The fixed feed-in tariff for new solar systems with an output of up to 25 kilowatts is to be retained, according to the will of the coalition parliamentary groups. The energy experts of the CDU/CSU and SPD have agreed on this in the reform of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), according to the SPD, as emerges from an internal letter from the energy policy spokesperson of the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Nina Scheer, which was available to the news agency Reuters on Saturday.
Originally, Federal Economics Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) had planned in her draft presented in July to abolish the fixed tariff for new systems entirely. Instead, there was to be only a transitional subsidy limited to three years for smaller solar systems, after which households were to market their electricity on electricity exchanges. According to the news magazine “Focus”, the vast majority of systems on private house roofs fall under the 25-kilowatt threshold.
The feed-in tariff is a legally fixed amount that operators of renewable energy systems receive for electricity fed into the public grid – even if their electricity is worth less on the market. The federal budget bears the difference. Under the agreement, for larger systems of 26 to 50 kilowatts the grid operators are to purchase the electricity and market it at the respective annual market value; from 51 kilowatts there is to be no tariff at all, according to “Focus”.
Agreement only subject to reservation
SPD parliamentary group deputy Armand Zorn announced on Saturday that the energy experts of the SPD and CDU/CSU parliamentary groups had “achieved a technical agreement on the EEG amendment within the framework of the coalition negotiations”. Together with CDU/CSU parliamentary group deputy Sepp Müller (CDU), he said the aim was to conclude the negotiations on all energy policy legislative projects in the coming weeks “in order to reach the Bundesrat session on 18 December 2026”.
Müller, however, made clear that the agreement is subject to reservation: “Any understandings in individual sub-areas are subject to the reservation of an agreement on the overall package.” As long as no understanding on the overall package has been reached, “there will also be no final agreement on the EEG”.
The coalition partners have not yet agreed on the so-called grid package, which was presented in July together with the EEG reform draft. The main point of dispute is the so-called redispatch reservation: Reiche wants to limit compensation for new wind and solar systems when they have to be shut down due to impending grid overload. The SPD rejects this and calls for more flexible grid connections. The Economics Ministry declared on Saturday: “EEG 2027 and the grid connection package belong together. The expansion of renewable energies and the grids must be coordinated with each other.”
Why time is pressing
Scheer urged that adoption “as soon as possible” was “indispensable”, because the EU approval of the existing subsidy framework for new renewable energy systems expires at the end of the year. According to “Focus”, from 1 January the federal government would probably no longer be able to approve any subsidy instruments and tenders for new projects if the new law has not been passed by then. Industry associations warn of a full stop to the energy transition, according to the report. In addition, the new EEG must still be approved by the EU Commission.
Whether the Bundestag can still pass the amendment in the last week of November is open. The SPD rejects making the decision dependent on an agreement on the grid package. Green energy politician Michael Kellner said on Saturday: “Time is pressing. Thousands of jobs and millions of euros in investment depend on this law. It must not be held hostage to the grid package just because Ms Reiche wants it.”
According to the letter, the specialist politicians have also agreed on wind energy. A new “southern quota” is to enforce more wind turbines in southern Germany and thus relieve the grids. The “rent cap” for wind turbines planned by Reiche is to be softened: it is to apply only if not enough bids are submitted in tenders, and the upper limit for lease payments is then to be 3.75 instead of 3.5 per cent of the arithmetically achievable annual revenue. Furthermore, it is to be examined how the transport of large wind power components can be facilitated.
