The increasing acceptance of the principle of sustainable development has been a major driving force towards new approaches to energy planning. This is a complex process involving multiple and conflicting objectives, in which many agents were able to influence decisions. The integration of environmental, social and economic issues in decision making, although fundamental, is not an easy task, and tradeoffs must be made. The increasing importance of social aspects adds additional complexity to the traditional models that must now deal with variables recognizably difficult to measure in a quantitative scale. This study explores the issue of the social impact, as a fundamental aspect of the electricity planning process, aiming to give a measurable interpretation of the expected social impact of future electricity scenarios. A structured methodology, based on a combination of the Analytic Hierarchy Process and Delphi process, is proposed. The methodology is applied for the social evaluation of future electricity scenarios in Portugal, resulting in the elicitation and assignment of average social impact values for these scenarios. The proposed tool offers guidance to decision makers and presents a clear path to explicitly recognise and integrate the social preferences into electricity planning models.
The electricity market in Portugal was recently opened to all consumers. However, it remains highly concentrated in terms of control of production and supply and the long-term power purchase arrangements still coexist with free market. This paper discusses the electricity market restructuring process in Portugal, presenting its main marks over the past years and the present situation. The evolution of the electricity prices in Portugal is analysed, and a comparison with EU-15 is presented. Special attention is given to Spain due to the possibility of cross-border competition in the future arising from the formation of the Iberian electricity market.
In the following paper the present situation of the electricity production from Renewable energy Sources (RES) in Portugal is analysed, giving particular attention to the wind power sector due to its increasing importance. The evolution of the electricity system is presented along with the strategies for the sector, and future prospects for the RES. Although the high interest of private companies in the wind sector the administrative and grid barriers represent major obstacles to the wind power development. The problem of the wind intermittency and uncertainty is also discussed.The improvement of interconnection capacity and the increase of power reserve are identified as key requirements for ensuring the security of supply. A clear comprehension of all these aspects is fundamental to aim for an integrated multidimensional wind power planning.
This paper presents the results of a study conducted by Itron for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to examine the relationships between solar photovoltaic (PV) performance, costs, and PV incentive structures. The intent is twofold. The first intent is to create a baseline of PV performance and costs using actual performance data and reported costs from a large number of PV systems installed and operating in California. The second intent is to examine how PV performance and projected PV cost reductions can influence PV incentive payments. This study should help provide policy makers responsible for developing PV incentive programs with information that will result in incentive structures that fairly and transparently reward improved PV cost and performance while simultaneously providing a reasonable pathway to move PV towards an incentive-free market environment. PV performance monitoring data for over one hundred operating commercial, industrial, and institutional solar PV systems are combined with projected electricity retail rates and future PV costs within a breakeven levelized cost model to produce associated PV incentive levels. Preliminary results for 39 prototype PV market scenarios provide insights into how PV incentive levels can be set to take advantage of utility-specific electricity retail rates, PV configuration and location, and projected PV cost reductions while facilitating the development of PV systems that can compete without incentives. Potential implications of these performance and cost-effectiveness results are discussed with respect to PV incentive programs and PV markets.
In the last 20 years, emerging technologies such as fuel cells and microturbines have contributed to growth in the market for combined heat and power (CHP) in small-scale (5–5,000 kW) applications. Numerous studies utilizing performance assumptions have explored the theoretical potential for distributed CHP to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, however actual performance may differ from expectations. Incentive programs in several states are beginning to yield information about actual (as opposed to potential) performance of small-scale CHP. This paper leverages over ten years of metered data from more than 500 different projects rebated by one such program: California’s Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP). The population of projects includes established technologies (internal combustion engines, gas turbines) as well as emerging technologies. Performance measures examined include efficiencies, utilization, and GHG emissions impacts. A variety of Federal and State policies seek to increase the amount of small-scale distributed CHP in the coming years. It is imperative that knowledge about actual performance gleaned from metered data collected during the past decade be shared widely so that CHP’s potential to reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions is actually realized in the future.
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