German researchers have discovered that most of the subsidies needed to achieve the objectives of the renewable energy enforcement of the country have been paid, with an estimated 80% to 90% of the subsidies for units in use. The costs of newer renewable energy sources have decreased and are often competitive with reimbursements from the wholesale market.
In a recently published quantitative study, researchers from the Brandenburg University of Technology in Germany reported that the “majority of subsidies” needed to reach the costs related to the Renewable Energy Sources Act, the so -called EEG, already covered. An estimated 80% to 90% of the subsidies for units in operation have already been paid again. Moreover, the costs of newer installations of Wind Offshore, Wind onshore and PV mounted on the ground are often competitive and “considerably improved”.
The study, “Pay-Back time: Increasing electricity prices and falling costs make renewable energy competitive“Published in Energy policy Quantify the aggregated subsidies from all renewable energy units that have been built in Germany so far. Because of his early leadership for renewable energy, the researchers chose a track record of investments, and to provide quantitative information in the midst of discussions in the country about continuous investments.
“Although extremists want to break all wind turbines in Germany, others want 100% renewable energy tomorrow. In reality, we are in a complex system with – at least partially – opposite objectives: security of the environmental and energy costs,” Felix Müsgens said corresponding author of the study PV Magazine. “Our research offers quantitative insights that contribute to and objectifying the discussion.”
The subsidies arising from 2000 to 2041 were calculated on the basis of various assumptions and various schemes, such as feed-in rates, as well as the number of renewable units, capacity in MW and the average unit size. The formulas are described in detail in the paper. Biases and measures for data quality are also documented.
Future market prices were derived from data on German electricity futures obtained from the European Energy Exchange (EEX) and estimates based on recent research by four different academic, commercial and institutional sources. The researchers noted that future electricity prices are influenced by higher assumptions of the gas price and higher CO2 emission certificate prices.
The analysis estimates that the costs related to the RES-Act under two price scenarios-a crisis scenario and a scenario after the crisis-the first reflection of a prey process that considered a limited or expensive gas supplies, as shown in 2022. The last supposed to be a more stable pride with the Problems with the prospects with the prospects with the prospects with the prospects with the prospects with the prospect of the prospects with the prospects with the prospect of the prospects with the prospect of the prospects with the prospect of the prospect of the prospect of the prospects with the prospect of the prospects with the prospect of the prospects.
Under the findings, the team stipulated that the net subsidy in the future is between € 26.7 and € 71.8 billion, or 7 % and 17 % of the total net subsidies, depending on the scenario. It noted that the result confirms the “high competitiveness” of the entire fleet of the renewable energy fleet in today’s energy market.
The researchers have stated that the net support costs of renewable energy sources have been high, the researchers said that “most net subsidies have already been paid”, and the current low costs of newer installations of wind, onshore and offshore and PV technologies mounted on the ground are economically profitable. “Also how relatively few subsidies are expected for the future,” said the researchers.
When newer installations for renewable energy are compared, offshore and onshore wind and solar-solar energy mounted on the ground are “economically profitable”, while onshore wind is the most cost-efficient technology over time. And solar energy has had the steepest cost reductions.
Pointing to the transition from Solar PV of “the most expensive source of electricity generation” to competing “even without subsidies” in various applications and countries, Müsgens said, “in combination with battery storage, solar energy will help the energy transition enormously.”
The team concluded that the expansion of wind energy and PV mounted on the ground should be the priority based on the most “cost -effective technologies”. In addition, a focus is on reducing barriers than financial barriers, such as’ streamlining the permit process for RES projects and the acceptance of the community and the use of flexibility technologies, according to the authors.
The group is now investigating ways to relieve the integration of more solar capacity. Research into the demolition of PV modules is also underway.
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