Should all producers of renewable energy automatically receive GOs?
In this contribution, Jaap Jansen finds that the practice of automatically issuing guarantees of origin (GOs) to all producers of renewable energy undermines EU energy and climate objectives. Dictated by the EU Renewable Energy Directive 2009/28/EC, a guarantee of origin (GO) is an instrument issued on their request to producers of electricity from renewable sources. […]
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Suspended in legal limbo: Protecting investment in renewable energy in the EU
This paper focuses on the damage – and the potential for inflicting further damage – to investor confidence arising from legal uncertainties surrounding renewable energy support in some EU member states. A higher-than-expected expansion of the renewables sector, resulting in higher costs of the support, combined with the financial crisis, has driven some member states […]
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Is security of energy supply possible without deeper cross-border market integration? Lessons from the cold spell in South-Eastern Europe
Authors: Christian Egenhofer and Cristian Stroia Series: CEPS Policy Insights No. 2017/45, December 2017 In late December 2016 and early 2017, South Eastern Europe experienced an extended cold spell lasting almost six weeks and triggering an electricity ‘crisis’, which seriously affected EU member states as well as Energy Community countries, notably Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and […]
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Improving the Market for Flexibility in the Electricity Sector
Electricity will play a greater role in the transport and building sectors and all decarbonisation scenarios point to the increasing electrification of the energy system. To reach EU climate change targets, however, electricity will need to come increasingly from low carbon sources, especially (but not only) from variable renewable energy sources. Both trends − the […]
CESEC 2.0: Opening the door to a new level of regional cooperation
The Central and South-Eastern Europe Gas Connectivity (CESEC) initiative brings together EU and non-EU countries under a single regional framework promoting energy policy cooperation. All states in the region share common challenges in the areas of energy security and energy market development that can best be addressed via a joint regional approach. To date, the […]
Does the EU renewable energy sector still need a guarantees of origin market?
The European Commission’s Renewable Energy Directive of 2001 mandated EU member states to develop a system for the guarantees of origin (GOs) of renewable electricity. In 2016, this market had an estimated value of €120 million per year across the EU, of which €100 million was income for generators of renewable electricity. Yet the GO […]
Improving Cooperation among EU Member States in Handling Electricity Crises: Lessons for the Regulation on risk-preparedness
As part of the “Clean Energy for All Europeans” package, the European Commission has proposed a Regulation on risk-preparedness in the electricity sector that aims to improve cooperation among member states in preventing, preparing for and managing electricity crises. To reap the benefits of improved cooperation compared with the current diverging national approaches, the proposal […]
A new era of EU energy policy? Delivering on the Energy Union by National Plans
Prior to the adoption of the EU’s 2030 Framework for Energy and Climate and its subsequent endorsement by the European Council in 2014,[1] the delivery of European objectives for 2020, the needed predictability for investors and transparency for citizens were ensured through national targets for greenhouse gas emissions reductions, renewable energy and energy efficiency as […]
Energy Policy: European, National, Regional?
The journal Intereconomics, published bi-monthly by CEPS and the Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (ZBW), features articles dealing with economic and social policy issues affecting Europe. Each issue contains a Forum section offering an in-depth exploration of a selected topic. All contributions to the Forum section in each issue, as well as the Editorial, are available for […]
The Future of the European Power Market
The journal Intereconomics, published bi-monthly by CEPS and the Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (ZBW), features articles dealing with economic and social policy issues affecting Europe. Each issue contains a Forum section offering an in-depth exploration of a selected topic. All contributions to the Forum section in each issue, as well as the Editorial, are available for […]
Channelling Progress in Central and South East European Energy Market Integration
The Central and South Eastern Europe Gas Connectivity (CESEC) is a major political success for the European Commission and the member states in their bid to integrate Central and South East European (C&SEE) energy systems. CESEC has already made a significant contribution to strengthening the regional and wider European energy security. Broadening the scope of […]
The Disclosure of Guarantees of Origin
Demand is increasing in the EU for specific electricity products of desired origin. For now, this demand relates almost exclusively to electricity generated from renewable energy sources, and comes from business organisations wishing to enhance their environmental credentials and households wishing to contribute to a better environment. The tracking system of guarantees of origin is […]