Dr Harry Schindler is an economist and political scientist working on issues relating to the political governance of the bioeconomy at the DBFZ. His areas of expertise include the design of policy instruments, resource efficiency and the use of wood for energy. He has been coordinating the DBFZ's scientific policy advice since 2019.
The cultivation of energy crops such as maize or rapeseed is regularly being criticised. They require a lot of land and the electricity yield per hectare is not as high as with photovoltaics or wind power. But does that mean that these crops are irrelevant for the energy transition?
The path towards phasing out coal is clear. But is converting coal-fired power plants to biomass a viable solution?
The amendment to the EEG adjusts the funding conditions for biomass plants, among others. With the help of the DBFZ, the planned changes were evaluated and recommendations for action were derived.
The national implementation of RED II was addressed at the end of 2020 and possible legislative changes relating to greenhouse gases were proposed. But what impact would these have in concrete terms? Implementing new information, the DBFZ published a comprehensive position on this matter.
An initial draft bill to amend the law on the GHG reduction quota has been published. We share our opinion on the proposed measures.
An EU taxonomy is supposed to prevent greenwashing in the financial sector: will that be effective? We have analysed the requirements together with the FVEE.
In current discussions about renewable energy sources, biomass receives little attention. Yet it can be a good addition, especially in the electricity sector. An FVEE paper sheds light on the possible system contributions of biomass and the necessary political conditions.
In view of the upcoming amendment to the EEG, we are making recommendations on how biomass can continue to be effectively used as a sustainable energy source.
