Decentralised energy supply

A key task for the future is the digitisation of metering and metering systems as a prerequisite for a more efficient energy industry. Legislators and regulators at EU, national and state level are increasingly imposing requirements that are difficult to implement and cannot be met with analogue metering points. Since many government subsidies, tax benefits and organisational simplifications are tied to compliance with metering and metering system requirements, a holistic approach is required: legal, technical and economic.

The "fuelling station" for mobility is increasingly shifting from the road to car parks and garages at professional and private locations with decentralised energy supply. The task here is to develop targeted concepts, create contractual structures, set up charging stations and design digitisation with a sensible metering system as the basis for functioning billing processes.

We take a holistic approach to analysing all relevant legal issues for our clients.

In economic terms, many sensible, energy-efficient, decentralised project concepts are not yet economically viable. This is partly due to the fact that alternatives to centralised energy supply are subsidised by the government.

We analyse the optimal funding conditions for each project, taking into account cross-connections and exclusions in the use of funding options. We evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using subsidies and weigh up the effects on the facts of electricity and energy tax law, the costs of the specified mandatory (additional) tasks in the event of a subsidy and other effects. To this end, we take a holistic view of all laws and regulations that could have an impact on the specific project and weigh them against each other from an economic, technical and legal perspective.

Although electricity and energy taxes were introduced temporarily more than 20 years ago, they still exist. Avoiding and limiting electricity and energy taxes is important for decentralised energy supply projects and their economic viability. The complexity is high, as the analysis of an optimisation needs to be based not only on the size and type of energy generation plant, but also on the use of energy and the number of participants in a supply chain.

Aecoute° lawyers have been involved in electricity and energy tax law since its inception and are able to identify the optimal conditions for decentralised energy supply projects and implement them in constructive coordination with the relevant main customs offices.

Making the most of the opportunities offered by the CHP Act can be very important for the economic viability of decentralised energy supply. Depending on the size of the plant, the fuel, the grid integration, the energy use and the supply chain to the end user, the funding opportunities and funding rates are structured differently. The effects and exclusions of overlaps with other support options and the provisions of other laws and regulations must also be taken into account.

On the cost and levy side, there are permissible options for minimising costs that can be contractually agreed.

Aecoute° lawyers were involved in the original drafting of the CHP Act, acted as experts in the legislative process, and conducted and supported numerous landmark court cases up to the Federal Supreme Court, with favourable outcomes for the respective clients.

Making the most of the opportunities offered by the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) can be crucial to the economic viability of a decentralised energy supply. Depending on the size of the system, the type of drive, grid integration, energy use and the supply chain to the end user, the funding opportunities and rates are structured differently. The implications and exclusions in the event of overlap with other funding opportunities and the provisions of other laws and regulations must also be taken into account.

Aecoute° lawyers have been involved in shaping the EEG in its original form, have acted as experts in the legislative process, and have conducted and supported numerous landmark court cases all the way to the Federal Supreme Court, with favourable outcomes for the respective clients.

Decentralised energy supply is generally designed for a specific energy demand with definable area boundaries. Legislation distinguishes between customer systems and closed distribution networks, as opposed to general supply networks with different regulatory requirements. In addition to the legally defined areas, there are areas, properties and neighbourhoods that are in a grey area of the legal interfaces for customer installations in closed and general supply network areas. These include industrial and commercial areas, airport areas, exhibition centres, residential areas, large shopping centres and a variety of other land uses.

Aecoute° lawyers have designed, drafted and implemented decentralised energy supply projects for all types of site management encountered in practice. In many cases, effective solutions have been found in consultation with the authorities and interested parties, and in some cases legal assistance has been successfully used.

The term contracting, which is not defined in German law, covers a variety of forms of local energy supply and contract design. Both companies within a group and external providers are classic contractors, acting as independent companies with a financing function, planning, constructing and operating decentralised energy supply projects. The reason for this is often "unbalanced" financing, which requires a professionally designed long-term contract.

For more than twenty years, Aecoute° lawyers have successfully advised developers, investors and local companies on the search, tendering and selection of contractors as partners.

Contracts for decentralised energy supply projects are extensive, have to take into account a wide range of legal issues and are generally designed for the long term, as they also contain refinancing components. There are numerous model contracts, but they need to be regularly adapted to individual cases. As the agreements are usually drawn up for 10, 15 or even 20 years, they must allow for structuring options in the event of changes in the law. The distinction between operator agreements with a refinancing function and financing agreements subject to approval must also be made sensitively in terms of risk allocation and final liability clauses.

Aecoute° lawyers have many years of experience in drafting all types of contracts for decentralised energy supply and in supporting and adapting contracts over long periods of time.

We advise operators and owners of gas and electricity supply networks on all operational and strategic issues relating to network tariff regulation. This applies in particular to decisions on the long-term orientation and profitability of network operation and to communication with the regulatory authorities in ongoing proceedings. Where necessary and economically viable, we conduct legal proceedings to review and correct the decisions of the regulatory authorities.