THE MERIT ORDER EFFECT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES IN THE LONG RUN

摘要

Increasing shares of intermittent electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES) such as wind and photovoltaics bring structural changes to many electricity markets. Historically, a flexible supply side (mostly either thermal power stations or hydro storage) balanced a time varying demand. Today, increasing shares of intermittent RES generation depend on meteorological conditions (e. g. wind conditions or solar irradiation). Hence, the availability of these generation capacities on the supply side is both intermittent and uncertain. These structural changes fundamentally influence the electricity market and change the resulting price structures.