The RAPPORT, Europe edition, September 2023

睿博能源智库·博议，2023年8月／RAP China Quarterly Review, August 2023

对《电力需求侧管理办法（征求意见稿）》的建议

随着中国电力行业的迅速发展，能源需求和环境压力的双重挑战也越发受到重视。为了应对这些挑战，需求侧管理被逐渐视为新型电力系统的关键组成部分。今年5月19日，国家发展和改革委员会发布了《电力需求侧管理办法（征求意见稿）》，该文件首次增加了需求响应章节，为需求侧资源的发展提供了更广阔的空间。同时，《办法》也强调了节约用电、电能替代等管理措施的重要性，多管齐下地“推动电力系统安全降碳、提效降耗”。

我们基于对欧美电力市场的了解和对中国电力改革的持续研究，在本文中提出了对电力市场，需求响应，节能指标等多个条款细节的不成熟建议。希望以此为出发点，以更低成本实现供需平衡，提高能源利用效率，并推动低碳经济的发展。

Implications of the Fit for 55 package on Member States’ energy saving obligations

The Council of the European Union voted on 25 July 2023 to adopt the final text of the recast of the Energy Efficiency Directive. This was the last step in the decision-making process and is the right time to consider the implications of the latest changes in the EU legislation.

What will EU Member States need to do to meet their new energy savings obligations under the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED)?

1. More ambitious energy efficiency policies.
2. Target action amongst households in energy poverty.
3. Stop supporting fossil fuel combustion technologies like gas boilers.

And how will the Fit for 55 package affect Member State implementation?

1. Most new legislation complements the EED; energy efficiency helps to meet higher climate change and renewable energy targets, and lowers the price of Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) allowances.
2. More ambitious eco design and new vehicle CO2 standards reduce some of the additional energy savings available to national policy.
3. Some new legislation has both effects. The ETS increases energy prices, simultaneously supporting previously uneconomic energy efficiency actions and driving autonomous energy efficiency improvements amongst the most cost-effective actions.

This report, part of the ENSMOV Plus project, gives a bird’s eye view of all the changes that affect the implementation of the EED energy savings obligation. More to come on this topic from once the EPBD is negotiated.

Lowering flow temperatures is key in the switch to efficient clean heat

Two important factors are advancing the shift to clean heating in Europe: First, the fossil gas crisis underscored the value of saving energy and the urgent need for affordable heat for all. Second, the race to meet climate goals has inspired many European countries to introduce policies that prioritise clean and renewable heat over fossil-fuel-based heating sources.

The European Union (EU) is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels when it comes to space heating, with three-quarters of the energy used coming from fossil sources. Reducing the flow temperatures of water in heating systems is a key method for saving energy from heating and for integrating a more diverse range of clean resources into the heating mix. As such, this relatively novel approach is a no-regrets option for building owners and occupiers. Lowering the flow temperature can improve the efficiency of heat pumps, solar thermal collectors, condensing boilers and district heating systems.

A critical consideration when lowering flow temperatures is ensuring that buildings can still be heated to the desired temperatures. Changes to two key variables can be considered to decrease flow temperatures: reducing the heat load of the building through building fabric improvements and increasing the heating capacity of the heat distribution system. Understanding this interaction is important for decisions on best-placed investments.

A new report by ifeu and the Regulatory Assistance Project explores approaches and policy measures to ensure buildings are ‘low flow temperature ready.’

Navigating the Workforce Bottleneck

The workforce is the driving engine of the economy. This adage is equally true even when the engine is efficient and electric. Clean energy jobs in the fields of energy efficiency and electrification are increasing. While the U.S. workforce grew overall by 2.8% between 2020 and 2021, clean energy jobs grew 4% during the same period. However, employers are having difficulty filling these jobs because declining interest in skilled trade jobs over the past decades means there are few new workers in the fields of energy efficiency and electrification. Employers expect this picture to only get worse. In 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor estimated that as many as 500,000 energy industry workers would retire within five to 10 years.

Some states recognize this looming bottleneck and are taking action to advance comprehensive legislation on climate and energy policy, while simultaneously advancing workforce goals. Electrification and improving energy efficiency in buildings to reduce energy use save consumers money and advance climate goals. These upgrades and changes to buildings require a skilled workforce. The case for job growth in the energy efficiency and electrification sectors is bright due to projected exponential growth in clean energy jobs to meet demand. Many states have existing workforce development programs and are updating or changing the focus of these programs to educate the workforce in the clean energy sector. Only a handful of states, however, including Minnesota, Maine, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland and Illinois, have enacted legislation to launch or expand workforce development programs that provide the skills necessary for a successful and diverse building modernization workforce.

Successful state legislation to advance workforce development programs that prepare workers and businesses to meet the growing demand for energy efficiency, electrification and clean energy building upgrades can:

• Ensure a just energy transition by increasing access to the education and training necessary for energy efficiency and building decarbonization jobs among underrepresented populations and businesses through equity-focused program outreach and curricula.
• Develop training opportunities that enable those with nontraditional educational paths to gain the skills needed to successfully participate in the workforce.
• Create programs to reach middle and high school students that allow students to get on-the-job experience in a trade at a younger age.
• Remove barriers in existing workforce development programs, such as requirements for certain educational attainment, and barriers to individuals who have a criminal conviction or some connection to the justice system.
• Provide skills-based networking and transition programs for workers and communities impacted by power plant closures. Workers affected by power plant closures may possess training and certifications not easily reflected in a job market focused on traditional degrees. State programs that focus on skills-based hiring and enabling nontraditional educational paths will be more readily able to connect displaced workers with quality jobs.
• Enable more earn-as-you-learn programs through registered apprenticeships that provide participants with on-the-job learning while they earn a paycheck.

As more states enact laws to support the energy efficiency and building electrification workforce, they can use the legislative examples in the Building Modernization Legislative Toolkit to launch task forces and plans, create clean energy jobs networks and use state and ratepayer funds to create workforce development programs. States with robust energy efficiency and building electrification workforce development programs will be well positioned to pursue over $30 million in funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for training and education needs, including activities that address current workforce gaps. States can leverage these funds for purposes such as pre-apprenticeships, apprenticeships and career opportunities for on-the-job training and vocational school support. The infrastructure legislation also includes millions of dollars for energy efficiency programs, which will require a qualified workforce to deliver.

The RAPPORT, Europe edition, May 2023

ENSMOV Plus: Sharing knowledge about the full policy cycle of Article 7 EED

AMSTERDAM — Article 7 of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) requires Member States to implement an Energy Efficiency Obligation Scheme or alternative measures to achieve a cumulative energy savings target over an obligation period (currently 2021-2030).

ENSMOV Plus is a three-year European project of the LIFE programme, launched in December 2022. It builds on the previous ENSMOV project to provide support to public authorities and key stakeholders on the implementation of Article 7 EED.

The activities and resources developed by the project will cover the whole policy cycle, facilitate experience sharing and make knowledge and information easy to find and use. The project will deal with both short-term and concrete issues and longer-term strategic approaches to improving the effectiveness of energy efficiency policies. The challenges of meeting the 2023 recast of the EED and its relation to the wider ‘Fit for 55’ package will be a key focus of the project.

The project will also continue the development of the ENSMOV knowledge sharing platform where all relevant information on Article 7 EED and its implementation is available.

The consortium, of which RAP is part, includes partners from 12 Member States: Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Slovenia.

Note: with the EED recast, Article 7 will become Article 8. However, as the recast is not yet adopted and most stakeholders are still used to the current numbering, we speak here of Article 7 EED.

For more information on the ENSMOV Plus project: https://ieecp.org/projects/ensmov-plus/

Contacts:

• Coordinator contact: Jean-Sébastien Broc, IEECP: [email protected]
• Communication contact: Axelle Gallerand, IEECP: [email protected]

The RAPPORT, U.S. Edition, May 2023

Transforming the Appliance Market: Strategies for Lower-Emissions Heat and Hot Water

Fossil-fueled appliances in buildings are a significant source of emissions, not only of greenhouse gases but also pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), which are responsible for a variety of air and water quality and health problems. A model rule recently developed and published by RAP proposes an approach to regulating NOx emissions from water heaters over time. The goal is to drive transformation of the market for these appliances, particularly through adoption of efficient electric heat pump models. Similar appliance emission rules are already in place for water heaters and furnaces in the Bay Area of California and elsewhere, and other agencies are likely to follow suit.

To make such a transformation smooth for households, new appliance technology must be affordable and accessible. In an interactive webinar, panelists from RAP, RMI, Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management and the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation discussed the keys to transforming this market, from innovative appliance standards to consumer-friendly pilot programs.