EU Pivots Away From Distorted Energy Markets Toward Gas
- Renewable energy subsidies to be scaled back under proposal
- New solar, wind, biomass will lose priority dispatch status
This article is for subscribers only.
The European Union seeks to tackle energy market distortions with policies that will eliminate coal and favor natural gas-fired and renewable power while reducing the cost of lowering emissions.
The European Commission plan to limit the use of high-emissions generation to secure supply will hurt coal plants starting in 2020, but not modern gas units, according to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Gas may displace biomass, which will lose its priority dispatch status for new projects. That mechanism, which also applies to solar and wind, is the biggest distortion to day-ahead power markets, according to an EU assessment published last month.