Perspectives on Capacity Investment in Germany and Europe – The Future of Power-Mix Optimization

Abstract

On liberalized markets, investment risks are now much greater than they were before liberalization. Prices and quantities are determined by international markets. In the energy supply area, too, we need sizable companies with the necessary risk-bearing capability. The efficient infrastructure in the electricity supply sector must be further developed in line with market conditions. In future as well, the power supply should be based on a broad energy mix consisting of coal, nuclear energy, natural gas, and renewable energies. With such a mix, technical and market-induced supply risks can be kept low. We need a political framework that is calculable in the long term and which takes account of the rules of the market and makes the necessary investment of billions in new environmentally compatible power plant technology defensible from a business angle.