Social planners in most western countries will be facing two long-lasting challenges in the next years: energy transition and fiscal consolidation. One problem is that governments might consider that implementing an energy transition could get i n the way of achieving a fiscal consolidation. If...

In September 2010 the German government initiated a plan to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energies, with nuclear power as a bridging fuel. Following the Fukushima nuclear disaster, however, the government decided to immediately shut down almost half of Germany's reactors and phase out the...

This paper identifies the risks for the functionality and reliability of the grid that arise from the integration of the transport and supply chain. The electrification of transport is a promising option for the transition to a low carbon energy and transport system. But on the short term, the...

This paper seeks to provide insights into the links between the local and national energy policy. Leicester City Council has sought to take a leadership role on implementing innovative energy policies within their city. consequently, this paper investigates the impact of national and local...

The transformation of the energy industry towards a more sustainable production of electricity increases the importance of distributed generation from renewable sources such as solar photovoltaic (PV). German utilities have largely failed to benefit from this development and lost 97% of the...

The demographic structure of a country influences economic activity. The "second dividend" modifies growth. Accordingly, in general equilibrium, the second dividend and the demographic structure are interrelated. This paper aims at assessing empirically the "second dividend" in a dynamic,...

A rising share of renewables in the energy mix push es up the average price of energy - and so does a carbon tax. However the former bolsters the accumulation of capital whereas the latter, if fully recycled, does not. Thus, in general equilibrium, the effects on growth and intertemporal welfare...

Is a lack of domestic energy resources necessarily a limiting factor to growth, as suggested for example by the work of Robert C. Allen? We examine the case of Denmark - a country which historically had next to no domestic energy resources - for which we present new historical energy accounts...

Modern fuels are an important enabler of social and economic development. Still, over 2 billion people rely on traditional biomass for their daily energy needs. To overcome the negative effects of traditional energy on human health and the environment and to enhance the livelihood conditions of...

Facing global climate change and scarce petroleum supplies, the world must switch to sustainable energy systems. While historical transitions between major energy sources have occurred, most of these shifts lasted over a century or longer and were stimulated by resource scarcity, high labor...