From targets to impacts: Eight steps for evaluating energy efficiency policies

Germany's energy system is currently undergoing a massive transformation. Besides a shift towards renewable energy, energy efficiency is playing a key part in the transformation towards a green energy economy. This is reflected in ambitious energy efficiency targets; the reduction of primary energy consumption by 20% by 2020 and 50% by 2050 (both compared to a 2008 baseline). In order to achieve these targets, the German government introduced new energy efficiency policies. Many of them are funded through the Energy Efficiency Fund (EEF), which is financed by the German government and revenues from the European emissions trading scheme. The EEF overall, and all its individual policies, will be subjected to an independent evaluation process. In order to ensure a homogenous evaluation, the evaluators (the authors of this paper) developed a common evaluation approach. For successful monitoring of energy efficiency policies financed with Federal funds, German law demands monitoring in three areas: (1) target achievement (2) effectiveness and (3) efficiency (cost effectiveness). The evaluation system outlines objectives, indicators and methods. Based on these legal and methodological foundations, we derive an eight-step evaluation approach. This paper describes this approach and outlines how the approach is applied to a specific program that provides funding for energy management systems in companies.