Promoting Renewables:
Effects of Marketing Energy Volumes Under the German Renewable Energies Act (EEG)
This article analyses the effects of the obligation by German transmission system operators to buy renewable energy and sell it through the exchange spot markets – first quarter 2010 observations. By Dr. Tobias Paulun
I
n conjunction with the German Renewable Energies Act, the Ordinance regarding the Further Development of the Federal Equalisation Mechanism (AusglMechV) and the
implementing Ordinance (AusglMechAV – which is based on these regulations), German transmission system operators are now obliged to buy electricity generated by renewable energies from the operator of the relevant plant and to market all of this electricity through the spot market of an exchange. Physical forwarding of these quantities of power to downstream utilities is no longer possible.
Marketing of Renewable Energies Since 1st
January 2010, transmission system operators can
only market the quantities of energy received under the German Renewable Energies Act exclusively via the day-ahead and intra-day markets of a power exchange according to Art. 2. AusglMechV. Art. 1. AusglMechAV prescribes that the day-ahead forecast of the expected feed-in from renewable energies usually has to be entered as an unlimited sell/offer on the day-ahead market. Differences between the day-ahead forecast and the actual feed-in (or of the feed-in forecast on the basis of updated information) have to be procured or sold via the intra-day market. Limit orders are only permissible in exceptional cases according to Art. 8 AusglMechAV, e.g. in the event of unusually high feed-in of renewables and low load at the same time or a call for a second auction by the exchange. Before AusglMechV came into force, there was
some debate as to whether the spot market of EPEX Spot was sufficiently liquid to take up the expected volumes of renewable energies. Critics of the Ordinance expected considerable price fluctuations and significantly negative prices in hours with high expected EEG feed-in, in particular, on account of the requirement of submitting bids without a price limit in the day-ahead hourly auction for the entire feed-in from renewable energies. An objective evaluation of the effects to be expected was difficult, since it was not known which feed-in volumes from renewable energies were already traded through the exchange, in order to convert the fluctuating feed-in into a fixed-quantity delivery forwarded physically (“EEG refinement”). The following analysis of spot market prices and trade volumes for the first quarter 2010 shows that the negative effects — which had been widely assumed — did not materialise.
worldPower 2010
Prices & Trade Volumes on the Day-Ahead Market Figure 1 shows the range of the prices established in the
Phelix hourly auction on the day-ahead market for the period from 1st
January to 31st March 2010 and for the same period
during the previous year. The minimum and maximum prices across all hours for every delivery day are shown. During this period there were no significantly negative
prices and, moreover, there were no unexpectedly strong price fluctuations. Figure 1 shows that, overall, the volatility of the prices established on the day-ahead market during the first quarter of 2010 were lower than during the comparable period during the previous year. In so far as the energy volumes marketed according to AusglMechV are additional volumes which were not marketed through EPEX Spot before January, these quantities can hence be taken up by the market without any significant influence on prices.
Figure 1: Range of Prices in the Phelix Hourly Auction (first quarter of 2009 & 2010)
Source: EEX Figure 2 shows the weekly trade volumes during the first
quarter and in the corresponding period during the previous year (the first and last calendar week are considered on a pro rata basis). The quantities traded on the spot market of EPEX Spot in 2010 are considerably higher than the trade volumes generated during the same period in the previous year.
Wind Energy Influence on the Day-Ahead Market Figures 1 and 2 only show the results of the hourly auction
on the spot market of EPEX Spot. It is impossible to assess whether, and by how much, these results have been influenced by the transmission system operators’ marketing activities
85
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148