Combined Heat and Power in Europe

Transcription

1 Combined Heat and Power in Europe STS perspectives on a pioneering technology Matthias Weber AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Department Foresight & Policy Development Symposium to celebrate the contribution of Dr. Stewart Russell University of Edinburgh 30 March 2012

2 Overview CHP cogeneration Historical perspectives and patterns of diffusion STS perspectives on CHP Recurrent STS issues Future perspectives Conclusions 2

3 CHP - cogeneration Technology of CHP an old principle rediscovered Simultaneously generation of electricity and useful forms of heat in the same process Established technology known since the early the 20th Century, which corresponds to Stand der Technik, though with continuous developments at the level of prime movers and control systems Main advantage is the potential to achieve much higher energy efficiency than generating heat and power separately Due to the limitations to transporting heat, CHP plants must be located decentrally and close of heat demand Three main application areas: District heating Industrial CHP Micro-CHP 3

4 The rise of CHP The main phases of development Early industrial applications Post-war reconstruction The impact of the oil crisis CHP in the post-liberalisation period CHP in the era of decentralised renewables In spite of similar phases, the patterns of diffusion differ significantly across European countries It s not the technology, stupid! 4

5 Share of CHP in total electricity production (2002) In spite of being affected by similar external developments, the level of diffusion differed and still differs significantly, pointing to the importance of historical, cultural, institutional as well as technological path-dependencies Source: Raven and Verbong,

6 Fast growth in the Netherlands CHP grew almost by a factor of 4 in about fifteen years Growth in industrial, district heating and small-scale applications Source: Raven and Verbong,

7 but stagnation at a low level in the UK Some noteworthy growth, but stagnating at a comparatively low level Concentrated on industrial application Source: DoECC,

8 STS perspectives on CHP (1) Some open questions Why is such a seemingly promising technology not more successful? Why are the differences across countries so significant? Why are the shares of DH and industrial CHP so different? Some inroads for STS Technological determinism vs. social shaping? Over-reliance on economic arguments is not sufficient to explain differences in patterns? Historical and cultural path-dependencies? Organisational and institutional determinants? Interests and power? Socio-technical complexity? 8

9 STS perspectives on CHP (2) Historical perspective on the interplay of structure, agency and power (Russell 1986/1993/1994/1996) CHP in the context of urban planning, addressing the local benefits of CHP/DH,and the main barriers (Alcock and Marvin 1988): awareness and acceptance, uncertainty about economic and financial issues, lack of attention to environmental benefits, institutional and legal issues Detailed local case studies of CHP projects, conceived as large technical system (Summerton 1992) 9

10 STS perspectives on CHP (3) Comparative analysis of the tension between liberalisation and sustainability, and the political strategies for dealing with it (Hard/Olsson 1995): Cultural dependence Political enforcement The governance and steering of CHP from pre- to post-liberalisation phase, and how different countries handled the new rules of the game to stimulate the uptake of CHP (Weber 1999) Renewed interest in CHP as one among other decentral options in the context of multi-level transitions research(raven and Verbong 2007, Meijer/Hekkert/Koppenjan 2007) The role of perceived uncertainties on innovation decisions Competition between different regimes 10

11 Recurrent STS issues organisation and institutions Organisational and institutional determinants CHP in the UK fell into the gap between electricity companies and heat suppliers, which both had a marginal interest Centralised power supply system is conflicting with decentralised technologies If strong municipalities are in place with local grid ownership (e.g. Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Germany), much better opportunities exist to bridge the boundaries between heat supply and electricity supply The second aspect is the necessity of understanding the institutional structure of the sector. The key absence has been an organization with national responsibility for heat supply or even conservation, so that CHP and DH have been left to organizations with other major responsibilities, for which they would be additional and marginal activities with precarious financial and political support. (Russell, 1993, 52) 11

12 Recurrent STS issues interests and power The pursuit of partial interests and the power to enforce them Organisational interests are channeled through apparently technical debates The terms of appraisal were clearly dependent on the perfoming institutions and the precise constraints on it. It is not sufficient to ask whether the option was economic. We need to ask for whom its economics was assessed, and why narrowly defined economic criteria were used and whether they were appropriate (Russell, 1993, 52) Options are systematically excluded, because they challenge established interests of the incumbents, who have the power to restrict access to the market The electricity industry was not always actively opposed to CHP; but nor was it ever a strong supporter. We need first a broad picture of the major objectives and programmes it had defined for itself, and its evolving relation as a nationalized industry with government and with the rest of the sector. (Russell, 1993, 52) 12

13 Recurrent STS issues structure and agency From the structure agency duality towards a multi-level perspective Not just tracing actor-networks, but also social structures and contextual developments in which they are embedded The emphasis on the interplay between structures and actions is taken up later on in a modified form in the multi-level perspective I find it necessary ( ) to argue the need for several different levels of analysis in the social systems within which technologicacal development is situated ( ) (Russell 1993, 51) A contextual analysis ( ) is necessary if we are to understand whether the exclusion of this technology has been accidental (..) or systematic (..). (Russell, 1993, 52) 13

14 Recurrent STS issues governance (1) Political governance and the role of state Political enforcement strategy has worked in Austria, Sweden, and some other countries, but was not pursued and accepted in other countries like the UK Deregulation and privatisation provided an opportunity to change course, but would have required an active and sustained policy to remove obstacles and provide incentives. At privatisation it was widely assumed that the chances of a significant introduction of CHP would improve, but the structure of the new electricity market is providing a new and perhaps more daunting set of obstacles (Russell, 1996, 1) CHP still has to fit somehow into a (deregulated*) system that has not been designed to suit it (Russell, 1994, 31) 14

15 Recurrent STS issues governance (2) Softer forms of determined support and steering efforts Deregulation and liberalisation opened up the electricity market to competition and gave access to the grid Establishment of carrier organisations broke down organisational barriers Political commitments and targets as orientation Feed-in tariffs as incentives (..) the present situation requires a stable and persistent energy policy, where governments are not afraid of taking on the roles of a guiding actor and creative regulator. Deregulation and privatization may not be driven too far. (Hard and Olsson, 1995) 15

16 Recurrent STS issues embedding in broader expectations Embedding of CHP in future expectations related to broader energy debates In some countries, proponents of CHP have been more successful in generating legitimacy and support for CHP by embedding it in broader debates The legitimating broader debates change in the course of time, for instance from energy security and efficiency gains,to CO2 reduction, climate change and renewables, and most recently to smart grids. (Before liberalisation*) CHP found itself at the intersection of a number of debates in Britain: on energy strategies, the environment, conservation, and alternatives to nuclear power; on the role of coal, the maintenance of markets for it, and the defence of the industry against run-down; on fuel poverty, living conditions and degenerating housing stock; on problems of the nationalised industries, alternative forms of public ownership and (..) the devolution of centralised state functions to regional and city levels; and on criticism of the electricity supply industry over ist nuclear programme, overforecasting and excess capacity (Russell 1994, 19) 16

17 Future perspectives and issues recurrent debates Fuel cells, renewables and other decentral power generation options A wave of technological options have emerged which show similar characteristics as CHP, and are likely to be confronted with similar barriers CHP is increasingly positioned as an option that fits the renewables trajectory Smart grids The next hype for decentralised energy supply, with particular relevance to micro-chp The phasing out of nuclear power Austria, Sweden as precursors of the debate whether CHP can substitute for nuclear power (Hard/Olsson 1995) The recent decisions on nuclear phase-out (e.g. in Germany) may re-start the debate about the role of CHP 17

18 Conclusions Stewart Russell was pioneering research on the social shaping of CHP, with CHP being a model case for highlighting the role of STS perspectives that are equally important in other cases and technologies CHP was a precursor technology that foreshadowed later debates about decentral and renewable energy technologies. There is much to learn for current and future debates by looking at Stewart s work and the work of his successors in the social study of CHP Recent political decisions and upcoming fundamentel choices about the future pathways of energy supply may re-ignite a debate about the role of CHP, but it remains to be seen whether we have learnt something from past experiences 18

19 References DoECC (2010): Digest UK Energy Statistics 2010, Chapter 6 Combined Heat and Power, Department of Energy and Climate Change, London Hard, M., Olsson, S.-O. (1995): Reluctant Marriage: How District Heating and Electricity Systems Have Been Combined, in: Kaijser, A., Hedin, M. (eds.): Nordic Energy Systems: Historical Perspectives and Current Issues, Science History Publications, Canton (MA), Alcock, J., Marvin, S. (1988): Political Constraints on the Introduction of Cogeneration in the United Kingdom, Proceedings of the Euroforum New Energies Congress, Volume 1, Saarbrücken Meijer, I.S.M., Hekkert, M.P., Koppenjan, J.F.M. (2007): How perceived uncertainties influence transition: the case of micro-chp in the Netherlands, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 74, Raven, R., Verbong, G. (2007): Multi-Regime Interactions in the Dutch Energy Sector: The Case of Combined Heat and Power Technologies in the Netherlands , Technology Analysis and Strategic Management, 19, Russell, S., (1986): The Political Shaping of Energy Technology: Combined Heat and Power in Britain, PhD thesis, Aston University Russell, S., (1993): Writing energy history: explaining the neglect of CHP/DH in Britain, British Journal for the History of Science, 26,

20 References Russell, S. (1994): Combined Heat and Power in Britain, in: Hard, M., Olsson, S.-O. (eds.): The Combined Generation of Heat and Power in Great Britain and the Netherlands: Histories of Success and Failure, NUTEK Research Report R1994:29, Stockholm Russell, S. (1996): At the Margin: British Electricity Generation after Nationalisation and Privatisation, and the Fortunes of Combined Heat and Power, Paper for SHOT `96 Conference (Society for the History of Technology), London Summerton, J. (1992): District heating comes to town: The social shaping of an energy system, PhD thesis, Linkoeping University Weber, K.M. (1999): Innovation diffusion and political control: A comparison of combined heat and power generaltion in the UK and Germany, Physica, Heidelberg 20

21 Thank you for your attention! Dr. Matthias Weber AIT Austrian Institute of Technology Department Foresight & Policy Development Vienna 21