Iranian-Saudi tensions: the energy dimension. EPC Policy Brief, 9 February 2016

Following the execution of Saudi Shiite cleric Nimr Baqer al-Nimr, the deep rooted rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia entered a new phase in January 2016. While the main objective for both countries still is regional hegemony, the Iranian-Saudi competition takes many different forms and shapes, and also extends into the field of energy. In this Policy Brief, David Ramin Jalilvand gives a detailed analysis of the energy-related aspects of the Iran-Saudi Arabia rivalry and its possible consequences for Europe’s energy market; both countries hold giant hydrocarbon reserves, so European energy will probably be affected by their competition in several regards; increased oil supplies will be available for the European market, while the cycle of low oil prices will be prolonged. According to Jalilvand, this is a mixed blessing; Europe’s energy import bill will be reduced, but its indigenous production will suffer, while Russia’s role in European natural gas will only continue to grow.

System Costs of Variable Renewable Energy in the European Union. Bruges European Economic Policy (BEEP) Briefings 37/2015

To shift to a low-carbon economy, the EU has been encouraging the deployment of variable renewable energy sources (VRE). However, VRE lack of competitiveness and their technical specificities have substantially raised the cost of the transition. Economic evaluations show that VRE life-cycle costs of electricity generation are still today higher than those of conventional thermal power plants. Member States have consequently adopted dedicated policies to support them. In addition, Ueckerdt et al. (2013) show that when integrated to the power system, VRE induce supplementary not-accounted-for costs. This paper first exposes the rationale of EU renewables goals, the EU targets and current deployment. It then explains why the LCOE metric is not appropriate to compute VRE costs by describing integration costs, their magnitude and their implications. Finally, it analyses the consequences for the power system and policy options. The paper shows that the EU has greatly underestimated VRE direct and indirect costs and that policymakers have failed to take into account the burden caused by renewable energy and the return of State support policies. Indeed, induced market distortions have been shattering the whole power system and have undermined competition in the Internal Energy Market. EU policymakers can nonetheless take full account of this negative trend and reverse it by relying on competition rules, setting-up a framework to collect robust EU-wide data, redesigning the architecture of the electricity system and relying on EU regulators.

Energy across the Mediterranean: a call for realism. Bruegel Policy Brief ISSUE 2016/03 APRIL 2016

Political instability in the southern Mediterranean countries have highlighted the unsustainability of their economic models. Widespread economic discontent, and in particular very high youth unemployment, underpinned the Arab Spring uprisings. As the refugee crisis shows, this is also Europe’s problem and Euro-Mediterranean economic cooperation needs to be reviewed. Energy is a key part of the cooperation framework.

An energy, pollution and employment policy model /

Mode of access: Internet.

Aviation energy conservation policy.

"January 19, 1981."

Optimal combination of energy crops under different policy scenarios:the case of Northern Greece

Energy crops production is considered as environmentally benign and socially acceptable, offering ecological benefits over fossil fuels through their contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases and acidifying emissions. Energy crops are subjected to persistent policy support by the EU, despite their limited or even marginally negative impact on the greenhouse effect. The present study endeavors to optimize the agricultural income generated by energy crops in a remote and disadvantageous region, with the assistance of linear programming. The optimization concerns the income created from soybean, sunflower (proxy for energy crop), and corn. Different policy scenarios imposed restrictions on the value of the subsidies as a proxy for EU policy tools, the value of inputs (costs of capital and labor) and different irrigation conditions. The results indicate that the area and the imports per energy crop remain unchanged, independently of the policy scenario enacted. Furthermore, corn cultivation contributes the most to iFncome maximization, whereas the implemented CAP policy plays an incremental role in uptaking an energy crop. A key implication is that alternative forms of motivation should be provided to the farmers beyond the financial ones in order the extensive use of energy crops to be achieved.

The Policy Effects of Multilevel Regulation in Europe. Insights from the Energy and Postal Sector

This paper examines the policy effects of multilevel regulation in Europe. It finds that the extent to which negative integration effectively narrows the range of policy options available domestically tends to be overstated. Drawing on empirical evidence from EU-induced reform in electricity supply and postal delivery, the paper illustrates that liberalisation and institutional reorganisation may lead to relatively little policy change. Although a lack of centralised regulatory capacity at the European level is identified as a key explanatory factor for the cases studied, the findings also point to the relevance of sector specificities and the role of exogenous drivers of change.

Modeling the Diffusion of Energy Performance Contracting

The Portuguese Energy Policy considers the development of a commercially viable and competitive market for energy performance contracting (EPC) as a main mechanism to achieve the objectives of energy efficiency improvement. This paper proposes a study to investigate how to achieve widespread adoption of energy performance contracting by means of system dynamics modelling and simulation. To explore and gather insights on this question, a system dynamics model representing the system of the Portuguese EPC market at industry level will be created. The simulation of that model will provide a helpful basis for analysing and explaining the development of key variables, and accelerating learning on the managerial, organizational and political adaptation processes that foster the diffusion of EPC adoption. The first phase of this research project aims at identifying and analysing the key factors and critical cause-effect relations that drive the adoption of EPC. With this purpose, a qualitative content analysis on relevant documents was performed and a set of interviews was conducted. That data was analysed to capture the critical variables and its interrelation to formulate a preliminary representation of the system structure as stock and flow diagrams.

The electric vehicles as a mean to reduce Co2 emissions and energy costs in isolated regions: the São Miguel (Azores) case study

Most of small islands around the world today, are dependent on imported fossil fuels for the majority of their energy needs especially for transport activities and electricity production. The use of locally renewable energy resources and the implementation of energy efficiency measures could make a significant contribution to their economic development by reducing fossil fuel imports. An electrification of vehicles has been suggested as a way to both reduce pollutant emissions and increase security of supply of the transportation sector by reducing the dependence on oil products imports and facilitate the accommodation of renewable electricity generation, such as wind and, in the case of volcanic islands like Sao Miguel (Azores) of the geothermal energy whose penetration has been limited by the valley electricity consumption level. In this research, three scenarios of EV penetration were studied and it was verified that, for a 15% LD fleet replacement by EVs with 90% of all energy needs occurring during the night, the accommodation of 10 MW of new geothermal capacity becomes viable. Under this scenario, reductions of 8% in electricity costs, 14% in energy, 23% in fossil fuels use and CO2 emissions for the transportation and electricity production sectors could be expected.

Clearing the cloudy crystal balls: Hybrid modelling for energy and climate change mitigation scenarios – A case study for Portugal

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Ambiente

IEA EBC Annex56 vision for cost effective energy and carbon emissions optimization in building renovation

Building sector has become an important target for carbon emissions reduction, energy consumption and resources depletion. Due to low rates of replacement of the existing buildings, their low energy performances are a major concern. Most of the current regulations are focused on new buildings and do not account with the several technical, functional and economic constraints that have to be faced in the renovation of existing buildings. Thus, a new methodology is proposed to be used in the decision making process for energy related building renovation, allowing finding a cost-effective balance between energy consumption, carbon emissions and overall added value.

Implementation of the I.S. EN 16001:2009 energy management standard into GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Ltd, Cork

As manufacturers face an increasingly competitive environment, they seek out opportunities to reduce production costs without negatively affecting the yield or the quality of their finished products. The challenge of maintaining high product quality while simultaneously reducing production costs can often be met through investments in energy efficient technologies and energy efficiency practices. Energy management systems can offer both technological and best practice efficiencies in order to achieve substantial savings. A strong energy management system provides a solid foundation for an organisation to reduce production costs and improve site efficiency. The I.S EN16001 energy management standard specifies the requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving an energy management system and represents the latest best practice for energy management in Ireland. The objective of the energy management system is to establish a systematic approach for improving energy performance continuously. The I.S EN16001 standard specifies the requirements for continuous improvement through using energy more efficiently. The author analysed how GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Cork implemented the I.S. EN16001 energy management system model, and defined how energy saving opportunities where identified and introduced to improve efficiency performance. The author performed an extensive literature research in order to determine the current status of the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland, the processes involved in pharmaceutical manufacturing, the energy users required for pharmaceutical manufacturing and the efficiency measures that can be applied to these energy users in order to reduce energy consumption. The author then analysed how energy management standards are introduced to industry and critically analysed the driving factors for energy management performance in Ireland through case studies. Following an investigation as to how the I.S. EN16001 energy management standard is operated in GSK, a critical analysis of the performance achieved by the GSK energy management system is undertaken in order to determine if implementing the I.S EN16001 standard accelerates achieving energy savings. Since its introduction, the I.S. EN16001 model for energy management has enabled GSK to monitor, target and identify energy efficiency opportunities throughout the site. The model has put in place an energy management system that is continuously reviewed for improvement and to date has reduced GSK’s site operations cost by over 30% through technical improvements and generating energy awareness for smarter energy consumption within the GSK Cork site. Investment in I.S. EN16001 has proved to be a sound business strategy for GSK especially in today's manufacturing environment.

Methodological note about the determination of key sectors in final energy consumption: a preliminary approach to the Spanish case

In this paper we analyze the determination of "key" sectors in the final energy consumption. We approach this issue from an input-output perspective and we design a methodology based on the elasticities of the demands of final energy consumption. As an exercise, we apply the proposed methodology to the Spanish economy. The analysis allows us to indicate the greater or lesser relevance of the different sectors in the consumption of final energy, pointing out which sectors deserve greater attention in the Spanish case and showing the implications for energy policy.

The regional employment impacts of renewable energy expenditures: The case for modelling

One aspect of the case for policy support for renewable energy developments is the wider economic benefits that are expected to be generated. Within Scotland, as with other regions of the UK, there is a focus on encouraging domestically‐based renewable technologies. In this paper, we use a regional computable general equilibrium framework to model the impact on the Scottish economy of expenditures relating to marine energy installations. The results illustrate the potential for (considerable) ‘legacy’ effects after expenditures cease. In identifying the specific sectoral expenditures with the largest impact on (lifetime) regional employment, this approach offers important policy guidance.

The regional employment impacts of renewable energy expenditures: The case for modelling

One aspect of the case for policy support for renewable energy developments is the wider economic benefits that are expected to be generated. Within Scotland, as with other regions of the UK, there is a focus on encouraging domestically‐based renewable technologies. In this paper, we use a regional computable general equilibrium framework to model the impact on the Scottish economy of expenditures relating to marine energy installations. The results illustrate the potential for (considerable) ‘legacy’ effects after expenditures cease. In identifying the specific sectoral expenditures with the largest impact on (lifetime) regional employment, this approach offers important policy guidance.