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Size, Subsidies and Technical Efficiency in Renewable Energy Production: The Case of Austrian Biogas Plants

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  • Andreas Eder
  • Bernhard Mahlberg

Abstract

This study estimates the efficiency of biogas plants and identifies determinants of inefficiencies. Data Envelopment Analysis is applied on a sample of 86 Austrian biogas plants for the year 2014, covering about one third of the installed electric capacity of Austrian biogas plants. We decompose technical efficiency into scale efficiency and pure technical efficiency (managerial efficiency). In a second-stage regression analysis the effects of subsidies and other variables on managerial efficiency are investigated. The main results are: i) 34% of biogas plants in our sample are technically efficient, 40% are scale efficient and 50% are managerial efficient; ii) small biogas plants (

Suggested Citation

  • Andreas Eder & Bernhard Mahlberg, 2018. "Size, Subsidies and Technical Efficiency in Renewable Energy Production: The Case of Austrian Biogas Plants," The Energy Journal, , vol. 39(1), pages 185-210, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:enejou:v:39:y:2018:i:1:p:185-210
    DOI: 10.5547/01956574.39.1.aede
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Srećko Ćurčić & Dragan Milićević & Nataša Kilibarda & Aleksandar Peulić, 2025. "Assessing Biogas Production Potential from Organic Waste and Livestock Byproducts in a Serbian Municipality: Implications for Sustainable Food Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-19, April.
    2. You, Jiansheng & Hu, Jin & Jiang, Bing, 2024. "The correlation evolution and formation mechanism of energy ecological efficiency in China: A spatial network approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).

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