As of: February 2, 2024, 6:01 a.m
By: Lars-Eric Nievelstein
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Financing green electricity could place a greater burden on the federal government's resources than previously thought.
A new calculation by the FDP reveals a billion dollar hole.
Berlin – According to a current calculation by the FDP parliamentary group, around 17 billion euros are missing from the financing of green electricity generation for 2024.
This would mean that the financing gap would be significantly larger than previously thought.
The FDP's energy policy spokesman, Michael Kruse, made a clear demand to the traffic light government.
Financing gap calculated by network operators |
7.8 billion euros |
|---|---|
Shortfall for green electricity generation calculated by the FDP |
17 billion euros |
Calculated revenue for the kilowatt hour (grid operator) |
9.2 cents |
EEG financing needs are higher than expected
The fundamental problem is the remuneration of operators of solar and wind power plants.
Operators can expect a certain price on the electricity exchanges per kilowatt hour.
However, if this price is too low, the operators will receive a difference from the so-called EEG account - this is intended to ensure that the operators continue to have enough money to press ahead with the expansion.
This account is under the control of the four transmission system operators Tennet, 50Hertz, Amprion and TransnetBW.
Only recently did the network operators sound the alarm.
Now the FDP has discovered a larger gap in green electricity generation.
17 billion euros are missing.
© IMAGO / dts news agency
The account receives its funds directly from the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF), which in turn receives money from EU emissions trading, the national CO₂ price and tax revenue.
“Low stock market prices lead to higher expenditure on EEG funding,” said a spokesman for TransnetBW when asked by
Ippen.Media
.
It was precisely because of these lower prices that the network operators recently sounded the alarm - and demanded increased funding of 7.8 billion euros from the federal government.
Without this sum it would not be possible to adequately secure the financing of renewable energies.
Without funding, the network operators saw significant liquidity problems facing the industry “within a few months”.
There was an “urgent” need for discussion on the part of the network operators 50Hertz, Amprion, Tennet and TransnetBW.
FDP politician calculates billion-dollar gap – “Compensation payments for the EEG eat up the KTF”
The FDP man Michael Kruse is now fighting the same breach.
According to him, a further fall in electricity prices is imminent, meaning that green electricity operators could find themselves in dire straits.
For 2024, the federal government plans to make compensation payments to the EEG account amounting to 10.6 billion euros.
According to Kruse's new calculation, this is far from enough;
it would have to be 27.5 billion euros.
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However, he calls for general countermeasures instead of increasing subsidies for the industry.
The KTF is increasingly overwhelmed by the costs of expanding renewable energies.
“If Robert Habeck doesn’t take countermeasures with his policies now, the compensation payments for the EEG will eat up the KTF,” warns FDP politician Kruse.
He told the
FAZ
: “The coalition agreement includes an exit from permanent subsidies for renewables.
It’s time for Minister Habeck to start implementing it instead of constantly causing billions in additional expenses.”
The federal government has been promoting the energy transition for years through various programs.
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection lists a whole list of funding programs on which a lot of money is actually spent.
Recently, further surcharges for certain solar and wind turbines or power plant parks were also discussed.
This is what the financing gap for renewables is made up of
How does such a gap arise that deviates so significantly from the government's expectations?
First of all, there are still remaining claims from the network operators for the years 2022 and 2023. These are expected to amount to around 3.4 billion euros.
Another 13.5 billion euros are expected to come from drastically cheaper market prices.
As the TransnetBW spokesman warned, the network operators simply calculated that the prices that could be achieved on the market were too high.
If these are too low, the government will have to withdraw further funds from the KTF.
A “realistic stock market price” of six cents per kilowatt hour is expected this year.
In January it was 7.6 cents and in December it was 6.8 cents.
“A further decline is highly likely,” the
FAZ
quotes the FDP man Kruse.
The network operators had calculated revenue of 9.2 cents per kilowatt hour - this was no longer a realistic price.
Budget problems and billion dollar holes
For the federal government, this is just one of many construction sites that currently need to be addressed.
Not only is the coal phase-out currently at risk because the construction of new power plants is becoming more expensive than expected, but the introduction of basic child welfare is also imminent, for which another 7.5 billion euros per year are planned from 2025.
There is a risk of another budget dispute with the introduction of stock pensions, as ten billion euros per year will also be incurred here.
There is also the general renovation of the railway and the much-discussed climate money, of which it is still unclear in what form this will arise.
Employers and economists warn: Germany is putting itself at risk.
With material from dpa