Energy Transition the German Energiewende

Energy Transition The German Energiewende By Craig Morris, Martin Pehnt An initiative of the Heinrich Böll Foundation Released on 28 November 2012 Revised January 2014 www.energytransition.de Imprint Authors: Craig Morris Martin Pehnt Editors: Dorothee Landgrebe Arne Jungjohann Rebecca Bertram Design: Lucid. Berlin Released on 28 November 2012 Revised January 2014 Heinrich Böll Stiftung Schumannstr. 8 10117 Berlin Germany Phone: +49 – (0)30 – 285 34 – 0 Fax: +49 – (0)30 – 285 34 – 109 Email: [email protected] You can also contact one of our 29 offices worldwide working all on energy and climate issues About us The Heinrich Böll Foundation is a catalyst for green visions and projects, a think tank for policy reform, and an international network. The primary objectives guiding our work are establishing democracy and human rights, fighting against environmental degradation, safe- guarding everyone’s rights of social participation, supporting non-violent conflict resolution and defending the rights of individuals. We work with 160 project partners in over 60 countries and currently maintain offices in 29 countries. Authors Craig Morris – Born in the United States, Morris has been living in Germany since 1992 and working in the renewables sector since 2001. In 2002, he founded Petite Planète, a transla- tion and documentation agency focusing on renewables. He is the author of two books in German and English, has served as editor of several energy magazines, and currently writes daily at Renewables International. Martin Pehnt – A trained physicist, Pehnt is scientific director of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (ifeu), where he heads the Energy Department. He previously worked at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (USA) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). He now serves as an advisor many national and international organisations, including German federal ministries, the Environmental Protection Agency, environmental NGOs, utilities, the World Bank, IRENA and the GIZ. Pehnt teaches at various universities, including the University of Kassel and the University of Freiburg. Editors Arne Jungjohann – is the Director of the Environment Program at the Heinrich Böll Founda- tion’s Washington office. He previously served as a senior advisor for the German Green Party in the German Parliament on energy and climate legislation. He holds a master in political science from the Free University in Berlin. Dorothee Landgrebe – is the Head of Department for Environmental Policy and Sustain- ability at the headquarters of the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Her main focus is domestic and European energy, nuclear and climate protection policies along with the ecological conver- sion of the economy (“Greening the Economy”). She is a lawyer by training. Rebecca Bertram – is the Director of the Environment and Global Dialogue Program at the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Washington office. Her work focusses on building a global dialogue on German and European energy and climate policy. Rebecca holds a Masters degree in International Affairs and Economics from the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). cc energytransition.de About the project Germany has drawn a lot of international attention for its aim to switch to a renewable energy economy and leave nuclear and fossil energy behind. A lot of the international reporting about the German Energy Transition, or Energiewende, has, however, been misleading – for instance, when it comes to the role of coal power, energy price trends, and carbon emissions. This website aims to explain what the German Energy Transition is, how it works, and what challenges lay ahead. It is intended to provide facts and explain the politics and policies to an international audience. The website highlights the effects of the Energiewende on the German economy, environment and society and addresses the most important questions. All the texts and graphs are under Creative Commons License (CC BY SA) with the aim to make this information available to the public. We encourage you to use the materials in your work. In return, we would appreciate it if you would tell us what you have used. We welcome your feedback and encourage you to comment and discuss the German Ener- giewende with us. This project is accompanied by a blog. A team of international energy experts will write on how the German energy transition develops and how it relates to other countries. cc energytransition.de Content 1 Why the Energiewende .........................................1 4 History of the Energiewende .............................. 49 A – Fighting climate change ........................................2 A – Origin of the term “Energiewende” .....................52 B – Reducing energy imports .......................................4 B – Wyhl – the nuclear plant that never was .............52 C – Stimulating technology innovation and C – The oil crisis .........................................................53 the green economy .................................................4 D – Chernobyl – change comes slowly .......................54 D – Reducing and eliminating the risks E – Full-cost compensation for photovoltaics ...........55 of nuclear power .....................................................6 F – EU court says feed-in tariffs are “not state aid” ..56 E – Energy security .......................................................7 G – Renewable Energy Act (EEG)................................56 F – Strengthening local economies and providing social justice ..........................................8 5 International perspectives ..................................57 A – Renewables in South Africa: The need for 2 Technology as a key issue ...................................10 a developmental case ...........................................58 A – Efficiency ............................................................... 11 B – There’s more renewables in the Philippines .......59 B – Less electricity from coal .....................................14 C – Germany supports regional renewables – C – Wind power ...........................................................16 Will the Czech Republic get onboard? ................ 60 D – Biomass .................................................................18 D – Jordan seeks a “solar-torch” from Germany ........61 E – Photovoltaics ........................................................19 E – Transatlantic Take-Away: Political Will F – Other renewables ................................................. 21 is more important than Pure Resources ..............63 G – Grid and power storage ........................................23 F – The Energiewende – blueprint for H – Flexible power production (no more baseload) ..26 the energy transition in Japan? ............................65 I – Energy by the people ............................................28 G – India’s Opportunity to Leapfrog into the Renewable Age .............................................. 66 3 Policies for clean energy .....................................32 H – China’s Sustainable Energy Development .......... 69 A – Nuclear phaseout ..................................................33 B – Renewable Energy Act with feed-in tariffs ..........34 C – Emissions trading .................................................38 D – Environmental taxation ........................................39 E – Cogeneration Act ................................................. 40 F – Renewable Energy Heating Act and Market Incentive Program (MAP) .........................42 G – Act on Accelerating Grid Expansion ....................43 H – Energy-Conservation Ordinance (EnEV) and financial support schemes .................................. 44 I – Ecodesign/ErP Directive ...................................... 46 J – Efficiency Fund and Climate Initiative .................47 K – Discussion about energy market reform in 2014 .. 48 cc energytransition.de Content 6 Questions & Answers .......................................... 71 A – Is the energy transition affordable? .....................72 B – How will Germany ensure that the poor can still afford energy? .........................................74 C – When will renewables pay for themselves? ........74 D – Is the energy payback from wind and solar ever positive? ..............................................75 E – Why aren’t low-carbon goals enough in themselves? .........................................75 F – Will Germany import more power from abroad after the nuclear phaseout? .................................76 G – Didn’t Germany overreact to Fukushima? ...........77 H – Aren’t renewables a relatively expensive way to lower carbon emissions? .................................78 I – Won’t the nuclear phaseout increase Germany’s carbon emissions? ................................................79 J – Wouldn’t nuclear power be an inexpensive way to reduce carbon emissions? ...............................79 K – Will the lights go out? .......................................... 80 L – Will the energy transition kill jobs? .....................81 M – Do Germans support the energy transition? .......82 N – How can Germany be both a green leader and remain an industrial powerhouse? ..............83 O – How are energy-intensive companies exempted from the surcharge for renewable power?...........83 P – What role will shale gas play in the German energy transition? ........................... 84 Q – Why did carbon emissions increase in 2013? ....85

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