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Impacts of the German Support for Renewable Energy on Electricity Prices, Emissions, and Firms

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  • Thure Traber
  • Claudia Kemfert

Abstract

Most models that are used to analyze support policies for renewable electricity neglect important market features like oligopolistic behavior, emission trading, and restricted cross-border transmission capacities. We use a quantitative electricity market model that accounts for these aspects and decompose the impact of the German Feed-in tariff (FIT) into two frequently counteracting effects: a substitution effect and a permit price effect. We find that the total effect of the policy increases the German consumer price slightly by three percent, while the producer price decreases by eight percent. In addition, emissions from electricity generation in Germany are reduced by eleven percent but are hardly altered on the European scale. Finally, it turns out that price-cost margins of almost all firms are increased by the FIT, while nonetheless, the profits of firms are significantly lowered unless the firms combine relatively carbon-intensive production with a weak connection to the German grid.

Suggested Citation

  • Thure Traber & Claudia Kemfert, 2009. "Impacts of the German Support for Renewable Energy on Electricity Prices, Emissions, and Firms," The Energy Journal, , vol. 30(3), pages 155-178, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:enejou:v:30:y:2009:i:3:p:155-178
    DOI: 10.5547/ISSN0195-6574-EJ-Vol30-No3-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Amundsen, Eirik S. & Mortensen, Jorgen Birk, 2001. "The Danish Green Certificate System: some simple analytical results," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 489-509, September.
    2. Catherine D. Wolfram, 1999. "Measuring Duopoly Power in the British Electricity Spot Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(4), pages 805-826, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Abuzayed, A., 2025. "From Model Optimality to Market Reality: Do Electricity Markets Support Renewable Investments?," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2558, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    2. Fleance George Cocker, 2025. "Mixes of Policy Instruments for the Full Decarbonisation of Energy Systems: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-64, January.
    3. Anas Abuzayed, 2025. "From model optimality to market reality: do electricity markets support renewable investments?," Working Papers EPRG2521, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.

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