Ueber das Fuer und Wider einer Foerderung Erneuerbarer Energien mittels spezifischer Foerderinstrumente wie dem EEG sowie ueber die bestmoegliche Ausgestaltung dieser Instrumente sind in den letzten Jahren viele sowohl praxisorientierte als auch wissenschaftliche Debatten gefuehrt worden. Dabei...

Investments in power generation assets are risky due to high construction costs and long asset lifetimes. Technology diversification in generation portfolios represents one option to reduce long-term investment risks for risk-averse decision makers. In this article, we analyze the impact of...

Germany’s nuclear phase out and an increasing share of fluctuating RES production amplifies the North-South congestion problem in the German electricity grid. But congestion management becomes a serious issue not only in the German but in the whole European electricity system as German...

This paper explores the economic implications of different contract durations in markets for on-line (primary and secondary) reserve capacity in Germany with the crucial feature of separate markets for spot energy and reserve capacity provision. The analysis is based on an equilibrium model...

In the context of yardstick regulation with long-lived assets, the influence of investment cycles and thereof resulting heterogeneous capital structures on the ability to recover capital is quite important. Investment decisions are based on whole investment cycles of the infrastructure. It is...

The electricity generation mix of many European countries is strongly dominated by fossil fuelled power plants. Given that CO2-emissions are responsible for a major part of the anthropogenic greenhouse effect, emission trading has been introduced in the EU in 2005. Under the European emissions...

Small decentralized power generation units (DG) are politically promoted because of their potential to reduce GHG-emissions and the existing dependency on fossil fuels. A long term goal of this promotion should be the creation of a level playing field for DG and conventional power generation....