Comparison of Wind Energy Support Policy and Electricity Market Design in Europe, the United States, and Australia

This paper is intended to fill a gap in the current literature comparing and contrasting the experience of a number of European countries, U.S. states, and Australia with regard to wind energy support policy and electricity market design. As wind penetrations increase, the nature of these arrangements becomes an increasingly important determinant of how effectively and efficiently this generation is integrated into the electricity industry. The jurisdictions considered in this paper exhibit a range of wind support policy measures from feed-in tariffs to green certificates, and electricity industry arrangements including vertically integrated utilities, bilateral trading with net pools, as well as gross wholesale pool markets. We consider the challenges that various countries and states have faced as wind generation expanded and how they have responded. Findings include the limitations of traditional feed-in tariffs at higher wind penetrations because they shield wind project developers and operators from the implications of their generation on wider electricity market operation. With regard to market design, wind forecasting and predispatch requirements are particularly important for forward markets, whereas the formal involvement of wind in scheduling and ancillary services (balancing and contingencies) is key for real-time markets.