Agora Energiewende supports the development of an Energiewende-compatible energy market design. Combined heat and power is an area of the power and heating market that is under pressure to conform to the requirements of the Energiewende. The goal of the project is to describe these demands and to propose appropriate ways of adjusting to them.
Combined heat and power is on the one hand an emissions-lowering technology. On the other hand, it is confronting a changed market environment due to shrinking heat sinks and a changing power market with ever more renewables. This study aims to analyse the situation and make proposals for the impending 2015 draft law for combined power and heat (KWKG). This should embed the technology in an energy market that is compatible with the Energiewende.