Discussion with ministers Altmaier and Lemke

On 29 May 2013, around 220 guests discussed the results of the study "Cost-Optimised Expansion of Renewable Energies in Germany." Prominent speakers included Federal Environment Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs of Rhineland-Palatinate, Eveline Lemke (Green). Others contributed to the discussion including Hermann Falk, Director Federal Association for Renewable Energies; Olivier Feix, Head of Corporate Communications at 50 Hertz; and Dr. Holger Krawinkel, Head of the energy division of the Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv). Dr. Christoph Maurer, CEO of Consentec GmbH, introduced the study’s main findings. Rainer Baake, Director of Agora Energiewende, introduced the topic. This was the first study to answer the question: What costs do the different expansion strategies for renewable energy by 2033 imply? The essential result is that an expansion focused in the vicinity of electricity consumers is not significantly different in terms of cost from an expansion focused at the best locations. An English summary of the results, the detailed assumptions of the study and a presentation (in German) are available for download below.