The European Commission (EC) has approved changes to Germany's renewable energy plan, which aims to help Germany meet its renewable energy targets.

The revised program in Germany's Renewable Energy Act (known as Erneuerbare Energien Gesetz 2023) will last until the end of 2026, with a total budget of 28 billion euros ($29.8 billion), aiming to account for renewable energy generation by 2030. 80% to achieve climate neutrality by 2045.

The scheme will take different forms depending on the size of the project, with smaller projects mainly through feed-in tariffs and others through market premiums that network operators pay producers on top of electricity market prices.

The German Rainbow Alliance, which includes the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the Green Party and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), released a plan earlier this year to accelerate the development of solar PV in Germany, which aims to The goal of 215GW of installed photovoltaic capacity in Germany will be achieved in 2019.

In this plan, Germany also plans to increase the number and capacity of tenders for rooftop and ground photovoltaics. These tenders will be conducted by technology type and will be modified to make them more competitive, limit the risk of overcompensation, and minimize costs to consumers and taxpayers.

Another modification to the tender is the introduction of a solar PV quantity control mechanism, which is used to adjust the tender quantity for each technology to avoid undersubscription.

The European Commission's assessment of the plan is that it is "necessary and appropriate" to promote the growth of renewable energy and will help improve the stability of the German grid. Aid is limited to the minimum necessary and therefore considered "proportionate".

Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president for competition policy at the European Commission, said, "By increasing the share of renewable energy, Germany's Renewable Energy Act 2023 plans to further decarbonize electricity generation. At the same time, it will gradually Remove support measures to prevent overcompensation of producers."

From 1 January 2027, support for renewable energy generation will be phased out when prices are negative, preventing overcompensation of producers.

Furthermore, Germany will once again be the largest solar market in Europe with 7.9GW of new solar capacity added in 2022, according to a new report from trade body SolarPower Europe. In addition, Germany will enter the double-digit gigawatt market by 2024.

Source: PV-Tech