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We investigate whether political ideology has an observable effect on decarbonization ambition, renewable power aims, and preferences for power system balancing technologies in four European countries. Based on the Energy Logics framework, we identify ideologically different transition strategies (state-centered, market-centered, grassroots-centered) contained in government policies and opposition party programs valid in 2019. We compare these policies and programs with citizen poll data. We find that ideology has a small effect: governments and political parties across the spectrum have similar, and relatively ambitious, decarbonization and renewables targets. This mirrors citizens' strong support for ambitious action regardless of their ideological self-description. However, whereas political positions on phasing out fossil fuel power are clear across the policy space, positions on phasing in new flexibility options to balance intermittent renewables are vague or non-existent. As parties and citizens agree on strong climate and renewable power aims, the policy ambition is likely to remain high, even if governments change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of the European Union cooperation mechanisms for concentrated solar power (CSP) projects could kill two birds with one stone. First, CSP electricity can cover demand when variable renewables cannot generate. Second, CSP projects deployed under the cooperation mechanisms could contribute to a European-wide optimization of resource use and grid management. This paper analyzes whether the dispatchable nature of CSP is a main driver to the use of the cooperation mechanism for this technology. Based on an expert elicitation and a survey to different types of stakeholders, our results show that, indeed, dispatchability will be the main driver to the use of the cooperation mechanisms for CSP projects in the future. The findings suggest that two types of policy interventions will be required to encourage the use of these mechanisms for CSP. Some policy measures should be directed at the technology itself, whereas other policies should target the cooperation mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) is committed to the deployment of electricity from renewable energy sources (RES-E). However, the large and recent increase in the RES-E penetration has raised the concern of policy makers in the EU Member States (MS) about the costs of public promotion of RES-E. Nevertheless, an economic analysis of the RES-E contribution should include the policy costs of RES-E deployment, but also its benefits. This would contribute to support the debate on renewable energy policy targets in the EU and its MS. The aim of this paper is to close this gap in the literature with a novel methodology and put those policy costs into perspective by evaluating some of the most relevant benefits of RES-E deployment in the EU and its MS. The results show that RES deployment due to RES-E support has led to two main benefits (lower CO 2 emissions and fossil fuel savings), which are slightly below those costs. Behind this broader picture, significant country and technology differences emerge. The benefits are above policy costs for hydro and wind, and below those costs for bioenergy, solar photovolatics and other RES-E. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to review the combinations of RES-E support instruments in the European Union (EU), using different sources of data. It is shown that combinations are indeed a widespread phenomenon in the EU Member States. Not much attention has been paid to the combinations of primary instruments with other secondary instruments for the same renewable energy technology. It is found that the most frequent mixes of instruments are between feed-in laws (feed-in tariffs, and increasingly feed-in premiums), on the one hand, and investment subsidies, soft loans and tax incentives on the other. In a broad sense, the policy mix between primary and secondary instruments has experienced some changes over the last decade, mostly related to changes in the primary instruments themselves. Exclusion (i.e., ineligibility to apply for an instrument when the RES-E generator is already being financially supported by another instrument) and explicit coordination of support under primary and secondary instruments do not seem to be common elements in these policy combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to provide an assessment of the benefits and costs of the deployment of RES-E, electricity from renewable energy sources (RES-E) in Spain between 2002 and 2011. The benefits refer to reductions of CO2 emissions and fossil-fuel imports. These are compared to the costs of public support for RES-E deployment granted through the feed-in-tariff system (FIT). Three different methods have been applied for this purpose: the operative margin factor, the build margin factor and a combination of both. The results show that the benefits of RES-E promotion have outweighed the overall costs of RES-E deployment, although significant variation can be observed across technologies. While those benefits have been higher than the costs for on-shore wind and small hydro, this is not the case with the solar technologies. The costs have been significantly higher than the benefits in the case of solar photovoltaics and slightly higher in the case of solar thermoelectric. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to identify the determinants of differences in on-shore wind electricity capacity additions in the EU Member States. An econometric model is developed in which capacity additions are explained according to several variables (wind resource potentials, support levels, electricity generation costs, type of support scheme, administrative barriers, social support for wind electricity, the general investment climate in the country, electricity demand, the share of other low-carbon technologies, country area and whether there have been major or minor changes in the support scheme). The results show that capacity additions are significantly and negatively related to administrative barriers and changes in the support scheme and positively and significantly related to the general investment climate. The other variables are not statistically significant, although they generally have the expected sign. The results suggest that, more than the level of support granted to renewable energy technologies and the wind resource potentials of each country, capacity additions are encouraged by the removal of administrative barriers and by greater regulatory stability, leading to lower investment risks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to analyse the situation and trends of electricity from renewable energy sources (RES-E) in the EU up to 2030, taking into account several drivers and barriers and different maturity levels for the renewable energy technologies. The methodology is based on the results of simulation models providing insights on future outlooks, complemented with an analysis of regulations and other drivers and barriers. Regarding the most mature renewable electricity technologies, the main drivers will be public policies (carbon prices and support schemes) and the expected up-ward trend in fossil-fuel prices and the main barriers are related to grid access, administrative procedures and the exhaustion of places with the best wind resource. For those already commercial but expensive technologies, the main driver is support schemes (but not carbon prices) allowing the exploitation of the large potential for investment cost reductions. Barriers are mostly related to their high investment costs. Finally, for those technologies which are emerging and immature, further technical improvements as a result of R&D efforts will be needed and they cannot be expected to significantly penetrate the European electricity market until 2030. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Internal mitigation projects have recently been proposed as an additional flexibility mechanism, particularly in the context of the European Union. Their main objective is to engage sectors not included in the European Union emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) in cost-effective emissions reductions. However, in this paper it is argued that, when assessed in terms of dynamic efficiency, the instrument is likely to be, at best, irrelevant to induce the scale of systemic technological changes which are required to tackle the climate change problem and, at worst, detrimental for this task. Insights from the Evolutionary Economics of technological change complemented with political economy considerations are used to support this claim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to empirically identify and rank the drivers and barriers to the deployment of concentrated solar power (CSP) in the EU in the past and the future at two different levels of analysis: System/grid or macro level and project/investment or micro level. An expert elicitation and an investors' survey were carried out for this purpose. The results differ across the two levels (experts and investors), time frames and CSP designs. Specifically, deployment support, policy framework conditions and a proven technology have been major drivers of CSP deployment in the past, according to the expert elicitation. Dispatchability is regarded as the main future driver of the technology, followed by policy framework conditions and complementarity with PV. The survey of investors highlights the relevance of dispatchability, key technology and investors' features as drivers, and stress the importance of administrative processes, construction permits and grid connection as barriers. The results suggest the need to combine different policies in order to activate the drivers and/or mitigate the barriers. Image 1 • An empirical ranking of the drivers and barriers to the deployment of concentrated solar power (CSP). • Focus on the EU in the past and the future at system/grid and project/investment levels. • An expert elicitation and an investors' survey were carried out for this purpose. • The results differ across the two levels (experts and investors), time frames and CSP designs. • The results highlight the importance of dispatchability, public support and administrative barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]