Energy
The climate crisis threatens the very foundation of modern society. To avert it, the global economy needs to fully decarbonize within a generation. In this formidable challenge, energy consumption takes center stage as power plants, vehicles, and buildings generate the majority of EU emissions. Mature low-carbon technologies and practices exist, but they require new regulation and incentives to be scaled up successfully. Ecologic Institute's research focuses on building a framework for energy sector decarbonization.
Using its skills in legal, economic, and indicator-based analysis, the energy team assesses and designs effective energy policies at all government levels. To this end, we regularly debate solutions with relevant practitioners and stakeholders. A central research area is EU energy regulation and its interaction with the German energy transition.
The team's expertise includes renewable energy and efficiency, electricity market design, the coal exit, and sector coupling, i.e. at the interface between power, transport, and heating. Our legal work focuses on EU energy law and its transposition into national law and the legal challenges arising from digitalization.
Capacity building and education on the energy transition is another cornerstone of our work. Only with a wider understanding of the need for change and its implications for each single household will countries succeed in transforming their energy sectors.
In interdisciplinary projects, the energy team also studies nexus issues, including on questions related the resource needs of the energy transition or interlinkages between energy measures and needs to adapt to climate change.
Selected Projects for Energy
Accompanying Projects: Smart Energy Showcases – Digital Agenda for the Energy Transition (SINTEG)
- Duration
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Dec 2016 - Nov 2021
- Funding
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Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), Germany
New Approaches to Sustainable Mobility in Lower Saxony (WenaMoNi)
- Duration
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Oct 2019 - Mar 2021
- Funding
Support to the Expert Commission on the "Energy of the Future" Monitoring Process
- Duration
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Jul 2012 - Jun 2019
- Funding
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Federal Network Agency (BNetzA), Germany
Big Picture of the European Clean Energy Transition in 2030
- Duration
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Feb - Oct 2018
- Funding
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Smart Energy for Europe Platform (SEFEP), international Agora Energiewende, Germany
Scientific Support for the Commission on Growth, Structural Change and Employment
- Duration
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Sep 2018 - Feb 2019
- Funding
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University of Applied Sciences (HTW Berlin), Germany
Analysis and Structuring of the Comprehensive Energy Law for the Electricity Sector
- Duration
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Sep 2015 - Sep 2020
- Funding
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Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), Germany
Technical Requirements for Producers and Consumers in an Electricity System with a Large Share of Renewable Energy
- Duration
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Jul 2015 - Jul 2018
- Funding
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Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), Germany
Transformation Towards Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructures (TRAFIS II)
- Duration
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Oct 2019 - Nov 2022
- Funding
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Federal Environment Agency (UBA), Germany
Selected Publications for Energy
Velten, Eike Karola, Stoll, Theresa; Meinecke, Lisa (2019): Measures for the promotion of electric vehicles. Ecologic Institute, Berlin. Commissioned by Greenpeace e.V.
Duwe, Matthias; Eike Karola Velten, Nick Evans, Mona Freundt, Julien Pestiaux, Benoît Martin, Pascal Vermeulen (2019): Planning for net-zero: Assessing the Draft National Energy and Climate Plans. Berlin, Louvain-la-Neuve, Bruessels.
German Institute for Economic Research, Wuppertal Institute, Ecologic Institute (eds.) 2019: Phasing out Coal in the German Energy Sector. Interdependencies, Challenges and Potential Solutions.
Lucha, Christine and Lisa Meinecke 2019: Alte Energiewelt – Neue Energiewelt. Trends und Akteure in einem zunehmend digitalen Energiesystem. böll.brief GRÜNE ORDNUNGSPOLITIK #9. Berlin: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung. CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0
Umpfenbach, Katharina (2017): Die Energiewende als europäisches Projekt. Chancen, Reibungspunkte [Energy transition as a European project]. Study commissioned by the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Berlin: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung.
Anna Sabadash et al. 2019: Smarter, greener, more inclusive? – Indicators to support the Europe 2020 strategy. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Selected Events for Energy
Conference:Business Mitigates Climate Change – Final Event of the Dialogue Forum
- Date
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11 March 2020
- Organizer
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Ecologic Institute, Germany
Discussion:EU Reform Process after the European Elections: What role for climate and energy policy?
- Date
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13 June 2019
- Organizer
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Ecologic Institute, Germany
Conference:Planning for 2050 – Conference
- Date
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23 May 2019
- Organizer
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Ecologic Institute, Germany
Visitors Program:Hands-on the Future of Energy with the EFEX Study Tour 2019
- Date
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22 - 28 September 2019
- Organizer
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Ecologic Institute US (EIUS), United States Ecologic Institute, Germany
Selected Presentations for Energy
Lecture:Legal Aspects of Big Data in the Energy Sector – Summer School Lecture
- Date
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15 May 2019
- Organiser