Achieving the objectives of the German government's 2010 Energy Concept and the accelerated phase-out of nuclear energy will require significant investment in restructuring energy supply. In particular, these include investments in facilities for the use of renewable energies in the power and...

The aim of the European Emissions Trading Scheme is to reduce environmentally harmful greenhouse gas emissions and incentivize investment in low-emission technologies. However, in recent years, a large surplus of emission allowances has accumulated, primarily as a result of an unexpected...

The heating market plays a key role in achieving the Federal Government's energy and climate policy objectives. In particular, major savings need to be made in heating residential buildings if the majority of buildings are to be climate-neutral by 2050. In light of this, DIW Berlin and ista...

To date, the European Union has been at the forefront of international climate protection. But there are now a number of other countries also pursuing a proactive energy and climate policy. They are increasingly investing in renewable energies, exploiting potential energy efficiencies in...

Various capacity mechanisms are currently being discussed in Germany and beyond with a view to increasing supply security in the power sector. One of these mechanisms includes keeping a strategic reserve which means only using specific individual power plants in emergency situations when supply...

A shift from zonal pricing to smaller zones and nodal pricing improves efficiency and security of system operation. Resulting price changes do however also shift profits and surplus between and across generation and load. As individual actorscan lose, they might oppose any reform. We explore how...

We ask under what conditions transmission contracts increase or mitigate market power. We show that the allocation process of transmission rights is crucial. In an efficiently arbitraged uniform price auction generators will only obtain contracts that mitigate their market power. However, if...

We ask under what conditions transmission contracts increase or mitigate market power. We show that the allocation process of transmission rights is crucial. In an efficiently arbitraged uniform price auction generators will only obtain contracts that mitigate their market power. However, if...

Governments willing to commit themselves to maintain carbon prices at or above a certain level face the challenge that their commitments need to be credible both for investors in low-carbon technology and for foreign governments. This article argues that governments can make such commitments by...