De komende aardverschuiving in het Amerikaanse klimaatbeleid, waarover wij hier op Climate.nl uitvoerig hebben bericht (zie hier, hier, hier en hier), is nog nauwelijks op de radar van de mainstream media gesignaleerd. Maar daarvoor hebben we dan ook de sociale media!

Dat geldt eens te meer voor het kleine aardverschuivinkje dat de EU aan het voorbereiden is. Het staat weliswaar los van de uitkomst van de Amerikaanse presidentsverkiezingen, die een totale ontmanteling van het klimaatbeleid beloven, maar het past in een bredere ontwikkeling, waarbij het, nu het steeds meer pijn begint te doen, zelfs bij de EU-landen gaat dagen dat het beleid te ver is doorgeschoten.

Onder de titel, ‘Renewables could lose European power grid priority, documents reveal’, schreef Arthur Neslen voor ‘The Guardian’.

Industry concern after confidential impact assessment models scenarios for paring back the ‘priority dispatch’ system for clean energy.

Windfarms and solar power could soon lose the privilege of getting priority over other energy sources on European electricity grids, leaked documents show.

Paring back the “priority dispatch” system could increase carbon emissions by up to 10%, according to a confidential EU impact assessment seen by the Guardian. But the document goes on to model four scenarios for doing just that, in a bid to make Europe’s energy generators more flexible and cost-competitive.

Some industry sources have told the Guardian they are alarmed and think it highly likely that priority dispatch for clean energy will be scrapped from the EU’s renewable energy directive, which is currently being redrafted for the post-2020 period.

Oliver Joy, a spokesman for the WindEurope trade association, said: “Removing priority dispatch for renewable energies would be detrimental to the wind sector, which would face more curtailment across the continent. It also seems to be at odds with Europe’s plans to decarbonise and increase renewables penetration over the next decade.”

“Investors took priority dispatch into account when projecting revenues in the original investment decisions, and it could have a bearing on existing projects if they are not protected from the change.” …

Senior industry sources say they will push for financial compensation and access to balancing markets to help prevent a significant industry contraction, if priority dispatch is ended. …

The EU’s assessment views the abolishing of priority dispatch as a step towards the creation of a “level playing field” for energy generators.

But without such a system, renewable sources may be the most likely to be taken offline because of the relative ease of switching off a wind turbine compared to a coal or nuclear plant.

The energy source with the lowest marginal cost – almost always renewables – is usually the first in line to be shut down by power grid operators.

As things are, a Europe-wide trend towards ending financial support has constrained the forward march of renewables on the continent, and siphoned off investment to elsewhere in the world.

“Everyone is investing in renewables outside Europe right now,” said one industry source. “If you want to bring investors back you have to send very relevant signals.” …

The four scenarios for scaling back priority dispatch involve an increase in CO2 emissions of 45m-60m tonnes.

Lees verder hier.

Hoe ook zij, het lijkt erop dat investeerders in windenergie het moeilijker zullen krijgen, vanwege het feit dat hun verdienmodel onder druk zal komen te staan.

Voor mijn eerdere bijdragen over klimaat en aanverwante zaken zie hierhier, hier, hier en hier.

Bron foto.