De.zentral – Institutionally and technologically consistent energy strategies for a rather central or decentralized energy transition in Germany
In 2011, the German government passed a comprehensive bundle of regulations that marked the beginning of the energy transition in Germany. This has far-reaching consequences for the German energy system and its embedment in the European energy market. Nevertheless, a consensus is far from being reached. Different stakeholder have very different expectations towards its actual design. While more locally rooted actors call for a decentralized energy system, the EU Commission and economically oriented voices advocate a greater centralization.
The project de.zentral concerned the following current questions:
- Which options exist to design the transformation of the energy system in regard of the contradicting visions of a centralized or a decentralized energy supply?
- Which technologies and institutions are consistent when energy strategies are to be developed in decentralized or centralized manner?
- How can different levels of institutions interact?
- To which degree do proposed paths contradict one another, where are they complementary? Which institutions are needed for the implementation of a decentralized or centralized transformation of the energy system?