The federal government wants to roll back the traffic light heating law with organic stairs. Doubts about whether enough biogas will be available for this arise early on. It is now known that Economics Minister Reiche is apparently planning exceptions to the quota requirement.
The Federal Ministry of Economics wants to impose the switch to climate-friendly gas and heating oil primarily on private households, but exempt industry and commerce from a planned quota requirement. This emerges from a key issues paper from the ministry.
From 2028, gas and oil suppliers should be obliged to add a growing proportion of climate-friendly fuels to supply private households. The quota should start at one percent and rise to 100 percent by 2045. This means that households with gas or oil heating face additional costs. The Association of Municipal Companies (VKU) warned of shortages of green fuels and possible price increases.
“So far there has been no answer from the federal government to the central question of where the additional quantities of green gases should come from,” explained VKU Managing Director Ingbert Liebing. He called for a biomethane strategy to expand domestic production and imports as well as clarity about the consequences for consumer prices.
However, a spokeswoman for Katherina Reiche's Ministry of Economic Affairs stated that the ministry believes that the available potential is sufficient. In the long term, 113 terawatt hours (TWh) of biomethane could be mobilized in Germany and a further 27 TWh imported. In addition, there would be 70 TWh of bio-oil that could be produced domestically in 2045. The ministry referred to relevant reports.
The federal government does not provide a price forecast
In mid-September, the federal government said that it could not estimate the future availability and price development of alternative fuels for heating. “Assumptions for the future development of demand, availability and prices of biogenic fuels are subject to great uncertainty,” explained the federal government in a response to a small question from the Green Party.
According to the key points, the quota should initially reach 5 percent in 2030, 20 percent in 2035 and then 50 percent in 2040. Thereafter, an annual increase of ten percentage points is planned. Industry, commerce and the transport sector as well as electricity and district heating generation should be exempt from the quota requirement. Among other things, biomethane, bio-oil and green and low-carbon hydrogen can be taken into account. Companies should be able to trade quota proofs and partially fulfill their obligations in subsequent years. The VKU welcomed this flexibility as well as the exception for electricity and district heating generation.
The ministry emphasized that these were only key points and not yet a draft law. The quota should trigger investments and save an additional two million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 2030. If there are significant bottlenecks, the quota increase can be adjusted. The goal of a complete changeover by 2045 remains.
The green gas quota is intended to supplement the building modernization law, with which the coalition reformed the previous heating law. This includes a so-called organic staircase: from 2029, new gas and oil heating systems must be operated with at least ten percent climate-friendly fuels. The proportion will rise to 15 percent in 2030, to 30 percent in 2035 and to 60 percent in 2040. The green gas quota, on the other hand, starts with the fuel suppliers and is intended to gradually make all heating gas and heating oil sales to private households climate-neutral by 2045. The green fuels provided through the quota should be able to be counted towards the requirements of the organic ladder.
