Abstract
The transformation of the conventional energy system towards renewable energies has entailed an increasing decentralization of energy generation in Germany, as the production units are smaller and draw on regional potentials. This can result in positive socio-economic effects in regions where the potential is exploited. The focus of this paper lies on evaluating existing methods and developing new ones, which can be used to determine local added value through renewable energy systems. The methods were required to cover direct as well as induced municipal added value effects and to include all steps of the examined value chain. A combination of methods was tested in a case study for the solar power system value chain in the city of Freiburg (ca. 220,000 inhabitants). The added value through this sector in the year 2009 was calculated at 30.8 million euros through direct effects and 6.2 million euros through induced effects. This total municipal added value of 37 million euros can be converted into roughly 1,500 jobs within the city boundaries. Based on some conservative assumptions, these numbers should be considered as minimum values.
Highlights
The increasing utilization of renewable energies (RE) is a vital step towards a more sustainable society
The interviewees stated that the depiction of the value chain was complete but that some features or ambiguities needed to be understood and explained: For the manufacturing it needs to be considered that the production steps for crystalline and thin-film PV are different
Wholesalers can act as importers of systems but this has no influence on the generation of added value as only the distribution is considered at this step of the chain
Summary
The increasing utilization of renewable energies (RE) is a vital step towards a more sustainable society. Sustainability 2012, 4 production in Germany from 6.4 percent in the year 2000 to 16.4 percent in 2009 [1] This expansion entailed a stronger decentralization of the German energy system, as comparably small systems were installed that draw on regional potentials. Reliable data is usually missing when arguing for local added value of RE This is the starting point for the present paper: The scientific evaluation of local economic effects in terms of local added value through the application of RE is still a young research field with only a few studies published on this topic. A focus is set on the evaluation of the value chain, the inclusion of missing steps (especially Research and Development, R&D) and the measurement of induced economic effects at the local level. Inputs from outside of the municipality are acknowledged but not calculated as part of the municipal added value
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