The electricity market reinvention by regional renewal

Just one hundred years ago, electricity was classified as a luxury good. Since renewable energies entered the German market 25 years ago, they slowly started to change some fundamental conditions. The ubiquity of electrical devices in our daily life is not something we think about anymore in the industrialised world. It has become as normal as breathing. Yet unlike air, power has to be obtained and distributed. The constant availability of current is therefore not a given thing, but something that involves ongoing hard work. The market thus far had seen some transitions from local power plants within the cities to huge power plants beyond the gates of the cities. Later, the co-generation of power and heat was invented and power plants came back, again closer to the consumers. No such changes ever impacted on more than one fourth of the overall market, which is the case for renewable energies today. In the coming years, more and more photovoltaic systems will cease to have contracts with fixed remuneration. Whilst they are in good condition they will produce energy at almost no cost. Therefore, the study inspects the market conditions given by the special character of the uniform product "electricity". Based on Germany´s leading role in terms of renewable energy, the scope includes the bigger, integrated European market. Some input comes from inspection of other industrialised areas with emerging renewable energy markets, such as the USA. New technologies can turn every house owner into an energy producer, making the distinction between supply and demand unclear. This regionalisation is considered to be the main game changer in a liberalised market. Due to the fragmentation into many small market participants, there is no major player that could take the lead in the evolution. In any case, it is the role of the government to ensure services for the public as well as public security. The increasing number of single directives of regulating authorities has to be substituted by a major act in describing the market framework, where the freedom of the forces can develop their potential. Finally, this work gives an insight into further possibilities resulting from the main decision to look at power in terms of provision of services instead of a physical good.