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Promoting Green Power in Canada Pollution Probethe infrastructure to integrate wind farmsinto the electricity grid is paid for by allconsumers [HAAS 2001, p. 22f.]. The feed-intariff, together with the production tax credit,represents a per-kWh support equivalent to9.4¢ CDN/kWh.In addition, Denmark has implemented a setof measures, including ensuring that theenergy supply to small communities is metby biomass-based district heating of CHP(rather than natural gas); increasing theflexibility of regulations governing thequantities of wood chips and straw to beused in electricity generation; making windturbine planning a regular feature of regionaland municipal planning; promoting solarheating through collaboration with energydistribution companies; and setting up ademonstration geothermal plant. The 1997Biomass Agreement requires energycompanies to use at least 1 million tons ofstraw, 0.2 mt of wood chips and 0.2 mt ofeither straw, wood chips or willow per year,in order to minimize the need for expensiveimports of straw from neighbouringcountries. Total biomass incineration shouldbe 19.5 PJ/year (0.46 Mtoe) from 2000onwards. Another part of the plan allowsindividual towns and communities to adopt,if they wish, biomass technologies on theirown initiative [IEA 1998]. Switching fuelsfrom coal to biomass is supported with aninvestment subsidy of nearly 50% [FIRE1998, p. 22]. Denmark is also on its way tobecoming a world leader in wave energy. TheDanish Wave Energy Program was initiatedin 1998 and is funded with €5.3 million(about $7.4 million CDN) over a period of 4years. The Program is designed to involve thegeneral public and has allowed for over 40different concepts to be evaluated, nine ofBox 3.3 — The Danish Wave Power InitiativeIn Denmark, wave energy has an appealto what one could call the “popularengineering spirit.” Many people haveideas for wave-energy machines andstarted testing them in their backyards.Many of these people and inventors, firmsand institutions are organized as the“Association for the Promotion of WaveEnergy,” which was established in 1997.Important government funding wasobtained as the left-wing party, the UnityList, which favours wave energy overbiofuels for ecological reasons, joined theruling party to support wave energy in 1997.Denmark’s new initiative is building on itssuccess with the development of windturbines, which in contrast to othercountries was truly built on broad popularinterest and initiative — a “bottom-up”development. Instead of its old waveenergyprogram, which focused on thedevelopment of one single technicalconcept, the new program has its popularand political base in the “Folk Center forRenewable Energy,” an independentinstitution under the Danish EnergyAgency, which develops sustainableenergy technologies for Danish firms withstate funding. A network of about 300individuals, private companies andinstitutions interested in wave energy hasbeen developed since 1993 by writingarticles, holding conventions at regularintervals and issuing letters andinformation.An important factor is the openness of theentire process, to allow all those involvedto participate in a process of developmentand learning, so that one concept canfertilise another and design components betransferred from one concept to another,to concentrate on a handful of machinesthat will pave the way for the finalbreakthrough of wave energy [WEDK 1998].44
Promoting Green Power in Canada Pollution Probewhich are now further supported. Denmarkhopes to repeat its success with wind powerdeployment, which made it the leadingtechnology exporter of wind turbines, withwave energy (see Box 3.3) [TUD 2000].An important feature of Denmark’s renewablepower structure is the fact that many citizensown shares of wind power plants. In a 1999report, a number of 100,000 families werequoted as participating in such schemes[REPP 1999], and this has certainlycontributed to local acceptance and theoverall success of wind power in Denmark,combining the “top-down” approach ofmandatory feed-in tariffs with the “bottomup”involvement of the locals.The Danish wind power policy changed aftera centre-right government took office in 2001.Guaranteed minimum prices for wind energy,significantly above market prices, will beabolished in 2004 and three out of fiveplanned offshore wind parks have beenscrapped. Denmark still plans to build twooffshore wind farms in 2002 and 2003 with atotal capacity of 300 MW, but threeadditional projects of 150 MW eachhave been cancelled [REU 2002].Denmark was planning to replace thefeed-in tariffs by an RPS with certificatetrading in 2003 [DWIA 2001], but theproposal was shelved due to massiveconcerns expressed during a publichearing about the new system. An RPSis considered to be necessary by EUmember states as there is a continuouseffort to harmonize subsidies andsupport systems, and the tariff-basedsupport for renewable power may notsurvive such harmonization [ibid.]. It istherefore possible that Europe will moveaway from feed-in tariffs and towards theRPS over the coming years, as theRenewable Energy Directive creates theinfrastructure of Europe-wide certificatetrading.3.3.4 The Netherlands — DemandExceeds SupplyIn the Netherlands, green electricity was firstintroduced in 1995, and all 12 electricitydistribution companies have offered greenpower since 1999. Through the last twoyears, the number of residential green powercustomers has exploded from 140,000 in theyear 2000 to 1,000,000 households (July2002); the one million household mark willprobably be reached in the summer of 2002.With 13% of residential customers, this isthe highest subscription rate in the world.Reasons for this impressive increase are theliberalization of the Dutch market for greenenergy as of July 1, 2001, in concert withseveral regional and nation-wide marketingcampaigns organized by the Dutch energycompanies, but the main reason is theenergy tax exemption for green electricity,which reduced the premium to be paid forrenewable electricity products.Market opening has been gradual andproceeded over several years in theNetherlands: until 2004, green electricity willFigure 3.17 — Growth of Green Power Demandand Supply in the Netherlands [NOVEM 2001,NREL 2002, p. 33] Note: All hydropower in the Netherlands (38 MW total) is small or micro-hydro45
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