Federal Court of Justice negotiates construction cost subsidies for storage systems

Battery storage

On 27 May, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) heard the case against the decision by the Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) on construction cost subsidies for battery storage installations. Previously, in late 2023, the Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht, OLG) in Düsseldorf had declared the levying of construction cost subsidies based on the BNetzA’s capacity price model (Leistungspreismodell) model to be unlawful.

According to the OLG, the pricing model based on capacity price is discriminatory as it does not take into account the fact that a battery storage system does not simultaneously draw electricity from the grid and feed it into the grid. During periods of electricity feed-in, the storage system cannot withdraw electricity from the grid. It is therefore unreasonable to treat storage facilities the same way as all other final consumers, which is the premise of the capacity-based price model. The BNetzA has filed an appeal with the BGH against the decision of the Düsseldorf OLG.

During the hearing, the court initially showed a strong tendency to follow the BNetzA’s line of argument. Contrary to its original plan, however, the BGH then surprisingly postponed its decision until 15 July. This could be an indication that the outcome of the final decision for or against construction cost subsidies based on the BNetzA model is still open.

It will now take several more weeks before a final ruling is handed down by the highest court. However, the fact that the judges are apparently thoroughly reviewing arguments favoring a decision in the interest of electricity storage, is seen by BSW-Solar as a positive development.

Further information

Overview of proceedings provided by the Federal Court of Justice in its announcement of the date of the ruling (in German)