Renewable Energy resources in the Guidelines on State Aid for Environmental Protection and Energy

Overall the provisions of the German Renewable Energy Law (EEG) of 2014 correspond to the stipulations of the EU Commission in its new Guidelines on State Aid for Environmental Protection and Energy, and their interpretation should therefore be strictly oriented to the latter. A point of concern in systematic respects is the participation of electricity self-producers in the EEG levy, because it violates the costs-by-cause principle. Irrespective of this issue, the exemption of old installations from this regulation is warranted for reasons of protection of legitimate expectation. For self-produced electricity from fossil-fuel-based cogeneration the EEG levy is to be reduced by 40%, following an agreement between the federal government and the EU Commission.