July 1st, 2021 – Until June 30th, 2021, the German legislator had time to Renewable Energy Directive of the EU to be implemented in national law. However, the rights of jointly acting self-suppliers and renewable energy communities are still not regulated in accordance with the directive. In a legal opinion prepared for this purpose, the opinion of lawyer Dr. Philipp Boos made it clear that the coming federal government and the upcoming Bundestag will still have a lot to do.
EU Citizens’ Energy Union gives hope
When the European Union passed the Renewable Energy Directive in December 2018, it was celebrated as a milestone for citizen energy across Europe. The guideline followed the vision of the EU Commission for an energy union, “at the center of which are the citizens who take responsibility for the energy transition, use new technologies to reduce their energy costs and actively participate in the market”. German federal policy has been miles away from implementing this vision for years, comments the Citizens’ Energy Alliance on the current situation.
The guideline gives citizens the opportunity to use regionally generated renewable energy also regionally – without major financial burdens and bureaucratic hurdles. The EEG 2021 still allows self-sufficiency only for individuals, criticizes the Citizens Energy Alliance, but there are no plans for jointly acting self-suppliers. Renewable energy communities are not defined in the first place, let alone that their members are allowed to use the jointly generated electricity jointly. This counteracts the progress of the decentralized energy transition.
Citizens’ energy rights in the EEG 2021 not properly implemented
Attorney Boos has therefore now prepared a legal statement on behalf of the Citizens ‘Energy Alliance, which investigates the question of whether the citizens’ energy rights of the EU directive have been implemented by the EEG 2021. “The personal identity required in the EEG between the system operator: in and the electricity consumer: in prevents self-suppliers who act jointly from being able to operate a system for self-supply together,” says Boos. “Even the legally approved tenant electricity models do not implement this right, as they only record the supply of tenants with electricity from EEG systems. The Federal Republic is now threatened with further infringement proceedings. “
Missed chance
The federal government has missed a great opportunity, says Malte Zieher, member of the board of the Citizens Energy Alliance. “Energy sharing, that is, the joint use of electricity within renewable energy communities, would have been a considerable innovation boost for the German energy system,” said Zieher. “Because energy sharing makes a decisive contribution to the faster expansion of renewable energies by enabling participation in new solar and wind parks and thus increasing acceptance.” In addition, it allows citizens to adapt their consumption to local generation thus leverage decentralized flexibility potential. And thus advance the energy transition that is so necessary for the climate goals more quickly – for the benefit of all citizens. on
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