The Economic Competitiveness of Renewable Energy

Foreword xiii
 
Preface xvii
 
Acknowledgements xxiii
 
List of Abbreviations xxv
 
1 Introduction 1
 
1.1 The Changing World 1
 
1.2 Why Another Book on 100% Renewables? 3
 
2 Analysis of Today's Energy Situation 7
 
2.1 Basic Energy Terms 7
 
2.2 Global Energy Situation 11
 
2.3 Energy Sectors 13
 
2.4 Challenges for Fossil Fuels 16
 
2.5 Problems with Nuclear Energy 29
 
3 The Importance of Energy Efficiency Measures 33
 
3.1 Traditional Extrapolation of Future Energy Demands or Alternatively "The Same or with Renewables Even Better Quality of Life with Much Less Energy" 33
 
3.2 Decrease in End Energy Needs with a "Better Quality of Life" 35
 
3.3 Today's Energy Needs with Known Energy Efficiency Measures 41
 
3.4 Support Mechanisms to Facilitate New Products: Ban The Old or Facilitate The New Ones 42
 
4 Overview of the Most Important Renewable Energy Technologies 45
 
4.1 Basics About the Potential of Various Renewable Technologies 45
 
4.2 Wind Energy 48
 
4.3 Solar Thermal Collectors and Concentrators 57
 
4.4 Bioenergy: Biomass and Fuel 66
 
4.5 Photovoltaics 68
 
4.6 Other Renewable Technologies 70
 
5 PV Market Development 77
 
5.1 Strategic and Consumer Goods in Society and Why Strategic Ones Need Initial Support 77
 
5.2 PV Applications and History 84
 
5.3 Historical PV Market Development 88
 
5.4 Feed-in Tariffs - Sustainable Versus Boom and Bust Market Growth 93
 
5.5 PV Market Development Towards 2020 101
 
5.6 Total Budget for Feed-in Tariff Support as Positive Investment for National Economies and Merit Order Effects for Electricity Customers 106
 
5.7 New Electricity Market Design for Increasing Numbers of Variable Renewable Energy Systems 110
 
5.8 Developments for the Future Energy Infrastructure 111
 
6 PV

Winfried Hoffmann obtained his PhD in biophysics in 1977. From 1997 until 2014 he was a member of the Board of EPIA (European PV Industry Association) and President for more than eight years. He is a member of the Scientific Board of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy and the NEXT Institute in Oldenburg, as well as a member of the Supervisory Board of the Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hameln and the Helmholtz Centre Berlin. He acts as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Solarfabrik AG and is a member of the Supervisory Board of SMA Solar Technology AG. In 2012 he received the "European Becquerel Prize for Outstanding Merits in PV" from the European Commission.