Changes to Germany's EEG approved

The German parliament approved an amended Renewable Energy Act (EEG) on27 June.

According to the new EEG, biogas production in Germany will be capped from 1 August to 100MW a year and Feed-in Tariffs will be gradually withdrawn from all new plants above 100kW.

The European Biogas Association (EBA) has criticised this decision, which it calls a 'U-turn in German biogas policies', claiming it 'will nearly stop the already weakening growth in Germany, losing its chance to reduce dependence on imported natural gas'.

EBA president Jan Stambasky comments: 'The whole of Europe looks carefully at the German EEG that served as a pattern followed by numerous countries. This change will give the governments a very bad and confusing signal.'

The association went on to say that by approving the new act, Germany missed its chance to provide environmentally friendly gas supplies and to reduce its dependence on Russian imports. The country has achieved a remarkable level of biogas industry before this stoppage came.