In this paper we develop an applied general equilibrium framework for assessing socio-economic impacts of alternative renewable energy policies and apply it to the bioenergy sector. The policy scenarios are assessed in a comparative static analysis. The numerical simulation results allow us to...

Exclusion zones, like protected areas or setback distances, are the most common policy instrument to mitigate environmental impacts of human land-use, including the deployment of renewable energy sources. While exclusion zones may provide environmental benefits, they may also bring about...

The European Union (EU) has set targets for gradually reducing greenhouse gas emissions through 2050. One of the instruments involved is the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive, which specifies a 20 per cent renewable energy target for the EU by 2020. This paper reviews tensions and institutional...

Increasing concerns about energy security and climate change mitigation have led to significant policy support for biofuels, particularly for cellulosic biofuels. This paper examines the short- and long-run effects of Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) on the mix of agricultural and forest biomass,...

Renewable energy production is an alternative to traditional energy resources that are being depleted, these new resources will gradually replace the exhausting energies by combining the three main features of the present century, so that sustainable development, energy security and...

This article demonstrates that the large feed-in tariffs currently guaranteed for solar electricity in Germany constitute a subsidization regime that, if extended to 2020, threatens to reach a level comparable to that of German hard coal production, a notoriously outstanding example of misguided...

This paper discusses aspects related to the green technology sector in Germany. In a first step institutional reforms enabling diffusion of green technologies are analysed. Cost arguments are also taken into account. In a second step a theoretical model developed by Tanguay et al. (2004) is...

The allure of an environmentally benign, abundant, and cost-effective energy source has led an increasing number of industrialized countries to back public financing of renewable energies. Germany's experience with renewable energy promotion is often cited as a model to be replicated elsewhere,...

Rising energy prices for fossil fuels, the unreliable supply of energy imports during the last winters and - concerning the 12 new members states (NMS) - the demand by the European Union (EU) for developing National Renewable Energy Action Plans have stimulated the national discussion and...

Ziel dieses Papers ist es, die derzeitige Diskussion bzgl. des sog. Merit-Order Effektes der erneuerbaren Energien auf den Strompreis kritisch zu beleuchten. Veröffentlichungen, welche diesen Effekt quantifizieren, weisen für die Jahre 2005 und 2006 einen Großhandels-Strompreis senkenden...