Abstract
The availability of renewable energies differs significantly across European regions. Consequently, European cooperation in the deployment of renewable energy potentially yields substantial efficiency gains. However, for achieving the 2020 renewable energy targets, most countries purely rely on domestic production. In this paper, we analyze the benefits of cooperation compared to continuing with national renewable energy support after 2020. We use an optimization model of the European electricity system and find that compared to a 2030 CO2-only target (−40 % compared to 1990), electricity system costs increase by 5 to 7 % when a European-wide renewable energy target for electricity generation (of 55 %) is additionally implemented. However, these additional costs are 41 to 45 % lower than the additional costs which would arise if the renewable energy target was reached through national support schemes (without cooperation). Furthermore, the cost reduction achieved by cooperation is quite robust with regard to assumptions about interconnector extensions and investment cost developments of renewable energy technologies. In practice, however, administrative issues and questions concerning the fair sharing of costs and benefits between the Member States represent major obstacles that need to be tackled in order to reach renewable energy targets at the lowest costs possible.
Zusammenfassung
Aufgrund unterschiedlicher meteorologischer Bedingungen innerhalb Europas variieren die regionalen Stromgestehungskosten erneuerbarer Energien deutlich. Folglich können durch grenzüberschreitende Kooperationen beim Zubau erneuerbarer Energien erhebliche Effizienzgewinne realisiert werden. Nichtsdestotrotz streben die meisten europäischen Mitgliedsstaaten bislang keine Kooperationen an und wollen das 2020er Ausbauziel für erneuerbare Energien primär durch den Zubau innerhalb der eigenen nationalen Grenzen erreichen. In diesem Artikel zeigen wir die Vorteile europäischer Kooperation gegenüber dem Fall auf, dass auch nach 2020 nationale Ansätze weiterverfolgt werden. Mit Hilfe eines Optimierungsmodells des europäischen Strommarktes zeigen wir, dass die Stromsystemkosten um 5–7 % ansteigen würden, wenn neben einem reinen CO2-Ziel für 2030 (−40 % gegenüber 1990) zusätzlich ein europäisches Ziel für den Ausbau erneuerbarer Energien (i.H.v. 55 %) erreicht werden muss. Diese Zusatzkosten sind jedoch 41–45 % niedriger als die Zusatzkosten, die entstehen würden, wenn das Ausbauziel für die erneuerbaren Energien durch nationale Ansätze verfolgt würde. Außerdem zeigen wir, dass diese Kooperationsgewinne relativ robust gegenüber verschiedenen Annahmen bezüglich dem Ausbau von Grenzkuppelstellen sowie den Investitionskosten erneuerbarer Energien sind. Damit auch in der Praxis zunehmend von der Möglichkeit Gebrauch gemacht wird, Kooperationsgewinne zu erzielen, müssen jedoch administrative Hemmnisse beseitigt sowie Fragen bezüglich einer fairen Kosten-Nutzen-Aufteilung zwischen den Mitgliedsstaaten geklärt werden.
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Notes
Note also that Booze & Company et al. (2013) refer to a Siemens AG presentation in which cost savings from a reallocation of wind and photovoltaics capacities in the period 2012–2030 are shown. However, no further information on the applied methodology or the assumed input parameters is provided in this presentation.
In the analysis of Booze & Company et al. (2013), the level of photovoltaic investment costs influences the magnitude of the cost savings, because it determines the value of the photovoltaic capacities which can be reduced through reallocation. In contrast, in our analysis, different investment cost assumptions influence the optimal generation and capacity levels of various renewable energy technologies (both in the cases with and without cooperation).
The DIMENSION model is based on the DIME model of the Institute of Energy Economics (Bartels 2009). DIME has been applied, e.g., by Nagl et al. (2011), Paulus and Borggrefe (2011), Grave et al. (2012) and Fürsch et al. (2012). The extended version of the DIMENSION model, as presented in Fürsch et al. (2013), includes most elements of the renewable energy investment model LORELEI (Wissen 2011).
In contrast, combined heat and power plants can earn incomes from the heat market, which are deducted from the objective value. Thus, the objective value only includes costs induced by the supply of electricity.
For an overview of these regions, see EWI and energynautics (2011).
For Norway and Switzerland, which do not have a NREAP, electricity demand growth rates based on EWI and energynautics (2011) have been applied.
As the electricity systems of Switzerland and Norway are embedded in the European power system, these two countries are included in the calculation even though the countries are not part of the EU. Norway and Switzerland can therefore contribute in reaching the common RES-E target in the cooperation case. However, we assume that, regardless of the national target setting for the EU Member States, the targets for Switzerland and Norway remain close to today’s RES-E shares, which significantly exceed the EU average.
Note that in order to ensure that an EU-wide target of around 55 % is reached by all national target settings the ‘Extrapolation’ case includes a flatrate increase of 5 percentage points in each country in addition to the extrapolation.
Note that we assume a linear pathway for achieving the 2030 targets and thus also set 2025 RES-E (and CO2) targets. These 2025 targets are determined as a linear interpolation between the 2020 and the 2030 targets.
Note that we use the term ‘cost efficient’ in the context of a European-wide RES-E target—with a CO2 emission reduction target only, a smaller share of RES-E would be cost-efficient. In our scenario settings, a European RES-E share of 46 % is achieved in 2030 if no additional RES-E target is modeled after 2020. However, this share also includes RES-E generation from plants that were built in order to achieve the NREAP in 2020.
Similarly, while the RES-E share in the ‘Equal Share’ scenario is 1.4 percentage points higher than in the ‘Flatrate Growth’ scenario (corresponding to 2.5 % higher RES-E generation), additional costs of the 2030 RES-E target increase by 18 %.
In contrast, costs of the electricity grid are not included in the calculation. However, Fürsch et al. (2013) show that substantial extensions of the transmission grid are beneficial in order to access favorable RES-E sites and that the induced grid extension costs are rather small compared to cost differences occurring in the generation system.
RES-E generation in 2030 is around 1 % higher for national compared to cooperative support. In 2025, differences amount to around 5 %.
Cooperation mechanisms defined within the European Renewables Directive include statistical transfers, joint projects and joint support systems between Member States. In addition, targets can be achieved through cooperation mechanisms with non-EU Member States under certain conditions. For more detailed information, see EC (2012).
Klessmann et al. (2010) explain that the idea of a joint support system between Norway and Sweden was first abolished in 2006 because ‘it was very hard to find a final agreement how to share the costs and benefits in such a system’.
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Unteutsch, M., Lindenberger, D. Promotion of Electricity from Renewable Energy in Europe Post 2020—The Economic Benefits of Cooperation. Z Energiewirtsch 38, 47–64 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12398-014-0125-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12398-014-0125-0