"Setting an example for Germany" - endowed professorship shows the way forward in the energy industry

In terms of renewable energies, North Hesse is in a good position with a share of around 55 percent of electricity production. But there is still room for improvement: By 2040, the share of renewables in electricity, heat and mobility is to rise to 100 percent. This requires new concepts, strategies, ideas - and players like the endowed professorship "Microeconomics and Empirical Energy Economics" now established at the University of Kassel. Dr. Heike Wetzel took up the professorship on October 1, 2020. She wants to investigate how innovations, competition, productivity and regulation affect energy markets and how individual actors and groups behave on them.

"Specifically, this can mean: how do homeowners adopt dynamic electricity tariffs? Do they then really charge their e-car at night when electricity prices are low? And what does that mean for the expansion of renewable energies?" explains Wetzel. "Or: What does good regulation in the energy markets look like? What benefits, what hinders?" With a focus on the North Hesse region, the main issues are regional value creation from renewables and close cooperation between business, politics and science to promote the energy transition. "With the regional implementation of innovative pilot projects, we can be a role model for Germany and also for Europe."

The cdw Foundation is committed to implementing the regional energy turnaround in northern Hesse as part of its climate protection efforts. "More than 80 percent of Germany's greenhouse gas emissions are energy-related. The decentralized energy turnaround towards renewable energies is one of the most urgent tasks of our time," said Thomas Flügge, Managing Director of cdw Stiftung gGmbH. "We are very pleased that the University of Kassel underlines its claim for research and teaching on economic aspects of decentralized energy supply with the appointment of Prof. Wetzel."

The endowed professorship will be financed by the cdw Foundation with around 800,000 euros in the first 5 years. After that, the Department of Economics will continue to run it on a permanent basis. On the one hand, the University of Kassel is thus sharpening its research profile in the areas of sustainability, energy and the environment, and on the other hand, it is expanding its close relationship with the North Hessian economy.

Heike Wetzel most recently held a junior professorship for decentralized energy management at the University of Kassel. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Energy Economics at the University of Cologne. She received her doctorate from Leuphana University Lüneburg in 2008.

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Heike Wetzel
University of Kassel
Department of Microeconomics and Empirical Energy Economics
Tel.: +49 561 804-7750
E-mail: heike.wetzel[at]uni-kassel[dot]de
www.uni-kassel.de/go/wetzel