Inside the Energiewende: Twists and Turns on Germany’s Soft Energy Path (Lecture Notes in Energy, 75)

Preface
Acknowledgements
Contents
About the Author
Abbreviations
Measurement Units
	Capacity; Energy Flow; Heat Flow
	Energy; Work; Heat
	Temperature
	Length/Surfaces/Volumes
	Weight
	Amount of Greenhouse Gases
	Currency/Costs
	Prices/Specific Costs
	Conversion Factors
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction
	1.1 Regarding the Story I Intend to Tell
	1.2 Setting the Context for Germany’s Energy Transition Experiment
	1.3 Energy Transition Challenges
	1.4 Study Objectives and Sources of Inspiration
	1.5 Views on Large Socio-Technical Systems
	1.6 Social and Technological Determinism in the Energiewende Context
	1.7 Measuring the Success of Germany’s Energiewende
	1.8 Steering Change and the Limits of “Laissez-Faire” Economics
	1.9 Book Overview
	References
2 The Energiewende Framework
	2.1 The Energiewende Framework: Goals, Rules, and Enforcement
	2.2 The Convoluted Energiewende Toolbox
		2.2.1 Deregulating Germany’s Energy Markets
		2.2.2 Ramping up Renewable Energy Technologies and Reinventing the Energy System
		2.2.3 Germany’s Nuclear Twist
		2.2.4 Mitigating Climate Change
		2.2.5 Incentivizing Energy Efficiency (KWKG)
	References
3 The Energiewende Arena
	3.1 Theoretical Sources and Practical Knowledge
	3.2 Actors, Relationships, Preferences, Drivers of Change
		3.2.1 Actors
		3.2.2 Rules, Biophysical Conditions, Attributes of the Community
	References
4 How the Energiewende Came to Be
	4.1 Free Markets and Societal Well-Being
	4.2 The Evolution Towards a Renewable Energy System
	4.3 Phase I: Birth of a Vision, 1970–1989
	4.4 Phase II: Institutionalization of the Vision of a Carbon-Free Future, 1990–2019
		4.4.1 Early Actions—Institutionalization in the First Decade: 1990–1999
		4.4.2 Implementation—Institutionalization in the Second Decade: 2000–2009
		4.4.3 Radical Change—Institutionalization in the Third Decade: 2010–2019
	4.5 Phase III: Proof of Concept
	4.6 Theories of Change and the Phases of Germany’s Energiewende
	References
5 Transition Governance and Barriers to Transition
	5.1 The New System’s Paradox: Falling Prices and Increasing Power Bills
	5.2 The End for Germany’s Peaceful Atom
	5.3 Electricity Storage: The Missing Technological Breakthrough
	5.4 Negative Electricity Prices
	5.5 Developing Germany’s Electricity Highways
	5.6 Energy Consumption and Its Forgotten Components
	5.7 Gaming the System: The Legal Free-Ride
	5.8 Cap-and-Trade: A Wonder-Tool for Carbon Mitigation?
		5.8.1 The First Emission Trading Period: 2005–2007 (ETPI)
		5.8.2 The Second Emission Trading Period: 2008–2012 (ETPII)
		5.8.3 The Third Emission Trading Period: 2013–2020 (ETPIII)
	5.9 Minimizing Utilities: A Branch on the Brink of Dissolution
	5.10 Is the Energiewende on Track?
	5.11 Is Germany Leading the Way Toward Low-Carbon Technologies?
	5.12 The Trouble with Grand Designs and Undesired Outcomes
	References
6 Lessons from Germany’s Energy Experiment
	6.1 Policy and Complexity in Germany’s Energiewende Arena
	6.2 Patterns of Error
		6.2.1 Best Intentions, Technical Ignorance, and Rapid Change
		6.2.2 Lack of Coherence and Inappropriate Selection of Means
		6.2.3 Distorted Information Policy and Manufacturing Broad Societal Consent
		6.2.4 The Seduction of Power, the Desire to Maintain Influence
	6.3 So What Can We Do?
	6.4 Epilogue
	References
Appendix A Interview Questions
Appendix B Selected Answers to the Different Categories of Questions
Category 1. Quo vadis, Germany?
Category 2. Patterns and Rules
Category 3. Technology
Category 4. Strengths and Weaknesses
Category 5. Outcomes
Category 6. Risks/Opportunities
Category 7. Cost Distribution
Category 8. Required Changes
Appendix C The Électricité de France (EDF)—Renault Controversy and Its Similarity to Germany’s Energiewende
Appendix D EEG Average Payments in Euro Cents per Kilowatt-Hour for the Generation of Power Using Renewable Energy Sources
References
Index