tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37897463216083842042024-03-14T07:33:47.920+01:00Energy RevolutionI'm Xavier Cugat. I was born in 1972 and I'm working in Spain in the renewable industry, more precisely in the Photovoltaics.
The renewables feed my stomach, but also my mind. I'm truly believer that humankind doesn't have future without them, and renewables will drive us towards the next revolution: the energy revolutionXavier Cugathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150507596793493860noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3789746321608384204.post-17890194126804254612009-06-10T00:50:00.001+02:002009-06-10T00:50:39.920+02:00Introduction Part 2: the hidden costs of conventional electricity generation in Spain<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">We had </span>seen the cost of electricity is in the market. Now it needs to be analyzed two hidden costs, but paid by the taxpayers: The contamination<span style=""> </span>and the risk insurance.<span style=""><br /><br /> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Economic costs of waste from conventional power</span><span style=""><br /></span>Due to gaseous contamination Spain will pay according to some estimates up to € 10,000 million between 2008 and 2012 <span lang="ES"><a href="http://209.85.227.132/translate_c?hl=ca&ie=UTF-8&sl=es&tl=en&u=http://www.ecoticias.com/20080910-el-incumplimiento-de-kyoto-le-va-a-suponer-a-espana-un-coste-de-mas-de-10000-millones-de-euros-segun-experto.html&rurl=translate.google.es&usg=ALkJrhhkZUzwO6KpIIgYko2y8xJsBJKTkw"><span style="color: blue;" lang="EN-US">(http://www.ecoticias.com/20080910-el-incumplimiento-de-kyoto-le-va-a- pose-a-spain-cost-of-a-mas-de-10000-million-euros-for-second experto.html).</span></a></span><span style="" lang="ES"> </span>In fact Spain is now buying allowances from Eastern Europe now <span lang="ES"><a href="http://209.85.227.132/translate_c?hl=ca&ie=UTF-8&sl=es&tl=en&u=http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/Espana/compra/paises/derechos/emision/CO2/elpepisoc/20090102elpepisoc_3/Tes&rurl=translate.google.es&usg=ALkJrhhIT1-7N68M6-W7ldzrtkUucMLQsQ"><span style="color: blue;" lang="EN-US">(http://www.elpais.com/articulo/sociedad/Espana/compra/paises/derechos/emision/CO2/elpepisoc/20090102elpepisoc_3/Tes)</span></a></span>.<span style=""> </span>These costs are initially not paid by companies (although they will in a few years) and this is covered by the <span style=""> </span>government directly.<span style=""> </span>This cost is due to the excess CO2 emissions of Spain in general, not just the electricity sector.<span style=""><br /></span>As for nuclear waste management right now the cost of it is literally incalculable.<span style=""> </span>Unlike in the polluting emissions that are only paid for their release (and only once) in nuclear waste, because we don’t have a definitive solution, it is not paid for his release, but is paid for its storage, which causes each year a payment for every kilogram of nuclear waste.<span style=""> </span>If a radioactive waste lasts a million years (and these figures and higher happen in the nuclear waste) each year will have to pay for each Kg of nuclear waste, so something apparently cheap it becomes really very expensive over the years,<span style=""> </span>and keep in mind that each year there is more waste.<span style=""> </span>After all, if Spain meet tomorrow Kyoto immediately finish to pay their fines.<span style=""> </span>But nuclear waste inevitably will continue to pay year after year, although it stops all sources of generation of nuclear waste, <span style=""> </span>century after century, millennium after millennium.<span style=""> </span>Millions of years after millions of years.<span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The sources of nuclear propaganda are saying that the nuclear waste issue is almost solved, but the reality is that Spain has plans to build a temporary store able to hold up nuclear waste for about 100 years <span lang="ES"><a href="http://209.85.227.132/translate_c?hl=ca&ie=UTF-8&sl=es&tl=en&u=http://www.lukor.com/not-soc/cuestiones/0506/17115450.htm&rurl=translate.google.es&usg=ALkJrhgph55n_OfiG93FpA9BCcUg1iG5Rw"><span style="color: blue;" lang="EN-US">(http://www.lukor.com / not-soc/cuestiones/0506/17115450.htm).</span></a></span><span style="" lang="ES"> </span>"The president of Enresa (the state owned company that manages nuclear waste) Jose Alejandro Pina, announced that ATC (Temporary Centralized Storage) is the solution to high activity radioactive waste, which could remain in the store between 80 and 100 years, during which they’ll investigate how to reduce its volume and its radioactivity. The ATC would have too a research center "<span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="">So</span>, 53 years after the start of the first commercial nuclear power plant, nobody has an idea about what to do with the nuclear waste and the only can have for the future is expectations of being able to reduce waste within 80 or 100 years. So even in a 100 years more there isn’t expectation to solve this terrible issue and a clear mortgage for the coming generations.<span style=""> M</span>anagement nuclear waste in Spain (10 nuclear plants, 8 operating right now) until the year 2070 is expected to cost 13,018 million € <span lang="ES"><a href="http://209.85.227.132/translate_c?hl=ca&ie=UTF-8&sl=es&tl=en&u=http://www.mityc.es/energia/nuclear/Residuos/Paginas/financiacion.aspx&rurl=translate.google.es&usg=ALkJrhgmGCCIX99T5TFvJVyzYT_M_zYBng"><span style="color: blue;" lang="EN-US">(http://www.mityc.es/energia/nuclear/Residuos/Paginas/financiacion.aspx)</span></a></span><span style=""> </span>If it is decided in the future to build more nuclear plants, the cost of decommissioning would not be included in this fund and will increase its value quite significantly.<span style=""> </span>At this time is being dismantled Vandellós I and just the decommissioning of the plant represents 73% of the radioactive waste generated in Spain.<span style=""> </span>At the end of this plan, from 2070, another plan would need to be funded, because will remain the same amount of the high level radioactive waste. The cost of managing all nuclear waste has been fully funded until 2005 through surcharges on electricity bills (34 years).<span style=""> </span>It is from 2005 where nuclear power plants began to pay directly the waste cost of maintenace and storage management. The National Nuclear Waste Plan can be found here: <span lang="ES"><a href="http://209.85.227.132/translate_c?hl=ca&ie=UTF-8&sl=es&tl=en&u=http://www.mityc.es/energia/nuclear/Residuos/Documents/SextoPGRR.pdf&rurl=translate.google.es&usg=ALkJrhgcCy2jdSZzHMaPYi_b99RNicP9iQ"><span style="color: blue;" lang="EN-US">http://www.mityc.es/energia/nuclear/Residuos/Documents/SextoPGRR.pdf</span></a></span><span style=""><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Underwriting risk (*)</span><span style=""><br /></span>All power plants are required to have liability insurance to cover any damages that may happen accidentally during their operation.<span style=""> </span>In fact not all the power plants, nuclear plants are an exception because their insurance is partial.<span style=""><br /></span>In 2007 the Ministry of Industry presented a draft bill requiring nuclear plants to have liability insurance amounting to 1,200 million €.<span style=""> </span>The ministry, during the draft phase of this act discovered that no insurer wanted to have any responsibility 10 years after the accident, and no insurance company with an office in Spain had enough guarantee, so finally ministry suggested to create a fund financed through the electricity tariff.<span style=""> </span>Finally the act project was cancelled and the insured amount is currently 700 million €.<span style=""> </span><br />Así que tenemos que ante el problema de que los seguros no querían, o podían hacerse cargo de cubrir el riesgo que supone una central nuclear, las opciones eran o bien que se encargara el consumidor el que se hiciera cargo del riesgo, o bien, simplemente, no cubrir en su totalidad el riesgo (es decir, pasar de él).<span style="" lang="ES"> </span>So we have to face the problem that the insurance did not want, or couldn’t <span style=""> </span>cover the liability insurance of a nuclear power plant, and the options were either the consumers pays an extra charge for the risk or or simply not cover the full liability.<span style=""> </span>At the end the government choose to not to cover completely the liability.<span style=""> <br /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span> and includes waste management until that date and also the construction costs of the Temporary Centralized Storage (ATC) and the dismantling of existing nuclear power plants.</span> </p> <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">(*) Although the information is public, is the journal 'Renewable Energy' in a brilliant article written by Antonio Barrero this month, which has served as a source for this section.</span></span>Xavier Cugathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150507596793493860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3789746321608384204.post-11604853862762006022009-06-05T07:30:00.004+02:002009-06-05T10:50:03.051+02:00About the efficiency in renewable energy power plants<div class="post-body entry-content" style="font-family:arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">This issue comes because some comments in the spanish blog. T</span>he issue of renewables efficiency I think is key and open to many misinterpretations so I wanto to add my comments on that in this post.</span><br /><br /><div class="post-body entry-content" style="font-family:arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">I will begin by the end, efficiency in a renewable energy system has no value, an efficient, renewable, is, in principle, not better or cheaper.</span></span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">We are used to think about the efficiency in renewables in the same way we used to think about the standard generation systems and it is really a mistake to judge renewables in the same way.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"> </span>A liter of oil generate about 10 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">kWh</span> of heat.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"> Let's say you have a hypothetical cost of € 1 and that when burned produces 10 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">kg</span> of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">CO</span>2.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"> If I have an electrical generation system based on oil with an efficiency of 20%, the burning of a 1 liter of oil (10 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">kWh)</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">will generate 2 kWh </span>of electricity.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"> Therefore I need to generate 1 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">kWh,</span> 0.5 l of oil, I'll have a cost of 0.5 €/kWh and will generate an emissions of 5 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">kg</span> of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">CO</span>2/kWh.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">These are the economic and environmental costs of this generation.</span></span><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">If I have an electrical generation system based on oil but has a 40% efficiency, burning 1 liter of oil (10 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">kWh)</span> I'll genetate 4 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">kWh</span> of electricity.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">Therefore I need to generate 1 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">kWh</span> 0.25 liter of oil, at a cost of 0.25 €/kWh and will generate 2.5 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">kg</span> of CO2/kWh emissions.</span></span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">So, in the standard thermal generation systems</span> the energy efficiency is really important.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">The more efficiency you have, the less fuel is used to make 1 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">kWh</span> of electricity and electricity is a cheaper and has less emissions.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">Efficiency is a core issue in conventional generation plants.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">By the way, I make a point, the efficiency of conventional plants is not really phantastic.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">In fact if you look <a href="http://209.85.229.132/translate_c?hl=ca&ie=UTF-8&sl=es&tl=en&u=http://www.csn.es/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_centrales%26view%3Dcentrales%26Itemid%3D31%26lang%3Des&rurl=translate.google.es&usg=ALkJrhgSs7dgEaaEnP6XSCAolNZE7U50JA">CSN</a> web site (it is the governamental intitute to assure the nuclear safety in Spain) you will see that the Trillo nuclear power plant has a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">thermal</span> power of 3010 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">MWt</span> and an electrical power 1064 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">MWe.</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">This means that the reactor at full power generate 3010 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">MWt</span> of heat, of which the plant can only turn into electricity 1060 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">MWe</span>, which gives an efficiency of 35%. Nothing impressive. We have experimental PV cells with an efficiency little bit higher than 40 %.</span></span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">Let's see what happens now if we replace 1 liter of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">oil,</span> per <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">10 kWh</span> of wind at a cost of € 0 ¿idoes t matters the efficiency?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">Whether it is 20% or is 40%, the fuel to generate 1 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">kWh</span> of electricity will continue to cost 0 € m</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">eanwhile, the CO2 emissions will remain at 0 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">kg</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">CO</span>2/kWh.</span></span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">So we have to as the 'fuel' used by nearly all renewable plants is free, then we really don't care about the efficiency.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">What matters is that the cost of construction, divided by the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">kWh</span> generated along the life cycle is as low as possible.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">And this sometimes can be achieved by increasing the efficiency, but it isn't always the case.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;">Es decir si un <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Wp</span> de panel <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">fotovoltaico</span> con una eficiencia del 15% cuesta 2,5 € y otro con una eficiencia del 25% cuesta 3 €, siempre me interesará más instalar el panel con un 15% de eficiencia ya que el coste de mi electricidad será más económico.</span> I.e. if a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Wp</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">of PV module </span>with an efficiency of 15% costs € 2.5 and another with an efficiency of 25% costs is 3 €, I am always more interested in installing the panel with a 15% efficiency as the cost of my electricity will be cheaper.</span></span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">And there is a general exception to everything I said.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">In the case of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">biomass,</span> from the standpoint of efficiency, we must consider it as a conventional power plant</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">. This is the only exception that applies.</span></span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">And one final point is that is always a maximum efficiency that can never be exceeded in all technologies.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">For example in the wind energy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Betz</span> theorem says that the theoretical maximum efficiency of a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">wind turbine</span> is 16/27.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> </span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">A perfect wind tutbine </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">can only generate a 5,9kWh from 10kWh of wind.</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()" >(This article is adaptated from the original in spanish: (<a href="http://heliosyeolos.blogspot.com/2009/05/sobre-la-eficiencia-de-las-plantas-de.html">"Sobre la eficiencia de las plantas de energía renovable"</a>)</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span></span></span></span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37"><br /></span></span></span></div> </div> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Xavier Cugathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150507596793493860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3789746321608384204.post-15952902781524738712009-06-05T00:42:00.005+02:002009-06-05T08:01:27.112+02:00Introduction. Part I. How the electricity market works in Spain<span style="" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >A short introduction</span></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;"> Everything that I know about the electricity market, it's because some debates I participated with those against the renewable energy</span></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span>. <span style="font-family:arial;">This has compelled me to search for very large amounts of data to refute them (or not).</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span> <span style="font-family:arial;">In fact I will make you a confession. M</span></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">y position had also changed due to </span></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">the data that I have found.</span></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"> <span style="font-family:arial;">Four years ago, after nearly six working in renewables, I thought it was necessary to complement the renewable with the nuclear and has been the strength of the data that changed my position in the recent years.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">Now I think it's quite obvious one being against nuclear energy and I wonder how I could be confused for so long?.</span></span><br /><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">This is an introductory subject.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">It is necessary to understand the falsehoods and misunderstandings which we can read frequently. The electricity market that is using Spain is quite similar to a lot of European countries.</span></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"> <span style="font-family:arial;">Originally it was going to be a part of the "1st falsehood on renewable energy: renewable energy is expensive.", But given the length it has taken, I believe it is necessary to separate it.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">In fact, it has taken so much extention that the introduction is also splited in two parts: How the electricity market works and hidden costs of the conventional generation system.</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >The electricity market</span></span><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">The electrical market in Spain and many other countries works as follows.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">Some companies, many more than we think, generate the electricity that feed the grid.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">The electricity generation is always exactly what it is consumed, because in principle (we will see further whay means this' in principle ' another day) you can not store electricity.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">This electricity is distributed throughout Spain via the transmission grid.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">The transport network is the exclusive property of Red Eléctrica de España.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Finally the electricity is distributed by the distribution companies to the end user.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">Is the distributor who actually buy the electricity at any given moment in a kind of stock exchange market, named 'electricity pool' with the prices per MWh generated fluctuating each hour.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">For the distribution company it doesn't matter the primary energy used to generate the electricity,. Price is the same if it's, for example, wind generation or nuclear generation.</span></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;"> In the pool, </span>wherever it <span style="font-family:arial;">comes the electricity, for evry hour of the day is negotiated a fixed price per MWh generated.</span></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"> <span style="font-family:arial;">The MWh, for those without a lot of technical background, is the measure of electrical energy generated.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">In a car we use liters of gasoline and in electricity we use the MWh of electricity.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">1 MWh is roughly the amount of energy consumed by a family of two adults and two children for 3 months and currently 1 MWh of electricity in the pool costs an average of 60 € to 80 €.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">This is not the only cost that pays for the electricity distributor.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">A number of factors must be added to the cost of electricity.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">For example, to mention only a few, deviations in the generation when a generation plant is planned to produce and unexpected technical problem happen, requiring to start another plant fees of the transport grid and its maintenance.</span></span><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span>So, <span style="font-family:arial;">we have that, from the point of view of the electricity market it doesn't matter if we use to generate 1 MWh wind, photovoltaic, nuclear or gas.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span>Later on<span style="font-family:arial;">, the energies that are within the Special Regime, which are all renewable sources, excluding large hydropower generation and other special methods that are not renewable (eg the treatment of slurry) are compensated for each kWh (1000 kWh = 1 MWh) generated depending on the technology and the market price.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">This is known as the incentive paid each MWh generated by a given technology.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">Incentives<span style="font-family:arial;"> from the special regime come from the energy bill and we will discuss them in the coming days.</span></span><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">The price at a given time of electricity is the following.</span></span> Let's imagine that <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()">Red Electrica <span style="font-family:arial;">determines in the next hour we require a production 1000 MWh.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">Each plant makes its offer as follows:</span></span><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;">0010 Hidraulica cantábrica: 10 MWh at 0 €/MWh</span></span> </span><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;">0110 Hidráulica del Ebro: 100 MWh at 0 €/MWh</span></span> <span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />0210 Wind plant Mestral: 100 MWh at 0 €/MWh</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;">0220 Photovoltaic of Miramontes: 10 MWh at 0 €/MWh</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;">0420 Nuclear Ascó: 200 MWh at 0 €/MWh</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;">0520 Gas plant Juanito: 100 MWh at 40 €/MWh</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;">0620 Gas plant Pepito: 100 MWh at 45 €/MWh</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;">0720 Coal plant Pedrito: 100 MWh at 50 €/MWh</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;">0920 Gas plant Jorgito: 200 MWh at 55 €/MWh</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;">1020 Coal plant Penibética: 100 MWh at 60 €/GWh</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;">1120 Fuel plant Arábiga: 20 MWh at 65 €/GWh</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><br /><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">All numbers are hypothetical, just to explain how the system works.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">As 1000 MWh are needed (1 GWh). </span></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">Plants are ranked by the offered price and it is bought the electricity in function of energy demand expected.</span></span> In t<span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">he example companies buy the entire production of the list up to Gas plant Jorgito.</span></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> From the coal plant </span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Penibética it is just purchased 80 MWh instead the 100 MWh offered.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">And do not buy energy on the fuel plant Arábiga.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">And here comes the most interesting, the price the distribution company will pay it is not the offered price, but the price of the latest plant that has entered in the generation list. In this case all the plants from Hidráulica Cantabrica to the coal plant Penibética at the price of 60 € / MWh offered by this plant.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">Obviously the Fuel plant Arábiga will not charge anything, it has been discarded.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">The plants can also do not offer on the pool.</span></span><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;">You can see that </span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">there are several plants that offer at 0 € / MWh and this is because this plants whant to generate no mather the price is paid for their electricity.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">When there is wind the wind plants want to feed into the grid, when the sun shine the photovoltaic plants want to feed into the grid.</span></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"> <span style="font-family:arial;">The only costs that these plants have are only capital (payment of the credits needed for its construction) and a very small cost of maintenance (even smaller in the case of photovoltaics as they don't have mechanical parts).</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">The wind and the sun always cost the same, 0 € / MWh and that is always more expensive to maintain not feeding a wind plant when there is wind, whatever it is the price paid by the pool for each MWh generated.</span></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;"> With hydro it is even better.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">Basically all capital costs of the hydropower where paid years ago so they nearly just pay maintenance costs.</span></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"> <span style="font-family:arial;">Regarding the nuclear plants, they can not easily stop and start.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">An standard stop without later problems normally requires more than a day and the starting the same.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">Nuclear power, by this problem of the nuclear technology, can not enter and exit the system, so they always offer whatever price is for MWh.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">On the other hand the capital cost of these plants is much greater than for other conventional methods.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Nuclear are plants where </span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">the fuel costs are relatively few, but their construction costs it is very high.</span></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"> <span style="font-family:arial;">Although sometimes lost money with each MWh generated, it loses more stopping the nuclear power plant, because most of them are still paying the amortization of loans that allowed its construction.</span></span> So nuclear <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;">only have the option to be allways on or allways off, no matter if they earn or loss money.</span></span></span><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;"> They can not turn on or off the reactor every hour.</span></span><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">From this point, the conventional power stations, with the exception of the nuclear we had seen, offered in accordance with the fuel cost and capital amortization.</span></span><br /><span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span class="google-src-text" style="direction: ltr; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Regarding the cost </span></span><span style="font-family:arial;">a power plant, renewable or not, has three elements that determine the cost of their energy.</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">Amortization of capital (return to the bank the loan give it for the construction), low in the conventional, high renewables and high in the case of nuclear.</span></span> <span style="" onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">Cost of fuel: high and variable in the conventional, middle and variable in the nuclear and zero in the case of renewables (sun, wind, etc ... are free).</span></span> <span onmouseover="_tipon(this)" onmouseout="_tipoff()"><span style="font-family:arial;">And the operating costs very low renewables (especially hydro and PV) and tmedium in the rest of the technologies.<br /><br />Notes you can follow the real time generation in Spain:<br />- <a href="https://demanda.ree.es/demanda.html">Prediction and real time measurement</a><br />- <a href="https://demanda.ree.es/generacion_acumulada.html">Real time production by sources</a><br />- <a href="https://demanda.ree.es/eolica.html">Real time Wind generation</a><br /><br />(This article is adaptated from the original in spanish: (<a href="http://heliosyeolos.blogspot.com/2009/05/introduccion-1-parte-como-funciona-el.html">"Introducción, 1ªparte: Como funciona el sistema elécttrico"</a>)<br /></span></span> </div>Xavier Cugathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150507596793493860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3789746321608384204.post-43462009488680003032009-06-05T00:40:00.000+02:002009-06-05T00:41:17.732+02:00Schedule<div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;">In the following four posts I'll explain how the incentive system of renewables and the electrical market works in Spain. </div>Xavier Cugathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150507596793493860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3789746321608384204.post-87142414817294214192009-06-04T19:20:00.003+02:002009-06-04T22:47:35.526+02:00"We are in the energy revolution, we can only change the speed of change"<div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;">They are not my words but words that were said in the presentation of the book: "La electricidad solar térmica: tan lejos, tan cerca" ("The solar thermal power: So far, so close" )by Valeriano Ruiz Hernandez, published by the Gas Natural Foundation.<br />... ...<br />I began in renewables, then unknown to me, in 1999. First in service, and I quickly introduced to the engineering of electronic converters for wind turbines with doubly-fed generator, and training maintenance engineers of wind turbine manufacturers. At that time an innovative technology that allowed a generator with a variable speed, needed due to the variability of the wind, to generate electricity with a fixed frequency of 50Hz which is what we get at home. In this work, I traveled around the world. A long time since then, I'm ten years old and head of a small subsidiary of a German company in Spain in the field of PV. I'm older, but the renewable energy technology is more mature and younger than ever.<br /><br />In 1999 were installed 300 MW of wind energy in a year in Spain, it seemed a whole record. In 2007 were installed more than 2400 MW.<br />In 1999, wind power produced 1.38% of the electrical energy of Spain. Last year 2008 wind energy produced 11.38% of the electricity and in the last 12 months more than 12%.<br />In 1999 there was in Spain just 4 MW of PV power installed and produced 0.0001% of the electricity consumed. Only in 2008 were installed in Spain more than 2,500 MW in solar photovoltaic energy, reaching a total installed capacity of 3390 MW. In April 2009 3.2% of the electrical needs of Spain were generated by photovoltaic solar plants.<br />In 1999 solar thermoelectric power was nonexistent. In 2009 there are more than 80 MW connected to the network with more than 1,000 MW to be connected to the grid over the next 12 months and more than 10,000 MW in the pipeline.<br /><br />The benefits for Spain due to the promotion of the renewables are:i<br />1) Energy independence.<br />2) Energy inexhaustible forever and ever.<br />3) Non-polluting energy.<br />4) Improvement in the trade balance for two reasons: Reduction of the energy imports and increased exports of Spanish renewable energy technology.<br />5) Industrial and technological leadership worldwide in an area with a clear future.<br />6) Large numbers of highly skilled jobs.<br /><br />As you can see a lot of things had changed since ten years ago. When I started the technology was a young upstart teenager, excited that it could contribute to the development of the society. A diamond in the rough. Today the technology, though it lacks a lot to cover, is already in industrial stage, proving every day, with its progress, that a future based on an economy with a 100% renewable energy is not an issue of many decades, centuries or even a utopia, but with political will, is a matter of few years.<br /><br />In the coming days I will explain you about the figures for renewables in Spain and the world, as well as the different technologies. We keep in mind the words that has started this post.<br />Welcome to your blog, the blog of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">energy revolution</span>.<br /><br />(This article is adapted from the original in spanish:<a href="http://heliosyeolos.blogspot.com/2009/05/ya-estamos-en-la-transicion-energetica.html">“Ya estamos en la transición energética, sólo podemos variar la velocidad del cambio”)</a></div>Xavier Cugathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150507596793493860noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3789746321608384204.post-53878899760989382602009-06-04T09:57:00.002+02:002009-06-04T19:41:34.560+02:00Welcome<div style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial;">A long time ago my friends began to told me to organize a blog to write all my knowledge and my ideas about renewables. Finally I did it ten days ago with the blog <a href="http://heliosyeolos.blogspot.com/">'Revolución Energética'</a>, in spanish and very focused in the spanish market. Right in the very first day, a lot of people told me to do the same in english. OK, so that's what you can see now.<br /><br />The idea of the blog is to translate some articles there are in the spanish blog and adapt it to the worldwide reader. I will try to not to be so spanish focused that in the spanish blog, so I will do also posts only for this blog. However, according European Union, Spain has the best renewables incentive system europewide and is one of the worldwide leaders and drivers of this type of thechnology. So I'll try to be worldwide focused, but with an 'spanish touch' as probably you also are interested on how we are running renewables in Spain.<br /><br />By the way, I apologize if something sounds bad in english. I'll do my best, but please, understand that I'm not english speaker native.<br /><br />So, no need to knock the door. Is open. Feel free to enter, read, ask and share your experience in renewables in the comments with all of us.<br /></div>Xavier Cugathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01150507596793493860noreply@blogger.com0