Allgemein

The team of the research group MultiplEE is supported by a practice advisory board, which consists of representatives from companies, science, specialist agencies, environmental and planning authorities. Central milestones of the research project, such as current (political) developments around wind energy, planned publications or suitable formats for the exchange of knowledge with practice are discussed here at an early stage.

Last Wednesday, the research group invited to this year’s advisory board meeting 2019 at the Villa Tilmanns in Leipzig. After project leader Paul Lehmann introduced the project with an overview lecture on current research results, Jan-Niklas Meier presented the joint publication entitled “Does the climate package lack an area target for onshore wind energy? The team of the research group thus picks up the current discourse according to which the demands for an area of 2% provided for wind energy are becoming louder and louder in order to still be able to achieve the climate targets. Subsequently, the advisory board discussed various possible solutions and the feasibility of a concrete demand. In addition to further presentations on current research projects, the focus was on the exchange of information on the planned conference on areas for wind energy and the further planning of cooperation with the Advisory Board.

We would like to thank all representatives for their participation. Many thanks also to Jennifer Hauck, who moderated the event.

Under the motto “Energy challenges for the next decade”, scientists discussed effective strategies for a sustainable EU energy policy at the 16th IAEE European Conference in Ljubljana. The central topic of this conference will be to assess the impacts and identify the main challenges of these events for all energy segments to ensure a sustainable policy for the next decade.

Charlotte Geiger, Paul Lehmann and Philip Tafarte from Team MultiplEE presented their research results and showed how the regulatory framework in Germany and Europe can be designed to promote the transformation of the electricity system sustainably, taking into account the multiple environmental effects of renewables. In this context, Paul Lehmann presented the results of the MultiplEE-expert workshop on “Spatial Distribution of the Expansion of Wind Energy on Land until 2030 – Sustainability Conflicts and Synergies”. In addition, Philip Tafarte presented modelling results on conflicting objectives between electricity production costs, residents and species protection. Charlotte Geiger discussed whether the spatial promotion of renewable energy should be more spatially differentiated in the future.

Further information on the project can be found here.

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How can the expansion of wind energy be sustainable and how can the transformation of energy systems be advanced? The current socio-political debate is increasingly dealing with this question. The decision to phase out coal in particular requires an accelerated expansion of wind energy. The German Bundestag has recently set up a working group for the further development of renewable energy promotion. Last year, the Federal Constitutional Court also called for a more uniform approach, especially for the expansion of wind energy. Against this background, at the invitation of the MultiplEE research group, around 30 experts from science, industry, the energy sector and associations discussed how conflicts of objectives could be resolved and which policy options could improve the spatial coordination of wind energy expansion from the point of view of sustainability.

“It is undisputed that there is already a multitude of policy options for the spatial control of wind energy expansion. However, it is difficult to agree on a specific form that meets all sustainability criteria. There is also a lack of coordination between federal levels and instruments. On the one hand, this delays the expansion of renewables and, on the other hand, makes the sustainable restructuring of the electricity sector more difficult. It is about time for political solutions that take better account of these coordination deficits,” explains Jun.-Prof. Dr. Paul Lehmann, head of the research group.

During the workshop, the experts* came to the conclusion that the legal requirements for the planning and approval of wind turbines should be harmonised more closely. Particularly in nature and species conservation, the requirements between the federal states often vary too much. In addition, the expansion objectives of the federal states (Bundesländer) should be better coordinated. The experts also controversially discussed a possible regional differentiation of tenders for the promotion of renewable energies. The working group set up by the Bundestag is also dealing with this issue. A bonus for wind power plants erected in the south of Germany is being considered. In this way, it is hoped, grid bottlenecks between northern and southern Germany could be defused.

We would like to thank all experts* for their participation and the stimulating exchange in the workshop!

The results of the discussion will be summarised in a publication and will be available on our website soon. Further background information on the project can be found here.

On December 3, the Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Leipzig invited to the public inaugural lecture of Jun.-Prof. Dr. Paul Lehmann to junior professor of economics, especially environmental and energy economics. After the welcoming speech by the dean Prof. Dr. Uwe Vollmer and the greeting speech by Prof. Dr. Erik Gawel Dr. Paul Lehmann spoke about the topic “If renewable energy is not always sustainable: how can trade offs in the energy transition be solved?”

During his presentation, Paul Lehmann illustrated that the state-subsidized expansion of renewable energies is a central component of the German energy transition and thus makes an important contribution to environmental and climate protection. However, the use of renewable energies also leads to sustainability conflicts. The political framework conditions must therefore be designed in such a way that the expansion of renewable energies is as cost-effective, secure, socially and environmentally compatible as possible.

Would you like to know more about our research group? Read more about our project.

The expansion of renewable energies is progressing at different speeds within Germany. This development continues to be viewed with criticism. However, the regionalization of tenders do not offer a solution, comment Paul Lehmann and Erik Gawel of the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in their position in the Tagesspiegel.

The share of renewable energies in electricity consumption needs to grow to at least 50% by 2030 if the long-term energy transition goals of Germany are to be realised. To achieve this, the onshore wind-power generation needs to be increased from the current level of about 70 TWh to potentially up to 200 TWh per year. Considering this background, the research group MultiplEE organized its first expert workshop on “Spatial distribution of the development of wind energy on land by 2030 – sustainability conflicts and synergies”.

The aim of the workshop was to develop a scenario how the amount of electricity generated by onshore wind turbines in 2030 (200 TWh) should be distributed to the federal states taking into account identified sustainability criteria (wind yield, load proximity, nature and landscape protection and distributive justice). The participating experts from industry, science, energy industry and associations exchanged views on synergies and conflicts between the criteria mentioned above. Moreover, they discussed within the scope of a simulation game priority and subordinate areas for a sustainable development of wind energy. First discussion results can be summarized as follows: The attendees agree on a necessary significant expansion of wind energy in all regions. However, the expectations on how much each region has to contribute to the expansion of wind energy are basically different and depend on the importance of each particular sustainability criterion.

We would like to thank all participants for the inspiring exchange of views during the workshop!

The results of the discussion will be summarized in a publication and are available on our website soon.
More background information about the project can be found here.