Eigenerzeugung und Selbstverbrauch von Strom – Stand,Potentiale und Trends

Due to falling costs of self-production, increasing end-user electricity prices as well as indirect state incentives, self-production and consumption of electricity have become more and more attractive for end-users across all economic sectors. Thus, opportunities to evade taxes, surcharges and grid charges have arisen under the current legal framework. The situation is complicated by unclear requirements for the utilisation of state incentives as well as the vague statistical coverage of self-consumption. Historically, the total amount of self-consumption rose by 26?% between 2008 and 2012 to 56.7 TWh. The estimation of economic potentials and trends shows that development could accelerate substantially to a point where a considerable amount of the consumption in all sectors could be covered by self-production. This development will be significantly determined by the future legal framework regarding taxation and surcharges for self-consumption. Besides the level of taxes and surcharges, the minimum limit for charging small generation units will be a key control variable. From an economical point of view, derogations lead to distorted competition between various technologies that causes inefficient production structures and distributional effects. Moreover, they create a self-reinforcing effect: The higher the self-consumption is, the lower the assessment base for apportionments and charges becomes, and the higher the cost burden for the remaining end-users will be. As a result, the incentives for self-consumption are enhanced and, once again, the increased self-consumption causes further economic inefficiencies.     

Geothermisch erschlie?bare Niedertemperaturw?rmesenken in Deutschland – Identifikation und Quantifizierung

Geothermal energy supply meets the expectations of the established criterias for sustainability from the German government because it provides a base load of electricity- and heat supply by nearly zero emissions. The geothermal resources in Germany are big enough to cover a relevant demand of the German energy supply. Due to the low electrical efficiency is a high amount of heat produced what can be feed in a distribution network. In this context the aim of the following article is to identify and quantify the technical and economical low temperature heat demand for sector household, trade and industry in local authorities bigger then 20?000?inhabitants for German areas with geothermal recourses. The technical low temperature heat demand is calculated to 341?TWh/a (241?TWh/a household, 19?TWh/a trade, 81?TWh/a industry), 206?TWh/a of this heat demand is deducible by geothermal energy and 26?% of the geothermal deducible heat demand can be used on economic conditions.     

„Bewertung von physischen Übertragungsrechten — Eine Analyse der Grenzkuppelstellen zwischen Deutschland und den Niederlanden“

The purpose of this paper is to discuss market-coherent valuation of physical transmission rights for cross-border capacities between Germany and the Netherlands. Aiming at a fair valuation of these contracts, the most important stylized facts of electricity prices such as mean reversion, spikes and correlations of regional prices have to be considered. We present two different approaches to the valuation of physical transmission rights and perform a quantitative analysis of the results. On the one hand various challenges of modeling regional price differences are discussed. On the other hand a structural undervaluation of required flexibility is indicated, which implicates missing incentives for the extension of cross border capacities.     

Prognose der Kraftstoffpreisentwicklung und ihrer Auswirkungen auf die Nachfrage nach Bahntransportleistungen in Österreich

Due to increasing crude oil consumption, especially of the fast growing Asian economies, decreasing production rates of several oil fields and increasing exploration costs, the oil price reached a new all time high in July 2008. The present world wide economic crisis caused a sharp decrease of the oil prices, nevertheless, prices will rise again with economic recovery. In this paper, long term projections of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and future contracts notations are employed to estimate oil price development until the year 2020. We estimate the price transmission of crude oil prices to Austrian retail diesel and gasoline prices and combine the estimation results with long term projections of the crude oil price. These projections are used to analyze the effect of rising oil prices on Austrian railway demand. The effect of increasing mineral oil taxes with the aim of an increasing internalisation of the external costs of road traffic on railway demand is discussed.     

Grosse Stadtwerke – theoretische und empirische Exploration eines besonderen Akteurs in der Energiewende Deutschlands und der Schweiz

Urban utility companies are key players in the Swiss and German energy sector. Due to the federalist and subsidiary governance structure of the two countries’ energy sector, they perform highly system relevant tasks, as e.?g. managing the distribution grids or ensuring the public services for “their city”. In the public and scientific discourse on the role of different actor groups in the energy transition, however, not much attention is paid to urban utility companies. This contribution aims at a theoretical and empirical exploration of these particular actors by analysing their characteristics, specific challenges and strategic answers in the context of the energy transition. For this purpose, the article derives analytical dimensions for the analysis of urban utility companies from scholarly literature on transition studies, network industries and public corporate governance and empirically analyses characteristics and the current situation of urban utility companies in Germany and Switzerland. Methodologically, this article is based on an explorative, qualitative study, which synthesises results from a literature analysis, a document analysis, 38 expert interviews in both countries (in 2017) and two expert workshops conducted in Switzerland (in 2018). The study shows, how the characteristics of urban utility companies can be explained based on public corporate governance and network industries literature. This also allows to identify and understand their particular challenges, as e.?g. the fields of tension among public and private interest in the firms and the multi-dimensional relationship of owner or the particularities of network industries. Finally, this article points out, that the role of urban utility companies in the Swiss and German energy transition is neither just “inhibitor” nor pure “innovator”, but can be labelled as “intelligent follower” and “engineer of the energy transition”.     

Markt- und Systemintegration von erneuerbaren Energien im Rahmen der Systemtransformation – Ein Beitrag zur definitorischen Abgrenzung

The reconstruction of the electricity system is one of the main challenges of the German energy transition (Energiewende). The expansion of renewable electricity generation should enable the phase out of nuclear and fossil power generators in the long run. The Renewable Energy Sources Act (Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz) aims at increasing renewable generation up to a share of at least 80?% in gross electricity consumption by the year 2050. There are many possible ways to reach this target. Today, the characteristics of the future energy systems become apparent through the legal framework and long term energy scenarios.Economic, social and regulatory hurdles will need to be overcome to enable the transition of the electricity system. In this context, specific measures are evaluated with respect to their contribution on the system transformation, system integration and market integration. Up until now a consistent framework for evaluating political actions and scientific that should effectively support the energy political objectives is not present. The concepts of power system transformation, power system integration and market integration are differentiated and defined to close this gap. Based on this framework, a practical example is evaluated. The exact definitions will help to objectify the political and scientific debate. Furthermore, it contributes to develop regulatory and market mechanisms.     

Anforderungen an den konventionellen Kraftwerkspark – wieviel und welche Kraftwerkskapazit?t wird ben?tigt?

The electricity supply system will, particularly in Germany, significantly be determined by the use of renewable energy sources. A?decreasing energetic utilization along with an increasing flexibility demand lead to chancing requirements for the conventional plant fleet. The question arises to what extent conventional generation capacity is needed in the future and if??compared to today??additional technical requirements have to be fulfilled due to the increased flexibility demand. Furthermore it has to be discussed how a required capacity level can be achieved and if??and under which conditions??today??s market design is sufficient or if additional capacity mechanism are necessary. These questions are discussed in this article. The questions as to the required capacity level and the means to achieve it depend on the perspective, which is chosen with respect to security of supply. Choosing a European perspective, i.e. a common responsibility for an appropriate level of security of supply in Europe, additional capacity mechanism are not necessary. Choosing a national perspective, i.e. requiring that national demand can??theoretically??be covered by capacity available in the particular country, does not only significantly increase the necessary amount of generation capacity but also??due to the fact that the electricity market already today is organized on a European rather than a national basis??requires additional capacity mechanisms to cover capacity demand. With respect to the flexibility demand a concerted as well as coordinated acting of the different independent market players is necessary to cover a more volatile residual load. However, there is no additional demand for technical flexibility.     

Das neue System für Regel- und Ausgleichsenergie Gas in Deutschland — Eine Untersuchung der Anreizwirkungen

With its decision on the determination of balancing services (GABi Gas), the Bundesnetzagentur has set up a new regime for system and balancing energy valid from October 2008. Aims are a simplification of balancing rules for traders, a more efficient use of existing flexibility instruments by network operators, and the creation of a functioning market for system and balancing energy. After half a year, the effects on traders and network operators can be analyzed. This study identifies positive and negative incentive effects of the new rules and proposes possible amendments. Among these are: abolishing the differentiation between internal and external system energy, creating incentives for efficient use of the networks’ buffering capacity, standardizing the rules for procurement of system energy, and introducing a pure hourly balancing system. Regulation creates a framework for functioning markets. Yet, competition cannot be enforced. Therefore, sensibility for the incentive effects of regulatory frameworks is needed.     

CO2 Speicherung in Deutschland: Eine Brückentechnologie als Klimalösung?

The technology for CO₂ capture, transport and storage (CCTS) in the power plant and industrial sector are considered as an important component in a portfolio of technologies for CO₂ reduction. However, delayed or canceled demonstration projects show that the cost of the capture unit, the necessary pipeline infrastructure and the scarce storage potential in geological formations restrict the CCTS potential. In addition, growing public resistance could lead a further reduction of the CO₂ abatement potential. In this paper the contribution of the CCTS technology for CO₂ reduction in the energy and industrial sectors in Germany is calculated using the model CCTSMOD. It turns out that the application of CCTS is economically interesting for selected industrial sectors under CO₂ certificate prices of 50 €/t and for the power sector under certificate prices of 75 €/t. Because of the limited storage potential, lack of alternative mitigation options and low cost of the deposition, a predominant use of technology in the steel and cement sector is recommended.     

Einfluss von HGÜ-Verbindungen auf Markt und Netz

Studies assume that the political subsidization of renewable energies throughout Europe will increase the amount of congestions in the European transmission grid. In current discussions HVDC reinforcement measures are seen as one means to provide further transmission capacities and to ensure a reliable operation of the system. In an effort to contribute to these discussions the publication evaluates the effect of various HVDC reinforcement measures on the grid and the market. The assessment of these reinforcement measures is based on a macroeconomic approach which considers three major cost terms. The first term represents the electricity generation costs. HVDC reinforcement measures influence this cost term as market zones with different generation costs can be coupled and overall generation costs thus might sink. The second cost term is orientated on the necessary redispatch effort to guarantee a secure and reliable operation of the grid. The third cost term represents the investment costs of the HVDC reinforcement measures. The sum of all these cost terms is regarded as a means to compare different reinforcement measures. The study shows that the effect of all examined reinforcement measures on the transmission grid is comparable. Structural congestions in the grid which exist already without any HVDC reinforcement are not influenced significantly by the examined HVDC links. Of all considered reinforcement measures a link from Germany to Norway exhibits the highest influence on the market. This link also offers the highest benefit regarding market and grid as a whole.     

Prognose der Day-Ahead Wind- und Photovoltaikstromerzeugung – Einflussgrößen und Zuverlässigkeit

In the future, the percentage of renewable energies in the electricity generation is expected to increase continuously. Especially weather-dependent wind and solar power plays a substantial role. These energy sources are partly characterized by a fluctuating and imprecisely predictable power generation. To cover the residual load and to balance the forecast errors a rising number of flexible producers and consumers will be needed in the future. This is necessary to ensure the high security of supply of the German electricity grid.Against this background, the objective of the following investigation is to analyse the day-ahead forecasting quality of the feed-in from wind and photovoltaic systems in the control areas of Germany’s transmission system operators and in the entire area of Germany for the years 2010 to 15. The aim of this analysis is to identify the crucial parameters that influence the forecast error. Subsequently, the share of the wind and photovoltaic power forecast which can be considered as reliably predictable for the following day is estimated. In addition, the increase in this reliable prediction through a higher level of detail in the assessment of the forecast error is quantified. Based on these results, the need of flexibilities through the weather-dependent electricity supply from wind and photovoltaic systems can be estimated, and the impact on the electricity system can be evaluated.     

Die Erschließung vorhandener Wasserkraftpotenziale in Österreich im Spannungsfeld von Energiepolitik und ökologischen Schutzzielen

The intensified use of hydropower plays a substantial role in the Austrian energy sector. There are indeed plans to open up the remaining potentials, especially in the field of small-scale hydropower. However, hydropower creates multiple impacts. Although investments in hydropower are undisputed due to security of supply issues, climate change and dependency concerns, the technology is subject to some disadvantages. Hydropower plants are often seen as a blot on the landscape and a threat for the ecosystem, especially for fish and other water-dependent wildlife. Accordingly, hydropower plants are principally in conflict with nature conservation as for instance the European Water Framework Directive. With the help of a discrete choice model the trade-off between economic and climate-related advantages and the negative environmental side effects of new hydropower schemes was identified and quantified. While people value the economic (employment effects) and environmental (reduced air emissions) benefits related to the generation of electricity from hydroelectric power, they wish to be compensated for the loss of nature and landscape new hydropower plants are associated with. Moreover, confirmation of the “Not in my backyard” phenomenon was found, meaning that people generally prefer the construction of new hydropower stations, but not close to their homes.     

Staatliche Regulierung und Digitalisierung als Antezedenzien für Innovationen in der Energiewirtschaft am Beispiel von REMIT

Probably no other industry is as affected by governmental interventions via regulation and their respective directives as is the energy industry. On the one hand, firms must deal with a considerable amount of resources bound in order to satisfy consequential challenges. On the other hand, a variety of chances are offered due to the phenomenon of strict regulation often fostering innovation. In addition, digitization has heavily influenced the energy industry among many others in several ways. Digitization has not only enabled new business model innovation, but also incorporated it in itself. Unfortunately, the circle of beneficiaries remained limited in the beginning, because many foremost municipal utilities do not possess enough capacities to exploit these chances. Nonetheless, as our case study of REMIT highlights established utilities were able to utilize this new market in form of business model innovation. Therefore our case serves as a blueprint for innovation management driven by regulation and digitization alike.     

Export restrictions – Do consumers really benefit? The wheat-to-bread supply chain in Serbia

Our approach combines price transmission and gross margin analysis at different stages of the wheat-to-bread supply chain. Results suggest that the effects of export restrictions on the end consumer prices for bread, and thus food price inflation, heavily depend on the price behavior of the intermediates. In contrast to theory, consumers in Serbia experienced welfare losses despite comprehensive governmental market interventions. In particular, consumers were confronted with increasing flour and bread prices, which cannot be fully explained by increasing production costs, whereas mills, bakeries and retailers increased their profits. Thus, export controls in combination with high price volatility in the supply chain have to be considered as a further factor driving food price inflation.     

For whom? – The governance of organic food and farming in the UK

The challenge of organic agriculture – that it might provide new forms of participation around food – has been hard to encapsulate in the conventional circuits of democracy. One answer to this ‘offer’ has been for consumers to purchase organic items as a way of demonstrating support for the organic sector. This paper argues that although this strategy may have been successful in the past, there is increasing evidence that there is a convergence between sections of the organic movement and the dominant multiple retailers. Through a wide range of evidence, including an analysis of how organic products are promoted and of how organic farm businesses are configured, this paper suggests that the potential of the organic movement is increasingly being circumscribed.     

Techno-?konomische Bewertung eines ver?nderten Zuschnitts von Marktgebieten für elektrische Energie in Mitteleuropa

As a consequence of the paradigm shift in terms of the European Union??s or at least not 20/20/20 energy policy, the liberalization of the German electricity market and the German nuclear energy phase-out, power generation is often still located far from the main load centers. Hence the frequency of grid congestions is expected to rise. These congestions cannot, or not cost-efficiently, be handled with conventional congestion management methods. One approach to solve the problem is the modification of market areas via the splitting or the coupling of existing areas. This study quantitatively and qualitatively deals with the economic impacts of alternative market area definitions in Central Europe. Furthermore, our analysis puts a special emphasis on the implications of the nuclear energy phase-out in Germany in this context. Simulated power generation- and network costs are used for measuring the relative merit of the market zoning adopted. The study identifies three main scenarios as alternatives to the existing market areas: Based on an inter-German separation, for a more detailed examination (1) Austria is detached from southern Germany, (2) the Dutch market area is merged with the northern German zone and (3) the Swiss market area is integrated with the southern German zone and Austria. The implemented simulations show a distinctive trend towards economic advantages regarding alternative market areas in Central Europe. In case of a splitting of existing areas, network costs are the key factor for reducing total costs, whereas for the coupling of markets power generation costs are more crucial. Regarding the nuclear energy phase-out, the achievable cost savings are lower but still positive.     

Flächendeckende Einführung von Smart Metern – Internationale Erfahrungen und Rückschlüsse für Deutschland

Various countries are introducing smart meters in different ways and with different pace. This article reviews the experiences of four European countries that have decided on a complete roll-out of smart meters or have (partly) realised it. In the first part we show theoretically what welfare effects result from different strategies. Afterwards we analyse how these countries have organized a complete roll-out. From this analysis we draw conclusions for the implementation of a full roll-out of smart meters in Germany and derive policy recommendations. It appears that liberalised markets per se do not seem to trigger a roll-out of smart meters. For Germany with its liberalised metering market this may allow the following conclusions: It should be defined clearly what objectives are to be reached by a roll-out. Particularly it should be analysed what costs and benefits are involved when it comes to a complete roll-out of smart meters and if there are potentially any information deficits on the side of energy consumers. On this basis a sound strategy is to be developed.     

Agriculture versus fish – Norway in WTO

The Norwegian agriculture is highly protected and subsidised. The opposite is the case for fisheries and fish farming which suffer from foreign market restrictions. Using a computational general equilibrium model, the gain for Norway of a complete elimination of food subsidies and tariffs is estimated to be in the range of 1.2–2.7 per cent of GDP. Most of this gain stems from domestic farm sector liberalisation. The gain from free market access for seafood is estimated to 4.4 per cent of the seafood export value. Consequently, Norway has much to gain from offering other countries market access for agricultural products. By pursuing such a policy, Norway may also strengthen the case for fisheries and fish farming in trade talks.     

Investitionsanreize unter RPI-X-Regulierung und die angemessene Höhe von Kostendurchreichungen

In the classic view, the fundamental decision between a rate-of-return and price-cap regime depends upon the aim of regulatory action: a rate-of-return is considered to more likely induce infrastructure investment while a price-cap regime is expected to increase managerial effort in reducing costs. While an asset-based regulation may lead to the unwanted Averch-Johnson effect, efficiency-oriented regulation such as RPI-X may decrease the company’s incentive to invest. To avoid this behaviour, RPI-X-regimes do often exempt certain costs from regulation, e.g. by allowing for pass-throughs for capital expenditures. Starting with the finding that efficiency-based regulation may lead to postponement or abandonment of investment projects in a real options based model, a fair rate of capital cost pass through is derived to mitigate the negative effects on investment projects. This ‘regulation-adjusted’ cost-pass-through depends on the regulatory X the regulator imposes on the regulated industry. Given the valuation of the investment project and the efficiency-value, a cost-pass-through can be calculated which is less or equal than the risk free interest rate as long as the pass-through itself is risk-free.