The decarbonisation of the energy system poses many challenges, from major investments to infrastructure redesign. Bureau of Land Management/CC BY 2.0

Headline: Energy Transitions and Public Policy

The research group "Energy Transitions and Public Policy" conducts problem-driven research about the transition to a climate-neutral energy system. The key aim is to inform policy choices, policy design and evaluation for a rapid and socially just transition with robust scientific insight.

The group conducts research on public policies for all stages of the energy transition: from innovation and diffusion of zero-carbon technologies to institutional reconfiguration and policies for phasing out fossil fuels. The researchers are interested in the interactions between different energy and climate policies and other policy aims, including market liberalisation, europeanisation, and social justice. They address policies at international, national, and regional levels.

The Energy Transitions and Public Policy group focuses on empirical, policy-driven research and draws on disciplines including transition studies, political science, and economics. The research questions are drawn from current debates, and are sometimes co-created with stakeholders, including policymakers, industry, or NGOs. The group is currently involved in several third-party funded projects and was formed around a grant from the European Research Council (ERC).

Projects

Germany plans to meet 80% of its electricity needs from renewable energy by 2030. Achieving this will require twice as much land area for solar and wind power infrastructure and it is likely that conflicts will arise in connection with this expansion of renewables. Participation in energy projects, for example through financial investments or public engagement in planning processes, is widely viewed as a way of building acceptance for the energy transition. In the project "Quo vadis Participation - evaluating participation in energy projects" (BePart), researchers quantify and analyse the effects of different community engagement methods in energy projects.

Protesters at a "Fridays for Future" demonstration in Taranto, Italy.

To decarbonise energy systems and meet the temperature targets of the Paris Agreement, ambitious policy action is crucial. But how do we know if energy transition policies are advancing the systemic change that is needed? In this project, the researchers develop and apply a transition policy evaluation framework to assess progress in the energy transition in European countries, seeking to draw context-specific policy lessons

Completed Projects

Concentrated solar thermal power uses heat from solar radiation to generate electricity. These systems use an array of reflectors to concentrate a large area of sunlight onto a small surface.

Concentrating solar power (CSP) projects in Southern Europe are capable of supplying dispatchable renewable electricity on demand both to domestic markets and to Central and Northern European countries. But various factors hinder their deployment. The MUSTEC research project proposes policy measures to overcome these obstacles.

Europe is transitioning towards a renewable energy supply. Identifying trade-offs with other political goals and developing solutions is crucial to the success of this transformation.

In the TRIPOD project, researchers investigate how all of the policies of the European Union interact and affect the prospects and costs of a transition to a renewable power system; how the other aims limit the options for renewables; and how policy conflicts can be resolved.

The Sustainable Energy Transition Laboratory will develop a new framework for modelling energy systems.

The transition to a low-carbon energy system will involve a major redesign of the energy system with a focus on renewable energy sources. The Sustainable Energy Transitions Laboratory will develop, test and make freely available a modelling framework that helps a wide range of stakeholders make the critical decisions they are now faced with.

European regions heavily dependent on coal or carbon intensive industries are facing structural change. The transformation can only succeed with the support of the population.

If Europe is to reach its 2030 and 2050 climate targets, it will need to fully decarbonise its energy and industrial sectors. This may have serious effects on the economies and social structures of affected regions, and especially those regions whose economies depend strongly on single coal- or carbon-intensive sectors. In this project, researchers are investigating how regions can be transformed without triggering social or economic decline.

Workers install a reflective parabolic trough at a solar thermal power plant in Spain.

Solar thermal power plants are a controllable source of renewable electricity. The development of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) technologies is promising, but their expansion has been overshadowed by solar photovoltaics, which are more affordable but less reliable. This project will collect and publish data relating to CSP projects worldwide with the aim of providing the research and policy community with a detailed, high-quality overview.

Team

Green hydrogen is considered a promising energy resource.

To reach climate neutrality, Europe’s industry will need large quantities of carbon-neutral hydrogen in the future. Many European countries, including Germany, are planning large investments to develop and ramp up the hydrogen industry needed for this. Within the HyPat research project, a new study by RIFS Potsdam, Fraunhofer ISI and the German Energy Agency (dena) makes five recommendations to the EU and the Member States.

Public participation is widely considered to be crucial for the success of the energy transition. In three new research projects, RIFS researchers are investigating the impacts of participatory processes, the potential of energy communities, and the application of digital visualization and communication tools in transition planning.

Both Vietnam and Malaysia have made significant strides in recent years to scale their renewable capacity, and solar has played a cardinal role in both contexts. A new policy brief by RIFS affiliate scholar Emily Burlinghaus takes stock of developments in the two countries and draws lessons for energy transitions in Southeast Asia.

Crises can accelerate structural change and spur an absolute decoupling of CO2 emissions from economic growth. Countries that have already embarked on an ambitious path towards climate action have proven themselves particularly adept in times of need.

Energy transition in Australia: The Fitzroy North community battery in Yarra is expected to provide solar power to about 200 homes.

Publics in Germany and Australia are broadly supportive of efforts to decarbonise energy systems. However, opposition to the rollout of renewables is growing. In a new study, researchers show that community participation plays a key role in building acceptance for energy transition policies. The governments of both countries are pursuing different strategies to foster public acceptance of various measures.

One of the new IASS Fellows this year is Natalie Koch. She is a professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Koch is currently researching the geopolitics of sustainability and "post-oil" futures in the Arabian Peninsula. In this interview, she discusses her research project and the extent to which the war in Ukraine may be accelerating Europe's transformation to a renewable energy supply.

Research plant in Zurich: The chemical process is powered by solar energy.

Scientists at ETH Zurich have built a plant that can produce carbon-neutral liquid fuels from sunlight and air. The next goal will be to take this technology to industrial scale and achieve competitiveness. In a paper published in the scientific journal "Nature", researchers from Zurich and Potsdam describe how this novel solar reactor functions and outline a policy framework that would provide incentives to expand the production of "solar kerosene".

Modellers and users need to collaborate more closely to make full use of the potential of models for the energy transition.

Scientists are constantly working to improve models for energy systems. Is this making the models more responsive to the actual needs of users from politics, business and civil society? IASS researchers have reached a mixed conclusion: While improvements are being made, modellers and users need to collaborate more closely to make full use of the potential of models for the energy transition.

Restrictions imposed to combat the coronavirus pandemic are complicating EU-funded research projects on the energy transition.

In EU research projects, the involvement of stakeholders, such as NGOs and businesses, plays an increasing role. During the pandemic, almost half of the planned activities have been cancelled. According to scientists, this could lead to problems in later project phases.

Germany has to buy a large part of its green hydrogen from wind- and sun-rich regions of the world.

Germany will remain dependent on energy imports for the foreseeable future. This will include green hydrogen imports from regions with abundant solar and wind energy resources. Supported by researchers from the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam, the HyPat project is conducting a global assessment of green hydrogen potentials, as called for in Germany's National Hydrogen Strategy (Nationale Wasserstoffstrategie - NWS).

Energy models and energy policy influence each other.

Scientists have been using energy models to provide policy advice for years. As a new study shows, energy models influence policymaking around the energy transition. Similarly, policymakers influence the work of modellers. Greater transparency is needed to ensure that political considerations do not set the agenda for future research or determine its findings.

A comprehensive restructuring of the energy system is necessary to achieve climate neutrality.

In order to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, the world must reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Carbon pricing – recently introduced in Germany for transportation and heating – is viewed by many governments and experts as the most important climate policy instrument. However, a new study shows that carbon pricing has been less effective as a driver of technological change than was previously anticipated.

The composition of the electricity mix varies across the European Union. Governments will need to coordinate their reform efforts to better promote energy transitions.

The European Union recently adopted more ambitious climate goals for 2030 – their implementation is now the focus of debate. What do the Member States need to consider? A new study shows how important it is that governments coordinate policy reforms to support renewable electricity. Otherwise, many investors are likely to shift their focus to technologies that will continue to be subsidized or to countries where subsidies are still available. This outcome would increase the overall costs of expanding renewable electricity generation in Europe.

Fridays for Future protest in Hamburg: There is a broad political and public consensus on the need for climate action. But opinions are divided on the precise form it should take.

Which political parties have the most ambitious climate and energy policies? The answer, according to a new study, is surprising. In Germany, France, Spain and Italy, parties across the political spectrum, from the Greens to the Liberals, show a similar level of ambition on this score. However, researchers have also identified a major impediment to the energy transition: none of the investigated parties has a convincing idea for a technology mix that would ensure grid stability despite weather-related fluctuations in wind and solar energy.

Wind turbines on the outskirts of Avignon: By 2050, Europe is to become a climate-neutral continent.

The European Union aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and is relying largely on renewable electricity to reach this goal. The implementation of this energy transition is the subject of heated debate: A continental-scale system that concentrates energy generation infrastructure in the most suitable locations would provide the most afforable solution but many citizens favour smaller, more dispersed supply networks. A new study prepared by researchers in Potsdam and Zurich shows that the implementation of such systems would not incur significant additional costs.

Onshore wind power plays a key role in the European energy transition.

Transitioning our energy supply from coal, oil and gas to wind and solar power is feasible. However, renewables require more land than conventional forms of energy generation. A new study explores the options to reduce the land requirements of a fully renewable energy supply in Europe and their possible impact on the cost of electricity.

IASS researchers examine the options for the future of the European energy transition in two online surveys.

If we are to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the European Green Deal, we must create a net-zero emissions energy system. A new set of energy modelling tools is needed to explore potential energy futures and opportunities to transform existing energy systems. Researchers from the Sustainable Energy Transition Laboratory (SENTINEL) project have launched an online survey to learn more about the requirements for energy models to support decision-making for the European energy transition. In a second survey, they are examining the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the stakeholder engagement activities of energy research projects.

Regional or local self-sufficiency with renewable electricity generated by wind and sun is possible in many places in Europe.

Europe has enough solar and wind resources to meet its electricity demand entirely from renewable sources. A new study by researchers at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam shows that many regions and municipalities could meet their electricity demand using electricity systems based exclusively on renewables. However, their development would exacerbate land use pressure around metropolitan areas and larger conurbations.

Sabine Letz

We like to think of Germany as a trailblazer in the transition to a sustainable energy system. But the energy crises unleashed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have highlighted the shortcomings in Germany’s energy policy. The truth is that when it comes to the energy transition, successive governments have dragged their heels and wasted precious time. Undaunted by this, many towns and villages have taken things into their own hands and created carbon-neutral energy and heating systems that power their communities and more.

Dr. Franziska Mey

In mid-September, the first interdisciplinary Global Tipping Point Conference was held at the University of Exeter/ UK in collaboration with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). Franziska Mey reports on the conference.

A survey by IASS researchers aims to find out more about the ongoing impact of the pandemic on stakeholder engagement in sustainability research.

The new German Government stated that it wants to “dare more progress” (“Mehr Fortschritt wagen”). But what does it mean for green tech in Germany? In short, the government wants to accelerate climate and digital innovations in particular and provide more support for start-ups that offer ‘future technologies’, thus creating positive prospects for the green tech scene in Germany.

Falling prices for renewables such as wind and solar are prompting policymakers at the national and European levels to consider phasing out support mechanisms. In a new scientific study, we show that discontinuing these instruments could have negative effects on the growth of these renewables. We arrived at this conclusion with the aid of a model in which we have integrated empirical investor preferences for the first time.

Prof. Dr. Johan Lilliestam

Richard Thonig

Some German political parties and economists suggest ending the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) surcharge in the power bill and instead financing renewables through the carbon tax. While the recent carbon pricing debate has focused on equity and political feasibility, it has neglected the elephant in the room: how would this change affect Germany’s ability to meet the 2030 climate goals? Here, we show that this refinancing would put climate goals at risk. Purely market-based renewables are not yet viable, the change could therefore slow down their already sluggish deployment. We thus argue that the EEG remains the quintessential instrument for German climate policy in the coming decade.

In spring 2020, we asked ourselves: What effects are the Corona restrictions having on projects in energy and marine research that actively include interest groups (or stakeholders) in their research?

Dr. Germán Bersalli

Dr. Natalia Realpe Carrillo

The Argentinean electricity sector remains concentrated in a few actors and is highly dependent on fossil fuels. We discuss in our blogpost the opportunities and barriers to supporting micro-scale renewable energy projects, which can directly benefit families and small businesses throughout the country.

What role do businesses and households play in smart and climate-neutral energy systems? Why does this pose challenges for energy modelling? Diana Süsser (IASS) and Andrzej Ceglarz (Renewables Grid Initiative) shed light on this in their article.

On the 7th of October, the European Parliament voted to adopt a more ambitious climate target to reduce EU emissions by 60% in 2030 compared to 1990, up from 40% currently. Policymaking and planning decisions towards this target are not straight forward, and it bears the question: How can we foster the societal and political acceptance needed to completely decarbonise our energy systems? While energy models can be used to study the pathways towards a decarbonised energy system, they largely neglect the social and political dimensions of the energy transition. To provide more realistic, relevant, and sustainable decision-advice, it’s time for energy modellers to integrate social concerns in their models.

The energy transition raises many questions about how to achieve and design net-zero emission energy systems. Energy models can support decision-makers by providing virtual laboratories in which different energy futures can be explored. But what are the requirements of different stakeholders on these energy models? Which challenges of the energy transition should they tackle? What questions should these models be able to answer? In order to identify needs and discuss the expectations placed on energy modelling in the framework of the project Sustainable Energy Transition Laboratory (SENTINEL), we conducted an online survey in summer and held an online expert workshop on the 1st of October.

Countries have responded differently to the large societal and economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. While some view the crisis as a window of opportunity for new technologies and approaches to achieve climate neutrality, others will be tempted to reinforce their dependence on old technologies, leading to a carbon lock-in. Israel’s response as a start-up nation is promising, but further measures are needed to support a green transition.

Dr. Germán Bersalli

Argentina is among the countries hardest hit by the social and economic consequences of the current pandemic. In order to mitigate the impacts of the crisis, the government is responding with some immediate relief measures – tax deferrals, subsidies for low-income families, and special financial measures for different sectors including energy – as well as planning a quite ambitious recovery program. The decisions that are being taken today are likely to have a profound effect on the energy sector for decades to come. These decisions are influenced by visions and narratives associated with different sectors, with oil and gas being the “golden goose” and renewables the “ugly duckling”.

Events

15.06.2023

Our conference is an opportunity to share experiences and lessons learnt on regional decarbonisation process and explore factors affecting Social-Ecological Tipping Points (SETPs) towards clean energy transition. Our team will present key results from the case studies and will provide insights on how to accelerate just sustainable structural change in Coal and Carbon Intensive Regions in times of global uncertainties.

23.11.2022

Over the past 3.5 years, the Sustainable Energy Transition Laboratory (SENTINEL) has worked with a wide range of stakeholders from policy, industry, NGOs and research to develop new energy modelling tools and further develop existing ones that can support the sustainable transition to climate neutrality. The SENTINEL platform consists of 14 modelling tools that can be used to explore decarbonisation pathways and trade-offs of potential future energy systems. Would you like to know what we have found out about the options for a transition to carbon neutrality in the European Union? And what the multiple implications are?

26.10.2021 - 28.10.2021

The annual EMP-E conference brings together Europe’s energy modelling community but also policymakers and representatives from energy industry and civil society over a three-day period in a forum for deep exchange of research, modelling practice and applications, and varied discussions.

22.03.2021

The Final Conference of the “Market Uptake of Solar Thermal Electricity through Cooperation” MUSTEC project, financed under Horizon 2020 programme and coordinated by CIEMAT, takes place on March 22, 2021.