Institutionally and Technologically Consistent Energy Strategies for a Rather Central or Decentralized Energy Transition in Germany (de.zentral)

In 2011, the German government passed a comprehensive bundle of regulations that marked the beginning of the energy transition in Germany. This has far-reaching consequences for the German energy system and its embedment in the European energy market. Nevertheless, a consensus is far from being reached. Different stakeholder have very different expectations towards its actual design. While more locally rooted actors call for a decentralized energy system, the EU Commission and economically oriented voices advocate a greater centralization.

The project de.zentral concerned the following current questions:

1. Which options exist to design the transformation of the energy system in regard of the contradicting visions of a centralized or a decentralized energy supply?
2. Which technologies and institutions are consistent when energy strategies are to be developed in decentralized or centralized manner?
3. How can different levels of institutions interact?
4. To which degree do proposed paths contradict one another, where are they complementary? Which institutions are needed for the implementation of a decentralized or centralized transformation of the energy system?