| Energy is the cornerstone that supports the survival and development of human society.Every improvement and replacement of energy has greatly promoted the rapid development of productivity and the great improvement of human life.After the eighteenth century,the extensive use of coal,oil and electricity has promoted the first and second industrial revolutions of mankind,and enabled human society to move from farming civilization to industrial civilization.Energy has therefore become an important factor in promoting global economic development.As the economy develops and the population increases,so does the demand for energy.With the continuous growth of energy consumption,the scarcity of resources and the pollution caused by the fossil energy consumption are becoming more and more prominent: on the one hand,the imbalance of fossil energy reserves,the exhaustion of pressure and the contradiction between energy supply and demand have led countries to find solutions to ensure energy supply,such as developing and utilizing new energy sources to replace fossil energy.On the other hand,the development and use of fossil energy is an important factor in global climate change and ecological environment deterioration,threatening the sustainable development of human society.Under the influence of factors such as geopolitics,economic crisis,technological change,ecological environment and climate change,the energy system based on fossil energy formed more than 150 years ago,is facing more and more challenges.The world energy pattern is undergoing a profound change.Facing the growing energy demand and increasingly severe environmental pressures,many countries have successively introduced energy transition policies and action plans.Germany is considered to be the forerunner of global energy transition.The construction of the first hydro-power station in 1924 was considered as the beginning of the renewable energy development.In 1980,the German Academy ofSciences’ first report on “Energy Transition: No Growth and Prosperity of Oil and Uranium” put forward the term “Energiewende”(Energy Transition).In 1991,Germany enacted the first renewable energy law,the “Power Access Law”,which greatly promoted the development of wind power and laid the foundation for the development of renewable energy in Germany.In 2000,the Renewable Energy Law was officially promulgated,marking the official start of the German energy transition.From the historical evolution of the German energy transition,it can be seen that energy transition is the result of a combination of factors.From the time of the firewood to the coal era,then to the oil era,the direct cause of the first two energy transitions is the technological change and the imbalance between energy supply and demand.The third energy transition that is currently undergoing is affected by the combined effects of the anti-nuclear culture,climate change and energy supply safety.In view of this,Germany regards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and phasing out nuclear energy as the two major policy objectives of its energy transition,and regards increasing the proportion of renewable energy in the energy consumption structure and reducing energy consumption as the two core objectives of its transition.Taking into account its special energy resource endowment,economic and social development level and cultural traditions,Germany has chosen to develop renewable energy and improve energy efficiency as its main path of transition,and accelerate the reform of power market,innovate business models and promote technology to create a good environment for the smooth progress of the transition and the realization of transition goals.The choice and advancement of the path cannot be achieved without the support of effective policies.The implementation of policies such as Feed-in-tariff policy,non-discriminatory energy network access mechanism,the incentives for the building energy conservation,and the science and technology innovation strategy have achieved good results and greatly promoted the process of energy transition.As the driving force and blood of economic development,energy’s policy and path of transition have an important impact on the development of a country’seconomy.An analysis of the macroeconomic effects of German energy transition through qualitative and quantitative methods finds that the role of energy transition in macroeconomic development is positive,and investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency has had a positive impact on GDP and employment.From the economic perspective to analyse the German energy transition experience,we can find that in order to make up for the market failure,fully reflect the positive externalities of renewable energy under the market mechanism,and promote the development of renewable energy from its initial stage to the maturity,the government must effectively intervene in energy transition,including the top-level design of the strategy,the formulation of supportive policies,and the continuous improvement of the legal system.The power system has a strong natural monopoly,but because of technology advances,demand changes,and market expansion,the boundaries of natural monopolies also change.Germany vigorously promotes the reform of power marketization,reforms the electricity market monopolized by vertically integrated energy companies,introduces competition in the point of distribution and sales,conducts franchising in the distribution chain,and conducts monopoly operations in the transmission chain.In the process of transition,Germany also pays great attention to the adjustment of the market mechanism.Through the diminishing subsidies,competition for premium subsidies,and negative electricity prices,the enthusiasm of market players is fully mobilized to improve the market competitiveness of the renewable energy industry.In order to balance the relationship between energy transition and economic growth,Germany has reduced the renewable energy surcharges of energy-intensive enterprises,protected the international competitiveness of domestic enterprises,and exerted the advantages of manufacturing industries to promote the development of the entire industrial chain of renewable energy,as well as boost the economic growth through investment and job creation.The transition cannot be smooth sailing.Because Germany is the first to try in many aspects,it also faces enormous challenges in the process of transition.For example,the problem of heavy burdens on residents and enterprises caused by the rise in retail electricity prices.There is the dilemma of choosing coal as a transitionalenergy source.On one hand,in terms of the abandonment of nuclear and resource endowments,Germany does not have many options.On the other hand,the increase in coal consumption directly leads to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.A high proportion of renewable energy is both a technical issue and an economic issue.Germany needs to think about and solve the dilemma that the marginal cost of wind power and solar power generation may be zero in the future.The utilization of renewable energy and energy efficiency improvement in areas such as heat and transportation still faces challenges.From a historical perspective,China’s energy transition has also achieved many achievements,such as the continuous expansion of non-fossil energy consumption,the continuous improvement of energy efficiency,and the continuous deepening of power system reform.However,because China has not yet completed the road of industrialization and urbanization,the demand for energy is still growing,and higher requirements are placed on the safety of energy.Compared with the indicators of German energy transition,there are still many gaps in China.For example,the high proportion of coal in the energy structure and the pressure of carbon emission reduction caused by it,the proportion of renewable energy in the energy structure is still low,and the abandonment Light-limited phenomenon,low energy efficiency,rigid energy management system,and relatively backward level of scientific research and development.Germany and China are both economic powers.They have high dependence on the import of oil and gas.Therefore,they face many similar problems and challenges in energy transition.The experience and challenges faced by Germany’s energy transition have certain implications for China.It is important to vigorously develop renewable energy and clarify its dominant position in the energy consumption structure in the future.It is necessary to optimize transitional energy according to actual needs.From the current conditions,clean and efficient use of coal and stable supply of natural gas can take on the task.The government should formulate a national strategy for energy transition,promote energy system reform,improve the legal system,and strengthen policy supervision and evaluation.It is necessary to give full play to the regulatory role of market mechanisms,timely adjust renewableenergy subsidy policies,accelerate power market reform and energy pricing system construction,break natural monopoly,and restore energy product attributes.It is suggested to continuously improve energy efficiency by promoting co-generation and development of distributed energy.It should be considered to strengthen the top-level design of scientific and technological innovation,increase capital investment,effectively integrate scientific research resources and encourage collaborative innovation.It is also important to increase publicity and education,establish transparent and convenient energy information disclosure and sharing systems,increase economic incentives for energy conservation,and enable citizens to become participants and beneficiaries of energy transition.Always grasping the healthy growth of the economy as the ultimate goal of energy transition,it is also necessary to adhere to the concept of scientific and green development,actively protect the competitiveness of domestic enterprises and develop new industries.China’s energy transition has a long way to go.Under the guidance of the "four revolutions,one cooperation" strategic thinking,it is important to strengthen the government’s scientific regulation and control,give full play to the institutional advantages of concentrating power and doing big things,and fully learn from the successes and failures of energy transition in advanced countries such as Germany.The aim is to accelerate the transition of energy,establish a low-carbon,clean,safe and efficient modern energy system and achieve sustainable economic and social development. |
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