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Coal-fired power plants in the crossfire of the European Union's energy and climate policy
Published in Zoltán Bartha, Tekla Szép, Katalin Lipták, Dóra Szendi, Entrepreneurship in the Raw Materials Sector, 2022
Á. Horváth, A. Takácsné Papp, P. Bihari
Several articles attempted to estimate and quantify the environmental, economic and social impacts of the coal phase-out. One of the important questions is, how could the so-called “waterbed effect” could be avoided. This may occur, when the sale of emission allowances from CO2 savings increases CO2 emission elsewhere, so the overall CO2 emissions will not decrease. The thoughtful design of the EU-ETS rules (especially the regulations on the emission ceiling and the market stability reserve) play an important role in the mitigation of these effects. (Osorio et al. 2020) In addition to the environmental impacts, the analysis of the social and economic effects is also very important. Coal phase-out has significant costs and burdens, but perceptible cost savings and economic benefits can also be realized. Analysts come to different conclusions when analyzing the costs and benefits of the coal phase-out, if they take into account not only the costs but the social impacts in their calculations. Such social impacts can be eg. the saving of environmental and health costs through avoided CO2 emissions, or addressing employment problems in coal regions, etc. Studies show that it would be important, but at the same time it is difficult to find a balance between environmental, economic and social aspects. The coal phase- out must be implemented keeping the principles of the just transition (Van den Bergh-Botzen, 2015; Chan et al., 2017; Akerboom et al., 2020; Keles-Yilmaz, 2020; Heinisch et al., 2021).
Renewable energy policy and politics in Canada and Germany
Published in Andrea Bues, Social Movements against Wind Power in Canada and Germany, 2020
Germany’s1 engagement in renewable energy can be traced back to the 1970s when the oil crisis sparked a sudden rise in coal and nuclear generation. The high public salience of environmental issues contributed to the formation of a strong anti-nuclear movement opposing the rapid construction of nuclear and coal-fired power plants. The term Energiewende can be traced back to this time. It involves a nuclear phase-out in the short term and coal phase-out in the mid-term, the development and integration of renewable energies, targets for greenhouse gas reduction, and the improvement of energy efficiency (Hake et al. 2015). The term was first coined by the German think tank Öko-Institut in a 1980 report called “Energie-Wende: Wachstum und Wohlstand ohne Erdöl und Uran” (Krause et al. 1980).2
A Power Control Scheme for a Wind Turbine/Fuel Cell Hybrid Power System with DFIG-DC Link Topology
Published in IETE Journal of Research, 2023
Bilel Touaiti, Abdelkader Abbassi, Hechmi Ben Azza, Abdoul Rjoub, Mohamed Jemli
To stabilize the rising global temperatures below 1.5°C, the Net Zero Emissions (NZE) by 2050 Scenario charts the Decarbonization roadmap [1]. In the detailed Decarbonization model, the baseline data from 2020 show that the CO2 emissions from combustion are more than 300 million tonnes (Mt CO2) [2]. Achieving the NZE by the 2050 Scenario will require immediate and drastic reductions in coal utilization and other decarbonization action in the electricity, buildings, transport, and industry sector [3]. The recommendations included the revision of the maximum limit for total CO2 emissions between 2020 and 2050, as it is too ambitious and requires drastic changes and actions in the beginning years, the introduction of a coal phase-out commission, and the development of an economic plan to facilitate the transition, which includes financial support for the NZE scenario and the transfer of employment in renewable energy projects [4].
Evaluating economic impacts of utility scale solar photovoltaic localisation in South Africa
Published in Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy, 2021
Stanley Semelane, Nnamdi Nwulu, Njabulo Kambule, Henerica Tazvinga
As indicated, South Africa has a very high unemployment rate, as such, enhancing local manufacturing of solar PV panels will have positive economic spinoffs for coal phase-out region such as STLM. The high unemployment rate in South Africa means that it is important to find areas that can create employment opportunities while coal work prospects continue to decline. This is a crucial problem this study sets out to address. One of the ways that can be adopted to mitigate against occupation losses is the reinforcement of LCRs. LCRs can enable the localization of renewable energy components of technologies like solar and wind that will feature prominently in the South African energy system. Moreover, Semelane et al. (2021) show that South Africa cannot manufacture solar panels cheaper than the Chinese companies unless they are subsidized. This makes the reinforcement of local content policy targeted at Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) the only direct viable option that will try to optimize the benefits of adopting an increased share of renewable energy technologies into the South African energy system. The major losers in the South African energy transition would be regions that are heavily dependent on the coal economy such as STLM. As such, although there are no legal requirements that aim to deploy renewable energy in coal phase-out regions, Semelane et al. (2021) show that deployment of renewable energy technologies in the coal phase-out region would contribute toward a just energy transition.
Sustainable and socially just transition to a post-lignite era in Greece: a multi-level perspective
Published in Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy, 2020
Alexandros Nikas, Hera Neofytou, Anastasios Karamaneas, Konstantinos Koasidis, John Psarras
On the other hand, lignite mining and combustion have many adverse impacts on health, not only for residents nearby extraction areas, but also for the total population. According to the World Health Organization, seven million people died in 2012, as a result of exposure to air pollution (Dam et al. 2017). Lignite is considered one of the world’s environmentally most hazardous fuel (Arapostathis and Fotopoulos 2019). A diversity of scenarios and pathways are proposed toward mitigating the GHG emissions associated with power generation. This study aims to examine the historical development of the Greek electricity system toward assessing the potential for decarbonization by gradually shutting down lignite plants and increasing the capacity of renewable energy sources, in a progressive coal phase-out, based on the country’s pledges and recently announced plans. Given its role in the country’s economy and energy security, this would entail a smooth transition, including new policies and the adoption of new technologies. The trajectory toward this transition is investigated through the historical development of the Greek electricity system by determining which landscape factors have affected this process and how new low-carbon technologies, or niches, have commenced to replace some of the incumbent polluting electricity generation methods of the regime. This is accomplished by implementing the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) framework, as thoroughly described in Section 3.