Time for the next system impulse

The Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) came into force on April 1, 2000 and marked the beginning of a successful transformation of the energy market in Germany. The EEG was of crucial importance for Saxovent: it enabled us to operate and grow as private players in the market.

Today, 25 years later, the EEG has done its job – the share of renewable energies in electricity consumption is almost 60%. Nevertheless, the EEG is at a turning point. The successful development now requires a new systemic impetus – not a return to subsidy logic, but a further development of the existing structures.

The EEG made competition possible and broke up the monopoly of large suppliers. But the road has been rocky – from lengthy approval procedures to sluggish grid expansion. Today, we are facing new challenges such as over-bureaucratized processes and inefficient storage integration.

What is missing now is consistent further development: the EEG should open up markets and not subsidize them. We need to better interlink generation, storage and consumption – technologically, regulatory and economically.

The solution lies in an EEG 2.0: a more holistic approach to the energy system that includes the digitalization of approval processes, an integrative regulatory framework and a sustainable electricity market design. This is the only way to successfully implement the energy transition in its entirety.

We now need the courage to think about the energy system as a whole and to further develop the existing structures in order to create an intelligent, networked and resilient energy system.

Challenges of the energy transition

Berlin (energate) – The Berlin-based investment company Saxovent started out as a wind project developer in 1997. In the meantime, the product portfolio has expanded and the company is also active as an investor. In an interview with energate, Saxovent COO Thorsten Freise talks about the current challenges in the renewables business: grid connections, bureaucracy, approval processes and the PPA business.

energate: Mr. Freise, Saxovent has been active as a wind project developer since 1997. Today you cover the entire renewables portfolio. How has the business changed in over 20 years?

Thorsten Freise: A planning application for a wind farm used to be eight
up to ten pages long. Today it fills more than 40 folders. The effort involved has increased enormously. The original version of the EEG was initially barely thicker than a paperback book, but is now the size of the German Civil Code. The approval processes drag on endlessly and the digitalization of procedures has not really made any progress so far.

energate: How could this be accelerated?

Thorsten Freise: The entire approval process needs to be reformed and digitized. One current issue is the countless inquiries about immature storage projects. These block the capacities of network operators and authorities. Although only a small proportion of these projects are ready for approval, for example because the necessary requirements are not met, they are nevertheless submitted ahead of schedule. For some network operators, processing is not realistic until the 2030s – by then, many projects will have long since died.

energate: How are you as a company reacting to these changes? Are you focusing more on market-based electricity sales?

Thorsten Freise: We are already operating outside the EEG in the area of our PV rooftop portfolios. Electricity is marketed via self-consumption by the users of the buildings. Our storage projects also work without subsidies. We are currently intensively reviewing PPA contracts for our wind portfolio – both the existing portfolio and permits. This is already standard for the continued operation of decommissioned wind farms. However, the market is tight and it is difficult to conclude long-term PPAs. We are also trying to bundle generation capacities with partners through cooperative ventures in order to be able to supply larger industrial customers. Significant generation units and volumes are required to meet the needs of larger industrial customers and to reliably supply this customer group with green electricity. Nevertheless, the EEG remains an important fall-back option.

energate: What does the future hold for Saxovent?

Thorsten Freise: I can wish for higher tender values, but that is neither realistic nor to be expected. Instead, we will have to deal with changes to the Grid Charges and Access Ordinance. The integration of storage systems into the grid and the projects will take up a considerable amount of space. If the projects have to bear a large part of the grid expansion costs in the future, or if the construction of green electricity storage systems becomes mandatory, these are certainly additional challenges. We cannot and will not be able to develop every area of renewables ourselves in the future; it is too time-consuming and cost-intensive. We are therefore increasingly focusing on investments and acquisitions in order to expand our value chain. We want to achieve diversified growth in all technology areas and market segments – with clear decisions on what we do ourselves and where we bring partners into play.

Strengthening regional presence and expanding activities in the photovoltaic sector

Berlin, 08. July 2025 – The renewable energy full-liner Saxovent Renewables from Berlin is continuing its growth strategy and has opened a new location in Hanover. By expanding its regional presence, Saxovent is responding to the increasing importance of northern Germany for project development in the photovoltaic sector – particularly for rooftop and ground-mounted systems.

• New location strengthens operational base in the north – focus on project development of PV systems
• Strategic addition to the Berlin and Oldenburg locations – future-oriented expansion planned along the value chain
• Establishment in the traditional Bahlsen building on Lister Platz – modern workplace for 15 employees

In the new office on Lister Platz, housed in the modernized Bahlsen factory building, around 15 employees from the areas of project development and planning will work and contribute their expertise. In the medium term, the site is to be further expanded and developed into the leading development center for photovoltaic projects within Saxovent Renewables. The location thus specifically complements the existing branches in Berlin and Oldenburg.

In addition to project development, several subsidiaries of the Saxovent Group are also represented in Hanover, enabling synergies and an interdisciplinary exchange on site. With the recent acquisition of the 13.6 MWp portfolio of the insolvent Fellensiek Group and the takeover of an experienced project team, Saxovent Renewables is not only further expanding its operational clout in the PV sector – Hanover also forms an important interface for the successful integration of the new colleagues in terms of personnel.