Energy Innovation Center of the Brandenburg Technical University in the broadcast of Brandenburger Begegnungen
Prof. Müsgens talks about the newly founded Energy Innovation Center of the Brandenburg Technical University in the broadcast of Brandenburger Begegnungen - Grüne Energie aus der Lausitz.
Follow this link to listen to the broadcast.
Effects of the war in Ukraine on the German energy system
In an interview with the Chinese television station Phoenix, Prof. Müsgens commented on the effects of the Ukraine war on the German energy system.
Follow this link to hear the full interview.
Challenges of the energy transition: Interview with rbb24
In an interview with rbb24, Prof. Müsgens talks about the goals of the energy transition. The goal of generating 80 percent of Germany's electricity needs from renewable energies is certainly ambitious, but it can be achieved if the right technologies are promoted and the bureaucracy involved in project planning is reduced.
Follow this link to hear the full interview.
International Energy Economics Conference 2023 (IEWT) in Vienna.
During a presentation at the International Energy Economics Conference 2023 (IEWT) in Vienna Prof. Müsgens spoke about the effects of the Ukraine war in the energy market. While the war will have a positive long-term impact on climate protection and the energy transition, in the short term, negative consequences of the conflict are still to be expected. The energy transition will be completed more quickly as a result of the event. On the one hand, natura gas has lost its importance as a bridging technology and on the other, the acceptance of renewable energies and their expansion has risen sharply.
You can access the full article and presentation slides here.
Get Into Energy: New R&D Opportunities for Students in Cottbus on February 1st, 2023
On February 1st, 2023 the event Get Into Energy: New R&D Opportunities for Students in Cottbus took place at BTU. The event offered students the opportunity to get in touch with energy research institutes. The event started with a pitch-session in which the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Energy Infrastructures and Geothermal Systems IEG, the DLR Institute of Low-Carbon Industrial Processes, the Energy Innovation Centre (Energie-Innovationszentrum - EIZ), the Center for Hybrid Electric Systems Cottbus (chesco) and the DLR Institute of Electrified Aero Engines were introduced within 5 minutes. Afterwards, students could meet with researchers from the various institutes and exchange contact information. During the get-together, Franziska Penske and Niklas Ziemann from the Chair of Energy Economics presented the research foci of the Energy Economics Lab (EECON Lab) – which is part of the EIZ – to interested students and informed them about the opportunity to become a participant in a laboratory experiment. By doing so, more than 40 participants could be recruited for research studies. If you are also interested in taking part in one of our studies, please find all relevant information (requirements, contact information) in the picture below.
FOCSSI 2 Project Kick-off
On 3rd February 2023, a digital kick-off meeting for the FOCCSI2 project was held between the chair of Energy Economics at BTU and their associated partner TenneT.
The FOCCSI 2 project is a three-year research project funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK).
In the project, we will develop "meta-forecasts" for both PV and wind feed-in based on weighted combinations of individual forecasts using AI and ML methods. The proposed methodology will be applied based on PV and Wind forecasts provided by TenneT data.
New publication in Energy Policy on how CO2 prices accelerate decarbonisation in Germany

Our new article “How CO2 prices accelerate decarbonisation – The case of coal-fired generation in Germany” provides new insights on how different instruments to reduce carbon emissions impact the development of coal phase-out. We compare instruments to reduce emissions and their impact in the German market. We find that with current CO2 prices, more coal may leave the system than regulation foresees. As a consequence, market forces may reduce employment even faster than planned in the regulation.
You can find the article here.
New publication on wind energy auctions in Germany

Some highlights from the publication "Evaluating the German onshore wind auction programme: An analysis based on individual bids" published in EnergyPolicy's special issue on "Renewable energy auctions - past, present, and future":
- Realisation rates have been low so far – below 50% of awarded projects have been built.
- Secondary objectives (such as acteur diversity) are difficult to translate into design elements, making them even more difficult to achieve.
- A lack of competition has played a major role in keeping subsidy levels high.
- The auction design has reinforced the advantages of large developers.
You can find the article here.
EECON Lab Kick-off

On Tuesday, 15 November, the kick-off of the Energy Economics (EECON) Lab took place. The EECON Lab is one of six labs in the new Energy Innovation Centre (EIZ) of the BTU. Together with the partners Fraunhofer IEG, 50Hertz Transmission GmbH, LEAG, Emis Electrics GmbH and the Fachagentur Windenergie, and with the support of the Brandenburg State Chancellery, the EECON Lab is investigating, for example, the acceptance of and participation in renewable energies, as well as preparing market and competition analyses for companies from the Lusatian energy industry.
The Chair of Energy Economics is pleased to announce that the BTU Energy Innovation Center project has been given the green light.
On Wednesday, October 12, the 1st phase of the project, which is scheduled to run for a total of ten years, was officially launched. With the participation of 14 BTU chairs and more than 40 other partners, researchers are working to understand the climate-neutral energy supply of the future and to facilitate the energy transition in Lusatia, which is expected to successfully phase out lignite.
Our department is working on topics including "acceptance of wind turbines", "energy system modeling under uncertainty" and "artificial intelligence in energy forecasts".
The project launch was heavily covered by regional and national media. You can find further information in the following links.
Cottbuser Universität forscht für die Energiewende |
Süddeutsche.de - October 12, 2022 Wissenschaftler der Universität in Cottbus wollen in einem neuen Innovationszentrum an der klimaneutralen Energieversorgung der Zukunft forschen. |
Cottbuser Universität forscht für die Energiewende |
ZEIT online - October 12, 2022 ... ) übernommen. Blick über den Campus an der Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg. © Patrick Pleul/ dpa-Zentralbild/ … |
Cottbuser Universität forscht für die Energiewende |
FAZ.NET - October 12, 2022 Wissenschaftler der Universität in Cottbus wollen in einem neuen Innovationszentrum an der klimaneutralen Energieversorgung der Zukunft forschen. |
Cottbuser Universität forscht für die Energiewende |
DIE WELT - October 12, 2022 Blick über den Campus an der Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg. Quelle: Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa/ … |
Innovationszentrum: Cottbuser Universität forscht für die Energiewende |
Focus Online - October 12, 2022 ... den Campus an der Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg. Wissenschaftler de r Universität in Cottbus wollen in einem … |
Neues BTU-Institut erhält Millionenförderung von Bund und Land |
rbb Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg - October 12, 2022 ... : imago-images/Mario Hösel Die Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) hat am Mittwoch eine Millionenförderung … |
Förderbescheid für das Energie-Innovationszentrum der BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg |
rbb24 | Brandenburg aktuell | Nachrichten II | 19.30 Uhr - October 12, 2022 Förderbescheid für das Energie-Innovationszentrum der BTUCottbus-Senftenberg |
Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg hat weiteren Förderbescheid erhalten |
rbb24 | 21:45 Uhr | Nachrichten II - October 12, 2022 Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg hat weiteren Förderbescheid erhalten |
Cottbuser Universität forscht für die Energiewende |
Berliner Zeitung - October 12, 2022 ... - Blick über den Campus an der Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg. a/Archivbild Cottbus - Wissenschaftler de r … |
Forschung zur Energie der Zukunft |
Potsdamer Neueste Nachrichten - October 13, 2022 Uni Cottbus bekommt Innovationszentrum |
Mehr Forschung in der Lausitz |
Sächsische Zeitung Hoyerswerda - October 13, 2022 Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler der Brandenburgischen Technischen Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) und eines interdisziplinären Partnernetzwerks entwickeln innovative Technologien für eine klimaneutrale Energieversorgung. Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler der Brandenburgischen Technischen Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) und eines |
Förderung für neues Energie- Innovationszentrum in Cottbus |
MAZ-Online.de - October 12, 2022 Wissenschaftsministerin Schüle fördert Cottbuser Energiezentrum MIt 18,5 Millionen Euro Startkapital wird in Cottbus der Grundstein für Forschung und Entwicklung zur Energiewende gelegt. |
Innovationszentrum an Uni in Cottbus gestartet |
Sächsisches tageblatt - October 13, 2022 Wissenschaftler der BTUCottbus/Senftenberg wollen an der klimaneutralen Energieversorgung der Zukunft forschen. Gestern ist ein neues … |
Innovationszentrum: Cottbuser Universität forscht für die Energiewende |
Augsburger Allgemeine - October 12, 2022 Blick über den Campus an der Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg. Foto: Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild, dpa ( … |
Cottbuser Universität forscht für die Energiewende |
Münchner Merkur - October 12, 2022 Blick über den Campus an der Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg. © Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa/ … |
Jobs in Brandenburg: Start für Energie-Innovationszentrum an der BTU in Cottbus - Fachkräfte gesucht |
Lausitzer Rundschau - October 12, 2022 ... neue Arbeitsplätze hatte die Präsidentin der Brandenburgischen Technischen Universität (BTU) Cottbus-Senftenberg , Prof. Gesine Grande, … |
Start für Energie-Innovationszentrum an BTU |
Lausitzer Rundschau Cottbus, sieben weitere Ausgaben und Online - October 13, 2022 Der Lausitz Science Park (LSP) in Cottbus wird zum Jobmotor. Mit dem Start für das Energie-Innovationszentrum (EIZ) an der BTU geht das größte Wissenschafts-Projekt im Lausitzer Strukturwandel in eine neue Phase. Gebraucht werden viele Fachkräfte. |
Cottbuser Universität forscht für die Energiewende |
Volksstimme.de - October 12, 2022 Wissenschaftler der Universität in Cottbus wollen in einem neuen Innovationszentrum an der klimaneutralen Energieversorgung der Zukunft forschen. |
102 Millionen Euro für die zukünftige Energiemodellregion Lausitz |
Informations Dienst Wissenschaft - October 13, 2022 ... -Cluster Wissenschaftler*innen der Brandenburgischen Technischen Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU) und eines interdisziplinären … |
RT @ManjaSchuele: Lausitz = #Energieregion der Zukunft! Bald kommen aus dem neuen #EnergieInnovationszentrum der @BTU_CS wegweisende |
RT @ManjaSchuele: Lausitz = #Energieregion der Zukunft! Bald kommen aus dem neuen #EnergieInnovationszentrum der @BTU_CS wegweisende |
102 Millionen Euro für die zukünftige Energiemodellregion LausitzWissenschaftsministerin Dr. Manja Schüle und Sandra Langhof-Siewert von |
Ministerin @ManjaSchuele & Sandra Langhof-Siewert (@staatskanzleibb) übergeben den Zuwendungsbescheid ans neue Energie-Innovationszentrum |
Germany saves gas
In an interview with mdr Wissen, Prof. Müsgens talks about how the lack of direct price signals for gas consumers makes it more difficult to implement saving measures. In particular, he criticizes efforts to cap prices, as this would remove the signals to reduce consumption.
You can read the full article here.
Gas price cap - can we square the circle?
In interview with Radioeins, prof. Müsgens discusses the decision of the German gas commission on a relieve package for Gas consumers to tackle the high fuel prices.
The policy's double objective of relieving gas consumers of the monetary burden while still preserving the incentives to save gas is described as trying to square a circle.
Follow this link to listen to the full interview.
Gas shortage: Bavaria faces problems with electricity, the East with heat
In an interview with MDR Prof. Müsgens comments on the effects of the gas shortage on the electricity and heat availability in Bavaria and east Germany.
While the gas situation is still stable, additional system stress could materialize in winter exposing Germany to an energy crisis.
You can read the full article here.
Doctoral Colloquium Dr. Thorsten Engelhorn

The Chair of Energy Economics is pleased to announce that on 19.07.22 our external PhD student Thorsten Engelhorn has successfully defended his dissertation "On the value of the wind's infeed and the costs of capacity built-up: a bottom-up modelling for the German market" . We wish Dr. Engelhorn all the best for his upcoming tasks and a successful career.
A new paper from Thi Ngoc Nguyen and Prof. Felix Müsgens on the quatitative comparison of methods for PV forecasting has been published in the Applied Energy Journal

Some highlights from the publication “What drives the accuracy of PV output forecasts?” include:
- Combining methodologies (hybrid models) achieve the lowest errors.
- ML models do not show a robust performance but have the fastest improvement.
- Using data processing techniques reduces forecast errors.
- Forecast horizon and test set length positively correlate with forecast errors.
- The possibility of “cherry picking” in reporting errors is observed.
You can find the article here
Doctoral Colloquium Dr. Iegor Riepin

The chair of Energy Economics is pleased to announce that on 23.06.22 our colleague Iegor Riepin succesfully defended his PhD Thesis "Modeling challenges of modern energy markets: studies on uncertainty, complexity, and constant change". We wish Dr. Riepin all the best for his upcoming work commitments and a successful career.
A new paper on auctions for wind offshore

Some highlights from the publication “Policy choices and outcomes for offshore wind auctions globally” published in Energy Policy include:
- Global stock-taking of offshore wind auctions through statistical analysis.
- Auctions expected to dominate procurement in future, with estimated share of 97%.
- Describing auction designs and outcomes for most of the 53.4 GW auctioned to date.
- Auction designs show a wide range of policy choices, embedded in regional contexts.
- Revenue stabilisation is a key procurement feature, especially in nascent markets.
You can find the article here
Price shock due to Ukraine war
In an interview with FOCUS online, Prof. Müsgens talks about the impact of high wholesale energy prices on household tariffs. In the next two years German households should experience even higher prices.
You can read the full article here or on FOCUS online.
A new working paper by Smaranda Sgarciu, Daniel Scholz and Prof. Felix Müsgens on how carbon prices accelerate decarbonisation has been published
The paper, "How CO2 Prices Accelerate Decarbonisation - the Case of Coal-Fired Generation in Germany", compares two types of coal phase-out instruments. Namely i) direct regulatory intervention and ii) market-based CO2 pricing instruments.
Some highlights are:
1. rising CO2 prices can make coal-fired generation unprofitable and thus accelerate the coal phase-out.
2. CO2 pricing instruments lead to a trade-off between accelerating the coal phase-out and accelerating the employment reduction in the coal sector.
You can find the article here
Panel discussion at the Brandenburg's Energy Day
Within the framework of the Brandenburg Energy Day at the BTU cottbus, ZEIT ONLINE reported on the uncertain future of the Schwedt oil refinery in the face of a halt of Russian oil imports. In the same line, Prof. Müsgens commented that the situation with Russia will further increase energy prices for end-consumers and a short-term moratorium on the phase-out of coal-fired plants should be considered.
You can read the full article here or on the ZEIT website.
Energy Day of the State of Brandenburg at the BTU
At the Energy Day of the State of Brandenburg at the BTU in Cottbus, Brandenburg's Energy Minister Jörg Steinbach, Jürgen Fuchs (Chairman of the Board of BASF Schwarzheide), Rüdiger Kuhn (Chairman of the Board of CEMEX), Olaf Höhn (Managing Director Florida Eis Manufaktur), Prof. Dr Felix Muesgens (BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg) and LEAG board member Thorsten Kramer on ways to transform Brandenburg's economy in a climate-friendly way - while ensuring security of supply and moving away from Russian gas and oil imports.
Before it gets cheaper, it gets even more expensive
In an interview with "Die Zeit", Prof. Müsgens talks about the impact of high wholesale energy prices on household tariffs. According to the high forecasts for next year, German households can only expect higher prices.
You can access the full article here or in the Zeit webpage.
Expensive energy - energy price crisis?
In an interview with rbb, Prof. Müsgens comments on the skyrocketing electricity prices. High gas and oil prices as a result of the sanctions against Russia and market speculation are the underlying reasons.
Watch the full video on our YouTube channel and on the rbb website.
Why an oil embargo would hit eastern Germany particularly hard
In an interview for MDR Prof. Müsgens comments on the implications of an embargo on Russian oil on the German market.
The article can be found here or in the MDR portal
Can Germany stop buying Russian coal?
In an interview with the Zeit newspaper, Prof. Müsgens discusses the implications of the economic sanctions imposed to Russia on the coal prices and its effects for Germany.
You can access the full article here or in the Zeit webpage.
Workshop on Data, Fundamental und Stochastic Analysis – Research meets Energy Industry
The Chair of Energy Economics at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg and the Institute of Operations Research at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology are organising a workshop on the topics of fundamental and stochastic analyses of energy systems, data quality and hybrid forecasts on energy markets. For this, we explicitly aim on an exchange between industry and research.
The workshop will take place online on 13 May 2022.
Participation is free of charge. WHowever, we ask for registration by 04.05.22 at: thomas.moebius(at)b-tu.de. Further information can be found at pro-ko-mo.de.
The workshop is organised by the project "ProKoMo - Better price forecasts in the energy sector by combining fundamental and stochastic models" funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate within the framework of the Research Network Energy System Analysis.
Prof. Müsgens discusses the implications of the German dependency on Russian fuels in an interview for Märkische Allgemeine (MAZ)
In an interview for Märkische Allgemeine (MAZ) Prof. Müsgens discusses the dependency of Germany and Europe on Russian gas and oil, the future of lignite and the possibilities of saving energy.
In his opinion, regarding the expansion of sanctions against Russia, the West should focus on the issue of oil, since Russian revenues from oil exports are three times as high as those from gas exports. Also, Germany would more easily cope with a supply stop of Russian oil than a stop on gas supply.
A long version of the interview is available here, a short version here.
Doctoral Colloquium Dr. Sebastian Kreuz

The chair of Energy economics is pleased to inform that on the 21.02.2022 Dr. Sebastian Kreuz succesfully defended his Doctoral dissertation on “Five Studies on Recent Topics in Energy Economics”. We wish him a fruitful career and all the luck in future professional endeavors.
Prof. Müsgens comments on the implications of the Ukrainian war in the German energy system
In an interview with rbb, Prof. Müsgens discusses the implications of the Ukrainian war for the German electricity system. Due to the high dependancy of Germany on Russian gas imports problems from increased prices to system security. Greater presures will be met in the short-term, and Germany needs to adress solutions and alternatives to face next winter.
See the full video on our YouTube channel and also on the rbb website.
Earlier coal phase-out?
In an interview for the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (Die Zeit newspaper), Prof. Felix Muesgens explains how an earlier coal phase-out is possible. He talks about the market conditions and political requirements necessary for this.
You can find the article here
Earlier coal phase-out possible under conditions
In an interview with ntv, Prof. Felix Müsgens comments on Germany's coal phase-out policy and its feasibility, taking into account market flexibility options and plans to expand renewables.
You can read the full article here
Prof. Müsgens gives his opinion on the extreme rise of gas prices to rbb
The rbb reports on the newly converted gas fired power plant in Cottbus and the effects of high gas prices on electricity prices. In the video, Prof. Müsgens explains why gas prices have gone so high up and the expectetions in the short and long term.
You can watch the video on our YouTube channel and also on the rbb website.
A new paper from Dr. Dragana Nikodinoska, Mathias Käso and Prof. Felix Müsgens on day-ahead PV and Wind forecasts has been published in the Applied Energy Journal

Some highlights from the publication “Solar and wind power generation forecasts using elastic net in time-varying forecast combinations” include:
- The used methodology (dynamic elastic net) combined with advanced, professional forecasts yields low errors (benchmarked extensively against the literature)
- Dynamic data preprocessing is an important step deserving more attention (and transparency)
- Forecast quality increased greatly over time
- New research should analyze other regions and systems
You can find the article here
Thousands of households without electricity
rbb reports on the power blackout that left tens of thousands of households in Oberspreewald Lausitz and Spree-Neiße without electricity for more than 24 hours. In the video, Prof. Müsgens comments on questions of the security of the electricity system and the trade-off between system costs and reliability.
You can watch the video on our YouTube channel and also on the rbb website.
Taimyra Batz and Prof. Felix Müsgens have published an article in the Journal Energy Policy about the evaluation of the German solar auction program.

In this study, the authors present an algorithm to overcome data limitations regarding the publication of individual bid information by combining four publicly available databases. The algorithm is applied to the German solar auction programme allowing the evaluation of auctions using quantitative methods. They calculate realisation rates and—using correlation and regression analysis—explore the impact of PV module prices, competition, and project and developer characteristics on project realisation and bid values. The results confirm that the German auctions were effective. The authors also found that project realisation took, on average, 1.5 years (with 28% of projects finished late and incurring a financial penalty), nearly half of projects changed location before completion (again, incurring a financial penalty) and small and inexperienced developers could successfully participate in auctions.
You can find the article here
Prof. Müsgens presents in the lecture series "Knowledge for Society" on 23rd of November
Prof. Felix Müsgens will hold a presentation about the energy transition and its effects on the Lausitz area at the event organized by the Technical University of Berlin. The presentation will take a place online on 23th of November from 17:30 to 19:00. You can access the session then via this Link and here you can find the complete program.
Prof. Müsgens appears on rbb discussing the future of coal power plants in the Lausitz region
Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcasting(rbb) has invited Prof. Felix Müsgens to speak in their reportage covering the future of coal energy in the region of Lausitz east of Germany. Prof. Müsgens explains his view in the video that coal powers plants are expected to retire even before the stated political deadlines, due to economic factors and market conditions. Here you can access the video on the chair's youtube channel and also on rbb's website.
Prof. Müsgens speaks with Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung about tenant electricity arrangement for sustainable housing
Prof. Felix Müsguns was interviewed by Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung in their article covering sustainable living. In particular, he explained tenant electricity arrangements and their advantages and how tenants can be engaged in the energy transition. Here you can access the complete article.
Our researcher Thi Ngoc Nguyen wins best graduate prize
We are glad to announce that our research assistant and Ph.D. candidate Thi Ngoc Nguyen has won Artur-Woll prize. Ms. Nguyen was awarded as the best master’s degree graduate at the Faculty of Economic Disciplines at Siegen University for the year 2020/2021. This comes as an acknowledgment of her outstanding performance among her peers in exams as well as in her thesis. Artur-Woll prize was first introduced in 1994 to recognize top graduates in the field of economics at Siegen University. We wish Ms. Nguyen further success in her engagement at our chair.
Kick-Off for TransHyDE project
On July 08, 2021, a digital kick-off meeting for TransHyDE project was held between all participating institutions, companies and stakeholders. TransHyDE is one of three hydrogen lead projects that are a central contribution of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to the implementation of the National Hydrogen Strategy. These projects represent the largest funding initiative ever undertaken by the Federal Ministry of Research on the subject of the energy transition. They provide a decisive input for Germany's entry into the hydrogen economy.
TransHyDE will perform and assess system analysis of transport solutions for green hydrogen for Europe in the global scale. The department of Energy Economics at BTU, represented by Prof. Felix Müsgens will contribute to the project at many levels and mainly by analyzing the potentials and costs of H2 imports at the EU border.
You can read more about the Hydrogen Projects on the Federal Ministry of Education and Research website here
Structural change in the energy industry in Lusatia
On June 30, 2021, Prof. Felix Müsgens discussed the new opportunities arising from the energy transition and structural change in the Lausatia region in a presentation for jalta.consultants e.V.
The energy transition aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the process, the energy system is being changed from the ground up. Generation from centralized large-scale power plants using fossil fuels is being replaced by decentralized plants that produce electricity depending on the weather. Lusatia, with its focus on electricity generation, is particularly affected by this development. In this context, the presentation discusses the new academic and economic opportunities for students and entrepreneurs.
You can access the presentation here
Potsdam Science Days #PTDW
In the context of the the Potsdam Science Days (3-9 May), the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg has been present with several contributions, including Prof. Müsgens presentation on the energy transition in Germany and its effects in Europe.
Prof. Müsgens and Prof. Antweiler have published an academic paper “On the long-term merit order effect of renewable energies” in the journal Energy Economics.
Using a stylized electricity market model, the authors analyze market equilibria under different levels of renwable energy. In the short-term the merit order effect is unambiguously negative: adding RES lowers prices. However, in the long-term, the merit order effect is zero – assuming base load remains in the system and competition is perfect.
The paper was mainly written while Prof. Müsgens was visiting professor at UBC Sauder School of Business, hosted by his co-author Werner Werner Antweiler.
you can find the paper here.
Is the coal phase-out coming sooner than expected?
The news outlet RBB reports on LEAG's decision to adjust its plans for the coal phase-out in Cottbus. The company plans to produce even less coal than expected, which could lead to an earlier exit. Prof. Müsgens comments on this decision and talks about the difficulties for coal-fired power plants to remain profitable at current and projected energy prices.
You can access the news hier.
Iegor Riepin and Prof. Felix Müsgens have published a research article on "Seasonal Flexibility in the European Natural Gas Market" in The Energy Journal

The authors focus on seasonal demand swings in the European natural gas market. They quantify the role of different flexibility options (domestic production, gas storage, and pipeline and LNG imports) that are used to cover European demand fluctuations. This work contributes to the existing literature on seasonal flexibility by addressing the problem with a mathematical gas market optimization model. The paper provides valuable empirical insights into the decline of gas production in northwestern Europe. Furthermore, the authors propose a new metric to quantify the importance of supply sources for seasonal flexibility provision.
You can find the article here: The Energy Journal, Vol. 43, No. 1. 2022. An executive summary is available on this link. The applied GAMS code and associated input data are available in a public GitHub repository.
Why is Germany’s energy transition so expensive?
This is the question Thorsten Engelhorn and Prof. Müsgens answer in their latest paper "Why is Germany’s energy transition so expensive? Quantifying the costs of wind-energy decentralization" published in Resource and Energy Economics.
Some of their conclusions include:
- Variations in (annual average) wind speeds are high even within countries.
- One argument in favor of building a strong transmission grid for electricity: it allows using the best wind sites.
- In the period from 2000 to 2015, the same annual amount of electricity from wind energy in Germany could have been produced at lower costs for turbines (saving up to 30%), lower land use (saving also up to 30%) and significantly less installed turbines (up to 40% less).
You can read the full paper here (Free of charge for the next 50 days)
Prof. Felix Müsgens is one of 21 renowned scientists appointed by 50Hertz to its Scientific Advisory & Project Board (SAPB)
The "Scientific Advisory & Project Board" was established to provide 50Hertz with innovative solutions for a greenhouse gas-neutral future in an interdisciplinary manner and work on them in concrete research and development projects.
The boeard has started to work and discuss the topics of energy scenarios and system security during their workshops. The members of the board hope to dwelve into these topics further in the coming months, provide expertise and recommendations for 50Hertz’s different specialist departments through joint interdisciplinary research and development projects.
Follow this Link to read 50Hertz announcemen and this Link to access SAPB's website.
Outstanding research outreach
The research paper ‘Offshore wind competitiveness in mature markets without subsidy’ recently published by the Chair of Energy Economics in collaboration with international colleagues in Nature Energy received an outstanding public attention. The findings discussed in the paper were mentioned by more than 115 international news outlets, as well as by 383 tweets from 317 users, with an upper bound of 1,166,650 followers.
We are very happy to know that the paper ranks as one of the highest-scoring outputs from the Nature Energy journal (#2 of 1,038); as well as that such public attention scores in 99th percentile of all research outputs of the same age. ⚡