Finally: The new German Buildings Energy Act (Gebäude­energie­gesetz, GEG) has been adopted

On July 3, 2020 the German Bundesrat finally adopted the long overdue "Draft of a law to standardize the energy saving law for buildings" (Gebäudeenergiegesetz - GEG). In the meantime, the Act has also been published in the German Federal Law Gazette (BGBl. I p. 1728) and will enter into force on November 1, 2020. In the course of the decision-making on the GEG, the German Bundestag has also repealed the so-called 52 GW solar cap in the Renewable Energy Sources Act ("EEG 2017").

The Buildings Energy Act lays down energy requirements for existing buildings that must be complied with when such buildings undergo extensive renovation. In this respect, the European specifications on the overall energy efficiency of buildings (Directive 2010/31/EU) are also implemented and the regulation of the lowest energy building is integrated into the unified energy saving law.

The aim of the Buildings Energy Act is to reduce bureaucracy and simplify energy-saving legislation for buildings. The regulations of the EnEV and the EEWärmeG will be taken over as far as possible in terms of content and partly revised and simplified where possible. The Act thus replaces the EnEG, the EnEV and the EEWärmeG and is intended to establish a new, uniform, coordinated set of rules for the energy requirements of new buildings, existing buildings and the use of renewable energies for the heating and cooling of buildings. In particular, this is intended to facilitate the application and enforcement of the provisions now brought together in the Buildings Energy Act. The previously existing discrepancies and inconsistencies - such as diverging definitions, unequal treatment of electricity from renewable energies and varying requirements for plant technology - have now been eliminated.

Our German language article (download) provides an overview of the main novelties envisaged by the Buildings Energy Act. In case of any queries, do not hesitate to contact the article's authors, Dr. Florian Wesche and Sören Brass and their team of experts for further information.