This paper presents a theoretical and empirical analysis of liquidity in the German intraday market for electricity. Two models that aim at explaining intraday liquidity are developed. The first model considers the fundamental merit-order and intraday adjustment needs as the drivers of liquidity...

Integrating large quantities of variable renewable electricity generation remains a political and operational challenge. One of the main obstacles in Europe to installing at least 200 GWs of power from variable renewable sources is how to deal with the insufficient network capacity and the...

Germany runs large current account surpluses. Recently the surplus has been higher than seven per cent of GDP. This has provoked many different criticisms. First, some argue that the euro is the main problem. Second, German wages and prices have been criticised for being too low. Third,...

The Federal Reserve System (Fed) was created in December 1913 when the Federal Reserve Act was signed. Since then, the Fed has become the most influential central bank in the world. This article gives an overview of the Fed’s history and its structure before evaluating the Fed’s monetary...

Future fiscal equalisation in Germany requires not only a new equalisation formula but also a fairer, more equal, broader and more transparent tax base for states and local governments. If necessary, changes to the Federal Constitution should be undertaken to achieve a more equal vertical...

The extraordinary measures taken by the ECB to combat the fi nancial crisis have led many observers to question whether the bank has put its independence at risk. The bank’s vow to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro has added a second (and potentially contradictory) goal alongside its...

The paper discusses the energy consumption and energy saving potential for a major energy-intensive product in the chemical industry-ammonia, based on technologies currently in use and possible process improvements. The paper consists of four parts. In the first part, mainly references to...

For the further development of an integrated European electricity market, congestion management mechanisms are one of the major market design issues. Against the background of increasing generation from RES and resulting congestions, an efficient management of network congestions is gaining...

Deterministic capacity planning problems in electricity systems can be solved by comparing technology specific long-term and short-term marginal costs. In an uncertain market environment, Mean-Variance Portfolio (MVP) theory provides a consistent framework to balance risk and return in power...