15.09.2016, Düsseldorf (energate) - After what it sees as a disappointing amendment to the EEG, the green power industry is looking for new approaches in the currently stagnating market. "The solution of a regional green power label is just window dressing and does not bring us any growth impulses," criticized the chairwoman of the "Grüner Strom Label Verein", Rosa Hemmers, at a conference in Düsseldorf. The idea of anchoring a regional market for green power in the law (energate reported) has failed in her eyes. Energy suppliers would now have to look for other ways to promote the sale of high-quality green power. As an example, she cited product packages that offer electricity storage at the same time. "The energy provider doesn't have to do it all himself, but can also cooperate," she said at the conference, which the association organized together with label holder Naturstrom and the NRW Energy Agency. After the Fukushima disaster, the demand for green electricity rose sharply, but in the meantime sales have slowed down, Hemmers admitted. Demand could also be better for Grüner Strom Label, which is backed by several environmental associations (energate reported). However, the chairwoman of Grüner Strom Label emphasized that the 80 certified green electricity products still recorded sales of more than one terawatt hour in 2015.

Oliver Hummel, CEO of Düsseldorf-based energy supplier Naturstrom, shared Hemmer's disappointment with the planned green power label. "We've been through an agonizing process for three years and now we have something that no one is happy with," Hummel said. His company is already looking for new approaches. For example, he said, employees are looking at tenant power, neighborhood and local heating concepts. Hummel remains skeptical about tenant electricity. Although there is a regulation authorization in the EEG 2017 to put solar tenant electricity models on an equal footing with other self-supply models. This could give the market development a "huge boost," he says. However, Hummel also fears that the trauma of the green power model will be repeated. In talks with the Ministry of Economics, he says, fundamental concerns have once again surfaced. He does not expect a quick solution.

Attorney Jens Panknin from the law firm Becker Büttner Held also dampened expectations for the regulation. Already the green electricity privilege at that time had been shot down by the EU Commission. This could repeat itself with EEG discounts for tenants. In principle, the EEG is also not "the savior" for tenant electricity models, warned Panknin. The rest of the legal framework also needs to be simplified, for example by adapting tenancy law or with recognized measurement concepts. Currently, 70 pages are needed for a legally secure contracting agreement if the solar system and storage facility are to be used together. This is not appealing to either landlords or tenants.

Nevertheless, Naturstrom CEO Hummel expressed confidence at the end that the renewables market will develop well. The cost degression for solar plants and storage will probably be so strong that Germany will be out of the discussion about the energy turnaround in the medium term, he said. /mt

Michaela Tix

_{With the kind support of energate messenger+.
Source: energate gmbh: energate messenger+; 15.09.2016.
www.energate-messenger.de
Image sources: Miriam Ersch-Arnolds (photo 1, 3, 4); Christian Knops (photo 2, 5, 6)}