IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v125y2019icp307-316.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does transmission unbundling increase wind power generation in the United States?

Author

Listed:
  • Sugimoto, Kota

Abstract

Limited access to transmission grids can be a potential barrier that prevents the wind power development. Unbundling transmission operation and ownership from incumbents was a common approach for greater competition in the United States and European countries, before promoting renewable energy deployment. This article investigates whether the functional separation of transmission in the United States enhanced the wind power installation. I employ the OLS fixed effect and Tobit random effect models to separately examine the effects of state policies and socio-economic factors, using panel data from 1990 to 2016. This study shows that the functional unbundling, an omitted variable in prior econometric studies, emerges as a main driver of state wind power development. The result indicates states in Independent System Operator or Regional Transmission Operator develops annually about 46.8% (Tobit) to 118% (OLS) more wind capacity on average. This paper suggests removing barriers for competition can facilitate wind energy development as a side effect in the United States, especially for nonutility.

Suggested Citation

  • Sugimoto, Kota, 2019. "Does transmission unbundling increase wind power generation in the United States?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 307-316.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:125:y:2019:i:c:p:307-316
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2018.10.032
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421518306852
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.10.032?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lucas W. Davis & Catherine Wolfram, 2012. "Deregulation, Consolidation, and Efficiency: Evidence from US Nuclear Power," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 4(4), pages 194-225, October.
    2. Dahlke, Steve, 2018. "Effects of wholesale electricity markets on wind generation in the midwestern United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 358-368.
    3. Ropenus, Stephanie & Jensen, Stine Grenaa, 2009. "Support schemes and vertical integration--Who skims the cream?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 1104-1115, March.
    4. Hitaj, Claudia, 2013. "Wind power development in the United States," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 394-410.
    5. Yin, Haitao & Powers, Nicholas, 2010. "Do state renewable portfolio standards promote in-state renewable generation[glottal stop]," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 1140-1149, February.
    6. William Robert Reed, 2015. "On the Practice of Lagging Variables to Avoid Simultaneity," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 77(6), pages 897-905, December.
    7. Magali Delmas & Michael V. Russo & Maria J. Montes‐Sancho, 2007. "Deregulation and environmental differentiation in the electric utility industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 189-209, February.
    8. Severin Borenstein & James Bushnell, 2015. "The US Electricity Industry After 20 Years of Restructuring," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 7(1), pages 437-463, August.
    9. Roland Meyer, 2012. "Economies of scope in electricity supply and the costs of vertical separation for different unbundling scenarios," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 95-114, August.
    10. Steve Cicala, 2015. "When Does Regulation Distort Costs? Lessons from Fuel Procurement in US Electricity Generation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(1), pages 411-444, January.
    11. Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2009. "Rejecting renewables: The socio-technical impediments to renewable electricity in the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 4500-4513, November.
    12. Carley, Sanya, 2009. "State renewable energy electricity policies: An empirical evaluation of effectiveness," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 3071-3081, August.
    13. Joskow, Paul L., 2005. "Transmission policy in the United States," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 95-115, June.
    14. Brunekreeft, Gert, 2015. "Network unbundling and flawed coordination: Experience from the electricity sector," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 11-18.
    15. Pollitt, Michael, 2008. "The arguments for and against ownership unbundling of energy transmission networks," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 704-713, February.
    16. Upton, Gregory B. & Snyder, Brian F., 2017. "Funding renewable energy: An analysis of renewable portfolio standards," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 205-216.
    17. Fischlein, Miriam & Wilson, Elizabeth J. & Peterson, Tarla R. & Stephens, Jennie C., 2013. "States of transmission: Moving towards large-scale wind power," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 101-113.
    18. Shrimali, Gireesh & Kniefel, Joshua, 2011. "Are government policies effective in promoting deployment of renewable electricity resources?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 4726-4741, September.
    19. Karen Maguire & Abdul Munasib, 2016. "The Disparate Influence of State Renewable Portfolio Standards on Renewable Electricity Generation Capacity," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 92(3), pages 468-490.
    20. Nagayama, Hiroaki, 2007. "Effects of regulatory reforms in the electricity supply industry on electricity prices in developing countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 3440-3462, June.
    21. Andrew Kleit & James Reitzes, 2008. "The effectiveness of FERC’s transmission policy: is transmission used efficiently and when is it scarce?," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 1-26, August.
    22. Pollitt, Michael G., 2012. "Lessons from the history of independent system operators in the energy sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 32-48.
    23. Kirby, Brendan & Milligan, Michael, 2008. "Facilitating Wind Development: The Importance of Electric Industry Structure," The Electricity Journal, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 40-54, April.
    24. Delmas, Magali A. & Montes-Sancho, Maria J., 2011. "U.S. state policies for renewable energy: Context and effectiveness," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 2273-2288, May.
    25. Roach, Travis, 2015. "The effect of the production tax credit on wind energy production in deregulated electricity markets," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 86-88.
    26. Puga, J. Nicolas & Lesser, Jonathan A., 2009. "Public Policy and Private Interests: Why Transmission Planning and Cost-Allocation Methods Continue to Stifle Renewable Energy Policy Goals," The Electricity Journal, Elsevier, vol. 22(10), pages 7-19, December.
    27. Ortega-Izquierdo, Margarita & del Río, Pablo, 2016. "Benefits and costs of renewable electricity in Europe," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 372-383.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Vladimir Yu. Linnik & E. Yu. Voronova & Larisa V. Pavlyuk & Alexey Zich, 2020. "Wind Power: Current State and Perspectives," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 10(6), pages 75-79.
    2. Sugimoto, Kota, 2021. "Ownership versus legal unbundling of electricity transmission network: Evidence from renewable energy investment in Germany," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    3. Tsai, Chen-Hao & Figueroa-Acevedo, Armando & Boese, Maire & Li, Yifan & Mohan, Nihal & Okullo, James & Heath, Brandon & Bakke, Jordan, 2020. "Challenges of planning for high renewable futures: Experience in the U.S. midcontinent electricity market," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Schumacher, Kim & Yang, Zhuoxiang, 2018. "The determinants of wind energy growth in the United States: Drivers and barriers to state-level development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 1-13.
    2. Daniel J Pastor, 2020. "The effects of renewables portfolio standards on renewable energy generation," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(3), pages 2121-2133.
    3. Barry D. Solomon & Shan Zhou, 2021. "Renewable Portfolio Standards: Do Voluntary Goals vs. Mandatory Standards Make a Difference?," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 38(2), pages 146-163, March.
    4. Karen Maguire & Abdul Munasib, 2013. "Do Renewables Portfolio Standards Increase Electricity Prices? A Synthetic Control Approach," Economics Working Paper Series 1403, Oklahoma State University, Department of Economics and Legal Studies in Business, revised Aug 2013.
    5. Don Fullerton & Chi L. Ta, 2022. "What Determines Effectiveness of Renewable Energy Standards? General Equilibrium Analytical Model and Empirical Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series 9565, CESifo.
    6. Karen Maguire & Abdul Munasib, 2015. "The Disparate Influence of State Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) on U.S. Renewable Electricity Generation Capacity," Economics Working Paper Series 1502, Oklahoma State University, Department of Economics and Legal Studies in Business, revised Feb 2015.
    7. Gosens, Jorrit & Hedenus, Fredrik & Sandén, Björn A., 2017. "Faster market growth of wind and PV in late adopters due to global experience build-up," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 267-278.
    8. Karen Maguire & Abdul Munasib, 2016. "The Disparate Influence of State Renewable Portfolio Standards on Renewable Electricity Generation Capacity," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 92(3), pages 468-490.
    9. Zhou, Shan & Solomon, Barry D., 2020. "Do renewable portfolio standards in the United States stunt renewable electricity development beyond mandatory targets?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    10. Guillaume Bourgeois & Sandrine Mathy & Philippe Menanteau, 2017. "The effect of climate policies on renewable energies : a review of econometric studies [L’effet des politiques climatiques sur les énergies renouvelables : une revue des études économétriques]," Post-Print hal-01585906, HAL.
    11. Consolación Quintana-Rojo & Fernando-Evaristo Callejas-Albiñana & Miguel-Ángel Tarancón & Isabel Martínez-Rodríguez, 2020. "Econometric Studies on the Development of Renewable Energy Sources to Support the European Union 2020–2030 Climate and Energy Framework: A Critical Appraisal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-26, June.
    12. Karen Maguire, 2016. "What’s powering wind? The effect of the U.S. state renewable energy policies on wind capacity (1994–2012)," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(58), pages 5717-5730, December.
    13. Ebers Broughel, Anna, 2019. "Impact of state policies on generating capacity for production of electricity and combined heat and power from forest biomass in the United States," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 1163-1172.
    14. Kim, Serena Y., 2020. "Institutional arrangements and airport solar PV," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    15. Zhao, Xiaoli & Li, Shujie & Zhang, Sufang & Yang, Rui & Liu, Suwei, 2016. "The effectiveness of China's wind power policy: An empirical analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 269-279.
    16. Tolliver, Clarence & Keeley, Alexander Ryota & Managi, Shunsuke, 2020. "Policy targets behind green bonds for renewable energy: Do climate commitments matter?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    17. Nicolini, Marcella & Tavoni, Massimo, 2017. "Are renewable energy subsidies effective? Evidence from Europe," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 412-423.
    18. John Dorrell & Keunjae Lee, 2020. "The Cost of Wind: Negative Economic Effects of Global Wind Energy Development," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-25, July.
    19. kos Hamburger & G bor Harangoz, 2018. "Factors Affecting the Evolution of Renewable Electricity Generating Capacities: A Panel Data Analysis of European Countries," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 8(5), pages 161-172.
    20. Shrimali, Gireesh & Lynes, Melissa & Indvik, Joe, 2015. "Wind energy deployment in the U.S.: An empirical analysis of the role of federal and state policies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 796-806.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:125:y:2019:i:c:p:307-316. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.