Topic Energy Economics

Predictions for the use of nuclear fusion

Industry Transition to Climate Neutrality: Comparing Policy Approaches in Times of Geopolitical Fragmentation

European climate policy was traditionally pursued in the expectation of global policy convergence, ensuring equal opportunities for domestic and foreign firms in achieving climate neutrality. However, increasing geopolitical fragmentation has disrupted this expectation. Across the globe, national strategies increasingly favor economic policies that benefit domestic industries and coercive economic ...

Understanding Energy Savings in a Crisis: The Role of Prices and Non-monetary Factors

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was accompanied by a significant reduction of its gas supply to Europe, causing sharp energy price surges and prompting governments to respond with public appeals and programs aimed at reducing consumption. This paper investigates the effects of price increases and non-monetary factors, such as public appeals and saving programs, on residential energy savings during ...

Integrating Renewable Energy Resources in Electricity Distribution Systems—a Firm-Level Efficiency Analysis for Sweden Controlling for Weather Conditions

Sweden is at the forefront of the transition of its energy sector to low-carbon technologies with profound consequences for both energy generation and its distribution. However, the impact of this transition on the performance of Electricity Distribution System Operators (DSOs) has not been thoroughly studied. The article addresses this gap by using a novel approach and detailed georeferenced firm-level, ...

Demand Response Within the Irish Wastewater Treatment Sector: Analysing Flexibility Potentials of the Aeration Process and Wastewater Pumping Within an Integrated Energy–Water System Model

Significant amounts of electricity consumed in air and water pumping make wastewater treatment energy-intensive. This study investigates the potential power system benefits of load shifting within these pumping processes. As a case study, the Irish power system and wastewater sector are studied by using an integrated modelling approach. The results show that demand flexibility within the wastewater ...

Contracting Matters: Hedging Producers and Consumers With a Renewable Energy Pool

Renewable energy installations are rapidly gaining market share due to falling technology costs and supportive policies. Meanwhile, the energy price crisis in 2022 shifted the energy policy debate toward the question of how consumers can better benefit from the low and stable generation costs of renewable electricity. Long-term contracts for renewable energy to link producers and consumers are an option ...

Industrial Decarbonisation in a Fragmented World:: An Effective Carbon Price with a ‘Climate Contribution’

Context and problem • The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) was introduced to prevent carbon leakage, and to incentivise global carbon pricing. The UK is set to introduce a CBAM in 2027 for the same reasons. However, this policy measure will face limitations in a fragmented geopolitical environment if progress on global carbon pricing remains slow. • The reliance on international ...

Power Generation from Nuclear Fusion Not Expected in the Foreseeable Future: Applied Research Developing Dynamically

Research into nuclear fusion for military purposes has been regularly conducted since the 1940s. However, the idea of being able to use nuclear power for power generation within mere decades has not come to fruition. While some successes have been highlighted by the media, such as the experiments at the National Ignition Facility in California at the end of 2022, the main problems remain as challenging ...

Is Russian Gas Still Needed in the European Union? Model-Based Analysis of Long-Term Scenarios

Aligned with the war in Ukraine, Russia has significantly withheld natural gas exports to Europe since 2021. As there are no EU-wide sanctions on imports of Russian natural gas, the Ukraine transit as well as imports via Turkey and LNG have remained active during 2022–24. However, the Russian-Ukrainian transit agreement expires at the end of 2024 and discussions about new sanctions on natural gas as ...

Nobody Decides for All — Modeling Incentives and Policies for Closing the Material Loop