Limitation of the Renewable Energy Act levy for large electricity-consuming enterprises

The 2014 German Renewable Energy Act (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz – EEG), which came into force on 1 August 2014, significantly recast the provisions relating to the special compensation regulation and adjusted these to meet the requirements made by Brussels, which has in some cases had a considerable impact on “large electricity-consuming” enterprises. This concerns both the application requirements and the level of the levy limitation granted. Some questions in this respect have not been clarified conclusively and additional questions will arise during the practical application of the new regulations, which means that special care will be required in the coming years when submitting applications.

In a recently published article, Dr Maximilian Uibeleisen and Dr Martin Geipel, both members of the Noerr Energy Group, introduced some of the changes to this legislation which have particular practical relevance. These include issues relating to the allocation of enterprises to “eligible industries” (Annex 4 to the German Renewable Energy Act), questions in connection with the application documents to be submitted and the scope of the substantive cut-off period, as well as the new regulations regarding the transformation of undertakings which above all have to be observed for M&A transactions.

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