EU commissioners take aim at Germany's renewable energy subsidies - report

Oct 7, 2013 - Germany's renewables subsidy system has been challenged by the European Union (EU) competition and energy commissioners, Joaquin Almunia and Guenther Oettinger, concerning the fixed feed-in tariffs and the industry exemptions, daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) said today, citing internal documents.

The two Commissioners question the feed-in tariffs which guarantee long-term high prices for green power producers. Almunia also demands reviewing exemptions for the large consumers. Currently 1,691 German companies are exempt from the levy, financing the feed-in tariffs, in order to ensure their international competitiveness, FAZ added.

Almunia considers German subsidy system as incompatible with EU competition rules and proposes fixed prices to be applied only in exceptional cases in the future and the incentives to come as premiums to the market price. Almunia will present his concrete proposals for new guidelines for environmental and energy aid on a debate on Tuesday.

Commissioner Oettinger supports the market premium model and recommends implementing a fixed ceiling price for the subsidies in case the feed-in tariffs are kept as a compensation method. He will present his guidelines in October.

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