CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2019
| Author | Dundics, Bernadett |
|---|---|
| Title | Are the recent changes in renewable energy support schemes harming adoption? A study of solar PV in Germany |
| Summary | As governments understand it more and more just how devastating the effects of climate change and global warming can be, there is an increase in initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions in all areas of our lives. One if these areas – and one of the main culprits behind green-house gasses – is the energy sector, which still mainly relies on conventional energy sources. However, with the recent technological developments, renewable energy sources are becoming more and more competitive, which means that more and more countries include renewable energy support in their policy mix. Solar photovoltaics is one of these energy sources, that had been responsible for a very significant part of the recent growth in renewable energy share. Solar PV is often supported by policy mechanism, feed-in tariff being one of the most often employed one. But lately more countries have decided to significantly decrease feed-in tariffs for solar PV – such as Germany – or completely dismantle the system – such as the United Kingdom. In this paper I will investigate the effects of feed-in tariff contribution changes in order to see whether these policy changes are taking countries on the right path, towards a renewable-rich future. I will discuss relevant policies world-wide and in Germany, and analyse time-series data from Germany in order to reach my conclusion, which is that while decreasing feed-in tariff do affect solar PV adoption, the slowdown could be necessary to avoid any long-lasting damage to consumers or utilities. Finally, I will advise that any government considering an update to their renewable policy should follow Germany’s example and create a long-term strategic plan to follow. |
| Supervisor | LaBelle, Michael |
| Department | Economics MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2019/dundics_bernadett.pdf |
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