechanics of the remuneration mechanism, i.e. the feed-in tariff formula variables and the actors of the wind power sector. We compare the Portuguese feed-in tariff with other European feed-in tariff designs and conclude that the incentive is one of the highest in Europe, contributing to the current Portuguese electricity system deficit of about $2 billion. If feed-in tariffs keep being fixed and do not incorporate any market variation, and renewables are prioritized to meet electricity demand, feed-in tariff net support per unit of electricity might be higher when the wind blows the most because moments with high penetration of renewable power might be correlated with low market prices. We find that wind power penetration is correlated with net exports to Spain. This might result in a net cost to Portugal and a subsidy to Spanish electricity consumers per unit of electricity traded. In total terms, the resulting subsidy is higher when the wind resource is larger as well, as the total amount of electricity that is exported increases. In Chapter 3 we estimate the profits of wind power producers connected in Portugal between 1992 and 2010, and we recommend specific policy reforms that would lower spending in the form of wind feed-in tariffs. In particular, we assess four scenarios to decrease the level and/or period of the tariffs. We find that under the 2005 legislation - in which feed-in tariffs are granted for 15 years, all existing wind parks have positive NPVs varying between $0 and $12/MWh, when considering a 20-year lifetime. In fact, most of existing wind parks can stop receiving the feed-in tariff now (July 2014), and instead participate directly in the Iberian electricity market and still be profitable. Moreover, under the 2013 feed-in tariff reform that aims at decreasing the viii electricity system deficit, total spending will increase and wind parks will have larger profits than under the 2005 legislation. The motivation of keeping a high feed-in tariff comes from the need of liquidity that wind producers can provide immediately to the electricity system, which is required at this moment to comply with the E.U. economic agreements signed during the recession. Nevertheless, the environmental and energy dependency benefits of the Portuguese wind sector could have been achieved with as much as 25% less spending. Later on, we move to analyze future wind power additions. Chapter 4 compiles a prospective analysis of the wind power sector in Portugal. We focus on new wind parks that will connect to critical lines of the distribution grid in two regions of the country, as part of the national 2030 wind power goals. In particular, we assess the implications of a 100% guaranteed availability of grid power capacity. We find that from the investor perspective, it is more profitable to bear some risk of wind power curtailment, because of the avoided costs that would otherwise be incurred to upgrade the grid. We also find that since there is ample room in the distribution lines to connect more wind parks, very few grid upgrades can allow to highly increase the distributed wind capacity with a low risk of wind curtailment. Moreover, even in scenarios with ‘high curtailment’ of 5% to 20%, projects are profitable. Thus, the Portuguese government should consider a policy where the guaranteed feed-in would be removed, and further assess the possibility of limiting profitability of the existing and new wind projects by introducing curtailment. This work compiles two perspectives: first, a temporal perspective, in which past and future assessments of wind power diffusion are described. Second, a perspective on policy characterization, in which we present an assessment of two characteristics in the feed-in tariff design: the level/period of the tariff and the conditionality of prioritizing wind power over fossilix fuel resources with absence of risk of wind power curtailment. The level and period-related policy recommendations are considered for the existing wind parks, and are addressed mainly in Chapter 3. Considerations about grid capacity and introducing a risk of wind power curtailment are considered for subsequent wind power capacity additions, and are mainly considered in Chapter 4. In addition, notice that Chapter 3 focuses on avoiding excessive profitability of wind power parks while in Chapter 4 we analyze wind and grid capacity additions under the perspective of wind investors. Nevertheless, as we also find in Chapter 4 that profits are excessive, we do make recommendations that limit wind investor’s revenue. Portuguese decision maker should give serious consideration to revisions to the Portuguese feed-in tariff policy design. Most of the existing Portuguese wind parks to not need a feed-in tariff to be profitable. A value associated with the risk of wind power curtailment for subsequent additions should be incorporated in future policy design. We expect that this work will contribute to the Portuguese renewable policy in particular in light of Portugal’s 2020 and 2030 wind power goals.

This study examines two of the reasons that prevent people from taking part in green electricity programs: trust concerns that these programs may raise, and lack of benefits that come with visibility of participants’ involvement. While the current literature takes notice of their influence, in this study it was decided to investigate both factors in more detail. In particular, with the help of a survey, the study focused on the reactions of electricity consumers to the proposition of participation in green electricity programs in a controlled setting, in which levels of trust concerns raised and benefits of visibility provided by the programs could be varied. The study was conducted in Oakville, an affluent southern Ontario (Canada) suburb. The results are based on 160 received responses to 500 questionnaires that were sent out by mail. While the results of this study point towards the conclusion that both factors have an influence on participation in green electricity programs, their relative strength cannot be estimated by these results. One can, however, claim that the combined influence of trust concerns and benefits of visibility is quite strong. This research shows that at a 95% confidence level, willingness to participate in a program that proposes paying premium for electricity from solar panels installed on a participant’s roof (low trust concerns, high benefits of visibility) is 30% + 19.3% higher than willingness to participate in a program that proposes paying premium for electricity from undisclosed solar farms (high trust concerns, low benefits of visibility). Additional data about trust concerns, appreciation of benefits of visibility, and concerns about installation of solar panels on one’s own roof, provided by the survey, are also presented in the text. In conclusion, it is recommended that future research should more clearly separate the strength of influence of trust concerns from the influence of benefits of visibility on green electricity program participation. It is also important to study which features of these programs make them more trustworthy and visible. An important implication of this study for policy makers and green electricity proponents is to concentrate on allaying trust concerns, and enhancing benefits of visibility when designing policies or drafting plans for green electricity programs. The creation of an independent green electricity program certification system and a greater accent on the local presence of such programs is suggested.

No description available.

The thesis discusses Turkish energy sector by using examples, projections made by the European Union, and positions of the experts and scholars. The work discusses the process of reformation of Energy sector, and what the obstacles and difficulties are. It is important that Turkey needs progress in the process of reformation that can be satisfied by using a functioning model in the field. Turkey has to apply the legislation of the European Union as an applicant country. Turkey needs a strategy for achieving the application of the energy legislation. Different countries in the European Union have been examined in the work for finding the strategy for Turkish energy sector. The countries have been selected for their peculiarities (Greece) and their strategical approaches for shaping their markets (France, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom &ndash / G8 countries in the European Union). The result of the study shows that the energy pool applied in England and Wales of the United Kingdom is a successful example, and it can be used for electricity policy along with some other developments in the field. The work tries to propose a model for the reform to be done, for the benefit of the society.

This thesis tries to answer the question of whether there is a single electricity market in the European Union. Although some further steps were taken in terms of market integration, this study shows that it is still not possible to talk about a single electricity market. The attempts to create a single electricity market demonstrate the tensions between supranational and national decision making in a vital issue area of energy. States have been reluctant to transfer their sovereignty in energy policy making as they deemed this area vital to their economic and security interests. This study argues that intergovernmental premises, still explain the reluctance of the member states in this context better. The thesis incorporates two case studies / United Kingdom and Turkey. The first case illustrates that though UK is at the forefront of the other member states in adopting the EU electricity directives, it has still resisted transferring its right of control over its sector to the supranational authorities. Also, the British Case shows that the liberalisation process has some negative consequences. Turkish case will be an evidence for that the model of UK is not appropriate for Turkey in the restructuring process due to the differences between the two states in terms of laws and regulations, institutional capabilities and domestic market conditions. This thesis proposes that Turkey shouldn&rsquo / t disregard its conditions for the sake of EU membership while developing policies in a strategically important area where member states abstain from devolving their rights to the supranational authorities.

The aim of this thesis is to suggest the ways of promoting energy efficiency in Turkey in the light of best practices at the level of European Union and most energy efficient Member States, Denmark and Gremany. This thesis provides a critical evaluation of Turkish energy efficiency policies in transmission, distribution and consumption stages of energy by pointing out their weaknesses. The evaluations highlight the fact that Turkey has substantial energy saving potential in electricity distribution grids and end-use sectors. The EU, Danish and German experiences demonstrate that the greatest energy efficiency improvement could be achieved in industry sector. By taking these experiences and the problems of Turkey into consideration, this thesis recommends possible measures. It is concluded that, when the energy efficiency potential is evaluated, primarily attention could be paid to industry sector.

The performance of Chinese governance is widely rated as poor. Nevertheless, some authors evaluate the recent reforms as providing a chance to improve the governance within China. Although quantitative attempts to measure governance performance have been made, the results need more interpretation. To evaluate the performance of Chinese governance, this thesis begins with a review of different theoretical concepts of governance. The literature on the performance of the governance within China and quantitative approaches attests to China’s moderately good performance in relation to effectiveness but sees a major problem in what we could define as ‘good governance.’ The interpretations of some particular reforms provide no clear answer as to whether they constitute a step towards improving the system or if the problem will worsen. Consequently, this thesis includes a case study on the galloping growth of coal-fired power plants within China which offers a different perspective and demonstrates that China’s central government is incapable of implementing its energy policy at the local level. Illegal power plants and the disregard for environmental rules are an evident sign of a failure of governance. But I argue that China’s governance problems and failures do not matter in the short term. It is the price that China has to pay for the central government’s determination to achieve fast economic growth, and it is a bill that will to be paid in the future.

Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1984. / Bibliography: leaves 177-189. / Photocopy. / Microfilm. / xiii, 189 leaves, bound ill

This study is aimed at developing policies for energy efficiency by observing the past changes of energy use in Indonesia???s manufacturing sector over the period 1980???2000, and to investigate mitigation options for energy-related CO2 emissions in the sector. The first part of the study uses decomposition analysis to assess the effect of the changes in energy consumption and the level of CO2 emissions, while the second part investigates energy efficiency improvement strategies and the use of economic instruments to mitigate CO2 emissions in the manufacturing sector. Economic activity was the dominant factor in increasing energy consumption over the whole period of analysis, followed by the energy intensity effect and then the structural effect. The increase in aggregate energy intensity over the period 1980-2000 was mainly driven by the energy intensity effect. In turn, the technical effect was the dominant contributor to changes in energy intensity effect, with the fuel-mix effect being of lesser importance. Changes in CO2 emissions were dominated by economic activity and structural change. Sub-sectors that would benefit from fuel switching and energy efficiency improvements are the textile, paper, and non-metal sub-sectors. Three main options for reducing CO2 emissions from the manufacturing sector were considered: the imposition of a carbon tax, energy efficiency initiatives, and other mitigation measures. A carbon tax was found to reduce sectoral emissions from the direct use of oil, gas and coal, but increased the demand for electricity. At the practical level, energy efficiency improvements can be implemented by adopting energy efficient technologies that can reduce aggregate energy intensity up to 37.1 per cent from the base-year level, estimated after imposition of a carbon tax at $30 per tonne of carbon. A major priority for energy efficiency improvements was found to be in the textile and the paper and chemical sub-sectors. A mitigation measure such as the Clean Development Mechanisms could be encouraged in order to reduce projected emission levels. The preferred option would be the adoption of energy efficient technologies in the textile, chemical, paper and non-metal sub-sectors.

Bibliography: leaves 240-248 / xi, 248 leaves ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Faculty of Economics, 1988