Different dimensions of cost for renewables Sample Clauses

Different dimensions of cost for renewables. With the EU 2030 Energy and Climate and Energy Package EU member states have agreed on substantial reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as on shares of renewables in energy consumption. More precisely, by 2030 GHG emissions should be cut by 40% compared to 1990 levels and the share of renewables in energy consumption should be at least 27% for the EU (EC, 2014). Note that studies indicate that such targets are insufficient to achieve the temperature rise limits of well below 2 or of 1.5 degrees, as outlined in the Paris Agreement (Climate Action Tracker, 2017). Reaching the EU goals demands a significant expansion of renewable electricity and cuts of conventional electricity with far reaching indirect economic effects. Hence, economy-wide analysis is crucial both given the significant expansion under way and since the introduction or expansion of certain technologies can lead to unexpected consequences for other economic agents and sectors via shifts in relative (international) market prices and demanded quantities. These economy - wide consequences can be of different directions, also diverse across indicators (such as on GDP or social welfare). For example, when introducing cost-competitive PV at a large scale, traditional fossil fuel based electricity suppliers might lose market shares and eventually have to close down their businesses. However, other sectors, such as the suppliers for the construction of PV panels, might benefit from such a development. Also on the households’ side, there might be both winners and losers, depending on households’ endowments and skills. Another facet of economy- wide implic ations is foreign trade. Foreign trade patterns might change due to the introduction/expansion of mitigation technologies. For example, traditional oil and gas exporting countries might face reduced demand for their products. Eventually the combination of all these indirect effects leads to changes of mac roeconomic indicators such as regional GDP, welfare, or employment. Such comparisons are usually based only on generation costs or “levelized costs of electricity” (LCOE) (Xxxxxxxxxx (2012) and Xxxxxx (2011)), which are calculated using a bottom- up approach, measuring technology costs and not the overall net costs, e.g. without the incorporation of possible benefits of renewables. One weakness of LCOE calculations is that they typically do not cover system integration costs (Xxxxx et al., 2013; Xxxxx et al., 2015a; Xxxxxx, 2011), al...