Germany's bioenergy associations have criticised the government's draft renewable energy law, warning that the proposals fail to deliver the future promised to thousands of biogas and wood energy plant operators and would see the country forgo 12 GW of domestic flexible capacity.
The Federal Ministry for Economics and Energy (BMWE) released its draft of the EEG 2027 for consultation with federal states and industry associations on Friday. The bioenergy associations represented by the Hauptstadtbüro Bioenergie (HBB) in Berlin say the draft requires substantial revision.
'The pressure to act on the bioenergy provisions in the EEG is enormous,' said Sandra Rostek, head of the HBB. 'Thousands of operators of biogas and wood energy plants want to invest, but are being held back by missing and poorly designed regulation. This applies in particular to the many existing plants whose EEG remuneration is ending, and to which the federal government promised a future in the coalition agreement. The draft falls far short of those commitments, and above all of what is really needed.'
Rostek described the proposed auction volumes as 'de facto a death path for the existing plant fleet', and said scrapping tenders for highly flexible biomethane CHP plants was 'incomprehensible' given the extensive new support for gas-fired power stations.
According to the associations, flexibilising the existing biogas fleet alone could deliver 12 GW of secured, flexible renewable capacity in the short term, urgently needed to balance fluctuating solar and wind output, in addition to capacity from wood-fired CHP, biomethane CHP and other bioenergy plants.
The HBB also criticised the draft for retaining the rigid cap on operating hours and leaving the restriction on maize use largely untouched, arguing that economic barriers remain in place and revenue potential on the power markets is being wasted. Apart from follow-on support for very small, slurry-based biogas plants, it said the draft contains no improvements for small agricultural installations.
'It is bad enough that, if this draft is implemented, value creation and jobs will again drain away from rural areas,' Rostek said. 'Given the geopolitical situation and dependence on energy imports, it is simply irresponsible to give up 12 gigawatts of domestic, flexible capacity at this moment of all times. What is needed instead is a Biomass Package 2.0. The draft does not come close, and urgently needs comprehensive revision.'
She added that while the price cap for tenders for large fossil fuel power plants was recently raised by 40% 'without much discussion', the ministry was 'losing itself in its own bureaucracy' on decentralised capacity rather than triggering an investment push. 'Double standards are being applied here,' she said.
German bioenergy sector says EEG 2027 draft falls short of coalition promises
