On July 24th, the German Federal Cabinet approved a draft law to implement the EU Renewable Energy Directive.

The draft law was jointly drafted by the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Economy, which includes planning and approval regulations for onshore wind and photovoltaic power generation.

Accelerating regional development and shortening approval time are aimed at promoting faster expansion of renewable energy. The Ministry of Economic Affairs stated that these regulations also apply to energy storage systems built in the same location.

The core content of the proposed law is to designate so-called acceleration zones for onshore wind turbines and photovoltaic systems including related energy storage, which are regulated by the Building Code and Spatial Planning Act. The department stated that projects within these areas can subsequently obtain approval through simplified and accelerated procedures in accordance with the new regulations of the Wind Energy Area Requirements Law. In addition, the acceleration measures for all projects specified in the directive (including projects outside the acceleration zone) will be implemented by amending the Federal Emission Control Act.

The revised Renewable Energy Directive last year was based on the EU's goal of increasing the proportion of renewable energy in the final energy consumption of the EU to at least 42.5%. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to significantly accelerate the approval process.
The implementation of accelerated regions is a real driving force for increasing onshore wind energy. Moreover, based on the expansion data of wind energy, this is also urgently needed, "said the head of communication and policy at Green Planet Energy. Compared to previous drafts, the federal government is integrating energy storage systems not only with solar energy but also with wind energy systems, which is a positive aspect. This will further accelerate the expansion of energy storage systems, help integrate renewable energy markets, reduce periods of negative electricity prices, and make the system more economical.