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Financing Power: Impacts of Energy Policies in Changing Regulatory Environments

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  • Nils May and Karsten Neuhoff

Abstract

Power systems with increasing shares of wind and solar power generation have higher capital costs and lower operational costs than power systems based on fossil fuels. This increases the importance of the financing costs for total system cost. We quantify how renewable energy support policies can affect the financing costs by addressing regulatory risk and facilitating hedging. We use interview data on wind power financing costs from the EU and model how long-term contracts signed between project developers and energy suppliers impact financing costs. Regression analysis of investors' financing costs and an analytical model of off-takers financing costs reveal that between the support policies, the costs of renewable energy deployment differ by around 30 percent, but can be significantly lower or higher, depending on the financial situation of energy suppliers.

Suggested Citation

  • Nils May and Karsten Neuhoff, 2021. "Financing Power: Impacts of Energy Policies in Changing Regulatory Environments," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4).
    • Handle: RePEc:aen:journl:ej42-4-may
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas Baldauf & Patrick Jochem, 2024. "Project finance or corporate finance for renewable energy? an agent-based insight," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 19(4), pages 759-805, October.
    2. Xia, Fang & Lu, Xi & Song, Feng, 2020. "The role of feed-in tariff in the curtailment of wind power in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    3. Adriana Grigorescu & Camelia Speranta Pirciog & Cristina Lincaru, 2024. "Space–Time Forecasting of Heating & Cooling Energy Needs as an Energy Poverty Measure in Romania," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-19, October.
    4. Chiappinelli, Olga & May, Nils, 2022. "Too good to be true? Time-inconsistent renewable energy policies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    5. Fabra, Natalia, 2021. "The energy transition: An industrial economics perspective," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    6. Neuhoff, Karsten & May, Nils & Richstein, Jörn C., 2022. "Financing renewables in the age of falling technology costs," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    7. Frédéric Gonand & Pedro Linares & Andreas Löschel & David Newbery & Karen Pittel & Julio Saavedra & Georg Zachmann, 2024. "Watts Next: Securing Europe’s Energy and Competitiveness - Where the EU’s Energy Policy Should Go Now," EconPol Policy Reports 49, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    8. Gohdes, Nicholas & Simshauser, Paul & Wilson, Clevo, 2022. "Renewable entry costs, project finance and the role of revenue quality in Australia's National Electricity Market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    9. Karsten Neuhoff & Nils May & Jörn C. Richstein, 2018. "Renewable Energy Policy in the Age of Falling Technology Costs," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1746, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    10. Keppler, Jan Horst & Quemin, Simon & Saguan, Marcelo, 2022. "Why the sustainable provision of low-carbon electricity needs hybrid markets," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    11. Steffen, Bjarne, 2020. "Estimating the cost of capital for renewable energy projects," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    12. Neuhoff, Karsten & Kröger, Mats & Richstein, Jörn, 2022. "Workshop Summary: “The Role of Contracts for Differences (CfDs)”," EconStor Research Reports 267882, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    13. Đukan, Mak & Kitzing, Lena, 2023. "A bigger bang for the buck: The impact of risk reduction on renewable energy support payments in Europe," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    14. Karsten Neuhoff & Fernanda Ballesteros & Mats Kröger & Jörn C. Richstein, 2023. "Contracting Matters: Hedging Producers and Consumers with a Renewable Energy Pool," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2035, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    15. M. Calcaterra & L. Aleluia Reis & P. Fragkos & T. Briera & H. S. Boer & F. Egli & J. Emmerling & G. Iyer & S. Mittal & F. H. J. Polzin & M. W. J. L. Sanders & T. S. Schmidt & A. Serebriakova & B. Stef, 2024. "Reducing the cost of capital to finance the energy transition in developing countries," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 9(10), pages 1241-1251, October.
    16. Neuhoff, Karsten & Richstein, Jörn C. & Kröger, Mats, 2023. "Reacting to changing paradigms: How and why to reform electricity markets," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    17. Iwona Bąk & Anna Spoz & Magdalena Zioło & Marek Dylewski, 2021. "Dynamic Analysis of the Similarity of Objects in Research on the Use of Renewable Energy Resources in European Union Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-24, July.

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    JEL classification:

    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy

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