Unconventional natural gas production has driven North American prices down to a fraction of those in Europe for many years, separating the two largest natural gas markets. The entry of the United States as a major LNG exporter and the energy crisis in Europe invites the question of whether LNG can eliminate those price differences in a global natural gas market, as oceangoing trade does for oil markets. The relative degree of asset specificity in the infrastructure to trade natural gas or oil between regions separated by oceans provides insight into why, despite increased liquefaction capacity in the United States and soaring exports to Europe in 2022, regional price differences remain likely to persist. The fixed capital cost of LNG infrastructure is an order of magnitude greater than for crude oil. Additionally, the regulation of the natural gas industry in major markets outside of North America effectively precludes competitive entry of LNG, driving a wedge between regional gas prices. Given these constraints, LNG trade will likely remain dominated by long- term contracts instead of the spot markets that typify world oil markets.
The low-carbon transition and the energy crisis pose new challenges for sustainable economic growth in the European Union. The high import dependency and the still insufficient share of renewable energy sources threaten the competitiveness of the European economy, especially in small open economies. The article aims to introduce the term "industrial energy vulnerability" to investigate impact of volatile energy prices and fossil fuel import dependence on export competitiveness. Industrial energy vulnerability undermines cost-efficiency and global competitiveness in various export sectors, especially in small and open economies. Therefore, the dependent variable in the study is exports as a percentage of GDP, while the independent variables are electricity price for non-household consumers and import dependence on solid fossil fuels. The panel data analysis with TSLS was conducted for six European countries-Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia-in the period 2010-2021. The results show that higher electricity prices and higher import dependence reduce export in the observed period. The results are crucial as they confirm the importance of a stable and independent energy sector as a facilitator of competitive domestic production.
As part of the energy transition, private households become prosumer households with modern devices like photovoltaic systems, battery storage systems, and electric vehicles. This research tries to reduce the prosumers' negative impact on the local power grid by assessing the impact of different incentivation and control mechanisms in a simulative, interactive scheduling scheme for households and a central grid instance. Results show a positive impact on grid operation by iterative mechanisms adding incentives or limitations for time steps with congestions in an iterative procedure. Although no single mechanism stands out in the investigation, the conditional power and daily peak pricing seem to offer a trade- off between grid relief and added costs for households without a need for communication. Further research on prosumer integration is needed for them to contribute to a resilient grid operation.
This paper uses the staggered difference-in-differences design to investigate the effects of the low-carbon city pilot (LCCP) policy on the cost and underlying mechanisms of debt financing for enterprises. Our findings show that the LCCP significantly decreases the debt cost of enterprises through enhancements in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance and the reduction of information asymmetry. Additional analysis indicates that the LCCP's ability to reduce the cost of debt is particularly pronounced for firms with higher agency costs and those located in China's eastern regions. This study offers evidence for assessing the effectiveness of low-carbon policies and suggests recommendations to policymakers seeking to enhance the design and implementation of LCCP, thereby contributing to the green development of enterprises and regions.
Ambitious European energy plans envisage a large increase in Variable Renewable Electricity (VRE), often located distant from demand and congesting existing transmission. Many countries recognise the importance of better locational signals for investment and operation, and possible changes to VRE support systems to reduce risk and cost. This article argues that an efficient low-carbon transition requires a suitable portfolio of reforms to transmission and market pricing and VRE support design, with different combinations suitable when some options (like spatial transmission charges or locational wholesale pricing) are ruled out. Forward-looking spatial transmission contracts offer the simplest decentralised solution for least-cost VRE expansion plans, failing which spatial planning may be needed to coordinate transmission delivery with VRE commissioning
