Abstract
Germany has embarked on an ambitious project to transform its energy system until 2050—the so-called Energiewende. Some critics contend that the Energiewende imposes unnecessary and avoidable welfare losses due to a lack of integration within the EU. In contrast, these critiques largely miss the point because the asserted lack of integration cannot be pinned on the Energiewende and the welfare consequences of EU-wide integration are less clear than the critiques imply.
A previous version of this chapter has first been published as (reprinted with permission): Strunz, S., Gawel, E., and P. Lehmann (2014). On the alleged need to strictly “Europeanize” the German Energiewende. Intereconomics 2014(5): 244–250.
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Notes
- 1.
Without uncertainty about marginal costs and benefits, both approaches are theoretically equal because the regulator can either set a quantity target or implement an equivalent price instrument.
- 2.
Ensuring grid stability by putting a portfolio of complementary RES in place is another reason why technology-specific quotas would be preferable (e. g., a combination of wind and solar is more robust to meteorological fluctuations than each of the technologies by itself).
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Strunz, S., Gawel, E., Lehmann, P. (2019). On the Alleged Need to Strictly “Europeanize” the German Energiewende. In: Gawel, E., Strunz, S., Lehmann, P., Purkus, A. (eds) The European Dimension of Germany’s Energy Transition. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03374-3_12
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