1. Home
  2. Studies
  3. The Growth of Renewables in Municipalities: Factors Influencing the Decentralised Energy Transition in North Rhine-Westphalia
Martin Beznoska / Björn Kauder / Finn Arnd Wendland IW-Trends No. 4 25. January 2023 The Growth of Renewables in Municipalities: Factors Influencing the Decentralised Energy Transition in North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), the most populous of Germany’s sixteen states and an industrial heartland, is a particular focus of the energy transition. Despite considerable progress in expanding the use of renewable energy, NRW still lags far behind other German states.

Download PDF
Factors Influencing the Decentralised Energy Transition in North Rhine-Westphalia
Martin Beznoska / Björn Kauder / Finn Arnd Wendland IW-Trends No. 4 25. January 2023

The Growth of Renewables in Municipalities: Factors Influencing the Decentralised Energy Transition in North Rhine-Westphalia

Download PDF Quote

Copy the information

The link was added to your clipboard!

Share this article:

or copy the following link:

The link was added to your clipboard!

German Economic Institute (IW) German Economic Institute (IW)

North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), the most populous of Germany’s sixteen states and an industrial heartland, is a particular focus of the energy transition. Despite considerable progress in expanding the use of renewable energy, NRW still lags far behind other German states.

As the municipal level has a vital role to play in the success of the energy transition, this study examines the extent to which local factors are influencing the decentralised push to extend the use of renewables. Based on data from NRW’s urban and rural municipalities between 2010 and 2020, it examines the politica l affiliationof the local administration’s leader (the mayor), its financial situation (municipal debt) and the activity of the construction industry within its boundaries. The results show that, on average, cities and other municipalities that elected a „left-wing“ mayor in the 2009/2010 local government elections expanded the use of renewable energy less than those with „conservative“ leaders. Financial difficulties in the public budget at the beginning of the period were associated with weak growth in renewables, while municipalities with brisk construction and investment activity tended to achieve more. The results provide empirical findings on the significance of the framework conditions for the energy transition at the local level.

Content element with id 11752
Content element with id 11754
Download PDF
Factors Influencing the Decentralised Energy Transition in North Rhine-Westphalia
Martin Beznoska / Björn Kauder / Finn Arnd Wendland IW-Trends No. 4 25. January 2023

The Growth of Renewables in Municipalities: Factors Influencing the Decentralised Energy Transition in North Rhine-Westphalia

Download PDF Quote

Copy the information

The link was added to your clipboard!

German Economic Institute (IW) German Economic Institute (IW)

Share this article:

or copy the following link:

The link was added to your clipboard!

More on the topic

Read the article
Parul Kumar/ Heiner Von Lüpke / Marian Feist /Heather Exner-Pirot / Hubertus Bardt External Publication 4. November 2022

Perspectives on Designing a Climate Club: Alliance-Building to Strengthen International Climate Cooperation

A Statement of the G7 countries under the presidency of Germany in June 2022 expressed the intention of establishing an international climate club that is open and cooperative, with aspirations ranging from coordinating ambitious and transparent climate ...

IW

Read the article
Thomas Puls Expertise 13. September 2022

Compendium 5.2: CO2 Regulation of Road Transport in Europe

With the Compendium CO2 Regulation in Europe, the IW has been providing the interested public with a comprehensive collection of data on the development of CO2 emissions from passenger car traffic in the European Union, as well as on the applicable regulatory ...

IW

More about this topic

Content element with id 8880 Content element with id 9713