In a recent report, the German Renewable Energy Agency says that
across Europe countries using feed-in tariffs develop more wind energy
and pay less for it than countries using quota systems.
In North America, the quota model is known variously as Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) or Renewable Energy Standards.
The agency, the Agentur für Erneuerbare Energien, says
that RPS-related tendering programs raise the payments for wind energy
in Europe to as much as €0.15/kWh ($0.19/kWh) in Italy. In contrast,
Germany, which uses a feed-in tariff, pays only €0.089/kWh ($0.11/kWh).
Spain, which also uses a feed-in tariff, pays even less.
Germany operates the most wind energy capacity in Europe, 29,000 MW, Spain follows with nearly 22,000 MW.
Italian wind generation has fallen behind electricity
generation from solar photovoltaics for the first time in an
industrialized country. Italy uses feed-in tariffs to pay for solar
energy instead of a trading system in green certificates, one of the
hallmarks of a quota system.
Great Britain, which also uses a quota system for
large-scale wind energy and has the best wind resources in Europe, pays
20% more for wind energy than Germany: €0.108/kWh ($0.135/kWh). More
than half of German wind capacity is now installed in lower wind areas
of mid-Germany and yet Germany still pays less than Great Britain for
wind energy.
Payments for wind energy normally reflect the costs of
wind energy and costs are substantially less where the wind resources
are greater. Thus, it is unusual that Britain pays more for wind energy
than Germany even though its wind resource is so much better.
Britain's ruling conservative coalition has proposed
replacing its quota system, the Renewables Obligation, with
Contracts-for-Differences in a bid to move closer toward feed-in
tariffs. However, there are few details on what the government would
actually pay under its proposal, in part, because of controversy over
how much it would cost to pay for nuclear power.
Twenty of the 27 member states in the European Union (EU)
use a form of feed-in tariffs and much of the wind, solar, and biogas in
the EU has been developed using feed-in tariffs.
The German Renewable Energy Agency also notes that feed-in
tariffs are a market mechanism that can be used to implement "renewable
energy" policies because they can be tailored to individual
technologies.
In theory quota systems only reward the "cheapest"
technology and, thus, doesn't "pick winners" as such. In Europe this is
wind energy. Though this model is supposed to deliver the lowest-cost
electricity to consumers, ironically it delivers the most expensive wind
energy in Europe according to the Renewable Energy Agency.
Italy and Great Britain have each developed less than 7,000 MW of wind energy.
In a survey of German industry, says the agency, the
overwhelming majority favor technology-specific feed-in tariffs. Only 2%
prefer a quota model as used in Poland, Belgium, Great Britain, and
Italy.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2012/09/feed-in-tariffs-do-more-for-wind-at-less-cost-to-ratepayers-than-rps-says-german-agency
No comments:
Post a Comment