Sustainability Seminar Series - Professor Rolf Wüstenhagen on: "The Price of Renewable Energy Policy Risk"

Managing the transition to a renewable energy future is an important policy priority in many countries. Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is expected to make an essential contribution but due to relatively high cost, its growth to date has been largely driven by public policy, notably feed-in tariffs. Based on a survey on European PV project developers, Professor Wüstenhagen’s research suggests that project developers, who make a decision between PV investment opportunities in different countries, carefully weigh feed-in tariff-induced returns against a set of policy risks. His findings demonstrate that risk matters in PV policy design, and that a “price tag” can be attached to specific policy risks, such as the duration of administrative processes or uncertainty induced by an approaching capacity cap.

Professor Wüstenhagen is frequently interviewed by the media on current transformation of the energy system. From his perspective a complete turnaround towards renewable sources is possible, especially since the competitiveness of renewables has improved drastically in recent years.

Please register at sustainability@cbs.dk

Visit Greenwise and Network for Business Sustainability for more information about Professor Wüstenhagen’s work.