Renewable Energy Act:
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The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has published a draft bill for a predictable, cost-efficient, grid-compatible, and market-oriented expansion of renewable energy in the electricity sector. The law is intended, in particular, to amend the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG 2027). The primary goal is to increase the share of electricity generated from renewable energy sources in gross electricity consumption to 80% by 2030.
Within this framework, a lease term limit is to be introduced as a new eligibility requirement for onshore wind turbines (Section 36d(1) EEG 2027-E), which creates a new audit task for certified public accountants (Section 36d(2) EEG 2027-E, introduced by Art. 1 No. 45). The grid operator is to be able to require plant operators to provide an auditor’s attestation confirming compliance with the lease term limits specified in Section 36d(1) of the EEG 2027-E.
An estimated 64 Auditor’s Reports per Year
In the explanatory memorandum, the cost of these auditor’s attestations is estimated at 4,000 euros per case per year, and the annual number of auditor’s attestations required by the grid operator is estimated at 64 (see page 130 et seq. of the explanatory memorandum).
Penalty for paying higher Fees than provided for
Furthermore, a payment obligation (penalty) is to be introduced for cases in which higher fees were paid for the use of land for the construction and operation of onshore wind turbines than those provided for under the provisions of Section 36d of the EEG 2027-E (Section 53a of the EEG-E, introduced by Art. 1, No. 88). The payments are due starting from the first year in which the violation was determined, but only up to the year for which the plant operator demonstrates, by submitting a corresponding auditor’s report, that the requirements under Section 36d(1) of the EEG 2027 have been met (Section 53a(2), third sentence, of the EEG 2027-E).