Three essays on Renewable Portfolio Standards
Authors:   , Lee Seokho 
Published: October 2023

The first essay investigates the technical efficiencies of South Korean solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants by type: ground-mounted PV (GPV) and rooftop PV (BPV). The two-step stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) of the true-random effects model is used to capture heterogeneity. In the results, the first-order input parameters are positive and significant, satisfying the monotonicity condition for valid production functions, except for the daily sunshine hours. The average technical efficiency (TE) scores for BPV and GPV are 0.995 and 0.991, respectively, it can be concluded that there is no evidence that many plants of these types are significantly lagging behind the most efficient producers of the type. The estimates of mean technology gap ratio (TGR) values are very close to 1, and the meta-technology efficiency (MTE) scores are 0.991 for the BPV and 0.985 for the GPV. There is a small difference in TEs, TGRs, and input use. The second essay examines how the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) policy influences the decision-making process of manufacturers regarding the choice between staying in their current country or relocating to a foreign country in response to initiatives such as RE100. Three-stage game is considered in which three player groups participate: the social net benefit maximizing government sets the RPS target in the first stage, the profit maximizing RPS obligors (utilities) makes decisions regarding the amount of renewable electricity they will provide in the second stage, and the profit maximizing firms supplying RE100 companies determine to remain in their current country or relocate to another country offering cheaper renewable electricity in the third stage. The findings indicate that a rational government will choose a target share that maintains employment as long as it brings a non-negative net benefit. Moreover, there exists a range where between domestic and foreign renewable energy prices to determine domestic production, even when domestic prices are higher. By increasing the price of non-renewable electricity, it is possible to subsidize renewable electricity depending on cost transparency. The exogenous variables determine the subgame perfect equilibrium. The third essay investigates the impact of RPS policies on total primary crop acreage in the United States. Our empirical framework is based on the premise that acreage is influenced by climatic factors, farmers' crop management practices, and land allocation decisions, while considering input and expected production prices. We extend the framework to incorporate the influence of renewable electricity policy (RPS) and other agricultural policy (CRP). The coefficients of the composite price index are positively related to acreage, while the coefficients of the fertilizer price index exhibit a negative relationship. The estimated output price elasticities range from 0.297 to 0.329, and the elasticities from the models considering electricity market characteristics show similar magnitudes, approximately 0.30. The RPS electricity supply target is found to significantly reduce acreage, although the actual magnitude of reduction is relatively modest, estimated at around 24 to 26 acres per 1000 MWh. Crop acreage changes by target level of renewable electricity is similar to STRATA's data, however it can be seen as overestimated based on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)'s data.