Analysis of alternative transition paths for the German energy system

On EU-level and especially in Germany there are strong efforts to meet the targeted climate goals. However, finding the most efficient transition path from today's energy system to a sustainable one remains a challenge. Therefore, in this paper different transition paths for the German energy system based on gas instead of lignite power plants are presented and discussed. Those paths are compared with the most likely development of the German energy system based on today's energy policy (baseline scenario). The assessment is based on a model, the European Multimodal Market Simulation (EMMS). Without lignite power plants, Germany will always comply with the climate goals. Most investigated scenarios lead to higher total system costs than the baseline scenario. Cost reductions are only achieved in case of a low gas price and a high reduction of renewable capacities.