Updated EEG calculator shows slower increase in levy
As a contribution to the ongoing revision of the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (Erneuerbare-Energie-Gesetz, EEG), Oeko-Institut and Agora Energiewende have updated their EEG calculator. The calculator can be used to determine online the amount of the German renewable energy levy based on an individually selectable energy-economic framework.
According to these up-to-date calculations it is probable that the renewable levy will fall slightly in 2015 to between 5.8 and 6.2 ct/kWh. At the moment the levy is 6.24 cent per kilowatt hour and that amount is likely to be reached again in 2016/2017. The decrease in the levy in the year ahead does not, however, stem from the announced reform of the EEG rules but rather the fact that the levy was particularly high in 2014. This was due to one-off effects that produced a deficit in autumn 2013 which had to be balanced by the levy in 2014.
Simple scenario analysis of current proposals
The updated calculator takes into account the planned new rules for the so-called privileged final consumption of companies and for autoproducers (own consumption). With a few clicks the user can quickly ascertain how the level of the renewable energy levy changes, depending on how much electricity consumption is excluded from the levy and how much autoproduction (own consumption) is included.
Up-to-date scenarios on the future expansion of renewable energies and the rules on the levy’s 'flexible ceiling' have been incorporated in the EEG calculator. The user can independently decide which expansion path he or she wants to apply and can alter the amount of support provided by the EEG for renewable power plants. In diagrams and tables the calculator shows the effects of this and other assumptions on the amount of the EEG levy up to 2018.
The renewable levy calculator was developed by Oeko-Institut on behalf of Agora Energiewende. The think tank, which is financed by the private foundation Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation, aims to contribute to transparency in the energy policy debate.
Click here for Oeko-Institut’s EEG calculator on Agora Energiewende’s website (in German language)
Contact
Charlotte Loreck
Senior Researcher
Energy & Climate Division
Oeko-Institut e.V., Berlin Office
Phone: +49 30 405085-337
E-Mail: c.loreck@oeko.de
David Ritter
Researcher
Energy & Climate Division
Oeko-Institut e.V., Freiburg Headoffice
Phone: +49 761 45295-280
E-Mail: d.ritter@oeko.de