C32 - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models: Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes; State Space ModelsReturn

Renewable power generation, especially wind power and solar power, is experiencing a strong expansion worldwide and especially in Germany. With high shares of these methods of power generation, energy storage is needed to enable a demand-oriented power supply even with weather-related fluctuations in generation. Against the background of a power supply based entirely on wind and solar power, the question arises as to what total costs arise with the inclusion of storage systems, which is the subject of this article. The calculation model uses hourly resolved real data of German electricity generation from the years 2012 to 2018 to determine the required storage capacities. The electricity generation costs used range between 0.02 and 0.10 EUR/kW/h. The costs for the considered energy storages are calculated based on the Levelised Cost of Storage (LCOS) metric. It is concluded that in an electricity supply system based on wind and solar power, it is not the electricity generation that causes the greatest costs, but the storage. With electricity generation costs of 0.06 EUR/kW/h, the total system costs are in a range of 0.19 to 0.28 EUR/kW/h. This means that, in terms of costs, energy storage is more significant than electricity generation.

This article evaluates the production possibilities of the electricity sector in selected EU countries. The estimates for production functions are based on the financial data of individual companies in the selected sector. The analysis was based on a linearized version of the two-factor Cobb-Douglas production function, which was subsequently modified to compare productivity results by company size and country. The countries were selected based on the results of a cluster analysis. The cluster analysis was performed using aggregated data on the shares of energy sources in production in the electricity sector. The results show that companies from countries with a high share of renewables (such as Denmark) perform the worst in terms of total productivity. Furthermore, it was found that large companies have significantly higher productivity when compared to their smaller competitors.

The study analyses the economics intuition that the domestic savings may determine the investments in a country. The assumption is tested on domestic savings between 1982 and 2016 in Southeast Asia economies in a panel regression framework. The hypothesis is that domestic savings stimulate economic growth through investment financing and, thus, the high savings rate observed in Southeast Asian countries can contribute to the outstanding GDP growth in the region. The tests sort out the significant determinants of investments. The analysis successfully indicates the significance of domestic savings beside other variables, and confirms the hypothesis, namely, the domestic savings affect investments and indirectly the economic growth, while FDI does not prove to be significant.