Germany’s wind energy industry group Bundesverband WindEnergie (BWE) has warned that proposed grid access reforms under consideration by the German government would be inadmissible under European Union law.
The association said it commissioned a legal opinion from German law firm Raue to assess the planned changes.
BWE President Bärbel Heidebroek cautioned that the proposals could create significant risks for the energy transition.
“We warn against continuing down a path that is inadmissible under European law,” Heidebroek said.
“The resulting uncertainties and potential legal disputes could slow down the entire value chain of the energy transition.”
German media have reported that the economy ministry is considering steps that would weaken priority grid access for renewable energy projects.
Heidebroek urged policymakers to focus instead on infrastructure improvements. “The federal government must provide a legislative impetus to better utilize existing network infrastructure and accelerate investments in digitalization and network expansion,” she said.
She added that network operators should not be left to resolve mounting connection requests on their own. “Network operators must not be left alone to deal with the problem of accumulated network connection requests by having the decision to prioritize these connections shifted onto them.”
“The network package offers no solution; instead, it creates legal uncertainty and bureaucracy,” Heidebroek added.
