German Lawmakers Vote to Reduce Renewable-Energy Subsidies

“Excessive” power-price gains are making the expansion of renewables unsustainable"

German Lawmakers Vote to Reduce Renewable-Energy Subsidies - Bloomberg:

German lawmakers backed an extensive revision of the country’s EEG clean-energy law to curb subsidies and slow gains in power prices that are the second-costliest in the European Union. The legislation, which introduces limits on how much onshore wind and biomass capacity qualifies for the full subsidies and lowers existing targets for solar and offshore wind, pulls energy policy “out of the quicksand,” Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters after the vote in the lower house. “We have to expand renewables with more planning security.” Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking to curb subsidies in Europe’s biggest renewables market even as she pushes through an “energy switch” from nuclear power."
...Owners of clean-energy plants that consume their own power will have to pay 30 percent of the EEG-Umlage, a fee to finance the subsidies, starting next year. That share will rise to 35 percent in 2016 and 40 percent in 2017.

Read the entire article at Bloomberg

My favourite source of information on Germany's electricity sector, the German Energy Blog, is indicating it might take some time before the changes in the new legislation are understood.

From EEG 2.0 – Something to Run Away From?

The EEG 2.0 reform package is a difficult piece of legislation. Anecdotal evidence is starting to suggest that the new version will be difficult to master. So difficult that one of our energy sector group student interns has already decided to end his internship. He is now considering a military career.

...we will surely see a 2.1 version of the EEG soon. And depending on where the European law decisions of the European Commission and the European courts go, an EEG 3.0 may not be too far away either. Which will at least keep the energy lawyers running at full throttle.

I'll be looking for confirmation that the EEG surcharge being applied to self-consumed power is only above a 10kW capacity threshold - which was a recent expectation. 

Addendum/s

Renewables Internationale has now written on the law: EEG RIP