Topic 3: Re Policy & Tech Lifesyle Flashcards
1
Q
What are Energy Policy?
A
- Plan for managing supply, demand and development of energy-related industry/trade and consequences of energy activities
- Supply, conversion and use to meet service relevant for RE policy
- Legislation/regulation, fiscal policies, instructions (to state-owned assets), international agreements (trade)
- Energy trilemma (energy security, enviro and econ objective
- Technology push and market pull policies
2
Q
Energy Policy Challenges
A
- Essential service
- Critical to economic development
- Capital intensive, long-term, large-scale investment
- Large social and environmental impacts
- Lots of market failures
3
Q
What are the Technology Push policies?
A
- R&D, demonstration, commercialisation
Industry standards - Industry standards
- Capacity (skills) building, education, public awareness/info
4
Q
Why is there a need for Energy Policy?
A
- Managing supply, demand, industry development;
- Legislation and regulation:
- Commercial activities inc. extraction, trading, transport, storage;
- Use inc. efficiency/emissions standards;
- Generation, distribution, transmission, retail, market operation; - Fiscal policy:
- Tax, exemption, subsidy;
- Instructions for public assets; - International compliance:
- Energy trade agreements; - Defence arrangements with energy-rich countries.
5
Q
RE Barriers across the technological lifecycle
A
- Learning
- Inertia/ Lock- in
6
Q
Important to choose policy instruments
A
Criteria
- Phases of Technology Development
- Addressing Barriers
- Types of Renewable Energy Policy
7
Q
Market pull (deployment) policies
A
- Mandated price/quantity purchase obligations
- Financial incentives
- Public investments
8
Q
Enabling environment
A
- Infrastructure development and access
- Market and regulatory reform
- Remove subsidies for incumbent technologies
9
Q
What are the key Technological Development areas ?
A
Learning
- By searching - conscious research
- By doing - from experience
- By interacting - with other industry actors
- Learning is evolutionary and path dependent
Hardware
- New tech and also complementary/enabling tech
Software
- Skills and knowledge to produce, deploy, use, maintain tech (at all phases)
- Acceptance of tech (from standards, education, experience)
Orgware
- Integration with existing markets, regulations, plans
- Adjustment of societal norms
10
Q
Technological Push Policies
- Rational
A
Rationale for commercialisation and R&D policy
- Market failure: research and commercialisation have characteristics of a public good (non-excludable and non-rivalrous)
- First mover disadvantage
- Under investment due to:
- Inability for full value-capture
- High risk and uncertainty (unproved tech, market barriers etc.)
- High capital costs
11
Q
Technological Push Policies
- Benefits of R&D and commercialisation policy
A
- Tech knowledge
- Process of regulatory change
- Skills/training
- Develops supporting industry
- Increases acceptance
12
Q
Technological Push Policies
- R&D policy lessons
A
- Continuity of funding more effective (than on-off)
- Incremental learning important (not just breakthroughs)
- Combining R&D with deployment policies is most effective
- R&D is a hedge (due to diversity) to current technology failure
- Criticisms: picking winners, high chance of failure, crowding out of private R&D by public
13
Q
Technological Push Policies
- Commercialisation policy
A
- Demonstrations: public-private and gov procurement
- Fiscal support: accelerated depreciation and other tax rebates
- Other: business support (eg incubator), enabling early stage deployment (eg standards)
- Public financing: lower interest rates
14
Q
Technological Push Policies
- Demonstration grants lessons
A
Co-investment better Milestone flexibility better (due to uncertainty) Can be highly politicised High admin costs Can damage public perception
