TY - GEN A1 - Hoffmann, Christin A1 - Auer, Thorsten A1 - Berg, Timo T1 - Inter- and intragenerational differences in corrupt behavior: the development of morals after German reunification T2 - The European Journal of Comparative Economics N2 - We investigate differences in bribing decisions among two generations from East and West Germany in a bribery game conducted as an online study (N=168). This way, we aim to explore moral considerations of individuals influenced by two formerly different institutional systems. We find a higher propensity to bribe among young Germans compared to the older generation. Young East Germans even reveal a slightly greater inclination to bribe than their West German counterparts. We conclude that preferences for personal favors may be induced among young East Germans given the tense relationship between market opportunities and conveyed cultural traits of a socialist imprint. KW - Moral behavior KW - Corruption KW - Intra- and intergenerational study KW - Institutional transformation KW - Reunification Y1 - 2025 UR - https://ejce.liuc.it/articles/ejce032.pdf SN - 1824-2979 VL - February 2025 IS - Vol. 21 SP - 211 EP - 264 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hoffmann, Christin A1 - Byrukuri Gangadhar, Shanmukha Srinivas A1 - Müsgens, Felix T1 - Smells like green energy the impact of bioenergy production on residential property values in Germany T2 - Science Direkt N2 - One requirement for the fast and efficient development of bioenergy is a clear understanding of the negative externalities bioenergy facilities cause. At this point, discussions in practice and research as to which externalities have an impact and how strong this potential impact actually is remain inconclusive. We utilize bioenergy plant construction data from Germany between 2007 and 2022 and match it with information about real estate in the plants’ vicinity. Applying improved difference-in-difference estimation procedures to analyze heterogeneous treatment effects, we interpret a causal impact of bioenergy plant commissioning on housing prices in the vicinity in terms of the average net external effects affecting the vicinity. Overall, we find a minor negative impact of -0,5 % on home prices within 1 km of bioenergy plants but no statistically significant effect beyond this distance. This suggests that visual pollution has a limited role as an externality of bioenergy plants. However, if we restrict the sample to homes downwind of bioenergy plants, we find a significant yet small negative impact on home prices, ranging from -1,0 % to - 1,3 %. Additionally, homes near bioenergy plants that use gaseous inputs - which emit stronger odors - experience price reductions between -0,4 % to -0,7 %. This lets us conclude that, besides visual pollution, odor emission may play a more significant role in affecting nearby home prices. KW - Bioenergy KW - Oder emission KW - Difference-in-differences KW - Hedonic pricing Y1 - 2025 UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988325002282 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2025.108404 VL - 145 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - Elsevier B.V. CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bernecker, Maximilian A1 - Gebhardt, Marc A1 - Ben Amor, Souhir A1 - Wolter, Martin A1 - Müsgens, Felix T1 - Quantifying the impact of load forecasting accuracy on congestion management in distribution grids T2 - International journal of electrical power & energy systems N2 - Digitalization is a global trend in energy systems and beyond. However, it is often unclear what digitalization means exactly in the context of energy systems and how the benefits of digitalization can be quantified. Providing additional information, e.g., through sensors and metering equipment, is one concrete angle where digitalization contributes. This paper provides a framework to quantify the value of such additional information in distribution grids. We analyze to what extent smart meters improve the accuracy of day-ahead load forecasts and quantify the savings in congestion management costs resulting from the improved accuracy. To quantify the cost reduction, we conduct a case study employing a simplified IEEE test system. Historical electricity load data from over 6,000 smart meters was used to improve day-ahead load forecasts. We assessed and compared the forecasting performance to estimates based on standard load profiles with multiple load forecast simulations in the network based on uncertainty parameterizations from forecasts with and without smart meter data. Calculating redispatch cost in the distribution grid, we find that the forecast based on smart meter data reduces key redispatch parameters such as the share of expected voltage violations, the amount of rescheduled generation by more than 90%. These improvements translate into a reduction in congestion management costs by around 97%. Furthermore, we shed light on whether the gains increase linearly with the number of smart meters and available data in the grid. When smart meter shares are increased uniformly throughout the grid, savings are concave, i.e., the first 10% of smart meters reduces congestion management costs by around 20% while the last 10% reduces these costs only marginally. Focusing smart meter installation on the most congested nodes reduces congestion management costs by around 60% with just 10% smart meter coverage, significantly outperforming a uniform rollout. However, savings in congestion management alone are not likely to recover the installation and operation costs of the installed smart meter. KW - Distribution Grid KW - Congestion Management KW - Uncertainty KW - Forecasting KW - Smart Meter Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijepes.2025.110713 SN - 0142-0615 VL - 168 SP - 1 EP - 27 PB - Elsevier BV CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Batz Liñeiro, Taimyra A1 - Müsgens, Felix T1 - Pay-back time : increasing electricity prices and decreasing costs make renewable energy competitive T2 - Energy policy N2 - The global energy transition needs a large-scale rollout of electricity generation from renewable energy sources (RES). Leading nations such as Spain, Japan, and Germany have invested early and substantially in RES. This leadership has been associated with high expenditures, but the trend is reversing as RES become more competitive. First, levelized costs of electricity for RES have decreased significantly and second, wholesale prices for electricity have increased, due to more ambitious climate protection and rising fuel prices. Despite favorable developments indicating a decline in the financial support needed for renewable deployment—and the fact that many countries still need to significantly increase their renewable capacities to meet climate objectives—renewable support has once again come under criticism. This paper demonstrates that cost-related criticism and concern is often unwarranted. By quantifying the aggregated subsidies of all RES units in Germany, which arguably are among the highest in the world, our findings reveal that: i) the net support costs of RES have been high in the past, ii) most net subsidies have already been paid and iii) newer installations of wind offshore, wind onshore and ground mounted PV are economically profitable. In addition, we show that wind onshore has been the most cost-efficient technology over time and explore the remarkable evolution of solar technologies, transitioning from one of the costliest to one of the most cost-effective options. KW - Energy transition KW - Renewable energy KW - RES act KW - Germany Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2025.114523 SN - 1873-6777 VL - 199 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Elsevier BV CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Antweiler, Werner A1 - Müsgens, Felix T1 - The new merit order : the viability of energy-only electricity markets with only intermittent renewable energy sources and grid-scale storage T2 - Energy economics N2 - What happens to the merit order of electricity markets when all electricity is supplied by intermittent renewable energy sources coupled with large-scale electricity storage? With near-zero marginal cost of production, will there still be a role for an energy-only electricity market? We answer these questions both analytically and empirically for electricity markets in Texas and Germany. What emerges in market equilibrium is the ‘new merit order’. Curtailment at zero prices is a necessary feature of the new merit order, complementing peak prices to cover fixed costs of storage. Storage cannot ‘solve’ curtailment, because curtailment provides essential zero-price periods. Our work demonstrates that as long as free entry and competition ensure effective price setting, an efficient new merit order emerges in electricity markets even when the grid is completely powered by intermittent sources with near-zero marginal costs. We find that energy-only markets remain viable and functional. KW - Electricity market KW - Equilibrium100% renewables and storage KW - System prices KW - Merit order Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2025.108439 SN - 1873-6181 VL - 145 SP - 1 EP - 28 PB - Elsevier BV CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Ben Amor, Souhir A1 - Sgarciu, Smaranda A1 - Batz Lineiro, Taimyra BatzLineiro A1 - Müsgens, Felix T1 - Advanced models for hourly marginal CO2 emission factor estimation : a synergy between fundamental and statistical approaches T2 - Applied energy N2 - Global warming is caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2). The reduction of carbon dioxide emissions is thus an energy policy priority. A metric to quantify the change in CO2 emissions is the marginal emission factor. Marginal emission factors are needed for various purposes, for example to analyze the emission impact of electric vehicle charging. This paper presents two methodologies to estimate the marginal emission factor in electricity systems with high temporal resolution. The first is an energy systems model that incrementally calculates the marginal emission factors. This calculation is computationally intensive when the time resolution is high, but is very accurate because it considers relevant market factors on both the supply and demand sides and emulates the electricity market dynamics. The second is a Markov Switching Dynamic Regression model, a statistical model designed to estimate marginal emission factors faster, and it is benchmarked against the dynamic linear regression model widely used in the marginal emission factor estimation literature. For the German electricity market, we estimate the marginal emission factor time series both historically (2019, 2020) using Agora Energiewende and for the future (2025, 2030, and 2040) using estimated energy system data. The results indicate that the Markov Switching Dynamic Regression model outperforms benchmark models. Hence, the Markov Switching Dynamic Regression model is a simpler alternative to the computationally intensive incremental marginal emission factor, especially when short-term marginal emission factor estimation is needed. The results of the marginal emission factor estimation are applied to an exemplary low-emission vehicle charging scenario to estimate CO2 savings by shifting the charge hours to those corresponding to the lower marginal emission factor. We implemented the emission-minimized charging approach using both marginal emission factors. Over a 5-year period, the Markov Switching Dynamic Regression model appears to save 47.9 % of emissions on average, compared to 6.5 % real-world saving. The maximal value possible with incremental MEFs would be 37.6 %. KW - Marginal emission factor KW - Energy system model KW - CO2 emissions KW - Electricity generation KW - Markov switching dynamic regression model KW - Emission-minimized vehicle charging Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.126265 SN - 1872-9118 VL - 397 SP - 1 EP - 25 PB - Elsevier BV CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Muhammad, Sulaman A1 - Hoffmann, Christin A1 - Müsgens, Felix T1 - Assessing energy security risks : implications for household electricity prices in the EU T2 - Energy N2 - Energy security has emerged as a critical issue, especially for Europe, driven by escalating geopolitical tensions and the transition toward sustainable energy sources. Beyond affecting national energy supply, energy security also significantly influences the affordability of electricity for consumers. We examine the impact of energy security on household electricity prices, focusing on three key indicators: energy dependency, energy diversity, and geopolitical risk. Using panel data of 27 EU countries from 2007 to 2022, the analysis reveals that both energy diversity and dependency contribute to lowering electricity prices, while geopolitical risk shows no significant direct effect. However, the interaction between energy dependency and geopolitical risk reveals that during times of heightened geopolitical risks, a heavy reliance on foreign energy can lead to significantly higher electricity prices. Further 2SLS estimation and additional analysis with extended controls confirm the robustness of these findings. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers focused on enhancing energy security. KW - Energy diversity KW - Energy dependency KW - Energy geopolitical risk KW - Electricity prices Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2025.136201 SN - 1873-6785 VL - 327 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Elsevier BV CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Genge, Lucien A1 - Neuwirth, Marius A1 - Al-Dabbas, Khaled A1 - Fleiter, Tobias A1 - Müsgens, Felix T1 - Optimising green value chains for the chemical industry in Europe T2 - International journal of hydrogen energy N2 - Transforming Europe's basic chemical industries for climate neutrality necessitates strategic decisions about sourcing green ammonia and methanol. Using a spatially detailed, techno-economic optimisation model for 72 industrial sites, we compare three distinct value chain setups: domestic production, hydrogen imports, and direct commodity imports. Direct commodity imports consistently emerge as the most cost-effective strategy for most countries, with average savings of 14 % for ammonia and 18 % for methanol in 2040. However, the picture is more diverse across the individual countries. Domestic ammonia production remains competitive in regions with abundant renewables like Southern Europe and Norway, while hydrogen imports offer strategic value for the largest industrial sites in Germany, the Netherlands, and hubs near the MENA region. On average, a fully domestic production of green ammonia would result in 15 % higher costs at European level equal to about 1.4 billion €/year - compared to commodity imports. At site level, the cost premium ranges between −13 % (domestic production is cheaper than imports) and +38 %. Our findings provide policymakers with a foundation to develop industrial transition strategies that balance cost efficiency and sovereignty in the ammonia/fertiliser and methanol/chemicals value chains. They underline the importance of European cooperation by deploying best wind and solar potentials and establishing European energy transport infrastructure as backbone of a competitive net-zero industry. KW - Green value chains KW - Green ammonia KW - Green methanol KW - Sourcing strategies KW - Energy sovereignty KW - Techno-economic optimisation KW - Industrial decarbonisation Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2025.152689 SN - 1879-3487 VL - 199 SP - 1 EP - 3 PB - Elsevier BV CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Müsgens, Felix A1 - Radke, Silvian M. A1 - Panitz, Felix T1 - Solar infeed during low demand hours - a problem? T2 - 2025 21st International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM) N2 - This paper addresses negative electricity prices resulting from the integration of renewable energy sources into power systems. We show that a significant share of renewable capacity, particularly solar and wind, are unresponsive to negative prices. The study presents two scenarios for future excess generation in the German electricity system: a business-as-usual scenario and a scenario with enhanced demand-side flexibility. Results show that without increased demand flexibility, the system could face excess generation, i.e. supply exceeding demand at the lowest price currently allowed (−500E/MWh), of up to 15 GW by 2027, with negative prices causing significant market disruption. Conversely, the extended demand flexibility scenario could mitigate these issues significantly. The findings underscore the necessity for demand-side flexibility and efficient curtailment of RES output. KW - Flexibility KW - Intermittent Generation KW - Renewable Energy Sources KW - Negative Electricity Prices Y1 - 2025 SN - 979-8-3315-1278-1 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/EEM64765.2025.11050359 SN - 2165-4093 SN - 2165-4077 SP - 1 EP - 6 PB - IEEE CY - Piscataway, NJ ER - TY - GEN A1 - Garcia, Joshua Fragoso A1 - Genge, Lucien A1 - Maghnam, Ammar T1 - Seasonality impact in green hydrogen imports to Europe T2 - 2025 21st International Conference on the European Energy Market (EEM) N2 - Europe has been identified as a hydrogen importer due to renewable energy resources limitations. Hydrogen import demand may have seasonal fluctuations in Europe due to temperature and renewable energy availability. This seasonal demand creates the need for additional infrastructure in exporting countries to match the demand with the supply, impacting the cost. We evaluate the impact of including seasonality integration costs on the countries from which Europe could import hydrogen. Import costs were evaluated using an optimization model. These costs were then used as inputs to an energy system model to evaluate the effect on the European energy system. A sensitivity analysis was done considering two different storage costs both in Europe and MENA. The results show that seasonality has a large impact on the import costs with the variations in storage costs playing a smaller role. On the European system, higher storage costs lead to lower hydrogen imports. KW - Hydrogen production KW - Renewable energy KW - Hydrogen imports KW - Hydrogen exports KW - Storage Y1 - 2025 SN - 979-8-3315-1278-1 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/EEM64765.2025.11050283 SN - 2165-4077 SN - 2165-4093 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - IEEE CY - Piscataway, NJ ER -