How is COVID-19 affecting the renewable energy sector and the electric power grid?

Öz

It is not new to say that clean energy is better than energy from fossil fuels. What's new is that the world has a unique opportunity to accelerate clean development by putting renewable energy at the center of Covid-19 economic recovery plans. The process began with the individual quarantine of people; the closure of businesses, the decrease in the workforce and cash flow of companies, serious problems in production affected many sectors, including the energy sector, and currently, ongoing construction in power generation facilities has come to a standstill. In this study, it was investigated how the epidemic affected the renewable energy sector. Overall, energy demand fell but did not collapse completely. The most significant impact is felt in production centers and businesses where industrial demand is decreasing, but there is an increase in residential customer demand. Along with the decrease in natural gas prices, the decrease in demand caused the prices in the electricity wholesale markets to decrease. Although the fossil resources demand significantly decreased during the epidemic period, it remains uncertain for the post-epidemic period, there are signs that there may be changes in the global market structure, but the impact on renewable energy investments may be limited. On the renewable energy side, where energy investments have decreased significantly due to the epidemic, many investor companies are suffering from disruptions in the supply chain. However, the recovery of activities in China, the largest producer, will significantly reduce the negative impact in the short term.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Covid-19 outbreak
• Renewable energy sector
• Sustainability transitions
• Lockdown
• Energy consumption

COVID-19 salgını yenilenebilir enerji sektörünü ve elektrik şebekesini nasıl etkiliyor?

Öz

Günümüzde temiz enerjinin fosil yakıtlardan elde edilen enerjiden daha iyi olduğunu söylemek eski bir söylem haline geldi. Yeni olan şey, yenilenebilir enerji kaynaklarını salgının ekonomik ve sosyal iyileşme planlarının merkezine koyarak dünyanın temiz kalkınmayı hızlandırmak için eşsiz bir fırsata sahip olmasıdır. Covid-19 süreci, kişilerin bireysel olarak karantinaya alınmasıyla başlamış; işletmelerin kapanması, iş gücünün azalması, üretimde yaşanan ciddi sorunlar enerji sektörü de dâhil olmak üzere birçok sektörü etkilemiş, enerji sektöründe çalışan birçok kişinin maaşlarında kesintiye gidilmiş veya işten çıkartılmış ve hâlihazırda elektrik üretim tesislerinde devam eden inşaatlar durma noktasına gelmiştir. Bu çalışmada salgının yenilenebilir enerji sektörünü ve elektrik kullanımını nasıl etkilediği araştırıldı. "Covid yılı" olarak nitelenen 2020'de küresel enerji talebi düştü ancak tamamen çökmedi. Salgınının sektördeki en büyük etkisi, endüstriyel talebin azaldığı ticarethanelerde ve üretim merkezlerinde hissedilmektedir, ancak konut müşteri talebinde artış gözlemlenmektedir. Dogalgaz fiyatlarındaki düşüş ve üretim fazlası olacağı tahminleri elektrik toptan satış fiyatlarının gerilemesine sebep oldu. Pandemi döneminde fosil kaynak talebinde ciddi oranda azalma salgın sonrası için meydana gelen olumsuz etkilerin ne kadar süreceği belirsizliğini korumakla birlikte, yenilenebilir enerji yatırımları üzerindeki etkisinin sınırlı kalabileceğine dair işaretler bulunmaktadır. Salgın nedeniyle enerji yatırımlarının önemli ölçüde azaldığı yenilenebilir enerji tarafında, yatırımcı birçok şirket tedarik zincirindeki bozulmalardan dolayı sıkıntı yaşamaktadır. Ancak, en büyük üretici konumunda olan Çin’deki üretim faaliyetlerin güç kazanmasıyla kısa vadede global enerji sektöründeki olumsuz etkiyi önemli ölçüde azaltacaktır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Covid-19 salgını
• Yenilenebilir enerji sektörü
• Sürdürülebilirlik geçişleri
• Karantina
• Enerji tüketimi

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