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Germany's Solar Cell Promotion: An Unfolding Disaster

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  • Frondel, Manuel
  • Schmidt, Christoph M.
  • Vance, Colin

Abstract

This article revisits an analysis by Frondel, Ritter and Schmidt (2008) of Germany's Renewable Energy Act, which legislates a system of feed-in tariff s to promote the use of renewable energies. As in the original article, we argue that Germany's support scheme subsidizes renewable energy technologies not based on their long-term market potential, but rather on their relative lack of competitiveness, with the photovoltaics (PV) technology enjoying high feed-in tariffs, currently over double those of onshore wind. The result is explosive costs with little to show for either environmental or employment benefits. Indeed, we document that the immense costs foreseen by Frondel and colleagues have materialized: Our updated estimate of the subsidies for PV, at 100 Bn €, exceeds their expectations by about 60%. Moreover, with installed PV capacities growing at a rapid rate, these costs will continue to accumulate, diverting resources from more cost-effective climate protection instruments.

Suggested Citation

  • Frondel, Manuel & Schmidt, Christoph M. & Vance, Colin, 2012. "Germany's Solar Cell Promotion: An Unfolding Disaster," Ruhr Economic Papers 353, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:353
    DOI: 10.4419/86788407
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lehmann, Paul & Gawel, Erik, 2013. "Why should support schemes for renewable electricity complement the EU emissions trading scheme?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 597-607.
    2. Grösche, Peter & Schröder, Carsten, 2011. "Eliciting public support for greening the electricity mix using random parameter techniques," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 363-370, March.
    3. Severin Borenstein, 2012. "The Private and Public Economics of Renewable Electricity Generation," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 26(1), pages 67-92, Winter.
    4. Frondel, Manuel & Ritter, Nolan & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2008. "Germany's solar cell promotion: Dark clouds on the horizon," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 4198-4204, November.
    5. Frondel, Manuel & Kambeck, Rainer & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2007. "Hard coal subsidies: A never-ending story?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 3807-3814, July.
    6. Frondel, Manuel & Ritter, Nolan & Schmidt, Christoph M. & Vance, Colin, 2010. "Economic impacts from the promotion of renewable energy technologies: The German experience," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 4048-4056, August.
    7. Johann Wackerbauer & Jana Lippelt, 2012. "Photovoltaics: Boom of the Rising Sun," CESifo Forum, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 13(01), pages 70-73, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Frondel, Manuel & Schmidt, Christoph M. & aus dem Moore, Nils, 2012. "Marktwirtschaftliche Energiewende: Ein Wettbewerbsrahmen für die Stromversorgung mit alternativen Technologien. Ein Projekt im Auftrag der Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft," RWI Projektberichte, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, number 69954.
    2. Calzadilla, Alvaro & Wiebelt, Manfred & Blohmke, Julian & Klepper, Gernot, 2014. "Desert Power 2050: Regional and sectoral impacts of renewable electricity production in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa," Conference papers 332448, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    3. Hills, Jeremy M. & Michalena, Evanthie, 2017. "Renewable energy pioneers are threatened by EU policy reform," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 26-36.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Energy policy; employment effects; climate protection;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy

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