DALE Status Report: The Decentralized Energy Transition in Germany in the Context of International Developments
David Jacobs, Fabian Zuber, Kathrin Goldammer
What is the situation in Germany and worldwide with regard to the decentralized approaches to the energy transition? What questions determine research and debate? What adjustments are available to solve existing problems together?
As part of the project “Global Initiative for Distributed and Local Energy (DALE) – The German Perspective”, we ask the question of how the decentralized energy transition in Germany should be evaluated with regard to global developments and in which fields of action increased international exchange would be useful.
The project shows that decentralisation stands for an overall energy industry concept that goes far beyond small-scale electricity production. Other aspects, such as the network fee reform or digitalisation, are increasingly coming to the fore. Germany is seen internationally as a pioneer of the energy transition. Experts in this country, however, now see other countries at the top. Germany’s achievements in the expansion of renewable energies and citizen participation are attracting worldwide attention, but the regulatory hurdles in particular are seen as an obstacle to the decentralised energy transition in Germany.
From the point of view of the experts surveyed, concrete levers for the success of the decentralised energy transition in Germany are: (1) the (grid) fees and levies and (2) the legal framework for direct electricity markets.
From a German perspective, it is therefore worth taking a look at approaches in other countries. The Global Initiative for Distributed and Local Energy (DALE) can be a valuable platform for this.