About: capacity mechanisms
Electricity market must serve higher climate ambition
As negotiations on the EU’s new electricity market enter their crucial trialogue phase, the bloc faces a litmus test for the credibility of its climate ambition. With only two trialogues left, the fate of coal subsidies is still not sealed while COP24 is approaching, writes Joanna Flisowska.
Regulated energy prices: The end of an era?
Many European countries have various types of limits on gas and electricity prices paid by consumers, a legacy inherited from the post-war period.
German coal plant exposed as Europe’s single worst air polluter
The Niederaussem coal plant and mine, operated by RWE, was singled out as Europe’s largest hotspot for Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) pollution, according to a groundbreaking analysis of new satellite imagery. London’s polluted air, caused mainly by transport emissions, comes second.
Britain’s capacity market for electricity: Lessons for Europe
The UK’s market-wide capacity mechanism for electricity provides a solution to a supply problem that has yet to emerge, writes Phil Baker. A targeted strategic reserve is likely to be a more cost-reflective alternative, he argues.
EU negotiators agree ‘dynamic pricing’ of electricity
Energy companies with more than 200,000 clients will be obliged to provide households with at least one offer comprising dynamic price contracts, under an EU-level agreement reached behind closed doors last week, EURACTIV.com has learned.
Transparency, a central bone of contention in EU power market overhaul
Whether it relates to electricity prices charged to customers, the calculation of grid availability across borders, or the EU’s law-making process itself, the quest for transparency has emerged as a cross-cutting theme in Europe’s ongoing power market reform.
Europe’s electricity market: Ensuring supply security in the transition to renewables
The on-going transformation of the EU power industry is leading policymakers to re-evaluate the current design of electricity markets. Electricity generated from renewable sources has become one of the most important sources of electricity, paving the way for a transition towards a low-carbon energy system.
Spain drops opposition to EU limits on coal power
The Spanish government has begun winding down state aid for coal power, saying it now sides with a European Commission plan to prohibit so-called capacity payments for plants emitting more than 550g of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour.
PKEE: Polish capacity market is designed for low-carbon electricity
The capacity market in Poland has a so-called “green bonus”, which allows a two-year extension of the multiannual capacity contracts provided that a 450 kg CO2/MWh emission performance standard is met, says Maciej Burny.
Why France believes capacity mechanisms are necessary
Capacity mechanisms are crucial to secure the finances of power plants that ensure France's security of electricity supply. They are also essential to attract investments in new necessary capacity by providing visibility to the market thanks to a long-term price signal, writes Virginie Schwarz.
Italy withdraws objections to EU power market reform
Davide Crippa, Italy’s Undersecretary for Economic Development, has announced the country’s withdrawal from a seven-country alliance led by Poland, which argued for preserving national sovereignty over decisions to finance emergency power plants.
Greenpeace study throws light on Europe’s ‘hidden energy subsidies’
Figures compiled by the environmental pressure group Greenpeace highlight the lack of transparency about the amount of cash disbursed by national governments to support back-up power plants – mainly fossil fuels and nuclear.
Capacity mechanisms reform – key issues to watch
The European Commission wants to limit state aid for power plants that EU countries remunerate to remain on stand-by in case of demand peak. As negotiations on the EU’s new electricity market enter the home straight, EURACTIV lists the main issues to watch out for in the debate.
Capacity markets: How much ‘flexibility’ for EU countries?
Mostly out of pragmatism, the European Commission has adopted a rather tolerant approach to “capacity mechanisms” – national schemes that remunerate back-up power plants – accepting that EU countries face different challenges in the energy transition.
Academic: Fossil fuel back-ups ‘may be the price to pay’ for renewables
It’s a contradiction that policymakers are currently struggling to resolve. But fossil fuel back-up plants are probably necessary in the short term in order to give EU countries the confidence to bring in higher shares of renewable electricity, says Michael Pollitt.
Capacity markets: A necessary evil in the energy transition?
Detractors of capacity mechanisms argue they are mere state aid for dirty fossil fuels that should be eliminated as soon as possible while supporters claim they provide vital back-up in the transition to renewable electricity. The fact that both are correct is leaving Europe in a quandary.
Capacity markets for electricity
As the EU’s power market reform enters the home straight, EURACTIV.com takes a look at so-called “capacity mechanisms” for back-up electricity and whether they help or hinder the EU’s twin objectives of supply security and decarbonisation.
Germany’s ‘strategic reserves’ for coal under fire in EU Council
A group of seven countries – comprising France, Poland, Italy, Hungary, Greece, Ireland and the UK – have issued a common position on the reform of Europe’s electricity market, saying “strategic reserves” for electricity should not receive favourable treatment from regulators.
The role of capacity markets in the electricity market transition
The European Commission presented two proposals on Electricity Market Design as part of its Clean Energy Package of November 2016. Discussions on the package have tended to focus on the level of ambition, in particular Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency targets.
EU admits ‘mistake’ in state aid decision for German coal plants
The EU’s decisions to approve state support for emergency power plants in France, Germany, Poland, Italy and Greece will all have to be revisited in light of the ongoing reform of electricity market rules, the European Commission said on Tuesday (4 September), saying it won’t make an exception for Germany.
Danish MEP: ‘Fight continues’ for renewable energy in Europe
The 32% renewable energy objective for 2030 agreed at the EU level in June was a good result, says Jeppe Kofod, but it’s still insufficient to live up to the Paris accord, he told EURACTIV in an interview, setting out the agenda for clean energy battles in the years ahead.
Poland’s ‘last coal power plant’ faces €1.7 billion loss, analysts say
The planned phase-out of state aid to fossil fuel power generation across the European Union could make the Ostrołęka C coal station project unprofitable within years, according to a new report by Carbon Tracker, a think tank.
Decarbonisation not just an option but an opportunity, insist energy experts
Decarbonising the economy and energy production is now a necessity for states and companies, although it can also be a source of business opportunities and innovation, according to experts. EURACTIV's Spanish partner reports.