Two Ways to Success - Expansion of Renewable Energies in the Federal States of Germany

From an international perspective Germany is often considered as a role model for clean energy transformation. The German “Energiewende”, which means change to a non-nuclear-regenerative energy system, depends crucially on the expansion of renewable energies. The success of this transformation process is highly contingent on developments in the federal states, who are able to co-decide on energy policy. However there is a tremendous gap in the expansion rate of renewable energy generation among the German Bundesländer. While leading states such as Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and Brandenburg have almost or more than quadrupled their electricity production by renewable sources in the last decade, states like North Rhine-Westphalia have yet failed to double. So it is timely to ask for the factors that influence the development of renewable energies at the federal state level: What role does the (non-) existence of natural energy resources play under specific economic framework conditions? Does party politics make a difference and what are the effects of specific political institutions and policy instruments? The analysis compares the spread of renewable electricity production in all 16 federal states in Germany from 2004 to 2014, considering all 50 cabinets during this period. Using fuzzy-set QCA, it is possible to detect combinations of factors leading to the (non-) occurrence of accelerated expansion of renewable electricity production at the state level. In addition, the method allows to reveal equifinal pathways that connect different causal combinations to the same results. Based on our data, we find two promising avenues for a successful expansion of renewable electricity production. On the one hand, a group of economically less developed states succeeded in pushing ahead with the expansion by using it as part of an economic innovation strategy. In contrast, within the economically more developed states the party composition of the respective state government (Green government involvement) played a significant role. The results hint at the so far underestimated role of renewable energy transformation as a factor of economic development under specific political scope conditions. It also shows ways for expansion strategies transferable to other (federal) countries.