Conference article

For nearly all their history; modern renewables have had to fit into electricity systems that otherwise operate using the model of competitive wholesale markets and retail competition for consumers. Renewables’ costs are generally too high for utilities to choose them in preference to other generation technologies. However; there is wide agreement that fossil fuel generation has to be phased out in favour of technologies that produce low levels of greenhouse gas emissions. There have always been question marks about whether the free market model for electricity would be sustainable but doubts are now beginning to emerge from an unexpected quarter and much more influential quarter; the pioneers of liberalised electricity markets; Britain. In December 2010; the British government published a White Paper on its proposed reforms to the electricity market that are widely expected to see foresee a much more interventionist approach. However; the British government also has a strong policy to promote new orders for nuclear generation and concerns have been expressed that the market reforms will be designed to favour nuclear power at the expense of renewables. This paper reviews previous policies in Britain to promote renewables and examines options available in a more planned electricity system.

Electricity liberalisation; renewable obligation; feed-in tariff; carbon market; capacity auction