Shaping tomorrow's electricity market. Special report

In its second special report on the further development of renewable energy the German Advisory Council on the Environment (SRU) has applied itself to ''Tomorrow's electricity market''. Working in the light of its long-term vision of a market for electricity from renewable energy the SRU makes proposals for a transition process which ensures continued growth of renewable energy use, greater efficiency, security of supply and better political control in managing the energy turnaround. Greater reliance on market mechanisms will become indispensable in future as a means of coordinating the large number of local decisions pending. However the market cannot take care of everything. The remuneration paid for renewable energy will continue in the long term to rest on two pillars as it does today: a market-based remuneration for electricity supplied and an additional contribution towards covering the substantial capital costs of installations and accompanying infrastructure. The process of adapting the still existing conventional power plant fleet to meet flexibility requirements should likewise be primarily market-driven. However this must imperatively involve a high price for the vast greenhouse gas emissions from coal power plants.