The goal of the Sustainable Energy Act is protecting the climate through the means of supporting the sustainable developement of longterm energysupplies by reducing CO2 output and preserving fossile fuels. The target number is to increase the share of renewable energy by 40-45% ,by 2025 and 55-60% by 2035.At the same time the promotion of technology and innovation and by this means secure global competitiveness and expand employment .
Initial Situation
- finite nature and instability of fossil fuel supply
- risk of nuclear power (e.g. Fukushima) and complexity of problems with atomic waste storage
- energy crisis and the German dependency on oil and gas imports from Russia or the middle east
- the economic base in rural agricultural regions is under pressure.
- overproduction in agricultural products
Objectives
- reducing CO2 output
- increasing self-sufficiency
- developing a leading position in renewable energy-related technologies
- giving rural regions new economic perspective in not just feeding the urban population, but supplying them which energy as well.
Assets
- unused land
- clear and widespread public opinion for making the “Energiewende” an the will of spreading the cost over all citizens.
- already successful enterprises in energy-related technology
- strong research in universities
- free market for electricity supply
- no state controlled big energy suppliers to lose their position
- suitable landscapes and climate conditions for different technologies, sun in the south and east, wind mainly in the north, biomass everywhere.
Strategy
- as a part of a general strategy consisting of several laws and regulations from making cars more fuel efficient to shutting down nuclear power plants the EEG uses an approach which is not based on the idea of regulating but giving maximum priority in grid access to renewable energy.
- fixed feed in tariffs are guaranteed for fixed periods of several years.
- The height of the tariffs for the different types of energy generation were calculated in away making investment lucrative.
- The height of the tariff is falling constantly and is predictable, giving the industry a motivation to work constantly on cutting costs, making the technology and the productions more efficient.
- Stimulating a massive initial demand which should start the mechanism “cost-cutting by scale”
- the cost for introducing a technology which was not competitive in the beginning will be spread over more than ten years and paid by the costumers.
Actions
- first Law / regulations in 1991
- 6 modifications to date adjusting the law to the technological development.
- continuously adjusting the feed in tariff
- changing other regulations like building regulations in a way that the market-approach of the EEG could develop dynamically.
Effects
- massive growth of the share of renewable energy in the electricity mix
- growing number of employees working in renewable energy industries. From 278.000 in 2008 up to estimated 400.000 in 2020.
- new economic perspectives for appropriate rural regions and farmers as compensation for shrinking subsidies for farmers
- first: development of strong national and international players in the field of PV based on a lot of venture capital. Later, especially the firms producing PV-cells lost in competition with Asian semiconductor firms .
- citizen run energy cooperatives are popping up
