Can Carbon Pricing Counteract Renewable Energies' Cannibalization Problem?
Liebensteiner M, Naumann F (2022)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Journal article, Original article
Publication year: 2022
Journal
Journal Issue: 115
URI: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1fzX0W3fcsRy5
DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2022.106345
Abstract
Support payments for renewable energies (RE) are a key climate-change policy in many jurisdictions globally. However, RE feed-in lowers the wholesale electricity price, thus cannibalizing their own market values. Despite steep cost degression, cannibalization endangers the hopes that RE may eventually survive in the market independently from subsidies. We apply a flexible econometric model to quantify the cannibalization effect together with influential factors that may counteract the problem. Our data are for the German electricity market, which is characterized by a high and increasing share of intermittent RE. We show that wind and solar infeed significantly cannibalize their own market values and that a meaningful carbon price can substantially counteract this problem. Thus, market-based climate policy may significantly boost RE's integration. This is also relevant for other countries' climate agendas. However, once power generation is fully decarbonized, support from carbon pricing will lapse and the design of the energy market will need to be reconsidered.
Authors with CRIS profile
Mario Liebensteiner
Juniorprofessur für Wirtschaftswissenschaften (Energiemärkte und Energiesystemanalyse)
Involved external institutions
Germany (DE)How to cite
APA:
Liebensteiner, M., & Naumann, F. (2022). Can Carbon Pricing Counteract Renewable Energies' Cannibalization Problem? Energy Economics, 115. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2022.106345
MLA:
Liebensteiner, Mario, and Fabian Naumann. "Can Carbon Pricing Counteract Renewable Energies' Cannibalization Problem?" Energy Economics 115 (2022).
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