Overview
- Wholesale power prices plunged to around minus €499 per megawatt-hour in early May, as sunny hours and low holiday demand left more electricity on the grid than users could take.
- Economics Minister Katherina Reiche proposed ending guaranteed feed-in payments for new rooftop systems up to 25 kW, with existing installations left untouched and owners steered to self-consumption, batteries or direct marketing.
- The ministry’s push follows a spike in costs on the EEG account, which fills the gap between fixed solar tariffs and market prices and which Reiche said took a high double‑digit million‑euro hit over two days.
- Analysts and industry voices argue the core problem is a rigid system, citing a slow smart‑meter rollout and limited storage that the regulator says could hold about 28 GWh and fill in roughly 1.6 hours under ideal conditions.
- A new study commissioned by Deutsche Umwelthilfe and the wind industry reports wind and solar remain cheaper than new gas plants even when grid and battery costs are added, while grid operators still call for firm capacity to cover multi‑day lulls.