[Lecture Notes in Energy] Inside the Energiewende Volume 75 (Twists and Turns on Germany’s Soft Energy Path) ||

This book tells the story of one nation’s sustained efforts to steer its economy toward low carbon technologies and to define national and global pathways for mitigating climate change. Drawing on a long career in Germany’s energy sector, and on subsequent academic research, the book reveals the weaknesses of and critical trade-offs in Germany’s bold energy transition plan - the Energiewende - and explores their causes. Its goal is to provide insights to help policymakers and energy managers keep some of the problems that have plagued the Energiewende at bay, and to instead explore avenues that are more likely to succeed. While such insights cannot solve the problem of socio-technical change overnight, they do reveal alternative transition pathways that keep climate goals clearly in sight, even if they are pursued with a bit less exuberance and a bit more humility. The book is addressed to academic, professional, and political readers alike. Preface Acknowledgements Contents About the Author Abbreviations Measurement Units Capacity; Energy Flow; Heat Flow Energy; Work; Heat Temperature Length/Surfaces/Volumes Weight Amount of Greenhouse Gases Currency/Costs Prices/Specific Costs Conversion Factors List of Figures List of Tables 1 Introduction 1.1 Regarding the Story I Intend to Tell 1.2 Setting the Context for Germany’s Energy Transition Experiment 1.3 Energy Transition Challenges 1.4 Study Objectives and Sources of Inspiration 1.5 Views on Large Socio-Technical Systems 1.6 Social and Technological Determinism in the Energiewende Context 1.7 Measuring the Success of Germany’s Energiewende 1.8 Steering Change and the Limits of “Laissez-Faire” Economics 1.9 Book Overview References 2 The Energiewende Framework 2.1 The Energiewende Framework: Goals, Rules, and Enforcement 2.2 The Convoluted Energiewende Toolbox 2.2.1 Deregulating Germany’s Energy Markets 2.2.2 Ramping up Renewable Energy Technologies and Reinventing the Energy System 2.2.3 Germany’s Nuclear Twist 2.2.4 Mitigating Climate Change 2.2.5 Incentivizing Energy Efficiency (KWKG) References 3 The Energiewende Arena 3.1 Theoretical Sources and Practical Knowledge 3.2 Actors, Relationships, Preferences, Drivers of Change 3.2.1 Actors 3.2.2 Rules, Biophysical Conditions, Attributes of the Community References 4 How the Energiewende Came to Be 4.1 Free Markets and Societal Well-Being 4.2 The Evolution Towards a Renewable Energy System 4.3 Phase I: Birth of a Vision, 1970–1989 4.4 Phase II: Institutionalization of the Vision of a Carbon-Free Future, 1990–2019 4.4.1 Early Actions—Institutionalization in the First Decade: 1990–1999 4.4.2 Implementation—Institutionalization in the Second Decade: 2000–2009 4.4.3 Radical Change—Institutionalization in the Third Decade: 2010–2019 4.5 Phase III: Proof of Concept 4.6 Theories of Change and the Phases of Germany’s Energiewende References 5 Transition Governance and Barriers to Transition 5.1 The New System’s Paradox: Falling Prices and Increasing Power Bills 5.2 The End for Germany’s Peaceful Atom 5.3 Electricity Storage: The Missing Technological Breakthrough 5.4 Negative Electricity Prices 5.5 Developing Germany’s Electricity Highways 5.6 Energy Consumption and Its Forgotten Components 5.7 Gaming the System: The Legal Free-Ride 5.8 Cap-and-Trade: A Wonder-Tool for Carbon Mitigation? 5.8.1 The First Emission Trading Period: 2005–2007 (ETPI) 5.8.2 The Second Emission Trading Period: 2008–2012 (ETPII) 5.8.3 The Third Emission Trading Period: 2013–2020 (ETPIII) 5.9 Minimizing Utilities: A Branch on the Brink of Dissolution 5.10 Is the Energiewende on Track? 5.11 Is Germany Leading the Way Toward Low-Carbon Technologies? 5.12 The Trouble with Grand Designs and Undesired Outcomes References 6 Lessons from Germany’s Energy Experiment 6.1 Policy and Complexity in Germany’s Energiewende Arena 6.2 Patterns of Error 6.2.1 Best Intentions, Technical Ignorance, and Rapid Change 6.2.2 Lack of Coherence and Inappropriate Selection of Means 6.2.3 Distorted Information Policy and Manufacturing Broad Societal Consent 6.2.4 The Seduction of Power, the Desire to Maintain Influence 6.3 So What Can We Do? 6.4 Epilogue References Appendix A Interview Questions Appendix B Selected Answers to the Different Categories of Questions Category 1. Quo vadis, Germany? Category 2. Patterns and Rules Category 3. Technology Category 4. Strengths and Weaknesses Category 5. Outcomes Category 6. Risks/Opportunities Category 7. Cost Distribution Category 8. Required Changes Appendix C The Électricité de France (EDF)—Renault Controversy and Its Similarity to Germany’s Energiewende Appendix D EEG Average Payments in Euro Cents per Kilowatt-Hour for the Generation of Power Using Renewable Energy Sources References Index