Expertise for Designing Auctions for the Promotion of Renewable Energies

Cooperation and Funding: Bundesverband der Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft (BDEW)

With the fundamental reform of the Renewable Energy Act in 2014 the promotion of renewable energies in Germany is changed. In the future the price which will be paid for electrical power from renewable energy sources is determined by an auction system. After a pilot phase, restricted to the generation of electrical power of ground-mounted pv-systems, this applies to all newly installed renewable capacities starting from 2017. In this context the Chair of Energy Economics of the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, in cooperation with the r2b energy consulting GmbH, continued the successful work with the “Bundesverband der Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft” (BDEW) of the year 2014. This resulted in a further expertise, which served as basis for the BDEW recommendations for action. The expertise was focused on the development of an optimal design of technology specific auctions with respect to efficiency and effectivity, preserving simultaneously the diversity of market players. The detailed discussion was covering a variety of designing characteristics, for example the remuneration of electricity or capacity, the usage of a moving or a fixed market premium or the choice of the price rule.