Abstract :
[en] In order to successfully transition to a sustainable energy system and meet climate protection goals, it is crucial to rapidly and extensively expand renewable energy sources (RES). However, the reliance of RES on external factors like weather and time of day, as well as their regional distribution, present new challenges, particularly concerning electricity grids. For instance, due to constraints in grid capacities, significant amounts of RES must often be curtailed to maintain a balance between electricity supply and demand and, thus, overall grid and system stability. To enhance the integration of RES into the electricity system, it is essential to make use of flexibility measures, complementing and possibly reducing the need for grid expansions. Flexibility measures refer to adjustments in electricity demand and supply in response to external signals, such as pricing signals, with the aim of providing grid and system stabilizing services (as defined by BNetzA in 2017). To practically harness flexibility measures and strategically exploit them to alleviate grid congestion, the European Commission recommends a market-based approach for procuring and marketing flexibility. The establishment of so-called „local flexibility markets“, where flexibility supply and demand can be matched on a trading platform, offers a way to meet European legal requirements also at the national level. Nevertheless, there are currently significant obstacles, particularly within national laws, that hinder the utilization of flexibility in a market-based manner and, thus, the establishment of local flexibility markets. This article outlines the existing regulatory obstacles in Germany and provides recommendations for implementing European legal requirements at the national level through local flexibility markets.
