IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v87y2020ics0140988319302804.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do Intermittent Renewables Threaten the Electricity Supply Security?

Author

Listed:
  • Liebensteiner, Mario
  • Wrienz, Matthias

Abstract

Around the globe, intermittent renewable energies in the form of wind and solar power are on the rise. Their subsidization can be seen as a market intervention, which may deter optimal investment. Thus, this study tests the effect of renewable energies on investment in conventional electricity generation technologies. We estimate a dynamic investment model for 14 European economies for the period 2004–2016 and find a non-negligible negative impact of intermittent renewables on investment in peak-load capacity (mainly gas), while base-load (particularly coal) plants are unaffected. However, the production flexibility of gas-fired plants represents a particularly vital function to balance the supply intermittency of wind and solar. Thus, dispatchable conventional power plants are still necessary to back the system under scarcity events, such as unfavorable weather conditions during high electricity demand. Policymakers should be aware of the adverse effects of RES on investment in peak-load plants and may consider a redesign of the current system, for example by introducing capacity markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Liebensteiner, Mario & Wrienz, Matthias, 2020. "Do Intermittent Renewables Threaten the Electricity Supply Security?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:87:y:2020:i:c:s0140988319302804
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2019.104499
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988319302804
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2019.104499?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chirinko, Robert S, 1993. "Business Fixed Investment Spending: Modeling Strategies, Empirical Results, and Policy Implications," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 31(4), pages 1875-1911, December.
    2. Paul Joskow & Jean Tirole, 2007. "Reliability and competitive electricity markets," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 38(1), pages 60-84, March.
    3. Robert S. Chirinko, 1992. "Business Fixed Investment Spending: A Critical survey of Modeling Strategies, Empirical Results, and Policy Implications," Working Papers 9213, Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago.
    4. Cludius, Johanna & Hermann, Hauke & Matthes, Felix Chr. & Graichen, Verena, 2014. "The merit order effect of wind and photovoltaic electricity generation in Germany 2008–2016: Estimation and distributional implications," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 302-313.
    5. Gugler, Klaus & Haxhimusa, Adhurim & Liebensteiner, Mario, 2016. "Integration and Efficiency of European Electricity Markets: Evidence from Spot Prices," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 226, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    6. Genc, Talat S. & Thille, Henry, 2011. "Investment in electricity markets with asymmetric technologies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 379-387, May.
    7. Würzburg, Klaas & Labandeira, Xavier & Linares, Pedro, 2013. "Renewable generation and electricity prices: Taking stock and new evidence for Germany and Austria," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(S1), pages 159-171.
    8. Bun, Maurice J. G. & Kiviet, Jan F., 2003. "On the diminishing returns of higher-order terms in asymptotic expansions of bias," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 79(2), pages 145-152, May.
    9. Cullmann, Astrid & Nieswand, Maria, 2016. "Regulation and investment incentives in electricity distribution: An empirical assessment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 192-203.
    10. Ketterer, Janina C., 2014. "The impact of wind power generation on the electricity price in Germany," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 270-280.
    11. Gelabert, Liliana & Labandeira, Xavier & Linares, Pedro, 2011. "An ex-post analysis of the effect of renewables and cogeneration on Spanish electricity prices," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(S1), pages 59-65.
    12. Kiviet, Jan F., 1995. "On bias, inconsistency, and efficiency of various estimators in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 53-78, July.
    13. Petra Lunackova & Jan Prusa & Karel Janda, 2017. "The merit order effect of Czech renewable energy," CAMA Working Papers 2017-17, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    14. David Roodman, 2009. "How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 9(1), pages 86-136, March.
    15. Peter Cramton & Axel Ockenfels, 2012. "Economics and Design of Capacity Markets for the Power Sector," Papers of Peter Cramton 12cocap, University of Maryland, Department of Economics - Peter Cramton, revised 2012.
    16. Hirth, Lion, 2013. "The market value of variable renewables," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 218-236.
    17. Brown, David P., 2018. "Capacity payment mechanisms and investment incentives in restructured electricity markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 131-142.
    18. Gil, Hugo A. & Gomez-Quiles, Catalina & Riquelme, Jesus, 2012. "Large-scale wind power integration and wholesale electricity trading benefits: Estimation via an ex post approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 849-859.
    19. James Bushnell & Kevin Novan, 2018. "Setting with the Sun: The Impacts of Renewable Energy on Wholesale Power Markets," NBER Working Papers 24980, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Clò, Stefano & Cataldi, Alessandra & Zoppoli, Pietro, 2015. "The merit-order effect in the Italian power market: The impact of solar and wind generation on national wholesale electricity prices," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 79-88.
    21. Judson, Ruth A. & Owen, Ann L., 1999. "Estimating dynamic panel data models: a guide for macroeconomists," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 9-15, October.
    22. Carlo Cambini & Laura Rondi, 2010. "Incentive regulation and investment: evidence from European energy utilities," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 1-26, August.
    23. Mulder, Machiel & Scholtens, Bert, 2013. "The impact of renewable energy on electricity prices in the Netherlands," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 94-100.
    24. Anderson, T. W. & Hsiao, Cheng, 1982. "Formulation and estimation of dynamic models using panel data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 47-82, January.
    25. Winkler, Jenny & Gaio, Alberto & Pfluger, Benjamin & Ragwitz, Mario, 2016. "Impact of renewables on electricity markets – Do support schemes matter?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 157-167.
    26. Graf, Christoph & Marcantonini, Claudio, 2017. "Renewable energy and its impact on thermal generation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 421-430.
    27. Luňáčková, Petra & Průša, Jan & Janda, Karel, 2017. "The merit order effect of Czech photovoltaic plants," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 138-147.
    28. Hausfather, Zeke, 2015. "Bounding the climate viability of natural gas as a bridge fuel to displace coal," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 286-294.
    29. Hsiao,Cheng & Pesaran,M. Hashem & Lahiri,Kajal & Lee,Lung Fei (ed.), 1999. "Analysis of Panels and Limited Dependent Variable Models," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521631693.
    30. Bruno, Giovanni S.F., 2005. "Approximating the bias of the LSDV estimator for dynamic unbalanced panel data models," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 87(3), pages 361-366, June.
    31. Grossi, Luigi & Heim, Sven & Waterson, Michael, 2017. "The impact of the German response to the Fukushima earthquake," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 450-465.
    32. Steggals, Will & Gross, Robert & Heptonstall, Philip, 2011. "Winds of change: How high wind penetrations will affect investment incentives in the GB electricity sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1389-1396, March.
    33. Traber, Thure & Kemfert, Claudia, 2011. "Gone with the wind? -- Electricity market prices and incentives to invest in thermal power plants under increasing wind energy supply," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 249-256, March.
    34. Giovanni S. F. Bruno, 2005. "Estimation and inference in dynamic unbalanced panel-data models with a small number of individuals," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 5(4), pages 473-500, December.
    35. Moiseeva, Ekaterina & Wogrin, Sonja & Hesamzadeh, Mohammad Reza, 2017. "Generation flexibility in ramp rates: Strategic behavior and lessons for electricity market design," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 261(2), pages 755-771.
    36. I. A. Grant Wilson & Iain Staffell, 2018. "Rapid fuel switching from coal to natural gas through effective carbon pricing," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 3(5), pages 365-372, May.
    37. Jenner, Steffen & Lamadrid, Alberto J., 2013. "Shale gas vs. coal: Policy implications from environmental impact comparisons of shale gas, conventional gas, and coal on air, water, and land in the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 442-453.
    38. Richard Green & Nicholas Vasilakos, 2011. "The Long-term Impact of Wind Power on Electricity Prices and Generating Capacity," Discussion Papers 11-09, Department of Economics, University of Birmingham.
    39. Gugler, Klaus & Haxhimusa, Adhurim & Liebensteiner, Mario & Schindler, Nora, 2016. "Investment under Uncertainty in Electricity Generation," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 234, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    40. Joskow, Paul L., 2008. "Capacity payments in imperfect electricity markets: Need and design," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 159-170, September.
    41. Gugler, Klaus & Rammerstorfer, Margarethe & Schmitt, Stephan, 2013. "Ownership unbundling and investment in electricity markets — A cross country study," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 702-713.
    42. Arellano, Manuel, 2003. "Panel Data Econometrics," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199245291, Decembrie.
    43. Gross, Robert & Blyth, William & Heptonstall, Philip, 2010. "Risks, revenues and investment in electricity generation: Why policy needs to look beyond costs," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 796-804, July.
    44. Lion Hirth, 2013. "The Market Value of Variable Renewables. The Effect of Solar and Wind Power Variability on their Relative Price," RSCAS Working Papers 2013/36, European University Institute.
    45. Nickell, Stephen J, 1981. "Biases in Dynamic Models with Fixed Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(6), pages 1417-1426, November.
    46. Aaron Praktiknjo and Georg Erdmann, 2016. "Renewable Electricity and Backup Capacities: An (Un-) Resolvable Problem?," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Bollino-M).
    47. Creti, Anna & Fabra, Natalia, 2007. "Supply security and short-run capacity markets for electricity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 259-276, March.
    48. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sousa, Joana & Soares, Isabel, 2022. "Demand response potential: An economic analysis for MIBEL and EEX," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(PA).
    2. Luís Sousa Rodrigues & Daniel Lemos Marques & Jorge Augusto Ferreira & Vítor António Ferreira Costa & Nelson Dias Martins & Fernando José Neto Da Silva, 2022. "The Load Shifting Potential of Domestic Refrigerators in Smart Grids: A Comprehensive Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-36, October.
    3. Meira, Erick & Cyrino Oliveira, Fernando Luiz & de Menezes, Lilian M., 2022. "Forecasting natural gas consumption using Bagging and modified regularization techniques," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    4. Mišík, Matúš, 2022. "The EU needs to improve its external energy security," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    5. Yao, Huizong & Zang, Chuanfu, 2021. "The spatiotemporal characteristics of electrical energy supply-demand and the green economy outlook of Guangdong Province, China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    6. Simshauser, Paul, 2021. "Vertical integration, peaking plant commitments and the role of credit quality in energy-only markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    7. Mohammad Nure Alam, 2021. "Accessing the Effect of Renewables on the Wholesale Power Market," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(2), pages 341-360.
    8. Liebensteiner, Mario & Haxhimusa, Adhurim & Naumann, Fabian, 2023. "Subsidized renewables’ adverse effect on energy storage and carbon pricing as a potential remedy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Figueiredo, Nuno Carvalho & Silva, Patrícia Pereira da, 2019. "The “Merit-order effect” of wind and solar power: Volatility and determinants," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 54-62.
    2. Csereklyei, Zsuzsanna & Qu, Songze & Ancev, Tihomir, 2019. "The effect of wind and solar power generation on wholesale electricity prices in Australia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 358-369.
    3. Macedo, Daniela Pereira & Marques, António Cardoso & Damette, Olivier, 2020. "The impact of the integration of renewable energy sources in the electricity price formation: is the Merit-Order Effect occurring in Portugal?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    4. Roberto Dell'Anno & Adalgiso Amendola, 2015. "Social Exclusion and Economic Growth: An Empirical Investigation in European Economies," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 61(2), pages 274-301, June.
    5. Jochimsen, Beate & Thomasius, Sebastian, 2014. "The perfect finance minister: Whom to appoint as finance minister to balance the budget," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 390-408.
    6. Dilla, Diana, 2017. "Staatsverschuldung und Verschuldungsmentalität [Public Debt and Debt Mentality]," MPRA Paper 79432, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Mahir Binici & Yin-Wong Cheung & Kon S. Lai, 2011. "Trade Openness, Market Competition, and Inflation: Some Sectoral Evidence from OECD Countries," CESifo Working Paper Series 3690, CESifo.
    8. Gürtler, Marc & Paulsen, Thomas, 2018. "The effect of wind and solar power forecasts on day-ahead and intraday electricity prices in Germany," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 150-162.
    9. Gehringer, Agnieszka & Prettner, Klaus, 2019. "Longevity And Technological Change," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(4), pages 1471-1503, June.
    10. Christian Growitsch & Marcus Stronzik, 2014. "Ownership unbundling of natural gas transmission networks: empirical evidence," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 207-225, October.
    11. Nibedita, Barsha & Irfan, Mohd, 2022. "Analyzing the asymmetric impacts of renewables on wholesale electricity price: Empirical evidence from the Indian electricity market," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 538-551.
    12. Kretschmer, Bettina & Hübler, Michael & Nunnenkamp, Peter, 2010. "Does foreign aid reduce energy and carbon intensities in developing countries?," Kiel Working Papers 1598, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    13. Jain, Sourabh & Shrimali, Gireesh, 2022. "Impact of renewable electricity on utility finances: Assessing merit order effect for an Indian utility," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    14. Mulder, Machiel & Scholtens, Bert, 2016. "A plant-level analysis of the spill-over effects of the German Energiewende," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 1259-1271.
    15. Javier L'opez Prol & Wolf-Peter Schill, 2020. "The Economics of Variable Renewables and Electricity Storage," Papers 2012.15371, arXiv.org.
    16. Giovanni S. F. Bruno, 2005. "Estimation and inference in dynamic unbalanced panel-data models with a small number of individuals," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 5(4), pages 473-500, December.
    17. Huang, Yongfu, 2010. "Political Institutions and Financial Development: An Empirical Study," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 1667-1677, December.
    18. Ricardo Barradas, 2023. "Why Has Labor Productivity Slowed Down in the Era of Financialization?: Insights from the Post-Keynesians for the European Union Countries," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 55(3), pages 390-422, September.
    19. Yongfu Huang, 2005. "Will political liberalisation bring about financial development?," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 05/578, School of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
    20. Dang, Viet Anh & Kim, Minjoo & Shin, Yongcheol, 2015. "In search of robust methods for dynamic panel data models in empirical corporate finance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 84-98.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Electricity Supply Security; Investment in Electricity Generation; Renewable Energy Sources;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D25 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Intertemporal Firm Choice: Investment, Capacity, and Financing
    • L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure
    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:87:y:2020:i:c:s0140988319302804. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.