Hydropower production and environmental regulation: opting for a performance-based tax approach

Titolo Rivista ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Autori/Curatori Federico Pontoni, Andrea Goltara, Alessandro De Carli, Antonio Massarutto
Anno di pubblicazione 2015 Fascicolo 2014/2
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 16 P. 137-152 Dimensione file 197 KB
DOI 10.3280/EFE2014-002007
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This paper discusses the case for reforming the actual mechanism for charging water abstractions for hydropower production in Italy and proposes to introduce a performance-based environmental fee. This should be able, on the one hand, to internalize the environmental costs that hydropower production causes and, on the other, to stimulate producers to opt for more environment-friendly management of hydropower plants. We think, in fact, that the re-issue of several expired hydropower concessions represents an opportunity to redefine the taxation system to which hydropower is currently subject to, in order to introduce finally a form of environmental taxation coherent with the Water Framework Directive. In particular, the proposed fee is a real environmental tax, as it aims at changing the environmentally impacting behavior by increasing the marginal cost of damaging river ecosystems. Therefore, it is equitable, as it does not tax all producers the same way, but according to the impacts that their production generates. Finally, it is immediately applicable, as it is based on the successful experience of performance-based regulation in several other sectors.

Keywords:Environmental Fee, Water Framework Directive, Hydropower

Jel codes:H21, H23, L51, Q25, Q28, Q5

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Federico Pontoni, Andrea Goltara, Alessandro De Carli, Antonio Massarutto, Hydropower production and environmental regulation: opting for a performance-based tax approach in "ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT" 2/2014, pp 137-152, DOI: 10.3280/EFE2014-002007