Zwischen 2002 und 2007 verabschiedete die Bundesregierung die Nationale Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie und das Integrierte Energie- und Klimaprogramm. Beide Programme enthalten klare energie- und klimapolitische Zielsetzungen: So sollen die Treibhausgasemissionen bis zum Jahr 2020 um 40% gesenkt...

Between 2002 and 2007, Germany introduced its National Strategy for Sustainable Development and its Integrated Climate Protection Program, which both defined clear energy and climate-related objectives, setting an emissions reduction trajectory of 40% below the 1990 level by 2020. This spurred...

Executive Summary The German government aims to reduce primary energy demand by 80% until 2050 and heating demand by 20% until 2020. Besides the need for additional efforts to achieve these targets, Germany has already implemented a set of policies and programmes to increase investments in...

With increasing variability of demand and supply, transmission system operators (TSOs) across Europe adapt their internal processes and operational approaches. These processes comprise different interfaces with other market participants (e.g. via balancing markets, reserve procurement or NTC...

Long‐term energy contracts have featured prominently in many decisions of the European Commission to support the opening of the electricity markets. Contracts were seen to foreclose the market hence the Commission comprehensively unwound pre‐existing long‐term contracts and formulated...

Strategic reserves are in principle well suited to address both generation adequacy and system security in power markets. Depending on the power system and on the network topology, a strategic reserve has to be designed to fulfill both objectives. For the design of a strategic reserve (SR) in...

The EU European Trading Scheme (EU ETS) started operating in 2005 and was established with the EU Climate Package of 2008 as a permanent mechanism for Europe. Now in its second phase, policymakers are evaluating its success to date and considering next steps for its evolution. With the ultimate...

Decarbonization goals of the European Commission foresee different future scenarios for the European power market of which all are exceeding 60% renewables in the power system.3 High shares of intermittent renewable sources require significant changes to the physical system and impact the...

The expansion of renewable generation and closer integration of European power markets requires new tools and procedures for system operation. The US experience with nodal pricing offers options to tackle the emerging challenges, and thus may facilitate further integration of intermittent...

Using generating and demand resources across national borders brings synergies and improves supply adequacy in Europe as a whole. However, national capacity remuneration mechanisms (CRMs) may pose barriers for the participation of energy resources across borders. This ultimately challenges the...