21
CHAPTER 3
The Impact of German Energy Policy
on Household Energy Use
Eoin Grealis, Annika-Kathrin Musch and Henrike Rau
Abstract This chapter reviews current energy policy and civil society
efforts to achieve the targets set out for Germany’s Energiewende
(Energy Transition), with a specific focus on their impact on household
energy use. The existing energy governance structure, conflicting energy
policy commitments, and the emergence of public resistance to renewable infrastructure are identified as significant challenges for national-level
policy. At the household level, the dominance of efficiency and smart
choice solutions and the pressure to maintain traditional patterns of consumption are identified as key limiting factors in an effort to deliver real
reductions in household energy use.
Keywords Energy policy · Household energy use · Energy
infrastructure · Germany · Energy transition
© The Author(s) 2019
F. Fahy et al. (eds.), Energy Demand Challenges in Europe,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20339-9_3
E. Grealis (*) · A.-K. Musch · H. Rau
LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
A.-K. Musch
e-mail: a.musch@lmu.de
H. Rau
e-mail: Henrike.rau@lmu.de
CHAPTER 3
The Impact of German Energy Policy
on Household Energy Use
Eoin Grealis, Annika-Kathrin Musch and Henrike Rau
Abstract This chapter reviews current energy policy and civil society
efforts to achieve the targets set out for Germany’s Energiewende
(Energy Transition), with a specific focus on their impact on household
energy use. The existing energy governance structure, conflicting energy
policy commitments, and the emergence of public resistance to renewable infrastructure are identified as significant challenges for national-level
policy. At the household level, the dominance of efficiency and smart
choice solutions and the pressure to maintain traditional patterns of consumption are identified as key limiting factors in an effort to deliver real
reductions in household energy use.
Keywords Energy policy · Household energy use · Energy
infrastructure · Germany · Energy transition
© The Author(s) 2019
F. Fahy et al. (eds.), Energy Demand Challenges in Europe,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20339-9_3
E. Grealis (*) · A.-K. Musch · H. Rau
LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
A.-K. Musch
e-mail: a.musch@lmu.de
H. Rau
e-mail: Henrike.rau@lmu.de