Germany’s EEG reform and grid package slip to December: support for new solar systems from 2027 remains open

Why the EEG reform and grid package will only be finished just before Christmas

The Bundestag will not pass the reform of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) and the grid package by mid-November. ZfK reported this on 6 November, citing sources in the governing coalition. Because the Bundesrat does not sit in plenary again after mid-November until 18 December, the procedure will run until shortly before Christmas. After that, the Federal President must sign the law and the European Commission must approve the parts relevant to state aid. The current EEG support framework expires at the end of 2026. How solar power on apartment buildings pays off today is explained in the guide to PV on apartment buildings.

Which owners, landlords and businesses the delay affects

Everyone who wants to connect a new photovoltaic system to the grid in 2027 is affected: homeowners, landlords planning tenant electricity schemes, and businesses with rooftop systems. The cabinet draft of 29 July abolishes the fixed feed-in tariff for new systems below 100 kilowatts. As a transition, there is a payment one cent below the applicable value: for systems below 50 kilowatts until the end of 2027, below 25 kilowatts until the end of 2028. Balcony power plants remain exempt. The redispatch reservation is also disputed: in grid areas designated as capacity-limited, new systems would no longer be compensated for curtailment of up to 20 per cent of their annual output. The SPD wants to scrap it; the Economics Ministry is sticking to it.

Why the stalemate makes solar investment more expensive

For investors, uncertainty is the most expensive cost factor, more expensive than one cent less in remuneration. Anyone planning a roof for 2027 today does not know whether they will receive a transition payment, whether, according to media reports, they will be offered an exchange-price model via the grid operator, or whether their grid area will fall under the redispatch reservation. BEE president Ursula Heinen-Esser calls the unresolved question of support from 1 January 2027 “a sword of Damocles” for the industry.

“Anyone planning a solar system for 2027 is currently calculating with a law that does not yet exist. That is no reason to cancel, but a reason to tie contracts to the subsidy rules.” — Pedram Dadgar, Strategic adviser to Green Contracting GmbH. In addition, according to ZfK, the gas package, the Energy Efficiency Act and the minor amendment to the Heat Planning Act are also stuck in the Bundestag and will be finished in December at the earliest.

What to do now

1. For systems that are almost complete, check with the installer and grid operator whether commissioning is still possible in 2026 under the current EEG.
2. For 2027 orders, include a clause that ties price and economic viability to the final version of the EEG.
3. Calculate self-consumption and on-site sales instead of basing viability on grid feed-in.