ICIS has just published a comparison study of renewable energy subsidy schemes throughout Europe.

With this Market Insight Paper, ICIS explores the different paths that Germany, Poland and the UK have chosen on their way to achieving their renewable targets and a cost reduction for the installation of renewable technologies.

All three countries chose to support renewable generation with a market premium on top of the electricity wholesale price for non-micro generation. In order to fuel the transformation of their power sector towards more renewable capacity, Germany and the UK - and to a large extent also Poland - have launched technology-specific auctions.

"In Germany and the UK, the first auction results have shown a high degree of cost degression," said Marcus Ferdinand, Lead analyst EU Power & Carbon Analytics at ICIS. "This trend of decreasing prices for renewables shows the competitiveness of renewable sources, but puts forward challenges for project developers, suppliers and investors who will have to adapt quickly to the changing market environment."

The insight paper was written by our analysts and editors as part of a new online tool called Power Perspective, which brings together the policy and regulation framework of energy markets throughout Europe.

"Power Perspective is the missing link in energy markets; it allows the user to compare the fast-changing energy regulation and policy landscape almost in real time," said Philipp Ruf, Director - EU Power & Carbon Analytics at ICIS.

"Rich data sets combined with intelligent filter options allow the user to adapt the product to everyone's unique needs, acting as a powerful filtering option," he said.

Marcus Ferdinand said that changes to renewable policies are a main driver for long-term power price developments.

"Spanning all 28 EU power markets, Power Perspective is the first analytical tool that enables cross-border comparisons to spot investment opportunities, trends and trading opportunities," Ferdinand said.

ICIS | www.icis.com