S1 E9: Auctions and life after feed-in tariffs

Full transcript available at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xFLkjnracOvseSGoqhV8Q2b9Kv6R4PK_WlcdGViWksw/edit?usp=sharing Proposals by REscoop, FOE Europe et al. on RED II: Short: https://proseu.eu/sites/default/files/Resources/PROSEU_Transposition%20Guidance%20for%20REDII%20and%20EMD.pdf Long: https://www.rescoop.eu/blog/how-can-eu-member-states-support-energy-communities Power Switch by Dan Gearino: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/24042020/germany-energy-renewables-solar-wind-climate-change-warming

In this last episode, we listen to what a number of our guests say community renewables needs for the future. But we also have three new guests: Ursula Sladek of German green power provider EWS Schönau talks about how Vergangenheitsbewältigung (dealing with the past) inspired her generation to take action for renewables decades ago. Julia Verlinden, energy policy spokesperson for the Greens in German parliament, talks about what plans are taking shaoe behind closed doors in Berlin. And finally, Jana Nysten of the "Würzburger" (Foundation for Environmental Energy Law)gives us some free legal advice on RED II. Rebecca Freitag's 1o-Point Plan: https://allinforclimateaction-change.org https://www.change.org/p/staats-und-regierungschef-innen-climate-emergency-allinforclimateaction-fridaysforfuture-klimakrise-klimastreik-klimaschutz-voteforclimate?utm_source=movements&utm_campaign=allinforclimateaction& Craig's tweet on 18 MW: https://twitter.com/PPchef/status/1273618581679464449 Jana Nysten on RED II: https://stiftung-umweltenergierecht.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/stiftung-umweltenergierecht_vortrag_nysten_RES_Support_Schemes_EU_Law_2020-05-12.pdf https://stiftung-umweltenergierecht.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/stiftung_umweltenergierecht_wuestudien_15_art4_handlungsspielraeume.pdf Foundation for Environmental Energy Law: https://stiftung-umweltenergierecht.de/en/ Tricolor: https://tricolor-web.com/

Today, we speak with Stefan Gsänger of the World Wind Energy Association WWEA and with Dieter Schäfer of the grassroots renewable cooperative Gedea about the impact of the switch from feed-in tariffs to auctions on community projects. Fachagentur Wind (in German) on the results of auctions for onshore wind: https://www.fachagentur-windenergie.de/fileadmin/files/Veroeffentlichungen/Analysen/FA_Wind_500_WEA_mit_Zuschlag_in_Betrieb_05-2020.pdf "A Dangerous Trend is Challenging the Success of Wind Power Around the Globe: Concentration and Monopolisation" by Stefan Gsänger: https://www.windtech-international.com/view-from-inside/a-dangerous-trend-is-challenging-the-success-of-wind-power-around-the-globe-concentration-and-monopolisation Summary (in German) on the results of onshore wind auctions: https://www.neueenergie.net/politik/deutschland/wind-ausschreibungen-ohne-preisvorteil-oder-wettbewerb-wie-weiter Dieter Schäfer's website (in German): https://www.dieter-schaefer.eu/ Tricolor: https://tricolor-web.com/

Today, we take a look at some of the countries that have used feed-in tariffs partly to ramp up community energy. Our special guests include: Stefan Gsänger, head the the World Wind Energy Association WWEA; Jose Etcheverry, Director of the International Renewable Energy Academy at York University in Toronto, Canada; and Enda Gallagher of Ireland’s Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. Toby Couture, David Jacobs, and Hans-Josef Fell are also back. "Energize the people to effect policy change": by Craig Morris and Arne Jungjohann: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-017-07508-x Craig's interview on The Agenda with Steve Paikin courtesy of TVO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyTn_cuWBa4 https://t.co/zUQvSdbEQg "Can utilities be trusted with the transition?": https://energytransition.org/2016/02/can-utilities-be-trusted-with-the-energy-transition/ Music by Tricolor: https://tricolor-web.com/

Today, our topic is a specific business form: cooperatives. Community renewable groups do not have to be coops -- but coops are great for community projects. We speak with Dirk Vansintjaan, cofounder of Ecopower, a coop that is also the largest green power provider in Flanders. He also helped found REScoop, the EU-wide umbrella organization for renewable energy coops. Then, Andreas Wieg, who handles energy coops at the German umbrella group for coops DGRV, talks about why coops are so important. Skyline: https://skyline.wales/about Choice Experiment by Sagebiel et al. (2014: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262880496_Are_consumers_willing_to_pay_more_for_electricity_from_co-operatives_Results_from_an_online_Choice_Experiment_in_Germany Tricolor: https://tricolor-web.com/

Today, we talk with Prof. Maarten Wolsink, who has studied acceptance issues in infrastructure projects, especially renewable energy, for decades. He tells us what's wrong with calling people NIMBY. We briefly return to Rhein-Hunrück to speak with Frank-Michael Uhle about why acceptance was so high there before turning to Marie Leer Jorgensen, who just finished her PhD on Denmark's three policies to increase acceptance. They have been copied in other EU countries, but she problematizes the whole issue. And finally, Craig tells us what he means by "identification instead of acceptance." Music by Tricolor: https://tricolor-web.com/ Hensher, D. A., & Li, Z. (2013). Referendum voting in road pricing reform: A review of the evidence. Transport Policy, 25, 186–197. https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/15266/Referendum%20voting%20Revised%208%20Nov%202012%20JTRP-D-12-00104.pdf;jsessionid=8F6BEF6BF9A03C0B7FE341903BCF96AC?sequence=2 “Wind power and the NIMBY-myth: institutional capacity and the limited significance of public support” by Prof. Maarten Wolsink: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960148199001305 Other quotes taken from: "Community energy in Germany: more than just climate change mitigation" by Craig Morris: https://www.unendlich-viel-energie.de/media/file/3591.89_Renews_Spezial_Community_energy_LECo.pdf "Attitudes towards carbon taxes across Europe: The role of perceived uncertainty and self-interest" by Umit and Schaffer, 2019: https://resulumit.com/papers/carbon_taxes.pdf

Is Germany's energy transition, with all of its community renewables, too expensive? Today, we talk with Prof. Justus Haucap, a critic of the price tag as the former chair of Germany's Monopoly Commision. Shuwei Zhang of the Draworld Center explains what policies China has used. Prof. Lorenz Jarass (yes, the one with the jokes!) explains how the German power market makes renewables look expensive. Consultant Uwe Nestle argues that social policy, not energy policy, should be used to protect the poor. And finally, Jakob Schlandt of German Daily Tagesspiegel explains how he no longer criticizes the pricetag, but instead celebrates how far we have come so fast. Tricolor, the best Irish folk music from Pana: https://tricolor-web.com/ "The New Brandeis Movement: America’s Antimonopoly Debate," by Lina Khan: https://academic.oup.com/jeclap/article/9/3/131/4915966 A Brief Overview of the “New Brandeis” School of Antitrust Law by Jake Walter-Warner and Jonathan H. Hatch: https://www.pbwt.com/antitrust-update-blog/a-brief-overview-of-the-new-brandeis-school-of-antitrust-law The EU rules on curtailing solar and wind: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32019R0943&from=EN

Today, we speak with Paul van Son, a driving force behind the megaproject called Desertec for more than a decade. And with David Toke, a reader in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Aberdeen in the UK; he helps us understand "green certificates." Finally, we talk with Prof. Claudia Kemfert of DIW about why she has shifted from a Desertec supporter to a proponent of distributed renewables. "Ecologics" by Cymene Howe: https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/24898/9781478004400.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y "From Foucauldian Biopower to Infopower and Energopower: A Review of Colin Koopman's and Dominic Boyer's Novel Conceptualizations of Power" by Kirstin Hasberg: https://foucaldien.net/articles/10.16995/lefou.70/ Tricolor: https://tricolor-web.com/

German community energy projects are not just fairy tales. Today, we speak with three German community renewables projects. Frank-Michael Uhle; he’s the climate action official in the county of Rhein-Hunsrück, where Europe's largest suspended footbridge, the Geierlay Bridge, was built with revenue from local wind farms. Stefan Bayerlein operates a district heat network fired with renewables in the Bavarian village of Larrieden. And Melanie Ball is a member of the all-women's co-op Windfang. References: “Gender Perspective” by IRENA: https://cms.irena.org//-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2019/Jan/IRENA_Gender_perspective_2019_EN_Summary.pdf "Energy Democracy" by Craig Morris and Arne Jungjohann: https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319318905 Tricolor: https://tricolor-web.com/

How did Germany's Feed-in Act of 1991 help wind power get going, and why only wind power? And what specifically about the German Renewable Energy Act (EEG) of 2000 was better than the 1991 law? Today, we speak with community energy Dieter Mensen, policy experts Toby Couture and David Jacobs, and one of the two fathers of the EEG, Hans-Josef Fell, about these questions -- and about what policy framework (community) renewables need going forward. Tricolor, the best Irish folk music from Japan: https://tricolor-web.com/