Ten questions on capacity markets

How are we to ensure the reliability of our power supply as wind and solar power continue to make up an ever greater share of that supply? How can we ensure that enough dispatchable power plants remain available when there is not enough sunlight or wind? The ongoing discussion about capacity mechanisms addresses these questions. The result could be a new segment of the power market – a capacity market. There, production capacity would be traded. To show what such a capacity market can look like, Agora Energiewende invited three renowned researchers to present their ideas at an event on June 10, 2013 (see the presentations <link service veranstaltungen detailansicht article strommarktdesign-im-vergleich-ausgestaltungsoptionen-eines-kapazitaetsmarkts>here; a detailed report is also available in German here from Energie & Management 13-14/2013). The three models presented and discussed were

• the comprehensive capacity market (Prof. Dr. Felix Höffler, Energiewirtschaftliches Institut at the University of Cologne),
• the focused capacity market (Dr. Felix Christian Matthes, Öko-Institut)
• the distributed capacity market (Dr. Nicolai Herrmann, Enervis Energy Advisors).

To facilitate the comparison of these three models, we asked each of the speakers to answer ten questions about their specific design before the event. Their answers are collected in the reader entitled “Strommarktdesign im Vergleich: Ausgestaltungsoptionen eines Kapazitätsmarkts.” The reader also provides an overview of the rules for capacity markets in the EU’s Electricity Directive for the Internal Market and the draft for specifications on capacity mechanisms for the European Union from the European Commission. Ordering prints copies
The printed publication can be ordered here. 
Note: A limited number of copies was printed, and the study will probably not be reprinted.