The politics of renewable electricity in the UK: the roles of policy feedback and institutional context

Angela Merkel’s visit to London yesterday is being widely reported in the context of David Cameron’s efforts to secure EU reform.However, the presence of Europe’s electorally most successful leader is also a reminder of some contrasts between Germany and the UK in the area of energy policy.

Moreover, comparative evidence from Europe on non-technology specific quota mechanisms and technology specific feed-in tariffs for wind energy suggests that the former have higher costs, are less effective and produce high levels of windfall profits . . . Nevertheless, the evidence does provide considerable support for the view that technology-specific feed-in tariffs have been successful. Interestingly, this suggests that in countries with feed-in tariffs, governments have been able to overcome information asymmetries . . .

Between 1990 and 2000, the UK’s grid carbon factor fell by almost 30%, but in the decade 2000 to 2010, it fell only 3%. By contrast, while Germany’s decarbonisation trend has been slower, is has been sustained, with the grid factor falling by 14% in the 1990s and almost 12% in the 2000s. The German tortoise has now caught up with the UK hare.