This paper gives a short overview of the German Energiewende, i.e. the transition of a large and mostly thermal electricity system towards electricity generation from renewable energy source. It discusses both, the motivation of the transitions as future goals and current status. Furthermore, it gives an in-depth view into the changes in economic costs for society as well as electricity price effects, especially for average private households and industrial consumers. It also discusses the benefits of the promotion of renewable energies in Germany.
. [J]. Frontiers in Energy, 2017, 11(2): 126-134.
Sebastian KREUZ, Felix MÜSGENS. The German Energiewende and its roll-out of renewable energies: An economic perspective. Front. Energy, 2017, 11(2): 126-134.
IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency). Data and statistics of capacity and generation. 2016
2
Renewable Energy Sources Act (Renewable Energy Sources Act—RES Act 2014). 2014
3
F Joas, M Pahle, C Flachsland, A Joas. Which goals are driving the Energiewende? Making sense of the German Energy Transformation. Energy Policy, 2016, 95: 42–51 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.04.003
4
Federal Government. German Federal Government’s National Electromobility Development Plan. 2009
5
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (FMEE). Time Series about the Development of Renewable Energies in Germany (in Germany). 2016
6
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (FMEE). The Energy of the Future–5th Monitoring Report of the Energy Transition (long version, in German). 2016
7
Federal Office for Motor Traffic. Annual count of the stock of vehicles. 2016
8
Federal Government. Directory sustainability–outcome and perspectives. 2005
9
Federal Government. Progress report 2008 on the national strategy for sustainable development—for a sustainable German.2008
10
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (FMEE). Compensations, differential costs and EEG-surcharge 2000 until 2017 (in Germany). 2016
11
P L Joskow. Comparing the costs of intermittent and dispatchable electricity generating technologies. American Economic Review, 2010, 101(3):238–241
12
Netztransparenz 2016. Overview for market values and reference market values. 2016
13
C Kost, J N Mayer, J Thomsen, N Hartmann, C Senkpiel, S Philipps, S Nold, S Lude, N Saad, T Schlegl. Levelized cost of electricity renewable energy technologies. 2013
14
I S E Fraunhofer. Current and future cost of photovoltaics: long-term scenarios for market development, system prices and LCOE of utility-scale PV systems. 2015
15
M Dillig, M Jung, J Karl. The impact of renewables on electricity prices in Germany—an estimation based on historic spot prices in the years 2011–2013. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016, 57: 7–15 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.12.003
16
Federal Network Agency. Approval of scenarios for the electricity grid extension plans 2017–2030 (in Germany). 2016
BDEW. (Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industry). Net electricity consumption of different customer groups (in Germany). 2016
19
BDEW. (Federal Association of the Energy and Water Industry). BDEW electricity price analysis. 2016
20
Eurostat. Energy price statistics, 2016
21
S Borenstein. The private and public economics of renewable electricity generation. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2012, 26(1): 67–92 https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.26.1.67
22
R Schmalensee. Evaluating policies to increase electricity generation from renewable energy. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 2012, 6(1): 45–64 https://doi.org/10.1093/reep/rer020
23
Öko-Institut. Saved costs for energy imports in 2015 and innovation effects through the usage of renewable energies (in Germany). 2016
24
J Blazejczak, F G Braun, D Edler, W P Schill. Economic effects of renewable energy expansion: a model-based analysis for Germany. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2014, 40: 1070–1080 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.07.134
25
U Lehr, P Ulrich, C Lutz, I Thobe, D Edler, M O’Sullivan, S Simon, T Naegler, U Pfenning, F Peter, F Sakowski, P Bickel. Employment by renewable energies in Germany: development and operation, today and tomorrow (in Germany). Study for the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy,2015
26
C Lutz, A Großmann, U Lehr, D Lindenberger, A Knaut, R Malischek, S Paulus, C Tode, J Wagner, A Kemmler, A Ley, A Piégsa, M Schlesinger, S Straßburg, S Koziel. Macroeconomic effects of the energy transition (in Germany). Study fort the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy,2014.
27
M Frondel, N Ritter, C M Schmidt, C Vance. Economic impacts from the promotion of renewable energy technologies: the German experience. Energy Policy, 2010, 38(8): 4048–4056 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2010.03.029
