Solar feed-in tariffs and the merit order effect: A study of the German electricity market

Åsa Grytli Tveten, Torjus Folsland Bolkesjø, Thomas Martinsen and Håvard Hvarnes

Energy Policy, 2013, vol. 61, issue C, 761-770

Abstract: This study investigates the merit order effect (MOE) of the recent years' implementation of solar power in Germany. Market clearing electricity prices and production levels are compared for the years 2009–2011, and a model for the relationship between the electricity price and price sensitive electricity production is developed and applied to predict electricity prices in Germany from July 2010 to July 2011 with and without solar electricity generation (SEG). The results show that the SEG has caused a 7% reduction in average electricity prices for this period. The average daily maximum price and daily price variation are also found to decrease, by 13% and 23%, respectively. When taking the MOE into account the net consumer's cost of the solar feed-in tariff (FIT) system is found to be 23% less than the charge listed in the electricity bill. The German FIT policy for solar power has been subject to considerable public debate, and a common argument brought up in disfavor of the system is the high cost for the consumers. In this study we demonstrate the importance of including the MOE when evaluating the total costs and benefits of the FIT policy mechanism.

Keywords: Solar power; Feed-in tariffs; Merit order effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (82)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421513003960
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:enepol:v:61:y:2013:i:c:p:761-770

DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.05.060

Access Statistics for this article

Energy Policy is currently edited by N. France

More articles in Energy Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().