Germany makes it harder for tenants throughout Europe to generate and consume their own electricity

In a back-room deal, passages in the EU Renewable Energy Directive pertaining to self-consumption of power by small consumers were apparently changed at Germany’s urging, writes Tagesspiegel Background. On June 14, European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Cañete tweeted that the EU had agreed on a target of 32 percent of renewable energy in final energy consumption by 2030. However, rules for self-generation and consumption of energy, an integral component of the 2030 target, have become increasingly unclear. According to Greenpeace’s Tara Conolly, Germany lobbied to make it harder for individual tenants to consume their own electricity. “Tenants are thus penalised compared to real-estate owners who live in their own homes and install a solar system. That is clearly discrimination,” she said.

You can purchase the Tagesspiegel Background article in German here.

For background, read the article Clear steps must underpin EU renewables goal – German energy minister.