A new study is making the rounds. It puts the price tag for renewable electricity higher than ever before. And it makes the same mistake as other high estimates – no subsequent savings are subtracted from these calculations. What happens if we do that? Craig Morris investigates. Remember former Environmental Minister Peter Altmaier’s estimate that the Energiewende would cost a billion euros? That figure drew a lot of criticism, primarily because it subtracted nothing – as though Germany would still be importing the same amount of fossil and nuclear fuel in 2050. Now, a new study by the Institute for Economic Research puts the price tag at 28 billion annually in the power sector. To reach the figure, the analysts not only included the cost of feed-in tariffs, but also grid upgrades, the cogeneration surcharge, and the capacity reserve that is being set up. I’d like to tell you more about the paper, but it has not been released by the Institute (IW-Köln). All we have is the announcement (in German) by German economics daily … Continue reading 28 billion annually for the Energiewende?