On 100% Renewable Energy by Willia

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

On 100% Renewable Energy by Willia Analysis of the Technical Feasibility of Powering the South-West Interconnected System (SWIS) on 100% Renewable Energy ________________________________________________________________ By William Daniel Gardiner BSc A dissertation submitted in partial requirement for the degree of Master of Science in Renewable Energy School of Energy & Engineering May 2013 Declaration I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person nor material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma of the University or other institute of higher learning, except where due acknowledgment has been made in the text. William Daniel Gardiner May 2013 Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to the School of Energy & Engineering for giving me the opportunity to study renewable energy at Murdoch University. I would also like to thank the lecturers from this and my previous degree for passing on their knowledge. Thanks also to Dr Trevor Pryor, the coordinator of PEC 624, Renewable Energy Dissertation. His administrative assistance and motivational support has been appreciated. Special thanks are due to my supervisor, Dr Chris Creagh, for being so generous with her time, patience and valuable opinion. Not only has she offered technical advice during the writing of this dissertation, she has provided moral support during this and my previous undergraduate degree. As someone dealing with the pressures of full- ii time work, family and off-campus study, this has been invaluable and is very much appreciated. Finally, to my wife Dawn, and children Zayne and Lucas. Words cannot express the love and gratitude I have towards you for the support you have shown me throughout the past 10 years and in particular the past 12 months of this dissertation. I could not have been completed this work without your love, support and patience. It is yours as much as mine. iii “We need to base our energy around renewable sources. They will be around for another four billion years. We can supply our entire energy supply on biomass, solar, geothermal, hydro and wind.” Professor Olav Hohmeyer Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) iv Abstract Fuelled by a growing economy and increasing population, energy demand in the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) has risen by 10.04% in the past 5 years and is projected to rise by a possible 56% in the next 11 years (Independent Market Operator 2012). This dissertation focuses on the utilisation of renewable energy within the SWIS network in order to combat climate change. Summaries of renewable energy technologies (RETs) are provided and an analysis of resource availability given. Finally an examination of energy efficiency is undertaken to determine what its potential benefit to the SWIS network could be. A number of research projects and papers dedicated to the issue of integrating 100% renewable energy into national and/or local electrical grid networks were reviewed as part of this dissertation. The dissertation finds that there is ample renewable energy resource to power the SWIS for the foreseeable future. While a fully renewable energy based generation system will come at significant cost, it can be expected to bring with it decreased energy wastage. This is due to the removal of thermal baseload power stations that produce energy around the clock, including in periods of low demand. Moreover, a renewable energy, distributed generation system will better be able to match supply to demand. v Finally, increased uptake of energy efficiency will have a major role to play in Western Australia‟s future electricity generation mix as it will decrease the amount of additional generation capacity required. vi Table of Contents Declaration ..................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ................................................................................................................ x List of Tables ............................................................................................................... xii List of Acronyms ....................................................................................................... xiii Ch.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Project Aims and Objectives ............................................................................. 1 1.2 Why Change is Required .................................................................................. 2 1.3 What is Required to Bring about Change? ....................................................... 3 1.4 Structure of the Dissertation ............................................................................. 4 1.5 Dissertation Limitations .................................................................................... 5 Ch. 2 An Historical Precedent for Including Large Amounts of Renewable Energy in the Energy Mix for the Electricity Grid ..................................................................... 6 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Albania ............................................................................................................ 6 2.3 Bhutan ............................................................................................................. 8 2.4 Iceland ........................................................................................................... 10 2.5 Norway .......................................................................................................... 14 2.6 Paraguay ........................................................................................................ 15 2.7 100% RE Projects & Studies ........................................................................ 16 2.8 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 19 Ch. 3 Outline of the SWIS Network ....................................................................... 21 3.1 Introduction to the South-West Interconnected System (SWIS) .................. 21 3.2 Primary Energy Sources within SWIS .......................................................... 22 3.3 History of Energy Consumption in the SWIS............................................... 27 3.4 Projections for Future Growth ...................................................................... 30 3.5 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 34 Ch.4 Solar .............................................................................................................. 35 4.1 Introduction to Solar Energy ......................................................................... 35 4.2 Solar Power in the SWIS .............................................................................. 42 4.3 Analysis of Solar Resource in the SWIS ....................................................... 45 4.4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 52 Ch.5 Wind Energy ................................................................................................. 54 5.1 Introduction to Wind Energy Technology .................................................... 54 5.2 Wind Energy Integration into Grid Networks .............................................. 55 5.3 Wind Energy in the SWIS ............................................................................. 58 5.4 Wind Energy Resource in the SWIS ............................................................. 60 5.5 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 62 vii Ch.6 Wave Energy ................................................................................................. 63 6.1 Wave Energy Introduction ............................................................................ 63 6.2 CETO Wave Energy ..................................................................................... 63 6.3 Measurement of SWIS Wave Resource ........................................................ 66 6.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 71 Ch.7 Biomass ......................................................................................................... 72 7.1 Introduction to Biomass ................................................................................ 72 7.2 Biomass Projects in WA ............................................................................... 73 7.3 Biomass Resource in SWIS .......................................................................... 75 7.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 78 Ch. 8 Renewable Energy Technologies other than Solar,
Recommended publications
  • International Conference on Renewable Energy and Power Quality
    INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGY AND POWER QUALITY (ICREPQ’10) WELCOME TO ICREPQ’10 On behalf of the Steering Committee and the Local Organizing Committee we want to give you a very warm welcome to ICREPQ’10 and to Granada. Our International Programme Committee has selected a high quality 318 papers (among 534 proposals) from which 290 will be presented at the Conference, 40 at oral sessions and 130 at poster sessions (dialogue), along the three days of the ICREPQ’10. All of these papers are included in the final programme. Also four special papers will be presented in plenary sessions. ICREPQ’09 covers the whole range of problems and solutions especially concerning with renewable energies and power quality and all the papers have direct relation with these two fields of research and practical work. We would like to thank all the authors, session chairmen, participants without papers and the International Program Committee members who have made important contributions by reviewing the proposals. In addition to the technical sessions, a number of social events have been arranged. On Wednesday evening (15 th April, 19:00 H) we will hold a Civic Reception with aperitif in “Salón de Cristal. Ajuntament de Valencia” and on Thursday (16 th April, 20:30 H) the Conference Banquet at “Sorolla Palace” where we will deliver presents to those companies/institutions that collaborate with the organisation of the Conference and on Friday (17 th of April from 15:00 H to 19:00 H) we have arranged a Cultural Excursion in two Tourist Buses along Valencia and finally a visit to the City of Arts and Sciences.
    [Show full text]
  • Relatório & Contas Consolidado
    1 RELATÓRIO & CONTAS CONSOLIDADO CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS ‘16 RELATÓRIO & CONTAS CONSOLIDADO 2016 CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2 RELATÓRIO DO CONSELHO REPORT OF THE BOARD DE ADMINISTRAÇÃO 01 OF DIRECTORS ENQUADRAMENTO GERAL GENERAL OVERVIEW Regulamentar Regulatory Setorial e de Mercado Sector and Market ENQUADRAMENTO DA ATIVIDADE ACTIVITY OVERVIEW Alterações na Estrutura Societária Changes to Shareholder Structure Existência de Sucursais Branch Offices Negócios Entre as Sociedades Business Between the Companies e os Seus Gerentes ou Administradores and their Managers or Directors Organigrama Corporativo Organisational Chart Perímetro de Consolidação Consolidation Perimeter Unidades de Negócio Business Units Recursos Humanos Human Resources ANÁLISE DA ATIVIDADE ANALYSIS OF THE BUSINESS ACTIVITY Indicadores de Desempenho Performance Indicators Principais Ações Desenvolvidas Main Actions Análise Operacional e Financeira Operational and Financial Analysis FACTOS RELEVANTES RELEVANT EVENTS AFTER APÓS O TERMO DO EXERCÍCIO THE END OF THE FINANCIAL YEAR E PERSPETIVAS FUTURAS AND FUTURE PROSPECTS APLICAÇÃO DE RESULTADOS APPROPRIATION OF RESULTS DEMONSTRAÇÕES 02 FINANCIAL FINANCEIRAS E NOTAS STATEMENTS AND NOTES RELATÓRIO DE AUDITORIA 03 AUDIT REPORT RELATÓRIO & CONTAS CONSOLIDADO 2016 CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 3 01 RELATÓRIO DO CONSELHO DE ADMINISTRAÇÃO REPORT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RELATÓRIO & CONTAS CONSOLIDADO 2016 CONSOLIDATED ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 4 ENQUADRAMENTO GERAL GENERAL OVERVIEW PARQUE EÓLICO DE SÃO MACÁRIO Exmos. Acionistas, Dear shareholders, Nos termos do Art.º 65º do Código das Sociedades Comerciais e dos Estatutos, submetemos Pursuant to Article 65 of the Portuguese Companies’ Code and the Articles of Association, a apreciação o Relatório de Gestão, Balanço e Contas Consolidadas referentes ao Exercício we hereby submit for your appraisal the Management Report, Balance Sheet and de 2016.
    [Show full text]
  • Alinta Energy Sustainability Report 2018/19
    Alinta Energy Sustainability Report 2018/19 ABN 39 149 229 998 Contents A message from our Managing Director and CEO 2 Employment 50 FY19 highlights 4 Employment at Alinta Energy 52 Key sustainability performance measures 6 Employee engagement 53 Employee data 54 Our business 8 Supporting our people 55 Offices 10 Ownership 10 Our communities 60 Where we operate 12 Community development program 62 Electricity generation portfolio 14 Employee volunteering 62 Sales and customers 17 Sponsorships, donations and partnerships 64 Vision and values 18 Excellence Awards – community contribution 64 Business structure and governance 19 Community impacts from operations 65 Executive leadership team 20 Management committees 21 Markets and customers 66 Board biographies 21 Customer service 68 Risk management and compliance 23 Branding 72 Economic health 24 New products and projects 74 Market regulation and compliance 74 Safety 26 Fusion – our transformation program 77 Safety performance 28 Safety governance 29 Our report 80 Safety and wellbeing initiatives and programs 32 Reporting principles 82 Glossary 83 Environment 34 GRI and UNSDG content index 85 Climate change and energy industry 36 Sustainability materiality assessment 88 National government programs, policies and targets 39 Deloitte Assurance Report 96 State government programs, policies and targets 40 Energy consumption and emissions 42 Our approach to renewable energy 43 Energy efficiency and emission reduction projects 45 Environmental compliance 46 Waste and water 47 Case study 48 2018/19 Alinta Energy - Sustainability Report Page 1 Changes to our vision and leadership A message My comment above on our new vision to be the best energy company sounds a little different than in the past.
    [Show full text]
  • 2017/18 Abn 39 149 229 998
    Alinta Energy Sustainability Report 2017/18 ABN 39 149 229 998 Contents A message from our Managing Director & CEO 2 Employment 52 FY18 highlights 4 Employee engagement 54 About Alinta Energy 4 Diversity and equality 57 Key sustainability performance measures 6 Learning and development 57 Sustainability materiality assessment 8 Other employment arrangements 59 Our business 16 Our communities 60 Office and asset locations 22 Vision and values 24 Markets and customers 66 Business structure and governance 26 Customer service 70 Executive leadership team 27 New products and projects 71 Alinta Energy Directors 28 Branding and customer communications 73 Risk management and compliance 29 Economic health 30 Our report 76 Reporting principles 78 Safety 32 Glossary 79 GRI and UNSDG content index 80 Environment 38 KPMG Assurance Report 81 Climate change and energy emissions 40 Environmental compliance 49 Waste and water 50 2017/18 Alinta Energy - Sustainability Report Page 1 We also tailored a suite of products for Commercial & A message from the Industrial customers that give price certainty over the long run by allowing customers to participate in the wholesale market MD & CEO if prices fall, while also providing a protective price ceiling if the market rises. I am pleased to present our 2017/18 Sustainability Report, The success of these initiatives saw our total customer which provides our stakeholders with an update on Alinta numbers increase from 770,000 to over one million during Energy’s activities and impacts. It includes information on the year. The 30% growth in customer numbers resulted our values, strategic vision and annual performance across in a 28% increase in employees to 575 people which in finance, safety, employment, environment, community, turn necessitated moves to new office premises in Perth, markets and customers.
    [Show full text]
  • Design and Operation of Power Systems with Large Amounts. State
    ESPOO 2007 VTT WORKING PAPERS 82 Design and operation of power systems with large amounts of wind power State-of-the-art report Hannele Holttinen & Bettina Lemström, VTT, Finland Peter Meibom & Henrik Bindner, Risø National Laboratories Antje Orths, Energinet.dk, Denmark Frans van Hulle, EWEA Cornel Ensslin, ISET; Albrecht Tiedemann, DENA, Germany Lutz Hofmann & Wilhelm Winter, E.ON Netz, Germany Aidan Tuohy & Mark O’Malley, UCD; Paul Smith, Eirgrid, Ireland Jan Pierik, ECN, Netherlands John Olav Tande, SINTEF, Norway Ana Estanqueiro, INETI; João Ricardo, REN, Portugal Emilio Gomez, University Castilla La Mancha, Spain Lennart Söder, KTH, Sweden Goran Strbac & Anser Shakoor, DG&SEE, UK J. Charles Smith, UWIG, USA Brian Parsons, Michael Milligan & Yih-huei Wan, NREL, USA ISBN 978-951-38-6633-4 (URL: http://www.vtt.fi/publications/index.jsp) ISSN 1459-7683 (URL: http://www.vtt.fi/publications/index.jsp) Copyright © VTT 2007 JULKAISIJA – UTGIVARE – PUBLISHER VTT, Vuorimiehentie 3, PL 1000, 02044 VTT puh. vaihde 020 722 111, faksi 020 722 4374 VTT, Bergsmansvägen 3, PB 1000, 02044 VTT tel. växel 020 722 111, fax 020 722 4374 VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Vuorimiehentie 3, P.O. Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT, Finland phone internat. +358 20 722 111, fax + 358 20 722 4374 VTT, Biologinkuja 5, PL 1000, 02044 VTT puh. vaihde 020 722 111, faksi 020 722 7048 VTT, Biologgränden 5, PB 1000, 02044 VTT tel. växel 020 722 111, fax 020 722 7048 VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Biologinkuja 5, P.O. Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT, Finland phone internat. +358 20 722 111, fax +358 20 722 7048 The IEA WIND Task 25 also known as the “Design and Operation of Power Systems with Large Amounts of Wind Power”, Task 25 of IEA Implementing Agreement on Wind Energy, functions within a framework created by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
    [Show full text]
  • Gone with the Wind? Local Employment Impact of Wind Energy Investment∗
    Gone with the wind? Local employment impact of wind energy investment∗ H´eliaCosta Linda Veiga London School of Economics University of Minho LSE Cities and Grantham Inst. y Dep. Economics and NIPE z May 2016 Draft - Please do not cite Abstract Investment in wind power has grown remarkably in the past decades in the European Union, and in particular in Portugal. Although support for incentive policies is based on economic development arguments, lit- tle evidence exists as to their impact on overall job creation and local level effects. We assess the existence, distribution and duration of lo- cal level labor impacts of wind power investment using a panel of all 278 Portuguese mainland municipalities for the years 2001-2014. Our results show there are short term effects, mainly for low skilled labor, during the construction phase. We estimate a decrease of 0.37 percent- age points in total unemployment rate for each 100MW installed. We find positive spatial spillovers for municipalities that are 30km or less away. We find no evidence of sustained effects or impact during the operations and maintenance phase. These insights highlight the need to couple incentive policies with labor market and educational reforms that reduce the mismatch in necessary skills. JEL classification: C23, H70, Q50 Keywords: Wind power, employment effects, panel data ∗The authors thank Francois Cohen, Alexandra Gomes, Ralf Martin and participants of the Grantham Research Workshop at LSE for valuable comments. yPresenter. Address: London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom. Email: [email protected] zAddress: University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal.
    [Show full text]
  • Peak Demand Forecasts
    2014 Electricity Statement of Opportunities (ESOO) Stakeholder Workshop Neetika Kapani A/Manager, System Capacity 1 July 2015 1 Agenda Background Purpose Key Findings o Peak Demand Forecasts o Energy Forecasts Interesting Analysis o Capacity Credits by Market Participant o Individual Reserve Capacity Requirement (IRCR) o Solar PV o Battery Questions 2 2014 and 2015 ESOO deferrals Minister for Energy directed IMO on 29 April 2014 to defer certain aspects of the 2014 Reserve Capacity Cycle, by a year. 13 March 2015 to defer certain aspects of the 2015 Reserve Capacity Cycle, by a year. On 17 June 2015, the IMO published 2014 ESOO and sets the Reserve Capacity Target for the 2016-17 Capacity Year Reserve Capacity Information Pack 3 RCM Process http://www.imowa.com.au/home/electricity/reserve-capacity 4 Purpose of the 2014 ESOO Provides market data and information of interest to current and potential WEM participants and stakeholders Sets the Reserve Capacity Target (RCT) for the 2016-17 Capacity Year o RCT for 2016-17 is 4,557 MW o Based on the 10 per cent probability of exceedance (PoE) forecast plus a reserve margin 5 Key Findings • Unusual Early Peak 5 January 2015 15:30- 16:00 TI Demand of 3744 MW • SWIS demand growth flattening • IRCR mechanism continues to be effective • Customer behaviour changing rapidly • Healthy mix and diversity of generation capacity and DSM continues • No new generation or Demand Side Management (DSM) capacity will be required for the 2015 to 2025 forecast period 6 Forecasting presents Challenges
    [Show full text]
  • Decarbonizing China's Power System with Wind Power
    January 2015 Decarbonizing China’s power system with wind power: the past and the future OIES PAPER: EL 11 Xin Li The contents of this paper are the author’s sole responsibility. They do not necessarily represent the views of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies or any of its members. Copyright © 2015 Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (Registered Charity, No. 286084) This publication may be reproduced in part for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgment of the source is made. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. ISBN 978-1-78467-019-1 i Abstract Wind power in China has experienced significant growth since the beginning of this century. Total installed capacity has increased almost 300 fold – from 346 MW in 2000 to 91,413 MW in 2013. This rapid development has had two major drivers: • First, the excellent wind power resource in China, especially in the north of the country, and the increasing competitiveness of wind generation worldwide. • Second, favourable government policies such as: mandatory targets for major power generators in relation to renewable energy; the decentralization of plant approval rights; and feed-in tariffs for wind generation. Along with the development of domestic wind turbine manufacturing capacity, these factors have stimulated the growth of wind power over the past 10 years or so. However, this rapid development has itself created new challenges. In particular, wind power has not been fully integrated into the electricity system as a whole, as the growth of wind generation capacity has not been matched by a corresponding growth in transmission capacity.
    [Show full text]
  • Relatorio ENG 2011.Indd
    Grupo ’Consolidated Annual Report11 & Accounts www.iberwind.pt Contents 02 Report of the Board of Directors 05 Chairman’s Statement 06 General Background 06 Macroeconomic 08 Regulatory 09 Sector and Market 16 Activity Background 16 Changes to Shareholder Structure 17 Branch Offices 17 Business Between the Companies and their Managers or Directors 17 Organisational Chart 18 Consolidation Perimeter 19 Business Units 23 Human Resources 24 Analysis of Business Activity 24 Performance Indicators 26 Main Actions 28 Operational and Financial Analysis 34 Relevant Events After the End of the Financial Year and Future Prospects 34 Application of Annual Results 36 Financial Statements and Notes 86 Audit Report Report of the Board of Directors 04 Report of the Board of Directors Chairman’s Statement General Background Activity Background Analysis of Business Activity 05 Chairman’s Statement In 2011 Iberwind developed its activity of producing electricity from wind sources maintaining a high performance level. Iberwind’s team of 64 professionals (operations, maintenance management and administration of operations) and portfolio of 31 wind farms totalling 684 MW, geographically distributed over the country’s best locations, produced 1.55 TWh, with an average wind generator availability of 97.4%. This production was generated from 2,281 equivalent hours of wind, calculated on the installed capacity, which represents a decline of 8.7% of the average resource availability in the previous two years. In fact, wind availability was below normal, especially in the last quarter, thus jeopardising production in the year. It should also be noted that Iberwind developed and completed the reconstruction of the Lagoa Funda Wind Farm in August 2011, as planned, carrying out its repowering and overpowering in accordance with Decree Law No.
    [Show full text]
  • Clean Energy Australia Report 2021
    CLEAN ENERGY AUSTRALIA REPORT 2021 AUSTRALIA CLEAN ENERGY CLEAN ENERGY AUSTRALIA REPORT 2021 CONTENTS 4 Introduction 6 2020 snapshot 12 Jobs and investment in renewable energy by state 16 Industry outlook: small-scale renewable energy 20 Industry outlook: large-scale renewable energy 22 Federal politics 24 State policies 26 Australian Capital Territory 28 New South Wales 30 Northern Territory 32 Queensland 34 South Australia 36 Tasmania 38 Victoria 40 Western Australia 42 Employment 46 Renewables for business 50 International update 52 Electricity prices 54 Transmission 56 Energy reliability 58 Technology profiles 60 Battery storage 64 Bioenergy 66 Hydro and pumped hydro 68 Hydrogen 70 Solar: Small-scale systems up to 100 kW 78 Solar: Medium-scale systems between 100 kW and 5 MW 80 Solar: Large-scale systems larger than 5 MW 84 Wind Cover image: Wind turbine blade installation, Collector Wind Farm, New South Wales INTRODUCTION Kane Thornton Chief Executive, Clean Energy Council Australia’s clean energy came from clean energy sources, territories’ progressive energy policies transition accelerated with wind and rooftop solar leading only served to highlight the ongoing again in 2020 as wind the way. This represents a massive failures at the federal level, where transformation that makes Australia’s arguments about government support and rooftop solar set new electricity system cheaper, more for gas and coal overshadowed some records, battery storage reliable and, most importantly, cleaner. genuinely positive developments. came of age, and the But the best news is that the shift is These included the continued showing no sign of slowing down. hydrogen sector continued growth of clean energy jobs, with the its rapid development.
    [Show full text]
  • 9110715-REP-A-Cost and Technical
    AEMO AEMO costs and technical parameter review Report Final Rev 4 9110715 September 2018 Table of contents 1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Purpose of this report........................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Structure of this report ......................................................................................................... 1 1.4 Acronyms and abbreviations ............................................................................................... 2 2. Scope ............................................................................................................................................. 4 2.1 Overview .............................................................................................................................. 4 2.2 Existing data ........................................................................................................................ 4 2.3 Format of data ...................................................................................................................... 4 2.4 Existing generator list and parameters ................................................................................ 4 2.5 New entrant technologies and parameters .......................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Energy Policies of Portugal 2009
    INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY Energy Policies of IEA Countries Please note that this PDF is subject to specific restrictions that limit its use and distribution. The terms and conditions are available online at www.iea.org/about/copyright.asp PORTUGAL 2009 Review Energy Policies of IEA Countries PORTUGAL 2009 Review Portugal has made considerable efforts to strengthen its energy policy since the last IEA in-depth review in 2004. A large number of IEA recommendations have been successfully implemented, including greater diversification of the energy mix and increased energy policy co-ordination. A new National Energy Strategy, published in October 2005, identified three principal means for meeting Portugal’s policy goals: the promotion of renewable energy, increased energy efficiency and competition in energy markets. Over a short period of time, Portugal has become a leader in terms of renewable energy development. Well-designed incentive mechanisms and the adoption of ambitious targets ensure hydro, wind and other technologies will continue to grow. The National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency was enacted in 2008, and Portugal aims to implement energy efficiency measures equivalent to 9.8% of total final energy consumption by 2015. This plan complements a well- developed and co-ordinated climate change policy. Further steps have been taken towards the liberalisation of energy markets, including the innovative creation of a single operator for the transport of natural gas and electricity, natural gas storage and operation of the Sines LNG terminal. Still, a number of challenges remain. Energy markets are not as competitive as policy makers may have wished, and energy research and development policy co-ordination needs to be strengthened.
    [Show full text]