Increase In Electricity Prices Research Articles

ENHANCING EFFICIENCY AND SUSTAINABILITY: GREEN ENERGY SOLUTIONS FOR WATER SUPPLY COMPANIES

Water supply enterprises significantly impact local communities by providing essential services. These companies face high electricity costs for water extraction, purification, and transportation, affecting efficiency and reliability. Therefore, implementing innovative technologies to enhance sustainability in the water supply sector is crucial. This article explores the opportunities and strategies for renewable energy transition at water supply companies. Using investment, sensitivity, and strategic analyses, as well as a case study approach, the research examines technologies, conceptual frameworks, mechanisms, and approaches to integrate green power into water supply operations, addressing high energy costs and promoting sustainability. The article identifies solar, wind, hydroelectric, biomass, and geothermal energy technologies as the most prominent renewable power solutions for water supply enterprises. The developed conceptual framework for implementing these technologies includes needs assessment and goal setting; resource assessment and technology selection; system design and integration; financing and investment; regulatory compliance and permitting; stakeholder engagement and capacity building; and monitoring, evaluation, and continuous improvement. The mechanisms and approaches to integrate green energy solutions within the developed framework can involve on-site renewable energy generation, power purchase agreements, energy storage and microgrid systems, energy efficiency and demand management, and collaborative and community-based models. As a case study, the article examines a 120-kW solar power plant project for a water supply enterprise, demonstrating profitability with a net present value of 60,370 USD and an internal rate of return exceeding 21%. The project's payback period is estimated at 8.38 years, acceptable within industry standards. Sensitivity analysis indicates the project's financial resilience. Increasing electricity prices will boost profitability, justifying the solar power plant investment amid inflation and economic instability. Additionally, the project ensures reliable water transport and environmental benefits by reducing CO2 emissions through solar energy use. Thus, transitioning to renewable energy at water supply enterprises is feasible and essential for long-term sustainability, transforming operations to be more resilient, efficient, and environmentally friendly.

On ways to reduce the energy supply costs in Russia

Purpose: is to research of ways to reduce the energy supply costs for Russian consumers.Methods: the analysis of the transformation of the electric power industry was carried out using the tools of tectology and system economic theory.Results: the key reason for the constant increase in the cost of energy supply has been identified, which is the transition from a systematic approach to energy development aimed at increasing general economic efficiency to maximizing the economic performance of independent energy companies. The need to adjust the basic principles laid down in the concept of electric power industry development is substantiated.Conclusions and Relevance: the result of the successful completion of the reform of the Russian electric power industry is a steady influx of significant investments into the industry over the course of decades. But despite the increase in power system capacity, which is outstripping the dynamics of electricity demand, the need for the most expensive peak power sources and energy storage systems is growing, which leads to an increase in electricity prices in addition to the investment component. A positive feedback has been identified that reduces the structural stability of the energy sector, namely: between rising electricity prices; reduction of electricity consumption from the network as a result of the installation of their own generation by some consumers; increasing costs of generating and network companies; more intensive growth in electricity prices and increased motivation to install their own generation for that part of consumers who continue to use grid electricity. The ways are proposed and the solutions are considered aimed at forming new connections between participants in the single technological process of production, transmission and consumption of energy resources, with the aim of reducing the energy supply costs and improving the specific performance indicators of the energy system, and in the future reducing the costs of integrating renewable energy sources into it.

Navigating the energy transition with the Carbon-Energy-Green-Electricity scheme: An industrial chain-based approach for China's carbon neutrality

In exploring the intricate dynamics of China's energy transition towards a national certificate trading market, this study harnesses a two-stage game model to unravel the nuanced decision-making within the intertwined carbon emissions trading, energy-consumption permit trading, and electricity markets. A novel industrial chain-based policy framework, i.e., the Carbon-Energy-Green-Electricity (CEGE) scheme, is introduced to address the complexity inherent in aligning these trading markets towards carbon neutrality goals. Findings reveal that the current isolated energy transition policies lead to increased electricity prices and imposes redundant regulatory burdens on power companies. By advocating for the CEGE scheme, the study presents a strategic approach to alleviate these challenges, highlighting its potential to lower electricity costs and foster more efficient carbon reduction efforts. Furthermore, it underscores the importance of integrating energy transition policies, including CET, ECPTS, the renewable portfolio standards (RPS), and the tradable green certificate program (TGC), to enhance renewable energy adoption, offering a path to relieve financial pressures on households while supporting broader environmental and economic welfare improvements.

The effect of hydropower bidding strategy on the iberian day-ahead electricity market

In 2021, the Iberian Electricity Market, which includes Portugal and Spain, experienced a significant increase in electricity prices. On average, prices tripled compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, despite stable demand. This trend, though less pronounced in other European markets, has raised concerns about the efficiency and competitiveness of wholesale electricity markets. This study investigates the bidding behavior of non-pumped hydropower plants in the Iberian market, employing a merit order model based on real data from 2019 to 2021. The analysis reveals a clear mismatch between hydropower bid prices and actual production costs. Although this practice is legal, it conflicts with the European Union's goal of promoting fair competition within the internal electricity market.Our findings suggest that aligning hydropower bid prices with 2019 levels could have reduced annual market costs by approximately 2324 million euros under a moderate scenario. This indicates substantial potential for cost savings and improved integration of hydropower. However, this strategy also benefits companies that own these hydropower plants, as they often possess large portfolios and can capitalize on increased market prices through other plants, particularly renewable energy units, which offer electricity at very low prices and have a high likelihood of being dispatched.Furthermore, the study highlights regulatory gaps allowing hydropower plants to price low-cost energy similarly to thermal plants, raising consumer costs and distorting market dynamics. These findings emphasize the need for stronger regulatory oversight and reforms to prevent excessive price inflation by hydropower, which plays a critical role in renewable energy integration and grid stability. Policymakers must ensure fair pricing while compensating hydropower plants for their flexibility and essential contributions to the energy system.

Shift-share of the international market for energy forest products

The increase in fossil fuel prices and the growing demand for clean energy has encouraged the consumption of forest biomass for energy around the world. The distribution of production factors for forest products is not homogeneous across space and the specific market characteristics of each country influence the bioenergy potential. Thus, this article analyzed the structural-differential composition (shift-share) of the international market for energy forest products (EFP) between 2000 and 2020. The data are available from the Food and Agriculture Organization. The EFP consists of firewood, charcoal, wood chips, wood waste, pellets and other agglomerates. Conducted a standard structural-differential analysis (shift-share) over the period 2000–2020, then extended it by applying the Esteban-Marquillas variation. North America, Australia and Europe led in terms of the share of countries with positive effects. Charcoal and firewood were the products most used in energy production. The countries with the greatest positive structural effect were the United States (16 × 106), Canada (7 × 106), Japan (7 × 106), Finland (6 × 106), and France (5 × 106). The countries with the greatest positive differential effect were Myanmar (38 × 106), China (36 × 106), Ghana (20 × 106), Ethiopia (20 × 106), and Congo (18 × 106). From 2000–2020, 29 countries demonstrated a specialized competitive advantage (SCA), 51 countries demonstrated a non-specialized competitive advantage (NSCA), 39 countries demonstrated a non-specialized disadvantage (NSD) and 48 countries demonstrated a specialized competitive disadvantage (SCD). With these results it was possible to note that the increase in oil, gas and electricity prices has encouraged the consumption of EFPs worldwide. Hybrid industries (oil/gas/pellets) increased forest biomass consumption in the period 2000–2020. The dynamics of EFP consumption worldwide have been driven by increased demand from competitive and specialized countries.

Analyzing the Impact of Volatile Electricity Prices on Solar Energy Capture Rates in Central Europe: A Comparative Study

Electricity prices have been exceptionally volatile in recent years. In 2022, we witnessed a sharp increase in electricity prices in many countries. Several factors contributed to this, including reduced electricity production by hydropower plants due to climatic conditions and geopolitical situations around the world, amongst other factors. The research presented in this paper aims to analyze electricity price data and determine the parameters CPS (Capacity Payment Scheme) and CRS (Capacity Remuneration Scheme). These parameters are calculated from hourly data on a monthly basis from 2018 to the present. Determining these parameters provides a clearer understanding of the efficiency of utilizing photovoltaic power plants. However, the results indicate that identical CRS values can signify different situations in the electricity market. Given the current support for projects utilizing photovoltaic energy, the research findings may offer insights into the future direction of photovoltaic energy utilization. If CRS and CPS show positive trends (e.g., increasing values), this may suggest that current political measures (subsidies, supports, etc.) are effective. Policymakers could then strengthen or expand these measures. The research outcomes could shape the geopolitical situation in individual states. The research results show how differences in electricity prices in 2022 compared to pre-2022 affected CSP and CRS parameters. The findings also indicate that electricity prices vary across different countries, which naturally impacts the calculation of CPS and CRS. In 2024, a significant decline in CRS was observed across all analyzed countries, which may indicate issues with integrating solar energy into the market, market saturation, or changes in market dynamics.

Weather conditions, climate change, and the price of electricity

We estimate the effect of temperature, wind speed, solar radiation, and precipitation on wholesale electricity prices for six European countries, analyzing the full distribution of the weather variables. We provide evidence on nonlinear and extreme weather effects on electricity prices. In all countries, reductions in temperature below a certain threshold increase electricity prices, yet these thresholds tend to be lower for colder countries than for warmer ones. In addition, warmer countries have an upper threshold above which temperatures also increase prices. The precipitation threshold is near the maximum for countries with limited hydroelectric generation and much lower for others with high hydropower capacity, such as Norway. Wind speed has a similar effect on electricity prices across countries, while irradiance has a statistically significant effect in countries with the highest solar capacity and higher average irradiance. Ultimately, the impact of weather conditions on electricity prices is influenced by a country's initial climatic conditions, generation mix, policies, energy efficiency levels, and behavioral factors. Policies aimed at reducing the disproportionately negative impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations should ideally be informed by accurate quantification of the impact of weather on electricity prices.

Macroeconomic Drivers of Electricity Prices in Nigeria

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14pt;">Electricity price volatility in developing economies, particularly Nigeria, presents a significant challenge to sustainable development. In this paper, we examine the macroeconomic drivers of electricity prices (ELP) in Nigeria based on annual data spanning 1980-2022 and the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) procedure. Our model estimates the long-run and short-run impacts of population growth (PG), economic growth (GDP), crude oil price (COPR), and electricity consumption (ELC) on electricity prices (ELP). The empirical findings reveal a positive and long-run effect of PG on ELP, indicating that rising demand from a growing population increases electricity prices. In the short-run, ELC surprisingly co-moved with ELP, which may be attributable to price-sensitive demand within specific consumer segments or periods. Furthermore, GDP and COPR exert positive effects on ELP, indicating that economic growth drives energy consumption and prices, and the cost-driven impact of fossil fuel dependence in electricity generation. These findings shed light on the complex interplay of demographic, economic, and energy market-related forces driving electricity prices in Nigeria. Therefore, the paper proposes some policy suggestions based on the empirical findings.</span></p>

A general sizing methodology of grid-connected PV systems to meet the zero-energy goal in buildings

This work expresses the most general definition of zero-energy building through a set of equations based on measured energy consumption and electricity generation predictions. This helps determining the optimal size of grid-connected photovoltaic systems for upgrading any highly efficient or conventional building into a zero-energy building. Opposed to previous works, which consider only electrical consumptions, this article includes consumption from fossil fuels and district heat and cooling networks. The study also covers environmental parameters and an economic study adaptable to any electricity market structure, contributing to deciding the best electricity tariff to hire.The methodology was applied to passive and conventional single-family houses in Spain. Results showed that the performance of a grid-connected photovoltaic system depends critically on the energy sources imported by the building. In particular, the performance improves in buildings where the electricity represents most of the imported energy. The required minimum size of the photovoltaic system in the conventional house (14 kWp) is far greater than in the passive house (9 kWp). After the recent global increase in electricity prices, annual economic savings of 70.12 % and 49.71 %, and payback periods of 6 and 13 years for the passive and conventional houses, respectively, make the investment profitable.

On the Increase of Electricity Prices in the Territory of Non-Price Zones of the Far Eastern Federal District and Their Impact on Industry

The economy of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia is characterized by a significant share of industrial production in the overall GRP structure. For this reason, an important factor affecting the industrial and investment development of the macroregion is the price of electricity supplied to industrial consumers. This article is devoted to the study of the dynamics of a significant increase in electricity prices in 2023 in Khabarovsky Krai, Amurskaya Oblast, Primorsky Krai, Jewish Autonomous Oblast, included in the territory of non-price zones of the wholesale electricity market, as well as factors influencing the identified price increases that affect the magnitude and dynamics of changes in regional GRPs, which emphasizes the theoretical and the applied relevance of the presented research. The authors review the role of the Far Eastern Federal District economy in the formation of the country's GRP, the role of the industrial sector in the development of the economy of the macroregion, the share of electricity consumption by industry in the GRP structure, which emphasizes the high importance of the energy factor in the economic development of the studied territories. The materials present the results of calculating the dynamics of changes in electricity demand in the federal districts of Russia for the period of 2008-2022. The authors conclude that such a significant increase in electricity prices for the supplied industry will lead to an even greater lag in the industrial potential of the macroregion not only from the whole world, but also from the rest of Russia, which will negatively affect the entire sphere of socio–economic life of the macroregion, which determines the need to review government measures in the field of tariff containment in the territories of the Far Eastern Federal District.

Drivers and challenges of solar photovoltaics (PV) adoption by Turkish manufacturers

AbstractThis study addresses the critical gap in literature caused by previous qualitative studies on PV adoption focusing primarily on households, which have limited access to specific industry sectors across different countries. As far as we know, no other research has investigated the manufacturing and industrial firms’ perspective on Renewable energy and, specifically, PV adaptation in Türkiye. We use a qualitative semi-structured survey approach accommodated in Turkish Organized Industrial Zones. According to the interviews carried out within the scope of this study, an increase in electricity prices and a decrease in the payback period by PV installment are seen as the most critical drivers of PV adoption in the manufacturing sector. Energy security concerns and climate change policies also help increase the pace of PV adaptation. One of the biggest challenges in PV adoption seems to be technical challenges due to the limited capacity of the transformer, bureaucratic problems due to PV applications, supply side problems due to long wait times by the suppliers, knowledge and information problems, architectural and space problem that are also linked to the legal constraints and financial difficulties due to the lack of access to credit due to the macroeconomic situation of the country.

Impact of Contracts for Differences for non-carbon electricity generation on efficiency of electricity market

In response to the recent energy crisis, the European Commission proposed two-way Contracts for Differences (CfDs) to secure renewable energy investments and protect consumers. The proposed CfDs, however, raised concerns regarding the potential impact on electricity prices. This study examines the effects of various CfD design elements on day-ahead electricity prices, welfare, and renewable energy production. Using a partial equilibrium model of an international electricity market including thirteen European countries, we find a trade-off between stimulating renewable electricity producers to respond to negative prices, and ensuring producer certainty. We also show potential market distortions for CfDs with longer-term reference prices, particularly when strike prices deviate from expectations. Additionally, our study underscores the interactions among various players in the electricity market, in particular storage operators and international traders, and how these interactions can mitigate potential distortions from CfDs. Therefore, policymakers should carefully consider the design elements of CfDs, and weigh the promotion of renewable energy production against the efficiency of markets. Moreover, a proper reference price should be selected, to avoid further increasing electricity prices in periods with high electricity prices.

Do environmental regulations affect firms’ investment decisions? Evidence from renewable energy policy

This paper studies whether climate transition risks affect manufacturing firms’ real investment decisions by exploiting the state-level adoption of the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), a set of prominent energy and environmental regulations in the U.S. from 1984–2022. Using a staggered difference-in-differences analysis, we show that while these programs impose substantial compliance costs on emission sources and result in a marked increase in electricity prices, they do not alter manufacturers’ capital expenditures, mergers and acquisitions, and alliance formation. This finding survives a battery of robustness checks. It broadly persists in cross-sectional tests of firms with varied exposure to RPS, in different size groups, and with varying degrees of financial constraints, operating leverage, market competition, and corporate governance quality. Only manufacturing firms from more competitive markets reduce their capital expenditures after RPS’ adoption. Furthermore, our results show that RPS do not influence other firm decisions and outcomes, such as employment growth, innovation, and firm performance. Our study documents novel evidence of manufacturers’ notable resilience to transition risks associated with energy and environmental policies. Our findings provide implications for the debate on the benefits and costs of regulations tackling climate change and call for further research on firms’ climate adaptation strategies.

Effects of Removing Energy Subsidies and Implementing Carbon Taxes on Urban, Rural and Gender Welfare: Evidence from Mexico

The demand for different energy goods and services is a fundamental component in a country’s economic structure for development. Understanding it is vital in designing economic policies, such as taxes, that can improve the welfare of the population. A comprehension of the distributional effects of elasticities and the application of them to simulate household responses to price changes, as well as a calculation of the welfare impacts on poor and rich households in Mexico, should inform policy design. This paper uses the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (ENIGH) from 1996 to 2018 to estimate the demand of Mexican households for fuels, specifically electricity, liquefied petroleum gas, and gasoline. A Quasi Ideal Quadratic Demand System (QUAIDS) is employed to analyse the effects of removing energy subsidies and introducing a carbon tax. The results indicate that welfare losses would be regressive concerning electricity price increases, while changes in gasoline prices would be progressive. Redistributing the tax revenues accrued by removing energy subsidies and imposing the carbon tax would have more progressive effects on the economy of Mexican households, with welfare gains of up to 350% for the poorest households in the case of electricity consumption taxes.

Comparison of different hydrogen-ammonia energy conversion pathways for renewable energy supply

Hydrogen and ammonia are considered promising energy carriers for renewable energy due to their environmental friendliness and medium- and long-term storage cost advantages. However, a single hydrogen or ammonia energy strategy generally cannot meet the demand, limiting widespread application. Here we consider the whole process of renewable energy generation-transmission-storage-consumption, and propose a hydrogen-ammonia combined operation strategy. Assuming a rated power of 40 MW for generation and 10 MW for demand, we compare five energy conversion pathways: hydrogen or ammonia pipeline transmission, high-voltage alternating current (HVAC) transmission with hydrogen or ammonia storage, and HVAC transmission with hydrogen-ammonia hybrid energy storage. Results indicate that for a transmission distance of 100 km, the most economical pathway is HVAC transmission with hydrogen-ammonia hybrid energy storage, with a net present value (NPV) of 39.31 M$ and a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of 0.081 $/kWh. Sensitivity analyses reveal that a 0.01 $/kWh increase in electricity price leads to NPV growths of 11.75–16.02 M$. This pathway achieves zero carbon footprint and saves 4.7 M$ annually in carbon taxes. Compared to traditional production methods, this pathway is equivalent to reducing emissions by 94,189 tons.

Energieflexibilisierung von Kälteversorgungssystemen

Abstract In order to reduce the energy-related operating costs of industrial cooling supply systems, demand side management becomes more and more economically attractive in the face of increasing electricity price fluctuations. However, the realization of this potential usually fails due to implementation. In order to reduce the impediments to implementation, this paper presents a rule-based model predictive approach to operational optimization based on thermodynamic relationships and logical decision criteria. The optimization approach is finally validated on a simulation model as well as on a real climate room and leads to realized operating cost savings of up to 21 %.

Power Sharing at Rooftop Solar PV System Based Community Microgrid Using Helioscope Software

Due to increase in use of rooftop solar PV system and increase of electricity price, the power sharing among the prosumers of community microgrid become an interesting research area. This study proposes a power sharing mechanism that captures the interaction within a community microgrid. The efficient management of energy sharing is crucial for the efficient operation of community microgrids. To design rooftop solar PV systems, Helioscope software is employed. One of the key features of Helioscope is its ability to efficiently arrange arrays and blocks of solar panels based on the designated location within the software. The power sharing is obligated to coordinate the sharing of PV energy with maximization of the own profit, while the prosumers are autonomous to maximize their utilities with demand response availability. Finally, a load demand and PV generation mechanism is designed to deal with the uncertainty of PV energy and load consumption.

The EU’s Emergency Intervention against High Energy Prices: Implications for the Visegrad Group Countries

Abstract The energy market in the European Union has recently faced significant external influences, which have resulted in turbulent developments in wholesale energy markets. The extraordinary and sudden increase in electricity prices and the imminent risk of further increases required a joint solution by the Member States at the end of 2022. On 6 October 2022, the Council of the European Union adopted Regulation 2022/1854 on Emergency Intervention to Address High Energy Prices, which establishes an emergency intervention to mitigate the effects of high energy prices through exceptional, targeted and time-limited measures. In this paper, the authors focus on the legal framework adopted to introduce the mandatory cap on market revenues to electricity producers in the countries of the Visegrad Group (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia).

DETERMINANTS OF THE INVESTMENTS IN PHOTOVOLTAIC MICRO-INSTALLATIONS BY INDIVIDUAL USERS IN POLAND

Aim:The paper’s objective is to determine the behavior and attitudes of Polish investors and users towards photovoltaic installations in Poland. Methods: The survey was carried out by ARC Rynek i Opinia (the Institute of Opinion and Market Research), commissioned by the company Alians-OZE, which, as part of the cooperation between business practice and science, made the results of the research available to the authors of this paper. The study was carried out in April 2021 using the CAWI technique. Results: The most important advantage of using photovoltaic micro-installations included factors such as using a source of free energy and independence from electricity price increases. The most important disadvantages were the high price of installation and the period of return on investment. Conclusions: The individual users of photovoltaic micro-installations, due to their activities in the green energy market as prosumers, not only increased the amount of renewable energy available, but also increased the social awareness of the benefits of such solutions. Therefore, it is important to promote as part of the pro-ecological policy, as well as the measures aimed at promoting this renewable energy source among individual users.

Irregular, Backward-Compatible PWR Assembles with More Pins to Facilitate Uprates

Increasing the number of pins within a pressurized water reactor (PWR) assembly reduces pin temperature for a given assembly power. In conjunction with a core retrofit, this presents a potential route to PWR uprate, which is of growing interest given recent increases in electricity prices. However, most PWRs utilize regular lattice designs with fixed guide tube positions, such as the very common 17 × 17 lattice design with 25 guide/instrumentation tubes. These tubes are aligned with penetrations in the reactor pressure vessel, which presents a prohibitive obstacle to retrofit, and more widely, may “lock” many PWRs to this particular fuel configuration. In this paper, an irregular PWR fuel assembly is proposed. It is shown that a backward-compatible lattice with 324 fuel pins per assembly (BL324), uniform enrichment, and the same hydrogen-to–heavy metal ratio as a reference 17 × 17 assembly with 264 fuel pins can achieve within-assembly power peaking within 2% of the reference assembly under equivalent conditions while fixing the guide tube positions. Power peaking can be further reduced to reach that of the existing fuel assembly by reducing the enrichment of 36 of the pins by 0.2 wt%. The fuel assembly could potentially either support a significant uprate of up to ~20% in conjunction with low-enriched uranium plus (LEU+) fuel or a more aggressive cycle design, and hence, improved discharge burnup at the same power and batch strategy. A subchannel analysis shows that the coolant heat-up distribution is comparable to the reference assembly. However, the pressure drop is estimated to be 4% higher, which would challenge the performance of transition cores containing both 17 × 17s and BL324s. Further incremental changes to BL324 may be attractive, either to improve manufacturability or to slightly improve performance through formal optimization.