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Impact of German Energiewende on Transmission Lines in the Central European Region / Jan Málek, Lukáš Rečka and Karel Janda. Australian National Univ. Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Nov. 20107, 34 p. (CAMA Working Paper 72/2017) https://ideas.repec.org/p/een/camaaa/2017-72.htmlThe impacts of renewable energy production and German nuclear phase-out on the electricity transmission systems in Central Europe is investigated with focus on the disparity between the growth of renewable production and the pace at which new electricity transmission lines have been built, especially in Germany. This imbalance endangers the system stability and reliability in the whole region. The assessment of these impacts on the transmission grid is analysed by the direct current load flow model ELMOD. Two scenarios for the year 2025 are evaluated from different perspectives. The distribution of loads in the grids is shown. Hourly patterns are analysed. Geographical decomposition is made, and problematic regions are identified. The high solar or wind power generation decrease the periods of very low transmission load and increase the mid- and high load on the transmission lines. High solar feed-in has less detrimental impacts on the transmission grid than high wind feed-in. High wind feed-in burdens the transmission lines in the north-south direction in Germany and water-pump-storage areas in Austria.Beyond coal : facilitating the transition in Europe / Simone Tagliapietra, Policy Brief, n°5, November 2017, 8 p. http://bruegel.org/2017/11/beyond-coal-facilitating-the-transition-in-europe/The European Union energy system is becoming greener and more efficient, but its most polluting component – coal – continues to provide a quarter of its electricity. This is bad for the climate, the environment and human health. A number of EU countries continue to support coal politically for energy security and socio-economic reasons. The energy security argument is understandable, but the feasibility of the energy transition away from coal should not be doubted. Several countries have already successfully phased out coal without compromising energy security or competitiveness. The socio-economic argument is illusory. Coal mining employment in Europe does not represent a sizable issue either at national or regional level.Le processus de construction de l’inacceptabilité sociale d’un projet de production électrique éolien en Haute Saintonge / Béatrice Canel-Depitre, Annales des Mines. Gérer et comprendre, n° 130, 2017, pp. 15-31 http://www.cairn.info/revue-gerer-et-comprendre-2017-4-p-15.htmFace à la multiplication des conflits suscités par de grands projets environnementaux, l’assentiment des acteurs sociaux est devenu rapidement une condition essentielle de leur réalisation, hissant l’acceptabilité sociale au rang des priorités. Pour illustrer ma recherche sur l’acceptabilité sociale, j’ai choisi d’étudier le projet d’implantation d’un parc éolien industriel sur les communes d’Allas-Bocage et de Nieul-le-Virouil en Haute Saintonge. La méthodologie choisie s’appuie sur l’observation participante, qui autorise la compréhension d’un groupe. Si l’acceptabilité sociale est un processus fragile et lent à construire, l’inacceptabilité sociale s’enracine durablement. Ma problématique repose sur le processus de construction de l’inacceptabilité sociale, qui est le fruit de logiques différentes entre promoteur et acteurs locaux. Les résultats auxquels je suis parvenue me permettent d’appréhender la dimension processuelle de l’installation de l’inacceptabilité sociale d’un projet.Transforming Energy-Intensive Industries: Reflections on innovation, investment and finance challenges / Milan Elkerbout. Brussels : CEPS, December 2017, 8 p. (Policy insights No 2017/44) https://www.ceps.eu/publications/transforming-energy-intensive-industries-reflections-innovation-investment-and-financeThe clean energy transition – necessitated by the Paris Agreement and implemented in the EU through the Energy Union strategy – is changing the industrial landscape in Europe. Viewed through the lens of competitiveness, this transition brings about threats as well as opportunities. This transition also leads to increased integration and linkages between climate and energy policies, on the one hand, and industrial policies, on the other. The short report is a first attempt to describe these linkages and thereby make a step towards identifying key issues and emerging policy questions while starting to hint at possible answers. It is meant as a background for discussion upon which to build further research.Is security of energy supply possible without deeper cross-border market integration? Lessons from the cold spell in South-Eastern Europe / Christian Egenhofer and Cristian Stroia. Brussels : CEPS, December 2017, 8 p. (Policy insights No 2017/45) https://www.ceps.eu/publications/security-energy-supply-possible-without-deeper-cross-border-market-integration-lessonsIn late December 2016 and early 2017, South Eastern Europe experienced an extended cold spell lasting almost six weeks and triggering an electricity ‘crisis’, which seriously affected EU member states as well as Energy Community countries, notably Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and FYR of Macedonia.These countries opted to tackle the actual or perceived supply situation via a traditional path of administrative interventions, based on a purely national perspective and requiring the addition of considerable capacity. This approach departed sharply from the solutions discussed within the Central and South Eastern Europe Energy Connectivity (CESEC) initiative, launched by the European Commission in 2015 with the aim of integrating markets to address energy security in the region.One of the possible outcomes from the cold spell might well be that governments in the region come to realise that they have few options other than to integrate with their neighbours, increase energy efficiency and support renewable energy, whose cost by now is comparable to conventional sources and, given its scalability, poses less economic risks for investors.[Les énergies renouvelables]. Des solutions adaptées au cas de l'Afrique / Henri Boyé, Thomas Léonard et Nicolas Plain, La Jaune et la Rouge, n° 730, décembre 2017Dans un continent pénalisé par le manque d’électricité, le développement des énergies renouvelables, et en particulier du solaire, constitue un axe de progrès extrêmement prometteur. C’est ce qui a donné lieu à l’émergence de solutions originales avec, en particulier, le développement de mini réseaux... lireWater demand for electricity in deep decarbonisation scenarios: a multi-model assessment / I. Mouratiadou, M. Bevione, D. L. Bijl, L. Drouet, M. Hejazi, S. Mima, M.  Pehl, M. &#38; G. Luderer. Climatic Change, Online: 30 November 2017, pp. 1-16 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-017-2117-7This study assesses the effects of deep electricity decarbonisation and shifts in the choice of power plant cooling technologies on global electricity water demand, using a suite of five integrated assessment models. We find that electricity sector decarbonisation results in co-benefits for water resources primarily due to the phase-out of water-intensive coal-based thermoelectric power generation, although these co-benefits vary substantially across decarbonisation scenarios. Wind and solar photovoltaic power represent a win-win option for both climate and water resources, but further expansion of nuclear or fossil- and biomass-fuelled power plants with carbon capture and storage may result in increased pressures on the water environment. Further to these results, the paper provides insights on the most crucial factors of uncertainty with regards to future estimates of water demand. These estimates varied substantially across models in scenarios where the effects of decarbonisation on the electricity mix were less clear-cut. Future thermal and water efficiency improvements of power generation technologies and demand-side energy efficiency improvements were also identified to be important factors of uncertainty. We conclude that in order to ensure positive effects of decarbonisation on water resources, climate policy should be combined with technology-specific energy and/or water policies.The potential market for LNG in the Caribbean and Central America / Ieda Gomes and Martin Lambert. Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, Nov. 2017, 41 p. (OIES Paper: NG 124) https://www.oxfordenergy.org/publications/potential-market-lng-caribbean-central-america/The Caribbean has been described as a potentially ideal region for LNG imports due to its present dependence on diesel and fuel oil for power generation, high electricity tariffs and its proximity to regional LNG suppliers in Trinidad &#38; Tobago and on the US Gulf Coast. Central America is also attracting investor interest as demonstrated by the construction of an LNG import terminal in Panama.The region is of interest to the wider LNG industry, as some of the technical, commercial and logistical innovations being developed for the Caribbean may be useful models for developing smaller potential LNG markets elsewhere in the world (e.g. in Africa, SE Asia, Mediterranean islands). While other parts of the world have struggled to progress LNG import plans, new projects have been developed in the Caribbean, such as in Jamaica and Panama, both relying on supply to power plants and alternative business models appropriate to the local markets. The small size of the markets presents logistic and commercial challenges for the supply of LNG and for financing the projects.This paper provides an overview of the Caribbean markets and the potential for LNG imports across the region. It also investigates the key commercial, logistical and regulatory challenges for the development of a natural gas market in the region.