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on Nov 29, 17 • posted by Iain Soutar •

Global Insight 22: 29th November 2017

Australia

COAG Energy Council Meet to discuss NEG

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council met last Friday to discuss the new National Energy Guarantee (NEG). The NEG, which is to follow on from the Renewable Energy Target (RET) due to end in 2020, is made up of two parts and has a reliability guarantee and an emissions guarantee – and has caused controversy due to its decision to end subsidies for renewable energy projects whilst, as some commentators have reported, seeming to encourage the use of coal.

The result of the meeting is that further work will be undertaken to agree the design. However, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory have refused to support the guarantee as it stands and are asking that it should be modelled on the Emissions Intensity Scheme and the Clean energy target, as recommended by the Finkel Review. Queensland may soon also join the dissent as their expected Labor party majority, or workable minority government (in last weeks elections), has put their backing into renewables.

Victorian town to be 100% renewable by 2022

Yackandandah, a small town in northeast Victoria is hoping to become 100% renewable by 2022. The residents have started by making their town as energy efficient as possible. They have also installed solar to 40% of the town’s properties. They are also planning a community energy retailer, a solar system to add to the existing capacity as a top-up system, installing battery storage and installing mass-scale solar hot water systems.

Europe

Germany proceeds with onshore wind as UK exits renewables (except offshore)

As the UK government announced in the budget that there would be no further spend on renewables support except offshore wind, Germany has just announced the outcome of auctions for 1 GW of onshore wind. Bid values ranged between €22/MWh and €38/MWh. It is also striking that most of the successful bids came from community groups rather than large utilities, showing the resilience of Germany’s distributed ownership model for renewables.

European utilities continue to pivot from fossil fuels to new energy economy

Giant Italian utility ENEL is reducing its thermal generation assets and hiving off its new energy activities into a separate division. This will include demand management, vehicle charging and fibre optic installation in Italy. ENEL said it will have a network of 14,000 car charging points in Italy by 2022, costing around €300m. Meanwhile over in Spain, Iberdrola has applied to close its two remaining coal plants, but this move is being blocked by the Spanish government.

Two German villages go 100% renewable

According to Euractiv, two villages in Germany – Neuerkirch and Külz – have gone 100% renewable. They have ditched a fossil fuel heating system for one relying on biomass and solar thermal, with power provided by solar and a local windfarm built on land leased from the municipality. Revenue from the lease went on an internet network, roads, playgrounds and a library.

Wider Globe

Third Report on the State of the Energy Union

The European Commission has published its third report on the State of the Energy Union, which reports some encouraging progress on the decarbonisation of European energy sectors and the deployment of renewables. This includes:

In 2015, renewable energy accounted for most (77 %) of the new EU generating capacity for the eighth consecutive year.
The share of renewable energy in the EU energy mix continues to rise and is on track to reach the 20% target in 2020 and in 2015 reached 16.7 %, up from 9.0% in 2005.
In terms of security of supply, renewables have saved an estimated €16 billion in fossil fuel imports (2015 data) and are projected to save €58bn by 2030
In 2016, the recovery of Europe’s economy led to an increase in industrial and economic activities and an overall increase of 1.9% in GDP. This could have increased greenhouse gas emissions. But instead, emissions decreased by 0.7% overall.

The Commission notes that the energy transitions must require the linking of the energy, transport and telecommunication sectors and that ‘This trans-sectorial integration will continue, with local networks becoming ever more important in the daily lives of European citizens, who will increasingly switch to electro – mobility, decentralised energy production and demand response’.

20 Cities Account for 40% of Electric Vehicles Globally

A briefing by the International Council on Clean Transport, highlights the role of city level policies in encouraging the deployment of electric vehicles (EVs). The analysis shows that the top 20 EV cities, from Asia (Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Qingdao, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Taiyuan and Tokyo), Europe (Oslo, Amsterdam, Paris, Bergen, London, Utrecht, Stockholm, Rotterdam-Hague), US (Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, New York), account for 40% of the global EV stock and 43% of sales in 2016, but make up only 3% of the world’s population and 8% of light-duty vehicle sales in 2016. Los Angeles had total sales of more than 100 000 (the highest in the world), while Bergen and Oslo have the highest deployment percentages with 36% and 33% respectively of light duty vehicles being electric.

In these cities, a combination of national and local policies has led to successful deployment. National policies spur EV investment, deployment, and availability, while consumer incentives have helped to make them affordable. Local policies are increasing awareness that EVs are here today and offer substantial benefits to consumers. While, “Some cities with the most pervasive air quality problems are beginning to authoritatively exercise their control over access to the city. By exempting electric vehicles from strict registration lotteries or auctions, as in Shanghai and Shenzhen, cities shift the market and send a strong signal that electric vehicles are the future”.

The greater deployment of EVs could have a profound impact on the electricity sector, with the potential to add more flexibility into the grid, through staggered charging and bi-directional flows (with the batteries feeding back into the grid when needed).