Added Value of a Regional Energy Transition in the Lusatian and Rhenish Lignite Mining Regions Value-Added and Employment Potentials by the Expansion of Photovoltaics and Wind Energy

For the launch of a new green power tariff in May 2017, Greenpeace Energy commissioned the IÖW to conduct a brief study. The aim of the study was to analyze potential value-added and employment effects in 2030 by the expansion of renewable energies in two lignite mining areas and the federal states in Germany that are affected by structural change due to the coal phase out. The focus of the study was on the technologies wind energy and photovoltaics and their related value chains as well as on the Rhenish and Lusatian lignite mining regions.
Two aspects were taken into consideration: 1. potentials for employment effects through the expansion of renewable energies in the affected federal states and 2. possible regional economic effects by the future expansion of photovoltaics and wind energy in the Rhenisch and Lusatian lignite mining regions.
In order to visualize the impact of the involvment of local actors along the value chain on the total value-added and employment in the region, two scenario calculations were carried out.