News

After a decision of the Higher Regional Court of Saarbrücken of 04. 07. 2018, from #EEG 2012 on, the module-sharp #plant term for #solar plants will be used again. After the BGH still assumed in the EEG 2009 that the "solar power plants" represented the plant, the Higher Regional Court of Saarbrücken could no longer assume that the critical rulings of the BGH should be applied to the newer versions of the EEG, particularly due to the regulations for replacing #modules and for #plant summaries. Together with the regulations of the EEG 2017, in which the legislature counteracted the decision of the Federal Supreme Court, the unintended consequences are likely to have been clarified or averted as far as possible, at least legally. (OLG Saarbrücken, Decision of 04.07.2018 - Az.: 1 U 5/17)

The #EU Commission has approved the partial exemption for the year 2018 from the #EEG levy for the #own supply of electricity from cogeneration plants (in short: CHP). Electricity generated in a #CHP plant and consumed by the operator himself in close proximity to the #generation plant is therefore only 40 % of the EEG levy. It is to be welcomed that the Commission has approved an exemption for the cogeneration plant, but the exemption is only to be criticised for 2018, as this does not provide investment security and the necessary expansion is not achieved.

By decision of 13 March 2018, the OVG Münster commented on the requirements for compulsory connection and use of a district heating network. According to the decision of the OVG, it is not necessary for the municipality itself or one of its companies to operate the district heating network, but it may also be a private company supplying district heating. However, the municipality must ensure that the "character of a public institution" is preserved, i. e. in particular that the institution is also made available to the inhabitants of the municipality and that the municipality itself can exert a decisive influence on an equal right of use for citizens on reasonable terms. This is the case with the municipality's own operation.(OVG Münster, Decision ofd 13.03.2018 - 15 A 971/17)

How is the term "decentralised generation plant" to be interpreted in § 18 StromNEV? This can be decisive for questioning whether or not a system operator is entitled to the payment of avoided network charges. The BGH took a decision in an administrative procedure under energy industry law as an opportunity to clarify: For the interpretation of the term "decentralised generation plant" in § 18 StromNEV, the definition in § 3 No. 11 EnWG is to be used. The StromNEV does not contain any deviating provisions in this respect. (BGH, decision from 27. February 2018 - Az.: EnVR 1/17)

The OLG Düsseldorf has repeatedly to specify the requirements for a #customer System within the meaning of § 3 No. 24a EnWG. In one of two decisions of the same day the court came to the, in our opinion, correct statement that 20 houses, jointly supplied with current and heat from a #BHKW, only seperated by an unrestricted passable road does not leads to the omission of the condition "Occupancy in a spatially connected area" after § 3 No. 24a lit. a) #EnWG. The free use of the customer's system is also guaranteed if the costs are passed on by way of a rental agreement. (Higher Regional Court Düsseldorf, decision of 13. 06. 2018 - Ref. : 3 Kart 77/17 V)

The BMWi published the first field report on the amended EEG 2017 at the beginning of June 2018. The report serves the purpose of developing recommendations for the further development of the EEG as well as recommendations for the further development of the WindSeeG for the German Bundestag, whereby for the first time it is justified to obtain scientific opinions. With regard to the system integration of renewable energy, the report highlights the challenge of lowering the barrier of mandatory direct marketing from 500 kW to 100 kW. Nevertheless, the share of renewable energies in gross electricity consumption rose to 36. 2 percent in 2017, according to the experience report.