Russian Gas As A Foreign Policy Weapon

The stage for a deeper integration of Renewable Energies in the UK was set by a number of these policies which has evolved over the years. These policies however were not delivering maximum efficiency when compared to other policies in other European countries. For instance, the inefficiency of some of the policy mechanisms when compared to those obtainable in Germany had been severally argued. The Energy White Paper 2003 was largely a response to the future of the UK Energy industry drawing from the failures of these past policy implementations.

In 2007, Canada’s industries saved 2.1 billion U.S. dollars of energy costs (2007). All these numbers show Canada’s efforts in general public utilities.

The use of solar power as a policy choice is based on the fact that it is an

Site C at BCUC will be a numbers game. Forget about the sunk costs - can renewables save the ratepayer money going forward?

Since 2004 the UK has been a net importer of natural gas, as the North Sea reserves have been exploited and nearly exhausted. Today, ten years later, the UK has become even more dependent on foreign gas with over 50% of demand for gas satisfied by foreign supply (Gloystein, 2013). This increasing dependence on foreign countries is a worrying trend, due to the adverse effects it can have, which include being subjected to price shocks, supply shortages and manipulation both economically and politically. Energy insecurity has arisen through a lack of investment in other

It has been determined that by implementing solar energy panels to offset 50% of the plants annual electricity usage, this will provide the company with the following incentives (please refer to Exhibit 2 for the full cost analysis):

Political: A 60% electricity usage of commercial compact fluorescent lighting subsidization from government for 24 months. As

In contrast, some believe that renewable energy is a key factor involved in helping the economy to grow. Many jobs are created in the manufacturing and running of renewable energy plants. The renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies created 8.5 million new jobs and $970 billion in revenue in the year 2006 (Langwith, “Renewable Energy is Economically”). The American Solar Energy Society says by 2030 it could generate up to $4.5 trillion in revenue for the U.S and create 40 million new jobs. This would represent one in every four jobs (Langwith, “Renewable Energy is Economically”). This shows how vital it is to get renewable energy companies in the U.S. It is important to build a stable economy again and do it all while helping the environment.

Incentives (governmental regulations require utilities to purchase renewable electricity at higher rates), can only help the business to become established in the market, so are important in the short and mid-term only. Because European incentives diminish over time, in the long term all PV technologies will compete based on price and performance therefore cost

Lastly, we compared the after tax flow the Do Nothing option. By evaluate the present cost of electricity of 42 homes, we used the Depreciation rate over 20 years to compare it to the other two options. After finding our taxable income, and income taxes, we were able to find the after tax cash flow. Similar to solar panels, and wind turbines, the do nothing option shows that electricity will increase over 20 years. But, unlike the renewable energy options, there is solely one benefit which is that it is the cheapest and most economically viable option. Unfortunately, it is not the most environmentally friendly option.

In addition to the Renewable Energy Law, subsequent implementation measures created specific rules that provided economic incentives for the wind industry in China. Feed-in-tariffs (FIT) were introduced that compensated wind power producers with a financial incentive based on the quantity of energy produced. These FITs were divided into four groups in accordance with the abundance of wind available in their region. Per cite{IEEEhowto:Carbon_Trust_China}, this was set at: CNY0.51/kWh (Group I), CNY0.54/kWh (Group II), CNY0.58/kWh (Group III) and CNY0.61/kWh (Group IV). The four regions are shown in Figure

Germany is by a long distance the largest consumer of energy in Europe it is especially reliant on foreign sources of energy in the form of fossil fuels. ‘Germany is the seventh largest consumer of energy in the world,’ (EIA 2013) and because Germany has an insufficient amount of local oil and gas reserves to fuel its economy it imports most if not all of its gas and oil needs. Germany’s central position and size on the European continent ensures that Germany’s relationship with its neighbours is affected to a large degree by this dependence as ‘Oil remains the most significant although declining energy source in Germany, accounting for 32% in 2010.’ (IEA 2012 p.6) Oil is imported to the country through its pipeline infrastructure and ports. Imports mainly come from Russia, Norway, the United Kingdom and Holland. Germany is also a huge consumer of Natural Gas imported from Russia, and Norway through various gas pipeline infrastructures. Because, of Germany’s European Membership and thus its European Energy Community membership its Energy system is deeply interwoven with its European Allies and from outside this framework also with Russia. Germany’s reliance on the latter for a significant portion of its energy needs is a worrying situation for its European allies, most specifically in the Eastern European Countries of Poland and Lithuania. The newly built Nord

Sweden 's push for energy self-sufficiency began with a public demand for environmentally friendly sources of energy post-World War II. Environmental issues such as acid rain and hydroelectric ecological destruction resulted in a slew of renewable energy subsidies and public investments in the 60 's and 70 's (Silveria, 2002). As seen in the prior study of the countries unicameral legislative reform, it was also this time when Sweden dissolved its formally bicameral legislature in favor of a less rigid unicameral system. During this time, post-1973, Sweden saw a large uptick in the number of bills being passed, included in this was transitory legislation for the promotion of energy self-sufficiency in Sweden (Congelton, 2003).

Subsides are being provided directly to renewable energy generators by governments all over the world. German has launched an aggressive campaign to have 100% of its energy come from renewable sources. The German government gives direct subsidies to individuals and businesses for the installation of roof top solar panels on their property, thus making renewable energy more attractive for small renewable energy generators (Burgermeister, 2009). Direct subsidies have become a required part of renewable energy for small producers to find it cost effective and current efficiency levels show that they will be required for many years to come.

The support system for renewable energy in Romania, i.e. quota system with tradable green certificates, was launched in 2004 in order to achieve two goals: to reduce the prices for consumers and to protect the generators of renewable electricity. Wind energy, solar energy, biomass, micro hydro and geothermal energy are all sources of energy that can be supported by this system [68].