How to Promote Energy Transition With Market Design: A Review on China’s Electric Power Sector

Energy transition, especially in the power industry, will lead to a significant promotion in energy sustainable development. Lots of emphases have been focused on the impact of policy on the energy transition; however, there were little studies on the role of the market. This paper will be devoted to the theoretical basis of market design comprehensively and discusses the obstacles restricting China’s energy transition by using an Institution-Economics-Technology-Behavior (IETB) analysis framework (four dimensions including Institution, Economics, Technology, and Behavior). In addition, the paper provides an overview of research findings on some available market designs related to the energy transition. Of note, power spot market, power capacity market, power futures market, carbon emission market, and Tradable Green Certificate (TGC) market are highlighted and discussed with emphasis. And the effects of implementing each market on overcoming those obstacles in the energy transition process are analyzed. The review results show that the market design is as important as the policy-making; hence, it is unwise for energy transition to focus on policies and ignore markets, and the market design should be pertinent and objective. Finally, some policy recommendations and market design suggestions are put forward.

Full Separation or Full Integration? An Investigation of the Optimal Renewables Policy Employing Tradable Green Certificate Systems in Two Countries’ Electricity Markets

Tradable green certificate (TGC) systems are increasingly used to promote renewable energy generation and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper, we investigate the performance of the optimal renewables policy under full separation and full integration scenarios for two countries with TGCs. Our analysis suggests that under full separation, one country’s optimal renewable quota, which maximizes its own welfare, is strategically substitutional for the other country’s in a Cournot Nash equilibrium of the monopolistic market, when cross-border pollution exists. A country tends to become the “leader” in the market by using an information advantage to gain higher welfare. Using geometric illustrations we demonstrate the possibility that a potentially fully integrated electricity market under a TGC system can improve welfare for each country, when compensation between the countries is possible. From a policy point of view, this is significant in support of the demand for a convergence of national renewable policy schemes, where countries cooperate on solving cross-border environmental problems.

Renewable energy in the European Union: support policy and outcomes

The article deals with the study of support schemes for renewable energy promotion in the European Union member states. The main strategic documents that declare short-term and long-term goals to increase the share of green energy in final energy consumption of the European Union are considered. The primary motivational mechanisms aimed at encouraging the production of energy from renewable energy sources, namely feed-in tariff models, feed-in premium model, and tradable green certificate scheme are analyzed. In addition, a number of secondary motivational tools such as tender systems, net metering, tax and customs privileges which are used in combination with the primary mechanisms for more effective promotion of renewable energy are described. The results of the influence of policy in renewable energy field on increasing the share of green energy in the total energy mixes of European Union member states are presented.