Volker Berkhout’s research while affiliated with Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology and other places

This article analyses the developments on the promises of the introduction of an auction scheme as a policy instrument for the onshore wind energy development in Germany. Based on an analysis of the effective remuneration levels resulting from site-dependent auction prices and an analysis of financial statements of German turbine manufacturers we conclude that political promises have not been met and question whether auctions are really the policy tooling of choice.

This document addresses the concept of a Common European Energy Data Space (CEEDS), providing detailed approaches and recommendations for its real-world realization. In particular, the main objective of this blueprint is to guide on enhancing the existing data infrastructures, in the energy domain, towards the full embracement of data space solutions. Bridging this gap will empower the introduction of novel energy services, which will increase the efficiency and reliability of the energy systems while providing substantial benefits for every stakeholder. The key scope of this document is to present (i) a framework for new economically feasible business use cases and (ii) the general data space architecture that can enable them. This architecture aims to interconnect the existing data infrastructures, of legacy systems, with federated data spaces; at this scope, technical specifications have been included.

This paper presents an innovative approach to decentralized data management in the German energy market, focusing on the use of decentralized data management with the help of Data Spaces to facilitate the automated change of energy suppliers within 24 h. The central focus of this research is the MakoMaker Space, a demonstrator project that employs the Connector from the Eclipse Data Space Components. The MakoMaker project demonstrates the successful automation of energy supplier changes, emphasizing the preservation of customer data sovereignty. It shows an alternative approach to the process, putting the customer into the center. Customers retain control of their data, which is accessible to providers as needed. While the paper discusses the potential for further enhancements, such as the integration of an identity provider and the development of a sustainable business model for service coordination, the primary focus is on the demonstrator’s successful application in a pilot setting.

This paper presents an innovative approach to decentralized data management in the German energy market, focusing on the use of decentralized data management with the help of Data Spaces to facilitate the automated change of energy suppliers within 24 hours. The central focus of this research is the MakoMaker Space, a demonstrator project that employs the Connector from the Eclipse Data Space Components. The MakoMaker project demonstrates the successful automation of energy supplier changes, emphasizing the preservation of customer data sovereignty. It shows an alternative approach to the process, putting the customer into the center. Customers retain control of their data, which is accessible to providers as needed. While the paper discusses the potential for further enhancements, such as the integration of an identity provider and the development of a sustainable business model for service coordination, the primary focus is on the demonstrator’s successful application in a pilot setting.

The energy transition towards renewables requires additional flexibility options in the electricity system, to coordinate resource-dependent generation and demand. The management and control of this flexibility needs an advanced digital ecosystem for the communication between organisations and devices. The Common European Energy Data Space will facilitate the participation by flexible energy resources as set forth by the EU action plan on digitalising the energy system. This report, researched and written by the Energy Transition Expertise Centre (EnTEC) under the auspices of the European Union, develops a plan for the realisation of this Common European Energy Data Space

The energy sector is in a dynamic transition from centralized systems with large fossil power plants to a decentralized system with a high number of renewable energy assets and a rapidly increasing number of additional flexible loads from storage solutions, e-mobility, or power-to-heat applications. To operate the system reliably, demand and supply have to be matched at all times very closely. Thus, the sector is very data and communication intensive and requires advanced ICT solutions to automate processes and deal with the enormous complexity. The Energy Data Space can enable the digitalization of the energy transition by providing an architecture to make data available in order to increase the efficiency in asset and system operation. Data provision and market communication within the system operations of electricity grids is a key use case due to its central role in the sector. Next, the integration of data from the smart meter rollout could as well be built on Data Space technology. Further use cases include predictive maintenance and the energy supply of buildings. Initial research projects have demonstrated the feasibility of basic use cases. On the European level, the Platoon project will provide seven pilot applications by 2024.

Prices from the competitive procurement of renewable energy are increasingly used for the comparative evaluation of financial and technology performance. Comparing prices from auctions or power-purchase agreements at their face value is often not meaningful, particularly across jurisdictions or over time. Differences in support regimes and the market, tax, and regulatory environment can make a like-for-like comparison convoluted and result in misleading conclusions. Here, we estimate project revenue and value holistically for eight global offshore wind projects. Using a cash flow model, we consider applicable support regimes; market sales; and the monetized value of tax incentives, depreciation, and transmission. We find considerable variation in the absolute levels and relative composition of project revenue and value, which must be considered for deducting costs from procurement prices. The resulting metric enables decision makers and research to compare the total cost of procurement on an equal footing and supplements established cost metrics.

The costs of wind power have declined to levels on par with or below those of conventional sources in many parts of the world. Wind power has become one of the fastest‐growing sources of new electricity generation. We take stock of wind power cost evolution over the past 20 years, review methodologies commonly used for cost assessment, discuss the potential for continued cost reduction, and identify anticipated cost and value drivers. Our scope includes both onshore and offshore wind technologies. We draw from a vast body of literature on these topics to highlight key trends, approaches, and limitations. Furthermore, we discuss strategies for wind power assets to enhance their marginal economic value to the broader power system and consumers. We identify a myriad of factors that are expected to influence the future cost and value of wind power, including siting, project scale, turbine size, operational synergies, commodity prices, advancements in turbine technologies, enhanced management of the wind resource, and novel control technologies that provide value for the electricity grid. Because the common methods for forecasting future costs each have their own strengths and weaknesses, we find the best insights are elicited from a combination of methods. Overall, researchers and analysts anticipate further sizable cost reductions for onshore and offshore wind. Midrange forecasts for levelized cost of energy in 2050 are generally between $20 and$30/MWh for onshore wind and $40 and$60/MWh for offshore wind, a reduction to approximately half of today's levels. Optimistic forecasts anticipate these levels as early as 2030. This article is categorized under: • Wind Power > Economics and Policy Abstract The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) has decreased significantly over the past several decades and recent trends continue to show cost reductions. This article explores forecast methods, expectations, and factors that may influence the cost of wind energy in the future.

This paper presents work by the International Energy Agency’s Task 26 ‘Cost of Wind Energy’ on technological and cost trends in land-based wind energy in six participating countries (Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, United States) and the European Union between 2008 and 2016. Results indicate that there is a general trend towards larger, taller machines with lower specific powers resulting in higher capacity factors, despite small falls in new site wind resources in most countries, while wind project capital costs and project finance costs also fell. This resulted in an average levelized cost of energy (LCOE) fall of 33% for new projects to 48€/MWh at the end of the study period. Analysis of the components of levelized cost change indicated that changes in specific power, financing cost and capital cost accounted for 45%, 25% and 17% respectively of the estimated reduction. It is therefore important that trends in technological factors such as specific power are considered when assessing wind energy learning rates, rather than just capital costs, which has been the primary focus heretofore. While LCOEs have fallen, the value of wind energy has fallen proportionately more, meaning grid parity appears no closer than at the beginning of the study. Policymakers must therefore consider both the cost and value of wind energy, and understand the volatility of this gap when designing land-based wind energy policy measures.