German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche has come up with proposals to ensure that expansion of renewable energies does not overburden the grid, following up on a change of course in the country’s energy transition announced last year.

The installation of new energy-producing facilities is to be better synchronized with grid expansion, while costs are to be reduced, according to a draft bill made available to dpa.

Reiche, who took office in May last year, has spoken out in favour of focusing energy policy on costs and supply security in light of Germany’s stuttering economy.

Her predecessor Robert Habeck, serving in the post under the previous centre-left administration, heavily promoted the expansion of renewables, primarily from wind and solar power.

In September, Reiche announced she would implement “key measures” to better manage the transition to net zero and make it more affordable.

Germany has committed to climate neutrality by 2045. But in order for the country to stay on course, efforts need to centre on reliability, supply security, affordability and cost-effectiveness, Reiche said at the time.

Despite significant progress in the pace of expansion of electricity distribution networks, grid expansion continues to face “systemic” challenges and obstacles, according to the draft bill.

Grid expansion cannot keep pace with the expansion of installations, it said.

Thousands of kilometres of power lines need to be built in Germany to bring wind power, mainly generated in the north of the country, to consumers in the south.

As more and more energy produced from renewable sources is fed into the grid, wind and solar installations are sometimes curtailed to avoid overload, meaning that their output is throttled or switched off – a process known as redispatch.

Operators are entitled to compensation, which costs billions every year.

In a reform of current rules, the ministry plans to exempt new connections to certain parts of the grid known to be particularly strained from compensation in the event of a redispatch.

A spokesman for the ministry declined to comment on the draft bill, saying that the aim was to increase cost efficiency of the energy system by avoiding expensive “curtailments.”

The proposals also include plans for operators of renewable energy facilities to contribute funds to expanding the grid, which is facing further strain due to massive demand from an increasing number of large battery storage facilities and data centres, according to the bill.

The opposition Green Party immediately lashed out at the plans, accusing Reiche of trying to suffocate the expansion of renewables.

Instead, parliamentary leader Katharina Dröge called for faster expansion of wind and solar power, consistent digitalization and expansion of the grids.

Lawmaker Michael Kellner, energy policy spokesman for the Greens, accused Reiche of trying to “kill” the transition to clean energy.

He noted that surplus energy is and will always be a common occurrence with renewables. Instead of preventing expansion, he called for intelligently using the surplus, for example through storage and accelerated digitalization of the grids.

Carsten Körnig, chief executive of the German Solar Industry Association, described the plans as “a massive attack on climate action and efforts to increase resilience in energy supply.”

The proposed elimination of compensation would bring the energy transition to a standstill in large parts of Germany, he said, arguing that economic operation and capital borrowing to fund new solar installations would no longer be possible under these circumstances.