MEASURING THE SOCIAL WELFARE OF A SOLAR POWER PLANT IN WEST AFRICA - A SOCIAL RETURN ON INVESTMENT (SROI) MODEL

The purpose of the paper is to present an example for the electrification of rural Africa. We will discuss the preconditions, necessities and obstacles of building a solar power plant in rural Niger. For the energy supply of a small village in West Africa a solar pilot plant (20 kWp solar plant with battery storage) is installed. This energy hub makes it possible to provide solar-powered electricity for the town, operate a (ground) water pumping system-delivering water for households and for irrigation of fields. The aim of the paper is to determine the social and individual welfare effects of the new energy system. Therefore, the social well-being of the village is analysed by the social return on investment (LSROI) model. The analysis starts with an empirical survey of the households of the village. The villagers were asked to assess the benefits of the new solar power plant investment for their household and for the whole village. Investment and household valuation are intertemporal decisions whose consequences occur at different points in time, and social actors may have different time preferences. Therefore, two different discount methods are considered. The classical standard discounting model for the technical investment and the hyperbolic discounting for the discounting of the utility of the pilot plant for the households. Four different time preference rates (0%, 1%, 5%, 10%) are used to capture different risk assumptions caused by the current global and local risks (rising energy and food prices, corona pandemic, climate change, water scarcity) and defining thereby the social time preference space. The social return on investment model determines the social return on investment for the households of the village. By rising the time preference rate from 0% to 10% a significant decline of the social benefits of the solar pilot plant can be determined. The global and local risks will rise the time preference rate of the villagers because the present becomes more and more difficult to manage and the visible future is reduced. Hence, the social revenues of the pilot plant decrease over time

The Hambach Forest in the German Debate on Climate Protection: Is There a Symbolic Value beyond the Environmental Value?

In the late summer of 2018, the Hambach Forest (North Rhine Westphalia/ Germany) appeared prevalently in the media due to massive protests against its clearance for lignite mining with for the power generation. Because coal power as a form of energy supply is extremely climate intensive, the Hambach Forest rapidly became a symbol of the fight against climate change and the ongoing destruction of nature and its resources for economic reasons. Due to the extra-ordinarily prominent role of the Hambach Forest in the public opinion across Germany, this research addresses values of the forest to the population in monetary terms as well as the underlying factors that determine those values. For the analysis, a contingent valuation survey was conducted in December 2019 in Germany. The proposed amounts for the preservation of the Hambach Forest are mostly in accordance with previous evaluation studies of woods and forests, although this time almost only passive-use values are decisive. Further, a conversion of the WTP values to the area of the Hambach Forest results in an extra-ordinarily high per-hectare value of about 3.6 million. Thus, the symbolic value of the forest is remarkable and should be considered in future political decisions

Macroeconomic Effects of the German Government’s Building Rehabilitation Program

The German government maintains programs providing financial support for the rehabilitation of buildings with the aim of reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector. Lately, these programs have received additional attention for three reasons: First, the government’s new Energy Concept from 2010 incorporates a substantial expansion of building rehabilitation activities. Second, the programs have been used as a tool for macroeconomic stabilization in the wake of the 2008/2009 financial crisis. Third, the government is concerned about the public deficit and all kinds of public expenditure are coming under increasing scrutiny. The aim of our paper is to contribute to a fact-based discussion of the costs and benefits of the building rehabilitation program. We develop an extended input-output model (STEIN) to estimate the macroeconomic effects of the rehabilitation measures that received funding and how they affect the public deficit, focusing on the revenue from income taxes and social security contributions (SSC) as well as taxes on products and production. Our findings indicate that the programs induce substantial public revenue mainly through income taxes and SSC which have to be weighed against the program cost. We also estimate the distribution of public cost and public revenue between different levels of government (national level, federal state level and municipality level). If the rehabilitation measures do not crowd out other investment projects, the net effect on the public deficit turns out to be positive

A macro-level analysis of the socio-economic impacts of climate change driven water scarcity : incorporating behavioural and resilience aspects

Recognising the urgent need to address water scarcity resulting from climate change, there is a growing push to enhance the resilience of water (and related) systems. For instance, policymakers are now urging companies to shift from short-term focused strategies towards long-term approaches to effectively manage water scarcity. This paper utilises a custom-built dynamic multisectoral model to assess the socio-economic impacts at a macro-level of temporary water scarcity. The focus of the analysis is to identify the effects that varying levels of investment foresight may have on economic resilience. Specifically, the model incorporates often overlooked factors such as behavioural and resilience aspects. By considering these key elements, a more comprehensive understanding of the system-wide implications of water scarcity on the broader economy is provided. The analysis shows how firms' foresight, or lack thereof, impacts their response to water scarcity and the subsequent impact on the economy. Sector-specific analyses shed light on the potential negative impacts of water scarcity on sectors like agriculture, food, and electricity production and distribution. Yet, the analysis also reveals that certain sectors can benefit from competitiveness effects, which can mitigate the adverse economic implications of water scarcity. However, it should be noted that these sectors may contribute to a catch-up effect on water use. The policy recommendations arising from this research emphasise the promotion of anticipation and preparedness among firms. It is crucial to prioritise resilience-building measures in all sectors, whether they directly rely on water or not

Oxide ceramic electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium batteries – cost-cutting cell design and environmental impact

All-solid-state batteries are a hot research topic due to the prospect of high energy density and higher intrinsic safety, compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries. Of the wide variety of solid-state electrolytes currently researched, oxide ceramic lithium-ion conductors are considered the most difficult to implement in industrial cells. Although their high lithium-ion conductivity combined with a high chemical and thermal stability make them a very attractive class of materials, cost-cutting synthesis and scalable processing into full batteries remain to be demonstrated. Additionally, they are Fluorine-free and can be processed in air but require one or more high temperature treatment steps during processing counteracting their ecological benefits. Thus, a viable cell design and corresponding assessment of its ecological impact is still missing. To close this gap, we define a target cell combining the advantages of the two most promising oxidic electrolytes, lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide (LLZO) and lithium aluminium titanium phosphate (LATP). Even though it has not been demonstrated so far, the individual components are feasible to produce with state-of-the-art industrial manufacturing processes. This model cell then allows us to assess the environmental impact of the ceramic electrolyte synthesis and cell component manufacturing not just on an abstract level (per kg of material) but also with respect to their contributions to the final cell. The in-depth life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis revealed surprising similarities between oxide-based all-solid-state batteries and conventional Li-ion batteries. The overall LCA inventory on the material level is still dominated by the cathode active material, while the fabrication through ceramic manufacturing processes is a major contributor to the energy uptake. A clear path that identifies relevant research and development directions in terms of economic benefits and environmental sustainability could thus be developed to promote the competitiveness of oxide based all-solid-state batteries in the market

Policy Brief: Spatial Heterogeneity - Challenge and Opportunity for Net-Zero Germany

The energy system transformation in Germany is a challenge for society, economy and politics and has several impacts on multiple scales. This paper investigates the effects of the trajectories towards net zero emissions by 2050 through focusing on the spatial dimension of impacts, benefits, and losses for different stakeholders and technologies. Spatial heterogeneity in the energy transition means that regions enjoying benefits from decarbonization might diverge from regions experiencing losses, and that there are different geographical potentials and challenges. The question arising is one of the need for redistribution between benefits and losses, whilst ensuring that all stakeholders remain willing to act as frontrunners in the transformation of the energy system. Inclusion and participation in the process, together with a carefully targeted mixed set of regional energy policy, combining tax solutions and incentives for acceptance of required measures could facilitate a successful, efficient policy-supported energy transition

Does energy policy hurt international competitiveness of firms? A comparative study for Germany, Switzerland and Austria

This paper investigates the impact of energy policies on the export performance of firms. There has been a long policy debate on potentially negative impacts of cost-increasing energy policies on international competitiveness. We use firm-level data from three countries with similar industry structure but different energy policies: Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. We rely on firm manager assessments on the relevance of energy policy (in terms of taxes, regulations, standards, subsidies and demand stimulation) for their firm operation and link data on the adoption and development of new energy technologies. Regression analyses and matching approaches both show very few impacts of energy policy on export performance, suggesting that either policy impacts on firms’ cost are negligible in the period of study (2012 to 2014) or likely negative impacts are balanced by the adoption of new technology