Eleven German federations from the energy, housing, real estate and skilled trades sectors oppose plans by the Bundesnetzagentur, the federal network regulator, to make operators of solar installations contribute more to grid costs. In a joint appeal, they call for the "prosumer surcharge" to be dropped and warn of a brake on solar expansion. The debate comes as EU solar employment reaches 874,000 full-time equivalent jobs in 2025. It also affects installations paired with storage, such as the 6 MW battery inaugurated by Verso Energy at its floating solar site.

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A grid tariff reform at the heart of the debate

The measure is part of the planned reform of electricity grid fees. The discussion centers on making households that generate part of their electricity with their own solar installation and consume it themselves contribute more to grid costs, regardless of how much they actually use the grid.

According to the federations, this change could significantly worsen the profitability of existing and new installations and noticeably slow solar deployment. They say the problem is compounded by the cuts to solar power support that the federal government is also planning.

A legal opinion challenges the lawfulness of the surcharge

Carsten Körnig, managing director of BSW-Solar (Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft), states that those investing in a solar installation or a battery must not be penalized with additional fees. In his view, grid fees should reflect actual use of the grid, not whether someone generates solar power on their own roof.

Lawyer and honorary professor Dörte Fouquet also expresses serious doubts about the lawfulness of the surcharge in an opinion commissioned by BSW-Solar. She points in particular to breaches of European rules on cost-reflective grid financing, of the principle of equal treatment and of constitutional protection of legitimate expectations for existing installations.

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Federations call for allocation based on feed-in capacity

The signatories call for a fair distribution of grid costs based on the causation principle. If an additional contribution from solar installation operators proves necessary, they say it should be based on the feed-in capacity actually agreed. They also ask that existing installations benefit from grandfathering protection.

A representative YouGov survey of 2,105 eligible voters shows that 46% of respondents reject a larger cost contribution when it is independent of the grid connection capacity actually used and significantly worsens the profitability of solar installations. Only 25% support it.