With its study "A future-proof energy market design for Germany" the Association of Municipal Utilities (VKU) has added an integrated and long-term-oriented proposal to the discussion about the future electricity market design. In this paper, the authors of the VKU-study explain the starting...

A radical new strategy for dealing with the problems of energy and the environment in the Sahel is being implemented in Niger. Rather than have urban wood traders go into the countryside to cut the wood and truck it back to the cities, the government is giving village communities control over...

The main purpose of this paper is to preview the other contributions to this volume of the EIB Papers. In this context, it offers a few additional perspectives. One highlights why energy issues have re-emerged as a matter of policy interest. Another concerns the difference between the...

Achieving the objectives of the German governments 2010 Energy Concept and the accelerated phase-out of nuclear energy will require significant investment in restructuring energy supply. In particular, this includes investment in installations for the use of renewable energy sources in the power...

One of the most pressing public priorities in Germany at present is how to organize the energy transition. However, the cost of stabilizing the financial sector as well as the fiscal pact and the debt brake mean that the government has limited financial resources. Consequently, the availability...

Required economic "provisions in advance" due to additional investment costs for the transformation of the energy supply in Germany [the "Energiewende"] are in general defined as differentials to today's prices of fossil fuels and wholesale prices of electricity. However, these prices may not...

One of the most pressing public priorities in Germany at present is how to organize the transformation of the energy system. However, the cost of stabilizing the financial sector as well as the fiscal pact and the debt brake mean that the state has limited financial resources. Consequently, the...

Achieving the objectives of the German government's 2010 Energy Concept and the accelerated phase-out of nuclear energy will require significant investment in restructuring energy supply. In particular, these include investments in facilities for the use of renewable energies in the power and...

The second law of thermodynamics and, specifically, exergy analysis have been traditionally used for the assessment and optimization of energy systems. Nevertheless, as shown in this paper, exergy could also constitute a powerful tool for the evaluation of mineral commodities. That said, new or...

The paper proposes a back-to-back 2L-3L grid connection topology for a marine current energy converter. A prototype marine current energy converter has been deployed by a research group at Uppsala University. The concept behind the prototype revolves around a fixed pitch vertical axis turbine...