Page 77 - Impiantistica Industriale - Settembre Ottobre 2014
P. 77
% of the load for hours. Similarly, negative 1.2 Electricity production cost
(!) prices at the power exchange have been and price
observed. Technical as well as regulatory solutions
are so urgently required. Electricity good is primarily a local and national
Due to this situation (similar also in the other EU business, not an international one: only 2% of all
countries) the EU electricity systems could move to electricity production is traded across international
instability phases creating a negative impact also borders, compared with 65% of oil, 20% of natural
on the economics of the EU countries. gas and 15% of coal.
How will be the energy transition to renewables? The elements having the main impact on electricity
It is evident that the structure of electricity sector production costs are:
will change within next future, but it is not easy to • fuel cost and its policy;
define the costs to move to a new electricity sector • production plant efficiency;
organization. Always concerning electricity sector it • capital cost of the installed power;
is important to remember that: • cost to minimize environmental impact;
• energy flows through the grids in accordance • adoption in time of advanced technologies.
with physical laws which are not easily Having the fuel a huge impact on fossil kWh
controllable by the operators; cost, the investigation of interface between the
• the speed at which intermittent renewable are producers of these fuels and the electricity sector
penetrating into the grids could create also is very important (figure 1).
security problems within electrical networks Also oil refineries and chemical complexes are
operation, if adequate actions are not taken. entering on the power business and are becoming
much more sophisticated in managing their energy
Present electricity sector structure use, exploiting joint opportunities for combined
Since the development of alternate current the heat, chemical products and power. So the ESI
electricity sector was above all verticalized; the (Electricity Supply Industry) can be split roughly in
three main assets are: the following different classes:
• generation plants; • Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs);
• high voltage transmission; • Independent Power Producers (IPPs),
• distribution to the final users.
including the equipment suppliers;
Expected future electricity sector structure • Oil and Gas Companies (OGCs), including
Not fully clear what will be the final impact of
renewables on electricity sector structure. Future cogenerators.
structure could vary country by country and it will
be dependent also from the success of smart Fuel costs will largely determine the place of a
grids and from the capital and operation cost of single IOU or IPP in the merit order dispatch curve;
advanced energy storage systems. being IOU or IPP usually unable to mitigate fuel
Fig. 1 - An overview of
energy sector including
electricity
76 Impiantistica Italiana - Settembre - Ottobre 2014
(!) prices at the power exchange have been and price
observed. Technical as well as regulatory solutions
are so urgently required. Electricity good is primarily a local and national
Due to this situation (similar also in the other EU business, not an international one: only 2% of all
countries) the EU electricity systems could move to electricity production is traded across international
instability phases creating a negative impact also borders, compared with 65% of oil, 20% of natural
on the economics of the EU countries. gas and 15% of coal.
How will be the energy transition to renewables? The elements having the main impact on electricity
It is evident that the structure of electricity sector production costs are:
will change within next future, but it is not easy to • fuel cost and its policy;
define the costs to move to a new electricity sector • production plant efficiency;
organization. Always concerning electricity sector it • capital cost of the installed power;
is important to remember that: • cost to minimize environmental impact;
• energy flows through the grids in accordance • adoption in time of advanced technologies.
with physical laws which are not easily Having the fuel a huge impact on fossil kWh
controllable by the operators; cost, the investigation of interface between the
• the speed at which intermittent renewable are producers of these fuels and the electricity sector
penetrating into the grids could create also is very important (figure 1).
security problems within electrical networks Also oil refineries and chemical complexes are
operation, if adequate actions are not taken. entering on the power business and are becoming
much more sophisticated in managing their energy
Present electricity sector structure use, exploiting joint opportunities for combined
Since the development of alternate current the heat, chemical products and power. So the ESI
electricity sector was above all verticalized; the (Electricity Supply Industry) can be split roughly in
three main assets are: the following different classes:
• generation plants; • Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs);
• high voltage transmission; • Independent Power Producers (IPPs),
• distribution to the final users.
including the equipment suppliers;
Expected future electricity sector structure • Oil and Gas Companies (OGCs), including
Not fully clear what will be the final impact of
renewables on electricity sector structure. Future cogenerators.
structure could vary country by country and it will
be dependent also from the success of smart Fuel costs will largely determine the place of a
grids and from the capital and operation cost of single IOU or IPP in the merit order dispatch curve;
advanced energy storage systems. being IOU or IPP usually unable to mitigate fuel
Fig. 1 - An overview of
energy sector including
electricity
76 Impiantistica Italiana - Settembre - Ottobre 2014
