Energy and Infrastructure Law in Germany

Energy infrastructure in Germany: an overview

Energy infrastructure is at the centre of Germany's economic and climate policy. The country aims to cover at least 80% of its gross electricity consumption with renewable energy by 2030 (§ 1(2) of the Renewable Energy Sources Act, Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz, EEG), to expand offshore wind to at least 30 gigawatts by 2030, and to build a hydrogen core network, new storage capacity and dispatchable power plants to secure supply. Transmission and distribution grids must grow and modernise to connect new generation, storage and large consumers such as data centres and electrified industry. Transport and digital infrastructure compete for the same land, permits and capital, and skilled contractors and equipment are in short supply.

The legal framework is dense and changing quickly. Renewable energy is governed by the EEG and the Offshore Wind Act (WindSeeG); grids and energy supply by the Energy Industry Act (Energiewirtschaftsgesetz, EnWG) and the regulation of the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur); permits by planning, immission control and nature conservation law; and investment by EU state aid and market design rules. This page gives an overview of German energy infrastructure law and links to our detailed pages on renewable energy and the EEG, energy grids and the EnWG, hydrogen, CO2 storage and decarbonisation and infrastructure projects and PPPs.

Renewable energy and the EEG

The EEG is the backbone of renewable electricity support in Germany. It sets expansion paths and targets, determines tender volumes for onshore wind, solar and biomass, regulates grid connection priority and payments, and governs guarantees of origin and the prohibition of double marketing. Renewable energy installations and associated facilities are by law in the overriding public interest and serve public safety, and until electricity generation is nearly greenhouse gas neutral they are to be given priority in the weighing of protected interests (§ 2 EEG). This rule has substantially strengthened projects in permitting and in court.

The support system is about to change fundamentally. The Federal Government's EEG 2027 bill (Bundestag printed paper 21/7867) would abolish fixed feed-in tariffs for new plants, introduce two-sided contracts for difference with a refinancing contribution on excess revenues for plants from 100 kW, and adjust tender volumes for 2027 to 2032, while retaining the 80% target for 2030.

According to the Bundestag, the bill received its first reading on 24 September 2026, and a committee hearing followed in October 2026; as of the latest parliamentary sources we reviewed, it had not been adopted.

Onshore wind benefits from area designation targets for each federal state by the end of 2027 and 2032 (§ 3 WindBG), and offshore wind from a target of at least 30 GW by 2030, 40 GW by 2035 and 70 GW by 2045 (§ 1(2) WindSeeG). Our renewables and EEG page explains support schemes, tenders, permits, PPAs and project M&A.

Permitting renewable energy projects

Onshore wind turbines above 50 metres require an immission control permit. In designated wind energy areas, the permit procedure is simplified: no environmental impact assessment and no species protection assessment under § 44(1) of the Federal Nature Conservation Act is required, but mitigation measures or payments apply (§ 6 WindBG).

Objections and actions by third parties against onshore wind turbines above 50 metres have no suspensive effect (§ 63 BImSchG), and repowering is assessed only for its additional adverse effects (§ 16b BImSchG). Ground-mounted solar is privileged in the outer area along motorways and major railway lines, and agri-photovoltaics can be privileged where connected to a farm (§ 35(1) nos. 8 and 9 BauGB). See our insights on onshore wind permitting and solar and agri-PV projects.

Offshore wind

Offshore wind sites are tendered by the Federal Network Agency under the WindSeeG, either as centrally pre-surveyed sites or as sites that are not centrally pre-surveyed, under different award rules. Grid connections are built by the transmission system operators according to the offshore network development plan, and realisation deadlines with penalties apply to winning bidders. Recent tender rounds have shown that bid design and the allocation of risks between the state and developers need to be revisited; the move towards contracts for difference under the EU electricity market design is relevant here too. See our insight on offshore wind tenders.

Energy grids and the EnWG

The EnWG governs the operation, regulation and expansion of electricity and gas networks, unbundling, grid connection and access, network charges and supply. The Federal Network Agency regulates network operators' revenues through incentive regulation and sets the methodology for network charges; following the CJEU's 2021 judgment on its independence, it now sets much of the framework itself through determinations. Under its AgNes process, it is preparing a new framework for electricity network charges to replace the current ordinance, which expires at the end of 2028. See our insight on network charges reform.

Grid connection has become a bottleneck. Network operators must connect customers, generators and storage on appropriate and non-discriminatory terms but may refuse for lack of capacity with reasons (§ 17 EnWG). Flexible connection agreements allow faster connection in exchange for capacity limits, and in 2026 the transmission system operators moved away from first-come-first-served allocation for large storage and consumer projects. Energy storage facilities are in the overriding public interest (§ 11c EnWG). Our grids and EnWG page covers grid regulation, connection, charges and customer installations, and our insights on grid connection reform and battery storage projects go further.

Customer installations, direct lines and energy sharing

Not every electricity supply needs the public grid. Industrial parks, residential quarters and commercial sites often operate customer installations, which are exempt from many network regulation duties if they meet the statutory conditions. Direct lines can supply customers without using the public grid, and rooftop solar systems can supply consumers in the same building through shared building supply without a grid connection (§ 42b EnWG). New rules on energy sharing allow consumers to share renewable electricity through the public grid. These models can reduce costs, but each has precise requirements, and errors can lead to unexpected network charges and levies. See our insight on direct lines and customer installations.

Heat networks and municipal heat planning

The heat transition is the next major infrastructure task. Under the Heat Planning Act, the federal states must ensure that heat plans are prepared by 30 June 2026 for municipalities with more than 100,000 inhabitants and by 30 June 2028 for smaller municipalities (§ 4 WPG). Heat plans identify areas suitable for district heating, hydrogen networks or decentralised heating and influence investment decisions by utilities, property owners and industrial users. District heating supply contracts and price adjustment clauses are subject to specific rules and have been the subject of extensive litigation. See our insights on municipal heat planning and district heating price clauses.

Hydrogen, CO2 storage and industrial decarbonisation

Germany is building a hydrogen core network. The Federal Network Agency approved the network on 22 October 2024, with about 9,040 km of pipelines to enter operation gradually by 2032, financed through network charges and an intertemporal cost allocation mechanism (§§ 28q, 28r EnWG).

Hydrogen network operators must grant connection and access on reasonable, non-discriminatory terms.

Beyond the core network, regional hydrogen distribution, import terminals and electrolysers are being developed, and the EU hydrogen and decarbonised gas package, which Member States must transpose, will reshape network regulation, unbundling and certification of low-carbon hydrogen. Industrial off-takers should therefore negotiate supply contracts with flexibility for regulatory change, including price review and termination rights if certification rules change. For industries that cannot avoid process emissions, carbon capture and storage has become legally possible: the former CO2 Storage Act was expanded in 2025 into the Carbon Dioxide Storage and Transport Act (KSpTG), which allows storage sites largely offshore in the exclusive economic zone and CO2 pipelines, both in the overriding public interest. See our insights on the hydrogen core network and carbon capture and storage.

Decarbonisation is also driven by support schemes and carbon pricing, and companies planning a switch to hydrogen or electrified processes should map all available instruments before committing to a technology path: climate protection contracts (carbon contracts for difference) compensate the additional costs of low-carbon industrial production, the EU Emissions Trading System and the national fuel emissions trading scheme price CO2, and EU state aid rules frame national support. Our page on hydrogen, CO2 storage and decarbonisation explains these instruments.

Security of supply, power plants and storage

As coal plants close and renewables grow, Germany needs dispatchable capacity. The power plant capacity act (StromVKG) aims to introduce a capacity market for the year 2031 and, as a first step, provides for two auctions of 4.5 GW of long-term capacity each, scheduled for 8 September and 29 December 2026 (§ 4 StromVKG). Gas-fired plants with long-term commitments must be ready for hydrogen operation and run climate-neutrally in the long term. See our insight on the power plant strategy and capacity mechanism.

Battery storage has become one of the most dynamic asset classes. Storage commissioned within a statutory window benefits from an exemption from network charges on stored electricity, and battery storage can be privileged in the outer area under the Building Code, for example near renewable plants or substations. Grid connection capacity, revenue stacking across markets and the terms of tolling and optimisation agreements are the main legal issues for investors.

Large consumers and data centres

Electrification of industry, heat pumps, electric mobility and data centres are driving electricity demand and grid connection requests. Data centres face specific requirements under the Energy Efficiency Act on energy efficiency, waste heat use and renewable electricity, and large industrial consumers negotiate connection capacity, network charges and supply contracts that often run for many years. Industrial electricity price relief, special network charges for band-load consumers and exemptions from levies are subject to conditions that must be monitored, because they change frequently. See our insights on data centres under the Energy Efficiency Act and industrial electricity price relief.

Infrastructure projects, procurement and financing

Beyond energy, Germany is investing heavily in transport and digital infrastructure, supported by a special fund for infrastructure and climate neutrality. Projects are delivered through conventional procurement, design-and-build contracts and public-private partnerships, and they require planning approval, environmental assessment and, often, land acquisition. Recent reforms aim to accelerate procurement and approvals: the Act to Accelerate the Award of Public Contracts, in force since 1 July 2026, allows lots to be combined for time reasons in large infrastructure projects funded by the special fund or concerning federal transport infrastructure (§ 97a(3) GWB). See our pages on infrastructure projects and PPPs and public procurement.

Energy infrastructure and other infrastructure increasingly overlap. Electric vehicle charging networks connect transport and electricity, data centres and fibre networks depend on grid capacity, and rail electrification and port infrastructure for offshore wind and hydrogen imports link several sectors. Legal structuring must therefore look across regimes: energy regulation, telecommunications and transport law, planning and procurement. Public authorities and private investors alike need contract structures that allocate the interface risks between these sectors clearly, including in long-term concession and availability models.

Financing energy infrastructure involves project finance, corporate PPAs, green bonds and state support. Lenders focus on permits, grid connection, revenue certainty and change-in-law risk, which the EEG reform makes especially relevant. Typical security packages include share pledges, assignments of receivables under offtake and EEG payment claims, and step-in rights under key project contracts, coordinated with the land rights secured by easements in the land register.

EU state aid rules, including the Climate, Energy and Environmental Aid Guidelines and the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework, determine how far public support is possible. Investors from outside the EU should also consider investment screening, because energy infrastructure is a sensitive sector under the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance, and the review periods must be built into the transaction timetable.

Energy infrastructure transactions, contracts and disputes

Energy infrastructure assets change hands frequently: project rights for wind and solar parks, operating portfolios, storage projects, grid assets and municipal utilities. Due diligence focuses on land rights, permits, grid connection, EEG payment entitlements or tender awards, offtake contracts and operational performance. For wind and solar parks, the land is usually leased from many owners, and the leases must be secured by limited personal easements in the land register so that they survive a sale of the land and satisfy lenders.

Typical contracts include turbine and module supply agreements, EPC contracts, operation and maintenance contracts, PPAs, tolling agreements for storage, and grid connection agreements. Disputes arise over construction delays, performance guarantees, grid connection costs, network charges and regulatory decisions, which are reviewed by the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf and the Federal Court of Justice in energy regulatory matters. See our insights on renewable energy project M&A and corporate PPAs.

Power purchase agreements

Corporate power purchase agreements have become an important route to market for renewable plants outside or alongside EEG support. Germany has no specific PPA statute: PPAs are long-term supply or financial contracts governed by general civil law and energy regulation. Guarantees of origin are only issued for electricity for which no EEG payment is claimed, and renewable electricity may not be marketed twice. Virtual PPAs are usually financial derivatives and can trigger financial regulation such as EMIR reporting. With the EEG reform pending, change-in-law clauses, credit support and the treatment of negative price periods are the most negotiated points.

How TRW & Co helps

We advise developers, investors, utilities, industrial energy users, lenders and public bodies on energy infrastructure in Germany. We support project development from land securing and permitting to grid connection, tender participation and financing, draft and negotiate EPC, supply, O&M, PPA and storage agreements, and advise on EnWG and EEG regulation, network charges and customer installations. We act on transactions involving renewable, storage, grid, heat and hydrogen assets, including municipal utility partnerships, and represent clients before the Federal Network Agency, other authorities and the courts. To discuss a project, please contact us. This page provides general information, not legal advice.