Investment in Low-Carbon Electricity

Abstract

This talk will combine a presentation of “The Long-run Impact of Wind Power on Electricity Prices and Capacity” by Richard Green and Nicholas Vasilakos with a discussion of the policy measures being introduced in the UK to support nuclear and renewable investment. The paper uses a market equilibrium model to calculate how the mix of generating capacity would change if large amounts of intermittent renewables are built in Great Britain, and what this means for operating patterns and the distribution of prices over time. If generators bid their marginal costs, we find that the changes to the capacity mix are much greater than the changes to the pattern of prices. Thermal capacity falls only slightly in response to the extra wind capacity, and there is a shift towards power stations with higher variable costs (but lower fixed costs). The changes to the pattern of prices, once capacity has adjusted, are relatively small. In an oligopolistic setting, strategic generators will choose lower levels of capacity. If wind output does not receive the market price, then mark-ups on thermal generation will be lower in a system with large amounts of wind power.