As a member of RAP’s team in Europe, Bram Claeys focuses on the future of distribution system operators, market reform and maximising the potential of the Clean Energy for All Europeans package.
Before joining RAP in 2020, Claeys was the director general of the Organisation for Sustainable Energy (ODE) in Belgium. Besides managerial and public engagement tasks, his personal focus was on system adequacy and sector coupling. He was a member of the Advisory Council of the Belgian federal Commission for Electricity and Gas Regulation and the User’s Group with the transmission system operator Elia. He served as an expert in tariff design working groups with the Flemish energy regulator.
In the U.S., Bram Claeys served as the renewable energy policy director for the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources. His role was to help maintain the state’s clean energy leadership through analysis and development of cutting-edge renewable energy policies, with a focus on renewable energy procurement and renewable heating and cooling.
Prior roles included acting as the renewable energy policy advisor to the Flemish energy minister, climate and energy policy advisor for environmental nongovernmental organisations, and consultancy on environmental impacts of energy projects.
Claeys is a chemist by training (University of Ghent, Belgium) with additional degrees in environmental management from the University of Brussels and international cooperation from the University of Ghent.
In addition to his native Dutch, Bram speaks fluent English and French and basic German.
How Bram Claeys is Energizing Change
Navigating power grid scarcity in the age of renewable energy: Policy and regulatory context and tools
As countries around the world make progress towards decarbonisation, more sectors are shifting to cleaner, renewable resources. Read More +
欧洲议会微调容量电价机制意味着什么？
引言 欧盟电力市场改革是近几个月的热门话题。此次改革将修订一系列法律法规，包括欧洲内部电力市场法规和指令、能源监管机构法规以及批发能源市场一体化和透明度的法规。修订草案已经于2024年4月11日由欧洲议会全体会议投票通过。下一步，该草案将在未来的几周内经过欧盟理事会的投票后最终生效。虽还须经过欧盟理事会的正式采纳，但预计草案内容不会有太大的变化，我们就此契机介绍和分析欧盟电力市场改革。本轮欧洲电力市场改革内容广泛，本文主要聚焦在对容量补偿机制和与之密切相关的现货市场改革的讨论。 2021年开始的欧洲能源危机推动了此次电力市场改革。为应对天然气和电力价格风险，业内就市场改革方案展开了持续的辩论。最终的改革方案大体上避免了（虽然并非完全避免）有利于化石燃料的提议。尽管电力市场改革的最终决定对于容量机制相关的条款做了一些改变，但是欧盟清洁能源转型的方向没有变化。 草案对于容量支付的安排 该草案陈述了容量补偿机制在电力系统转型中维持资源充足性的作用，特别是在各个区域电网互连还不充分的情况下。因此，方案不再坚持旧版本中容量补偿机制只能作为“临时”措施的要求，但维持了容量补偿机制的期限不超过十年的规定。 容量支付机制的排放限制标准仍然是度电二氧化碳排放不超过550克并且平均每年每千瓦装机容量排放不超过350千克二氧化碳。也就是说，未安装CCS的煤电机组将无法满足该排放标准。但燃气发电机组的排放低于此标准，因此不受该规则的限制。另外，修订草案提出成员国可以采取比该标准更严苛的排放标准以限制化石能源的使用。 新规定仍然严格限制新的燃煤发电机组接受容量支付，特别是不允许2019年7月后开始商业运行的燃煤机组参与容量补偿机制，但增加了附加条件。成员国若要延长对不符合排放标准的现有(2019年7月之前开始商业运行的)燃煤机组的容量支付，必须向欧盟委员会提交延期申请。申请中需要说明现有的容量支付机制和电能量市场改革措施为何不足以在2025 年后继续维持该成员国电力系统可靠运行。同时，成员国必须提交报告，评估延长容量支付对碳排放和对低碳转型的影响，并提出采购替代容量资源的方案以满足成员国的减排目标。 如果延期申请经过欧盟委员会的批准，不满足排放标准的现有燃煤机组参与容量补偿机制的截止日期可以从之前电力法规规定的2025年7月最晚延至2028年12月，容量的实际交付需要在这个截止日期前完成。成员国仍然需要开展额外的市场化容量采购程序来决定容量提供方和容量支付价格。修订草案规定此市场化容量采购需要面向所有的容量资源，对于不满足排放标准但中标的现有燃煤机组，最多只能支付一年容量电费。 可以看出，在能源危机和电能量市场还未完全一体化这个特殊的背景下，最新的修订草案对于不满足排放要求的容量资源做出了妥协。但欧盟也附加了一系列规定，降低此举对碳排放和清洁转型的潜在影响。 容量机制和电能量市场总体改革思路未改变 虽然修订草案较旧版本方案有一些变化，但欧洲容量补偿机制的主要原则，即容量采购需要基于资源充足性规划和市场竞争的原则并未改变：修订后的方案仍然鼓励各种满足技术条件的资源进行直接竞争，包括需求响应、储能和其他非化石容量资源。容量市场仍然需要通过公开、透明、非歧视和竞争的程序来选择容量资源的提供方，并通过竞价来决定容量支付的价格。容量补偿机制必须由科学、透明和滚动的资源充足性规划指导。… Read More +
What are you working on that is most crucial to RAP’s mission and why is it crucial?
I'm working in the European power team on market regulation, because only a well regulated electricity market will deliver the energy transition in time.
What is something that makes you feel hopeful about the future?
Our son.
If I were a superhero, my superpower would be...superpower. Clean power for all, and especially beneficial electrification.