Economic functioning and politically pragmatic justification of tradable green certificates in Poland

摘要

Quota obligation schemes based on tradable green certificates (TGC) have become a popular policy instrument to expand power generation from renewable energy sources. We analyze the scheme recently introduced in Poland with regard to its economic functioning, and its justification with reference to overcoming typical barriers for renewable-technology deployment. Overcoming such barriers may justify the application of a TGC scheme, beyond a first- or second-best reasoning, on politically pragmatic grounds. High quota requirements make the TGC price track its buy-out level. With high investment incentives, especially for wind power, the scheme helps to alleviate deployment barriers related to infrastructure, funding, and technology availability. However, the scheme is not necessary to overcome barriers on the legal or institutional level. Social acceptance may rather decrease when, after their liberalization, power prices for consumers start to rise.