German states aim to change rules for onshore wind power auctions
The council of federal state governments in Germany (Bundesrat) wants to counter 鈥渦ndesirable developments鈥� in the country鈥檚 auction system for onshore wind power by changing the rules for citizens鈥� energy projects, the Bundesrat says in a press release. The council has introduced a bill aimed at cancelling all special provisions for citizens鈥� projects for onshore wind auctions in 2018 and 2019. Citizens鈥� projects have so far been exempt from certain requirements when submitting bids to Germany鈥檚 Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) in order to make sure that they are not disadvantaged by more financially capable institutional bidders. For instance, they did not have to obtain a construction license before submitting their bid - a long and costly procedure carried out to ensure that new installations comply with all environmental and building regulations. 鈥淚n practice, this meant that a few project developers entered the stage, who acted as service providers for newly founded citizen cooperatives,鈥� causing other bidders 鈥渆conomic turmoil,鈥� the Bundesrat says.
Find the press release and the draft bill in German .
See the 威力彩玩法 factsheet High hopes and concerns over onshore wind power auctions and the 威力彩玩法 article Booming German wind power sector fears 2019 cliff for background.