Press release

Stabilizing the energy supply under growing shares ofRenewables
German-Japanese Energy Transition Council addressing bottleneck
issue in latest OutreachTokyo, 24th September 2019. Japan is restructuring its electricity market and competing energy
suppliers, unbundling grid and competitive balancing markets are the results. Digitization canenable system operators, producers, traders, consumers and storage providers to co-operate anduse the renewable power instead of wasting it. This hypothesis is the background for a study
conducted by the German-Japanese Energy Transition Council (GJETC). The Wuppertal Institute andthe Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ) as the scientific secretariats of the GJETC, analysed
concepts of virtual power plants and their underlying business models as well as the use ofBlockchain technology. The focus was set on case studies such as the German company Next
Kraftwerke and the US energy supplier Pacific Gas & Electric. First results have been discussed at
the 7th meeting of the GJETC held these days in Tokyo.
The study shows that Virtual Power Plants (VPP) business models may be largely dependent upon theregulatory framework, renewable energy resources, the electricity supply system as well as theelectricity market system. Experiences from Germany show that for example the gradual expirationof FIT (Feed-in Tariff), which is also the case for Japan, will create a favourable business environment
for VPP. IT systems and market structure on the other hand currently do not seem to influence VPP
models significantly. However, as Germany is the only country with fully commercialized VPP so far
this might very well change in the future as maturing markets might lead to different developments
and results in other countries.
At the Outreach Event held on September 24th, Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Borchardt, Deputy Director ofthe Directorate-General for Energy of the European Commission, Dr. Boris Rigault, Head of the Field
Industrial Steam Turbines at Siemens AG and Steffen Riediger, Director European Power Derivatives
at European Energy Exchange (EEX) explained their efforts and achievements in trying to attainstabilized electric systems under growing shares of renewable energy.
“Experiences in Europe show that integrating a high share of renewable energy production into theelectricity markets means providing flexibility on the generation and demand sides, as well as
creating strong price signals”, said Prof. Dr. Klaus-Dieter Borchardt during the Event. The Outreach isintended to provide both strategic and in-depth insights on selected topics related to electricity
markets and growing shares of renewable energy production in both countries.
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The next scheduled Council meeting will be held in Berlin on 18th and 19th March 2020. A video on
the concept and work of the GJETC as well as study results, input papers, and a final report of the 1stphase (in English, summaries in Japanese and German) can be downloaded from the GJETC website:www.gjetc.org

About the GJETC
The German-Japanese Energy Transition Council is an international model project to strengthen theexchange of knowledge over technologies, policies and the effects of the energy transition. In itsform, continuity and size, the GJETC is the first German-Japanese project of cooperation on theenergy transition. Founded in spring 2016, the Council carried out an extensive study program oncore subjects of the energy transition, held stakeholder dialogues with the industry and civil society
and published four studies, a row of strategical input papers and a report including key
recommendations for a successful energy transition with joint recommendations in March 2018.
GJETC is a joint project of the Wuppertal Institute, ECOS Consult, hennicke.consult, and the Instituteof Energy Economics Japan (IEEJ) and is supported by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (GermanFederal Environmental Foundation, DBU), the Mercator Foundation, the German Federal Foreign
Office (FFO), and the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). It is also endorsed bythe Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), the Federal Ministry for theEnvironment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and the Japanese-German Center
Berlin (JDZB). On the German side, the Wuppertal Institute and ECOS Consult support the council's
work as secretariats; on the Japanese side, the Institute of Energy Economics Japan (IEEJ) takes overthis part.

Press Contact Germany:
Kevin Hohmann
Medienbüro am Reichstag GmbH
Reinhardtstraße 55
10117 Berlin
Phone: +49 30 2061 4130 50
E-Mail: kevin.hohmann@mar-berlin.de

Press Contact Japan:
General Planning GroupThe Institute of Energy Economics, Japan
Inui Bldg.Kachidoki 10th Floor, 13-1, Kachidoki 1chome, Chuo-ku,
Tokyo 104-0054
Phone: +81-3-5547-0211
Fax: +81-3-5547-0223
E-mail: contact-ieej@tky.ieej.or.jp

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