Overview
- The Landtag approved the change on November 19, setting the charge at €5,000 per megawatt per year for turbines commissioned from January 1, 2026, keeping solar at €2,000 per megawatt and consolidating the levies.
- Municipalities are allowed to use the payments to ease residents’ electricity bills or finance community projects.
- A taz survey reports only about 80% of owed money reached responding towns by October 2025, with no fines issued or proactive controls since 2019 and a planned transparency duty removed from the final law.
- Investigations found some operators had not paid; subsequent confrontations led to backpayments, including around €85,000 owed to affected communities.
- Industry groups warn the higher, capacity-based charge could strain project economics, noting a modern 6 MW turbine would face about €30,000 per year.