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Innovation sociological analysis of the market integration of electricity from renewables in the German electricity markets. Direct marketing of RES-E seen as a new strategic action field in the German "Energiewende". Strategies of incumbent and challenger actors to shape the rules of the field. Suggestions for the future design of policy instruments for direct marketing of RES-E. a b s t r a c t Electricity generated by renewable energies (RES-E) already accounts for 25% of Germany's electricity supply. This has led to recent discussions for a better market integration of RES-E. The paper examines how competing actors and their ideas on market integration developed new services for direct marketing according to their respective origins and tried to shape the regulatory framework. The paper analyses this process and explains the current shape of the field of direct marketing. Medium-sized structured actors, who favoured RES-E integration via the conventional wholesale power markets, and who formed early close coalitions with RES-E power producers at the same time, have been most successful in terms of market shares. Moreover, they have been very successful for different reasons in building-up coalitions with governance units and influencing the field rules and routines. Based on those findings, the paper will conclude with some policy advices for the future adjustment of the current regulative frameworks. As long as there is no evidence of how RES-E can be integrated most effectively and efficiently, policies should maintain a competition between different direct marketing strategies to find out which strategies serve the best in terms of achieving a successful energy transition.

Although the goals of the country's energy transition (Energiewende) are widely accepted in Germany, the specific route to get there is itself a matter of great controversy. The individual measures that are part of the energy transition policy and the questions of how they interact and how they are embedded in the European context are objects of controversial scientific and public debate. Most recently, the consequences for the price of electricity have, in particular, been discussed intensely. Against this backdrop of wide-ranging criticism, the future course for promoting renewable energy will soon be set. The German Renewable Energy Sources Act (the Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz, EEG), which is the main instrument of energy transition policy with its feed-in tariffs, is supposed to be fundamentally revised in the course of this year. A precondition for achieving a coherent further development of the energy transition policy and for receiving the sound support of a critical public is that the long-term consequences of political decisions on a complex sociotechnical energy system be taken into account. The requirements of such a system are not satisfied by policy approaches or recommendations that target short-term effects or that are perceptions of problems extrapolated from individual sectors. On the basis of its integrated research on the energy transition, researchers from the Helmholtz Alliance Energy-Trans take a stand on current important controversial issues from the energy transformation and specify fundamental challenges to shaping a sustainable energy transition policy.Keywords: Energy transition; Sustainability; Germany; European Union; State aid; Renewable energy sources; Feed-in tariff; Federalism; Energy policy; Market designThe energy transition: a long-term project and a challenge to the system The energy transition in Germany is nothing less than the restructuring of the entire energy supply in the sectors' electricity, heat, and transportation in a highly industrialized country. This comprehensive reorganization is a task for generations, and yet the fundamental framework has to be created today. Although there continues to be a high level of approval in the general public [1][2][3][4] and among all political forces [5], essential components of the German energy transition policy are themselves currently being subject to criticism, some of it very intense. The focus of this criticism is most frequently on the renewable energy supports provided for the generation of electricity, which take the form of feed-in tariffs permitted by the Renewable Energy Sources Act (Erneuerbare-Energien- Gesetz (EEG)).a Challenges to the energy transition go, however, far beyond this. What is required is a long-term process of transforming a complex sociotechnical system [6,7] in which the goal is to set the course of change so that tomorrow's energy supply works, its consumption of resources, and its impact on the environment are limited to a sustainable level, and, in the process, efficiency and social ac...

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Although the objectives of the Energiewende (energy transition) are broadly accepted in Germany, the practical ways of achieving them remain highly contentious. In particular, the question of whether and how security of supply can be guaranteed over the course of this profound transformation of the energy system is currently the subject of controversy in the scientific and public debate. Recently, calls for additional payments to power plant operators for providing generation capacity have grown increasingly loud. But the introduction of capacity payments of this sort could have far-reaching consequences for the future organisation of Germany's electricity supply. Therefore, the political decision on this issue-which is scheduled for this year-should not be made without a sound scientific analysis. Basically, measures aimed at guaranteeing security of supply must address the possible causes of capacity shortages as broadly as possible. When designing such measures, besides security of supply, additional objectives such as cost-effectiveness and the environmental and social acceptability of electricity supply should also be taken into account. Capacity payments only partially meet these requirements. Moreover, once introduced, they are difficult to adapt, or revise even, to suit changing framework conditions. This is particularly problematic in view of the current lack of clear evidence for future security of supply problems. Therefore, introducing capacity payments at this point in time would not appear to be constructive. It would make more sense to introduce instead a mix of measures which would strengthen the electricity market, create conditions for feeding in electricity from renewable energy sources as and when required, and set incentives for the expansion of grid capacity, storage systems and demand side management. Should security of supply still appear uncertain under these changed framework conditions, the introduction of a strategic reserve, which would be held by the regulatory authority or the transmission system operator, is recommended-not, however, the creation of an entirely new, additional market segment in the form of a capacity market.

Background: Increasing the market and system integration of renewable energy sources (RES) is regarded as key to reducing the costs of RES support and transforming the electricity system. In several EU countries, feed-in premium schemes have been implemented to better align RES production with electricity prices and to enhance the efficiency of RES marketing by increasing direct participation of producers in electricity markets. This paper examines the lessons learned from the German market premium scheme, which was introduced in the Renewable Energy Sources Act 2012 as an optional alternative to feed-in tariffs. The 2014 reform of that law has made direct marketing mandatory except for small RES plants, thus establishing the sliding market premium as the new primary instrument of RES support. Methods: Combining a qualitative economic analysis with insights from sociological research on direct marketing and simulation results from agent-based modelling, we evaluate how well the optional market premium has performed in setting incentives for demand-oriented RES production and efficient marketing of RES electricity. Furthermore, we examine what efficiency gains can be realistically expected from the changes implemented in 2014, and discuss whether the direct marketing model adopted in Germany is a promising approach for improving the market integration of RES. Results: We find that direct marketing has made a positive contribution to the marketing efficiency of dispatchable RES; for intermittent RES, it provides few structural changes compared to marketing through transmission system operators. The benefits of a greater demand-orientation of RES feed-in remain limited when considering the extent to which load shifting is incentivised. For intermittent RES in particular, incentives for demand-oriented feed-in are only effective in times of negative electricity prices when voluntary curtailment is encouraged.

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Electricity generation from renewables in Germany has now reached an energy economically relevant magnitude. The further increase of electricity from renewable energy sources is driven by the Energy Concept enacted by the Federal Government in 2010 with the goal of transforming the energy system into a renewable based one by 2050 [1]. In order to achieve the political targets reorganization in terms of technical, organizational and financial aspects is needed. The transition and structural adjustments are characterized by a huge variety of actors, who are connected through complex interactions with one another and who react very differently to changes in the energy economic environment. We will present the agent-based simulation model AMIRIS (Agent-based Model for the Integration of Renewables Into the Power System), which can be used as policy design tool to foster the integration of renewable energy sources into the electricity market 1 .