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2019 | Book

Exporting the Energiewende

German Renewable Energy Leadership and Policy Transfer

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About this book

Based on close to two hundred interviews with decision-makers, government officials, and industry stakeholders, Karoline Steinbacher presents the first in-depth enquiry into Germany’s efforts of “exporting” its sustainable energy policies. The book closes the empirical gap in understanding how Germany’s leadership influences the transfer of renewable energy policy to three heterogeneous cases, namely Morocco, South Africa, and California.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction
Abstract
The Energiewende, Germany’s ongoing energy system transformation, has received attention well beyond the country’s borders, triggering reactions from enthusiastic praise to outright disbelief. It has been lauded as “a world-saving achievement” (Friedman 2015) and as a “model for how we’ll get power in the future” (Kunzig 2015), while others see in it “an expensive gamble” (Karnitschnig 2014) and even “an energy market disaster” (Clark 2014). As a farreaching transition away from nuclear and fossil fuels and toward renewable energies and efficiency, the Energiewende model stands out, especially among industrial countries (IRENA 2014, Morgan & Weischer 2013, Stigson et al. 2013).
Karoline Steinbacher
Chapter 2. Theoretical Perspectives
Abstract
The research gaps this book addresses concern both the empirical case studied – the German Energiewende and its transfer to Morocco, South Africa, and California – and theoretical gaps related to understanding the international spread of policies. While the reality of policies traveling across borders, including in the environmental and renewable energy field, is well established (Busch & Jörgens 2010, Sommerer 2011), how and why this happens in particular instances is less clear (Bennett 1991, Gilardi 2013b, James & Lodge 2003, Majone 1991: 104). In particular, the ways in which the source of a transferred model and active sending countries interested in finding followers affect transfer, have received very little attention in the literature so far.
Karoline Steinbacher
Chapter 3. Analytical Framework and Hypotheses
Abstract
Rather than following a deductive research agenda, where hypotheses from the literature are tested, an iterative, abductive approach was adopted. This means that a general theoretical framework and guiding hypotheses were developed prior to field research, but these were updated and fine-tuned to reflect empirical knowledge gained (Héritier 2008: 65, Reichertz 2007, Reichertz 2010). The choice of an iterative approach – going back and forth between the theoretical framework and data – was guided by several considerations.
Karoline Steinbacher
Chapter 4. Research Design and Methods
Abstract
Research presented in this book is rooted in a nuanced interpretivist epistemology that recognizes the intrinsic links between objects and their interpretation by “meaningful actors” and calls for scholars to “aim at discovering the meanings that motivate […] actions rather than relying on universal laws external to the actors” (Della Porta & Keating 2008: 24). Studying events, from an interpretivist perspective, is not useful “without looking at the perception individuals have of the world outside”, and their “imperfect knowledge and complex motivations” (Della Porta & Keating 2008: 25). The subjectivity of agents whose actions are studied, but also of the researcher, is acknowledged, and the possibility of establishing firm and universal laws of causation in social science research is met with skepticism.
Karoline Steinbacher
Chapter 5. Energiewende Leadership: Internal and External Dimensions
Abstract
On 23 August 2015, renewable energy generation in Germany hit a new record: between 1 pm and 2 pm, more than 83% of electricity consumed in Germany came from wind, solar, hydro and biomass (Agora Energiewende 2016a: 10). Over the course of 2015, the share of renewables in the German electricity mix exceeded 30% for the first time (Agora Energiewende 2016a: 8). The Energiewende, with its threefold aim of decarbonization, reducing primary energy consumption, and phasing out nuclear power is well under way and is one of the world’s most prominent and controversially discussed plans of transforming an energy system (Morgan & Weischer 2013).
Karoline Steinbacher
Chapter 6. Case Study: Morocco
Abstract
Morocco is a lower middle-income country with a per capita GDP of $3,190 in 2014 and a population of about 34 million (World Bank 2016b). The country’s geographical location, stretching from the strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean in the north to the contested territory of the Western Sahara and the Mauritanian border in the south give it a strategic position. Morocco’s claim to the territory of the Western Sahara (its “Southern Provinces”) led it to leave the African Union, which recognizes the status of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as a state (Zisenwine 2011: 72).
Karoline Steinbacher
Chapter 7. Case Study: South Africa
Abstract
South Africa’s first free and democratic elections after decades of apartheid in 1994 and the entry into force of a progressive constitution in 1997 marked the beginning of a new era in South Africa (Deegan 2011). While the country’s international contacts were very limited during the apartheid years due to international boycotts, bilateral and multilateral cooperation resumed quickly after the country’s transition toward democracy. Germany was among the first donors to launch bilateral cooperation after the end of apartheid.
Karoline Steinbacher
Chapter 8. Case Study: California
Abstract
Germany and California, the world’s fourth and eight largest economies (Sisney & Garosi 2015), stand out globally as leaders in the deployment of renewable energy technologies for electricity generation. With more than one quarter of their electricity now being supplied by wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, or hydro- energy, the question of whether and how policy transfer took place in the field of sustainable energy policy is a relevant one (Galiteva & Moss 2014). A comparison of California’s and Germany’s energy and climate policy goals and indicators reveals a high degree of similarity in terms of ambitions, as shown in Table 18.
Karoline Steinbacher
Chapter 9. Cross-Case Discussion
Abstract
This chapter identifies common patterns and cross-cutting findings from the case studies presented in Chapters 6, 7, and 8, with regard to the book’ main research question: What determines the effectiveness of German Energiewende leadership in promoting renewable energy policy transfer to Morocco, South Africa, and California?
Karoline Steinbacher
Chapter 10. Conclusion
Abstract
This book set out to explore what determines the effectiveness of Germany’s leadership in promoting renewable energy policy transfer to Morocco, South Africa, and California. Chapter 1 introduced the research aim and positioned the book at the intersection of policy transfer and leadership literature.
Karoline Steinbacher
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Exporting the Energiewende
Author
Dr. Karoline Steinbacher
Copyright Year
2019
Electronic ISBN
978-3-658-22496-7
Print ISBN
978-3-658-22495-0
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-22496-7