IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cam/camdae/2128.html

Designing an incentive-compatible efficient Renewable Electricity Support Scheme

Author

Listed:
  • Newbery, D.

Abstract

Most existing renewables support schemes distort location and dispatch decisions. Many impose unnecessary risk on developers, increasing support costs. Efficient policy sets the right carbon price, supports capacity not output, and ensures efficient dispatch and location. The EU bans priority dispatch and requires market-based bidding, but does not address the underlying problem that payment is conditional on generation, amplifying incentives to locate in wind/sunny sites. This article identifies the various distortions and proposes an auctioned contract to address location and dispatch distortions: a financial Premium Contract for Difference (PCfD) with hourly contracted volume proportional to local renewable output/MW, with a life specified in MWh/MW, reflecting regional differences in correlation with wholesale prices. This yardstick PCfD delivers efficient dispatch, assures but limits the total subsidy while not over-rewarding windy/sunny sites. The revenue assurance allows high debt: equity, dramatically lowering the subsidy cost.

Suggested Citation

  • Newbery, D., 2021. "Designing an incentive-compatible efficient Renewable Electricity Support Scheme," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2128, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    • Handle: RePEc:cam:camdae:2128
    Note: dmgn
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/sites/default/files/publication-cwpe-pdfs/cwpe2128.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bunn, Derek & Yusupov, Tim, 2015. "The progressive inefficiency of replacing renewable obligation certificates with contracts-for-differences in the UK electricity market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 298-309.
    2. Karsten Neuhoff & Nils May & Jörn C. Richstein, 2018. "Renewable Energy Policy in the Age of Falling Technology Costs," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1746, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    3. repec:aen:journl:ej41-6-eicke is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Abrell, Jan & Rausch, Sebastian & Streitberger, Clemens, 2019. "The economics of renewable energy support," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 94-117.
    5. Andor, Mark & Voss, Achim, 2016. "Optimal renewable-energy promotion: Capacity subsidies vs. generation subsidies," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 144-158.
    6. repec:aen:journl:ej39-1-hirth is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Staffell, Iain & Pfenninger, Stefan, 2016. "Using bias-corrected reanalysis to simulate current and future wind power output," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1224-1239.
    8. repec:aen:journl:ej39-6-newbery is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Dominique Finon, 2006. "The Social Efficiency Of Instruments For The Promotion Of Renewable Energies In The Liberalised Power Industry," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 77(3), pages 309-343, September.
    10. Onifade, Temitope Tunbi, 2016. "Hybrid renewable energy support policy in the power sector: The contracts for difference and capacity market case study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 390-401.
    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. Nicolas Stevens & Yves Smeers & Anthony Papavasiliou, 2024. "Indivisibilities in investment and the role of a capacity market," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 66(2), pages 238-272, December.
    2. Fabra, Natalia, 2023. "Reforming European electricity markets: Lessons from the energy crisis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(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. Meus, Jelle & De Vits, Sarah & S'heeren, Nele & Delarue, Erik & Proost, Stef, 2021. "Renewable electricity support in perfect markets: Economic incentives under diverse subsidy instruments," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    2. Carsten Helm & Mathias Mier, 2020. "Steering the Energy Transition in a World of Intermittent Electricity Supply: Optimal Subsidies and Taxes for Renewables Storage," ifo Working Paper Series 330, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    3. Helm, Carsten & Mier, Mathias, 2021. "Steering the energy transition in a world of intermittent electricity supply: Optimal subsidies and taxes for renewables and storage," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    4. Newbery, David M., 2016. "Towards a green energy economy? The EU Energy Union’s transition to a low-carbon zero subsidy electricity system – Lessons from the UK’s Electricity Market Reform," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1321-1330.
    5. Wild, Phillip, 2017. "Determining commercially viable two-way and one-way ‘Contract-for-Difference’ strike prices and revenue receipts," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 191-201.
    6. Helm, Carsten & Mier, Mathias, 2019. "Subsidising Renewables but Taxing Storage? Second-Best Policies with Imperfect Carbon Pricing," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203539, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    7. Helm, Carsten & Mier, Mathias, 2019. "On the efficient market diffusion of intermittent renewable energies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 812-830.
    8. Nelson, Tim & Dodd, Tracey, 2023. "Contracts-for-Difference: An assessment of social equity considerations in the renewable energy transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    9. Silke Johanndeiter & Jonas Finke & Justus Heuer, 2025. "Most certainly certain? The Impact of Contract for Difference Design on Renewables' Strike Prices and Electricity Market Risks," Papers 2512.17508, arXiv.org.
    10. Neerunjun, Nandeeta & Stahn, Hubert, 2025. "Renewable energy support: Pre-announced policies and efficiency," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    11. Carsten Helm & Mathias Mier, 2018. "Subsidising Renewables but Taxing Storage? Second-Best Policies with Imperfect Pricing," Working Papers V-413-18, University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, revised Oct 2018.
    12. Paul Simshauser, 2019. "On the impact of government-initiated CfD's in Australia's National Electricity Market," Working Papers EPRG 1901, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    13. Paul Simshauser, 2019. "On the Stability of Energy-Only Markets with Government-Initiated Contracts-for-Differences," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-24, July.
    14. de Guibert, Paul & Shirizadeh, Behrang & Quirion, Philippe, 2020. "Variable time-step: A method for improving computational tractability for energy system models with long-term storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    15. Marko Hočevar & Lovrenc Novak & Primož Drešar & Gašper Rak, 2022. "The Status Quo and Future of Hydropower in Slovenia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-13, September.
    16. Paul Simshauser, 2025. "Are gas turbines 'bankable' in transitioning energy-only markets?," Working Papers EPRG2601, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    17. Lukas Kriechbaum & Philipp Gradl & Romeo Reichenhauser & Thomas Kienberger, 2020. "Modelling Grid Constraints in a Multi-Energy Municipal Energy System Using Cumulative Exergy Consumption Minimisation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-23, July.
    18. Steinegger, Josef & Hammer, Andreas & Wallner, Stefan & Kienberger, Thomas, 2024. "Revolutionizing heat distribution: A method for harnessing industrial waste heat with supra-regional district heating networks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 372(C).
    19. Østergaard, P.A. & Lund, H. & Thellufsen, J.Z. & Sorknæs, P. & Mathiesen, B.V., 2022. "Review and validation of EnergyPLAN," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    20. Behrang Shirizadeh & Quentin Perrier & Philippe Quirion, 2022. "How Sensitive are Optimal Fully Renewable Power Systems to Technology Cost Uncertainty?," The Energy Journal, , vol. 43(1), pages 43-75, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • D44 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Auctions
    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • D86 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Economics of Contract Law
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • L94 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Electric Utilities
    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:cam:camdae:2128. 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: Jake Dyer (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/ .

    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.