In June, the German parliament passed the amendment to the Energy Industry Act (EnWG) and associated changes to the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG). BVES welcomes the new regulations, as they enable the active use of energy storage systems for the energy system and largely eliminate double burdens with taxes, levies and charges.
Both large storage systems, which will be used for the energy system following tenders, and the more than 350,000 smaller storage systems in buildings will be able to offer several services simultaneously (multi-use) and be active on the market without being hindered by double levies, surcharges and taxes.
Specifically, the amendment to Section 61l of the Renewable Energy Sources Act exempts storage systems, which were previously limited to self-supply, from this single use and they can now also be operated on the electricity markets. With the construct of the double voluntary priority regulation, these storage systems are treated as pure grid storage and measured with two meters. This also significantly reduces the insurmountable bureaucratic hurdles for the metering concept of multi-use storage systems.
The originally planned marketing ban for large storage facilities has been removed if they are operated on the basis of a tender or agreement with a grid operator. Now, in accordance with Section 11a (2) EnWG, this storage facility may also participate in the multi-use and electricity markets, at least with the capacity that exceeds the requirements set by the grid operator. If the facility is temporarily or permanently not required to fulfill the agreement with the grid operator, this additional capacity and work may be sold on the electricity markets. In principle, the Energy Industry Act thus takes up the EU's impetus to make greater use of storage facilities to optimize the grid, but at the same time establishes a balanced sequence of decisions.
