German cabinet approves 2027 renewable energy law overhaul

The feed-in tariff guaranteed for 20 years for wind, solar and biomass will be phased out. New small rooftop PV systems lose permanent support; a three-year transition is planned under which only systems up to 50 kWp qualify in 2027, up to 25 kWp in 2028 and up to 7 kWp in 2029, with the rate for small systems falling to 5.2 cents per kWh. The grid connection package is intended to speed up connection procedures. Entry into force is planned for 1 January 2027.

The consultation with industry associations launched on 20 July 2026 has become a cabinet decision: on 29 July 2026 the federal cabinet adopted the draft 2027 EEG amendment and the grid connection package. Economics minister Katherina Reiche spoke of a 'paradigm shift on renewables'. The final legislative text was not yet available on the day of the decision; the drafts still have to pass through the Bundestag and Bundesrat. Solar industry association BSW-Solar sharply criticised the decision as a brake on investment. Update (21 Sept 2026): The first reading has now been officially scheduled — on 24 Sept 2026 the Bundestag will take up the draft EEG Novelle 2027 first and the grid package immediately afterwards, with 25 minutes allotted to each item, after which the drafts are referred to the responsible committees. A Green party motion has been tabled for each agenda item. Besides the Bundestag, the reform must still pass the Bundesrat, after which EU Commission state-aid approval is still outstanding (pv magazine, 14 Sept 2026). Update (05.10.2026): the Bundestag's Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy discussed the government's EEG 2027 bill at a two-hour public hearing on 05.10.2026; the hearing on the grid connection package follows on 07.10.2026 (German Bundestag, 05.10.2026). Update (07.10.2026): at the two-hour hearing on the grid connection package (BT-Drs. 21/7866), most experts were critical, above all of the so-called redispatch reservation, under which new renewable plants in congested areas would receive no compensation for curtailment for ten years; the renewables associations BEE and BWE called for it to be dropped, while the municipal utilities association VKU welcomed the bill. No date has yet been set for the second and third readings (German Bundestag, 07.10.2026). Update (16.10.2026): The second and third readings of the EEG amendment and the grid-connection package, planned for calendar week 42, have slipped because the parliamentary groups' negotiators need more time on contested points. The renewable-energy association BEE expects the readings in the week of 9 to 13 November 2026, which would make the Bundesrat session on 20 November 2026 reachable; it remains unclear whether the European Commission will grant approval in time for entry into force on 1 January 2027 (Solarserver, 16 Oct 2026).