Internal calculations from the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), reported by Tagesspiegel Background, indicate that the proposed “Redispatch Reserves” planned by the Federal Minister of Economics, could raise the subsidy costs for wind energy by as much as 40 billion Euros.
The Reserves are designed to restrict the connection and expansion of renewable energy sources in regions with limited electricity grid capacity. Under this system, operators of newly installed wind or solar farms would lose subsidies for up to ten years if their output must be curtailed due to grid overloads. According to the UBA, this mandated curtailment leads to substantial revenue losses. Furthermore, the agency noted that new wind projects in the affected areas would become structurally more expensive.
In the context of subsidy promotion for renewables, the UBA warned that the electricity market faces declining supply and may regress to the bidding levels seen in 2024. During that period, the winning bid prices were reported to be 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour higher than in the two most recent rounds. These potential additional costs, related to the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) and payable by the federal budget, total up to approximately 40 billion Euros, covering only the wind tenders scheduled for the years 2027 to 2030.
The so-called Redispatch Reserve is part of an overarching electricity grid law package currently undergoing coordination among various federal ministries and is scheduled for cabinet approval on May 20th.
