EEG - a regulatory policy analysis

Hardly any other topic in Germany is currently discussed in public as heated and controversial as the promotion of renewable energies. With good reason because solely in the year 2013, more than 20 billion Euros were shifted for the ambitious plan to transform the current energy-mix into a new sustainable system with a production share of at least 80% of renewable energy by the year 2050. The onerous task to enter this brave new world is obtained by the Renewable Energy Act (EEG). We now look back on 13 years of “green” electricity promotion and discover pleasant and less pleasant developments. The question is therefore whether the EEG has proven its worth as a tool for economic policy or not. This study answers this question by recalling the concrete objectives pursued with the EEG promotion scheme. Furthermore, the study analyses how the EEG fits in general terms into a market economy and how it specifically fits into the German market of electricity production. Therefore the multiple interdependencies are revealed that are based on the EEG induced development, also with a view to the burden-sharing. Thereby the focus lies on the economic and political aspects of the law.