Renewable energies and their impact on regional value added and employment
Communities can benefit on a large-scale from the use of renewable energies. Due to the decentralized structure of renewable energies, an important economic benefit is regional value added, which is calculated as the sum of tax revenues, company profits and wages. A model developed by the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) makes it possible to quantify the generated effects of value added and employment for different geographical units. The model presently contains 29 RE technology value-added chains. In her presentation, Katharina Heinbach introduced the method developed by the IÖW to quantify value added and employment by renewable energies and presented the results for the effects of value added and employment in Germany in the year 2011. Furthermore, she pointed out various actions that can be taken to advance value added at the municipal level.
