Energie : papiers de recherche moissonnés (2 mars 2018)

Leveraging the Smart Grid : The Effect of Real-Time Information on Consumer Decisions / Nicholas Rivers. Paris : OECD, March 2018, 41 p. (OECD Environment Working Papers ; 127.) http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/content/workingpaper/6ad4d5e3-en – http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/6ad4d5e3-en

This report reviews the literature on the impact of real-time information provision on consumer decision-making. In addition, it describes the results of a study in which about 7000 households in Ontario, Canada were provided with in-home displays linked to smart meters that provided real-time feedback on electricity consumption. The results show that electricity consumption declines by about 3% as a result of information feedback, that the reduction in demand is sustained for at least five months, and that it is highly correlated with outdoor temperature.

Renewable Energy Market Analysis: Southeast Asia. Abu Dhabi : IRENA, février 2018, 168 p. http://irena.org/publications/2018/Jan/Renewable-Energy-Market-Analysis-Southeast-Asia

The report explains how renewable energy is the key to expanding energy access in a region where 65 million people currently lack a stable, sustainable and affordable supply of energy. Highlighting Southeast Asia’s vast, untapped renewables potential, the report shows that considerable opportunities exist to accelerate renewables deployment in the power sector — but also in heating, cooling and transport — and that strong enabling and investment frameworks need to be put in place to overcome barriers facing renewables uptake.

IRENA’s report shows that:

• Energy underpins future growth and supports the Southeast Asia’s progress toward key development goals.
• The region relies heavily on fossil fuels, both for power generation and transportation.
• Southeast Asia’s rich renewable energy potential remains largely untapped.
• Between 2006 and 2016, cumulative investment in renewable energy in Southeast Asia amounted to USD 27 billion.
• Southeast Asia offers compelling examples of the synergies between renewable energy and socio-economic development

EU Bioenergy Policies Will Increase Carbon Dioxide Concentrations / William R. Moomaw, Global Development And Environment Institute, Tufts University, Feb. 2018, 4 p. (Climate policy brief n° 7) http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/climate/ClimatePolicyBrief7.pdf

In January 2018, the European Parliament voted its support for the Renewable Energy Directive that would double the amount of renewable energy to be added between 2020 and 2030. While the directive contains many excellent provisions, it will unfortunately double the amount of energy coming from forest bioenergy. The European Union aims to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy, but ignores the fact that burning wood from forests releases carbon dioxide. Instead, bioenergy emissions are officially counted as zero or carbon neutral. This policy brief explains why forest bioenergy is not carbon neutral, covers the impact of increasing European demand for wood, and outlines the concerns of two groups of scientists. The brief concludes by summarizing forest bioenergy programs in the United States and providing policy recommendations.

New regulatory and business model approaches to achieving universal electricity access / Ignacio J. Pérez-Arriaga, Papeles de energía, 2017, No. 3, pp. 37-77 http://hdl.handle.net/1814/51450

Universal access to electricity should be achievable by 2030, the deadline proposed by the UN in its Access for all initiative. However, progress so far has been too slow. The International Energy Agency estimates that by 2030 still more than half billion people, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, will lack electricity access. Technology and sufficient funding exist, yet other key components of the solution are clearly missing. This paper argues that an essential lacking component is a regulatory and associated business model package that is well adapted to the specific characteristics of electrification in the least developed countries, and that can be supported by sound quantitative analysis of the costs and benefits of every considered option.

Danièle Revel

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