New business ideas. Private business in thermal energy: opportunities and risks Documentation required for the construction of a solar power plant
Genre: Economics, business
Publisher:"Case"
Format: DjVu
Quality: Scanned Pages
Number of pages: 600
Description: Deep institutional transformations in the electric power industry and the formation of liberalized markets for electricity and heat have given rise to new types of commercial activities, generalized under the concept of “energy business.”
It is characterized by a very wide variety and covers, firstly, public electricity and heat energy, regional (municipal) and industrial energy, secondly, all main types of activities - from the design of power plants to the sale of energy resources inclusive, thirdly, the entire set servicing business processes (repairs, energy efficiency services, engineering, measurements, etc.). In general, the energy business has its attractive and problematic sides. At the same time, we can highlight such essential differences as:
investment risk;
government regulation;
social responsibility;
high intellectual capacity.
The above makes business in the energy sector a rather complex area of entrepreneurship. The authors share the position that the establishment of private business in the electric power industry will become a trigger for radically increasing the efficiency of the industry and ensuring public interests in electricity and heat supply. However, this presupposes the creation by the state of a set of certain conditions in the external environment and, above all, transparent and workable systems for the protection of investments and property rights, antimonopoly, technical and tariff regulation. At the same time, and this is no less important, the successful development of a business is predetermined by the professional and business qualities of its subjects: the owners of energy companies who direct the activities of management, and the managers who manage business processes. In order for these qualities to be adequate to modern requirements, these subjects need appropriate education and training. It must be borne in mind that in connection with the development of market relations, a wide range of people are rushing into the energy sector who do not have special knowledge in the field of engineering and production technology, which, as experience shows, hinders the successful conduct of business in this industry. At the same time, energy engineers need basic knowledge of economics, finance, marketing, market organization, and company management.
All of the above determined the purpose of the book “Energy Business”: to provide the reader with systematic information regarding external and intra-industry conditions, factors and mechanisms for the formation and running of the energy business. At the same time, the technical, technological, organizational, economic and social aspects of this problem are considered in a comprehensive manner.
The book “Energy Business” is intended for a wide audience of readers. In addition to the energy business entities mentioned above, it is recommended for students and students of MBA programs, who, using it as a systematic course, will deepen their understanding of the main education program. Contents of the book
ENERGY AS A BUSINESS FIELD
Introduction to Energy Business
Types of energy business
Business entities
Social responsibility
Attractiveness for investors
Industry technical and economic features
Social functions and energy structure
The impact of technology on the economy
Power modes
Regulatory requirements for energy supply
Reliability of electricity and heat supply
Energy quality
Environmental restrictions
Energy production efficiency
Scorecard
Balance of interests as the basis for effective production
Influence of industry factors
Progressive energy technologies
Directions of technical progress
Gas turbine and combined cycle gas plants
Non-traditional energy sources
MARKET RELATIONS IN ELECTRICITY AND HEAT SUPPLY
Formation of competitive electricity markets
Liberalization of the electric power industry as a global trend
Types of electricity markets
Integration processes in the energy business
Features of the Russian market model
Operation of electricity markets
Day Ahead Market
Balancing market
Contractual relations in the free trade sector
Regulated bilateral treaties
Retail electricity market
Exchange tools for eliminating price risks
Reliability management in new conditions
Principles of reliable power supply
Distribution of Responsibility
Market mechanisms for ensuring reliability
Energy services markets
Types of energy service activities
Repair service
Energy efficiency services
Reforming heat supply systems
Heat markets
Problems in heat supply
Management organization
CHP in the heat and electricity markets
District heating efficiency
Technical solutions
Ensuring the competitiveness of thermal power plants
Selling prices for heat and electricity
STATE ELECTRIC POWER MANAGEMENT
Regulation and control of energy companies
Industry regulation challenges
Attracting investments in the electric power industry
Consumer participation in investing
Price regulation mechanism
Retail tariffs for electricity and heat
Energy policy of the region
Energy Policy Principles
Anti-crisis form of energy policy
Implementation of regional policy in the electricity sector
Integrated Resource Planning Method
ORGANIZATION OF MANAGEMENT IN AN ENERGY COMPANY
Corporate ideology
Energy company mission
Vision of the future
Business concept
Corporate goals
Management Strategies
Management Policy
Strategic management
Realities of the business environment
Strategic behavior
Strategy development
Strategy implementation mechanism
Crisis management system
Structural solutions
Choosing an organizational form
Organizational structures
Separation of independent businesses
Management companies
Shopless power plant structure
Technical development management
Technical strategy
Assessment of depreciation of fixed assets
Reducing energy losses at power plants and electrical networks
Company depreciation policy
Leasing operations
Intra-production economic relations
Prerequisites and reserves for improvement
Organization planning
Regulatory framework
Shop cost accounting
Remuneration
Information support for management decisions
Classification of information systems
Technical infrastructure of CIS
Functional and application infrastructure
CIS operation management
ENERGY MARKETING
Marketing activities
Contents of energy marketing
Marketing Research
Thermal energy market research
Energy forecasting
Pricing policy of the energy company
Marketing in various types of energy business
Energy Demand Management
Demand Management Concept
Energy management programs
Incentives for energy companies
Heat management features
TRANSFORMATION IN ENERGY COMPANIES
Leading change
Diagnosis of the situation
Statement of the problem
Creating an organizational order
Business process reengineering
Project management
Management personnel are the main resource for transformation
New tasks
Systematic work with personnel
Organization of corporate training
Technologies for working with management personnel
ENERGY BUSINESS IN INDUSTRY
Enterprise in the energy market
Reform and the consumer
Rational behavior of the electricity consumer
Enterprise energy strategies
Sales of energy resources and technological services
Market risk management methods
Energy management
Accounting and control of energy consumption
Organization of energy management
Energy management efficiency assessment
Increasing energy efficiency
Elimination of energy losses
Regulation of power consumption modes
Electric drive rationalization
Energy efficient lighting systems
Reactive power compensation
Use of secondary energy resources
Flexible power supply
Creating your own energy sources
LITERATURE
What is one of the promising paths to development and well-being? Since a long time energy business has become a profitable commercial activity. If we look at this term in a broad sense, it turns out that this is a commercial (entrepreneurial) type of activity carried out by specialists in the fuel and energy complex. This includes knowledge of energy use. If we talk about the final result of the business being studied, the final results should be various types of energy products and services. Thus, the energy business can represent groups of goods suitable for sale by the relevant markets. Its products are considered to be electrical and thermal types of energy produced at power plants and possible heat sources.
There are several types of accepted models developed in this market. This means that the energy business differs in its forms of organization. A number of business functions are able to develop within independent energy companies: generating, network, service, and sales. With the resources of energy complexes, important importance will be given to subsidiaries, the coordination of which is carried out by the corporate center. With vertical integration of integrated organizations, specialized business functions are assigned to performers with different levels of economic responsibility.
Meanwhile, one of the attractive areas of the energy business may be supplying consumers with specialized equipment, fittings, electrical equipment, and installation tools for the construction of power lines. For example, you can sell customers linear fittings (vibration dampers, tension clamps, thermal chucks), current and voltage transformers, cable couplings, which are indispensable in the construction of power plants.
The area under study has other features as well. Ownership is predominantly private, with a focus on energy assets. It is important to remember that it can act as a subject in a market economy of this type. It so happened that energy business– these are interests at the government level. Therefore, in a successful situation, even in the presence of decent competition, a stable profit is quite possible.
If you decide to organize an energy business, we recommend that you first of all pay attention to the risks:
- Financial (violation of financial obligations, consumer non-payments)
- Investment (lack of profit)
- Technical (equipment failures, low reliability of power supply)
- Price (irregular price fluctuations during the day)
- Regulatory (unfavorable regulation of energy by governing bodies)
Only after a thorough risk analysis will you know how significant they are and how they can be neutralized. You will also be able to enter this market more safely.
An energy company business plan is the basis for an organization that seeks to become a leader in the sales and service of its industry in emerging markets. A third of the world's population does not use electricity. Many of these people live in remote rural areas of the world's extremely poor countries.
Global development is nothing more than a multi-billion dollar foreign exchange industry, led by the World Bank. It finances the largest projects by providing them with gigantic funds. Over the past ten years, the demand for electricity has been steadily increasing and, today, has risen by 40%. It should be noted that the amount of energy consumption prone to recovery turned out to be much greater than the amount of fossil fuels used.
According to experts, the demand for electricity is growing every year, and its maximum growth is expected in developing countries of the world.
All this makes you wonder how to start an energy business.
How to open an energy company?
To do this, a company wishing to open an energy enterprise must act as a supplier or contractor of energy equipment, which was developed specifically for developing countries. Such a company should become a monopolist in the electricity market. The task of such a company is to provide energy generated by solar panels, that is, affordable. In this case, clients will be able to pay for the installation of such equipment in monthly payments. And if you build a power plant: solar or wind, as well as a center for providing various services to the population, such as a water pump, computers, coffee makers, coffee grinders, refrigerators, then the success of the company is inevitable.
The business plan of an energy company may also include additional functions. These include educational tasks. If a company not only provides alternative energy sources, but is able to train people and create the necessary motivation to open their own business, then clients will be happy to cooperate with an organization of this kind. That is, to summarize, we can say that with a competent placement of emphasis, you can not only increase your level of well-being, but also raise the level of the entire region.
Renewable energy sources are becoming increasingly popular around the world and are often critical to remote regions that are heavily dependent on imported fossil fuels to meet energy needs. For example, the cost of electricity in Hawaii is three times higher than the U.S. average, making renewable energy in the area more competitive with conventional energy sources.
Energy Excelerator was created to help aspiring entrepreneurs advance their energy developments. The $3 million fund was used to support new energy and energy supply projects. 42 startups were applicants for funds from this fund, and below are 3 of the most interesting ideas from this cohort.
Pono Home
Pono Home offers its customers the opportunity to improve energy efficiency and achieve energy savings in their home or business systems. To do this, they conduct an energy audit right on site in a home or office, after which they immediately implement energy saving measures. This is much more effective than simply giving the client a report with recommendations that he must implement on his own. And the average payback period for the company’s services for clients of private households is about a year, for enterprises - from 3 to 6 months.
SheerWind
The startup SheerWind was created to search for technologies to reduce noise from wind turbines.
Invelox technology, patented. SheerWind consists of accumulating wind from all directions into a tunnel, in which the speed of air flow increases several times, and then this flow is passed through several wind turbines, which convert the energy of the flow, which has a higher density, into electric current. At the exit, the tunnel expands and the speed of the exiting flow decreases.
Also, Invelox technology, in addition to reducing the noise of wind turbines, has a number of advantages over traditional wind turbines. In particular, it allows you to generate electricity from wind speeds of less than 2 miles per hour, versus 8 miles per hour for traditional turbines, and is not dangerous to birds. In addition, support costs are reduced by 50 percent and plant efficiency is increased by more than 70 percent.
Startup Edisun builds commercial concentrating solar power plants combined with energy storage. The technology consists of an array of mirrors that collect the sun's rays and direct them onto a container filled with locally sourced stones. Due to solar energy, the stones are heated to a temperature of 500 degrees Celsius and retain this heat for a long time. The company says the technology is less complex than molten salt energy storage and 50 times cheaper than conventional batteries at $10 per kilowatt-hour. At the same time, such a device is capable of generating electricity at any time of the day and does not require any exotic materials or special handling.
This installation converts solar energy into heat and then sends it to a heat exchanger to generate electricity. The advantage of this installation is its relatively small size, which allows it to be placed in smaller areas than other solar projects, and as a result of its small size, the price of the installation is much lower than similar analogues.
The company deployed a demonstration version of the installation with a capacity of 25 kilowatt-hours, designed to store energy for 5 hours, in Pasadena, California. The company is building a more powerful installation for 100 kilowatt-hours for storing energy from 8 to 12 hours with the assistance of Energy Excelerator.
High level of complexity of project implementation
As noted above, experts unanimously consider thermal energy a highly attractive industry for investment. However, they note that transactions in this area are the most complexly structured and require high professionalism in their implementation. In this situation, a successful investor company cannot limit itself only to financing the transaction, but carries out its implementation at every stage and actually provides a turnkey project. According to experts, there are very few such companies on the market, which is caused by a lack of experience and high risks associated with the complex structure of the transaction.
Strategy of private companies: global or local?
Assessing the activities of private businesses in the thermal energy sector, experts drew attention to the problem of the strategy of private investors entering the public energy sector. Using the example of a number of large business projects in the housing and communal services sector (in particular, the “Russian Utilities Systems” project), the “generalist” approach received a critical assessment, when a large investor, entering the industry, seeks to cover all types of housing and communal services and products (electricity, and heat supply, water supply and sanitation, gas supply, etc.) with the maximum possible coverage of territories. Certain failures encountered by the RKS project do not support this approach. It is much more effective, according to this point of view, to use a “point-based” approach. This will allow you to concentrate resources, more accurately calculate risks, identify problem areas, and conduct the necessary audits.
· Immediately announce a huge program, we are everywhere, here and there. This is politics. This is illiteracy. This means nothing. But the one who will take one sector in one city or region and try to analyze this matter, consider the risks, including technological, financial, market.
At the same time, experts pay attention to examples of successful business projects, when an integrated approach to the energy and utilities business, covering different areas - electricity, heat, gas, water - brings an effect. This is evidenced, in particular, by the experience of the company “Integrated Energy Systems” (IES-Holding), which develops business in the energy and housing and communal services sectors, implementing projects in almost all of these segments. According to most experts, there is no contradiction in the presence of two opposing approaches to the implementation of business projects in the industry and two opposing examples. In the opinion of the study participants, this reveals the most important factor in the implementation of a project in the industry, on which its success or failure subsequently depends - a high-quality pre-project audit, a comprehensive assessment of the risks, required costs, investments, resources and capabilities of the company.
