Solar Prosumers in the German Energy Transition: A Multi-Level Perspective Analysis of the German ‘Mieterstrom’ Model

Abstract

The expansion of photovoltaics in German cities has so far fallen short of expectations. The concept of ‘tenant electricity’ (‘Mieterstrom’ in German), in which tenants of a building are supplied with solar power produced on site, offers great potential here. A study on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy estimated the number of tenant households with good conditions for solar tenant electricity at 3.8 million. At the same time, the federal tenant electricity promotion scheme has been in place since 2017, but only about 1% of the annual budget has been claimed. The aim of this study is to identify the barriers for and drivers of diffusion of the tenant electricity model. To this end, a qualitative document analysis and a range of semi-structured expert interviews have been conducted. The theoretical framework used to guide the analysis is the multi-level perspective. The main barrier found for tenant electricity diffusion is the legal framework on the regime level, which also leads to high transaction costs of implementing tenant electricity. A social barrier is the inertia of some residents to actively concern themselves with their electricity supply and switch to a tenant electricity contract. Among its drivers are long-term trends such as the increasing electricity demand in urban areas, technical developments like blockchain technology and the increasing deployment of smart meters, and the EU Renewable Energy Directive. As long as the restrictive legal framework prevails, the further diffusion of tenant electricity will remain limited.

Virtual Net-Metering Option for Bangladesh: An Opportunity for Another Solar Boom like Solar Home System Program

“…The value was selected by considering the latest settled tariff rate for rooftop systems (OPEX model) between the system operator and energy consumer in Bangladesh [48]. In Germany, this value is 10% for the tenant electricity scheme known as Mietersrtom [25].…”

“…An entity develops and operates a power plant to produce energy and sells the energy to one or multiple consumers. In Germany, this model is known as tenant electricity, where the tenants can purchase cheaper power from the landlord [25,26]. In the case of solar farms, the model is comparable with the synthetic or virtual power purchase agreement (vPPA) between a producer and consumers.…”

Analysis of Prosumer Behavior in the Electrical Network

“…The concept of the prosumer has been around for a long time, but recent developments in the energy system have given it new life. Moser et al described the solar prosumers in the German energy transition system [22], and Jasi ński et al [23] showed the prosumer cooperatives development in rural areas. They described the differences for discount rates for individual prosumers (according to installation capacity).…”

Business Model Innovations for Renewable Energy Prosumer Development in Germany

“…These studies have also been primarily focused on analysing the features of specific prosumer-centered BMIs; for instance, their design framework, agorithm, and enabling technologies [16][17][18]. Only a few studies have taken a systematic perspective to understand how these BMIs interact with the various external factors shaping their development, such as regulatory frameworks, technological innovations, customer needs, and infrastructure [19]. Arguably, the wider interactions need to be systematically understood to assess the possibility of BMI upscaling [14,20].…”

“…Additionally, decentralized P2P and a new market design that facilitates trading flexibility from DERs should be investigated and monitored. Furthermore, the challenges for prosumer development can potentially be better addressed by combining different BMIs (also including BMs beyond this study, such as tenant electricity [19]).…”