Econ Papers Daily / 期刊论文
可再生能源电力的价格影响：两种来源的故事
The price impacts of renewable power: A tale of two sources
摘要
This paper examines how the rapid expansion of wind and solar generation in Spain has reshaped wholesale electricity prices, ancillary service (AS) market costs, and market structure. Using an empirical strategy that exploits exogenous variation in renewable potential, we estimate how market outcomes would have differed under lower renewable capacity (and subsequently, renewable output). We find that rising wind and solar output substantially reduced wholesale prices. However, these reductions are partially offset by increases in AS market procurement and the associated operating costs driven by congestion and other operational challenges of variable generation. We show that while renewable growth reduces concentration in the wholesale market, AS markets remain highly concentrated, with limited scope for competition in key market segments. Our results highlight both the substantial net consumer benefits of renewable expansion on final prices (wholesale plus AS markets), while demonstrating the need for AS market reforms to reduce market concentration and cost-effectively manage increasing levels of renewable generation.
中文摘要
本文考察了西班牙风电和光伏发电的快速扩张如何重塑了批发电价、辅助服务（AS）市场成本及市场结构。利用一种利用可再生能源潜力外生变化的实证策略，我们估算了在较低可再生能源容量（及随后的可再生能源产出）下市场结果将有何不同。我们发现，风电和光伏产出的增加显著降低了批发价格。然而，这些降幅部分被辅助服务市场采购及其相关运营成本的增加所抵消，这些成本源于拥堵和可变发电的其他运营挑战。我们表明，尽管可再生能源增长降低了批发市场的集中度，但辅助服务市场仍高度集中，关键市场细分领域的竞争空间有限。我们的结果凸显了可再生能源扩张对最终价格（批发加辅助服务市场）带来的显著净消费者利益，同时证明了辅助服务市场改革的必要性，以降低市场集中度并成本有效地管理日益增长的可再生能源发电水平。