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Glossary · Energy industry & energy transition

Feed-in commitment (Einspeisezusage)

Feed-in Commitment grid connection renewable energies Feed-in distribution grid project development

A feed-in commitment (Einspeisezusage) is a statement by a grid operator that a generation plant or storage unit can feed electricity into the public grid at a specific grid connection point. It applies to a specific capacity and is subject to technical, legal and time-related conditions. It is therefore not a general promise of unlimited feed-in. It is a statement about a concrete connection case: where is the connection made, how much capacity may be fed in, which requirements apply, and by when is the connection to be in place? In Germany, "Einspeisezusage" is not a term defined by law. In practice it usually means the grid operator's response to a grid connection request, that is, the result of a grid compatibility assessment or a connection commitment resulting from it. Content, binding effect and period of validity therefore depend on the individual document and on the conditions of the grid operator concerned.

Where the term is used

The term is encountered above all in connection with ground-mounted photovoltaic plants, larger rooftop systems, wind farms, biomass and hydropower plants, and battery storage systems. It is usually preceded by a grid compatibility assessment. In this, the grid operator checks whether the existing grid can absorb the planned capacity. It also checks whether lines, transformers or switchgear would be overloaded and which measures are needed for safe operation. Usually the distribution system operator is responsible first, because most new plants are connected at low, medium or high voltage. For very large parks or storage units, a transmission system operator may also be responsible.

Legal framework in Germany (as of November 2026)

Section 8 EEG 2023 applies to plants using renewable energies and mine gas. The grid operator must connect such plants without delay and with priority. The connection is made at the point that is suitable for the voltage level and is closest as the crow flies. An exception applies if a different connection point is technically and economically more favourable. The plant operator may choose another suitable connection point as long as this does not cause the grid operator any not insignificant additional costs. This may also be a point already used by another plant, if its operator agrees. The grid operator, for its part, may assign a different connection point if the purchase of the electricity is secured there.

An important clarification regarding the original version of this entry: for plants using renewable energies, a lack of grid capacity is not a reason to refuse the connection definitively. Under Section 8(4) EEG, the connection obligation also exists where the electricity can only be taken up after optimisation, reinforcement or grid expansion. A lack of capacity therefore affects mainly the connection point, the schedule and the costs, not whether the connection is made. For other plants, for example pure grid storage units, the general right to connection under Section 17 EnWG applies. The grid operator may refuse this under narrow conditions if it demonstrates that the connection is not possible or not reasonable for technical or economic reasons.

The EEG also regulates what the grid operator must deliver after a connection request. First, it must promptly submit a schedule for processing. At the latest eight weeks after all necessary information is available, it must present, together with the result of the grid compatibility assessment, the following: a schedule for the connection, the information for assessing the connection point, and a comprehensible cost estimate for the technical establishment of the connection. For small plants up to a total of 30 kilowatts on a property with an existing connection, the existing connection point is deemed the most favourable connection point. Since 2025, a deadline of one month and a web portal procedure apply to them. For solar plants above 30 up to 100 kilowatts, a similar simplification exists under certain conditions. What a feed-in commitment contains in Germany therefore largely follows from these information obligations.

Capacity rather than energy quantity

The central parameter of a feed-in commitment is the maximum permissible feed-in capacity, usually stated as active power in kilowatts or megawatts. It says nothing about the quantity of electricity generated annually in kilowatt-hours. A comparison helps: the commitment determines how wide the gate is, not how many vehicles pass through it per year. What counts for the grid is the instantaneous load, because lines, transformers and protection technology react to momentary values. The committed capacity may differ from the installed capacity of the modules or turbines. In the case of oversizing, for example, the module capacity of a photovoltaic plant is greater than the committed connection capacity, and the peaks are limited at the grid connection point. Connection capacities are sometimes also stated as apparent power in kVA or MVA. This figure is not to be equated with active power.

Distinctions

  • Grid connection: The grid connection is the technical and legal link to the grid. The feed-in commitment concerns what capacity may be fed in via this connection. For storage units and sites with both generation and consumption, both directions exist. A connection may suffice for drawing electricity without feed-in being permitted at the same level.

  • Building permit, award, power purchase agreement: The building permit clarifies whether the project is permissible under building law. An award in a tender clarifies the remuneration. A power purchase agreement regulates who buys the electricity. The feed-in commitment answers only the grid question.

  • Grid operation: The commitment sets the connection framework. It does not guarantee that the plant can feed in full capacity at all times over its entire lifetime. Bottlenecks during ongoing operation are handled through other instruments (see below).

Technical content

The assessment covers more than the question of whether a line is still arithmetically free. The voltage band, short-circuit power, the protection concept, the provision of reactive power, remote controllability, the metering concept and communication interfaces also play a role. If many decentralised plants on one feeder feed in more than is consumed locally, the voltage there rises. The line may then still have thermal reserves while the permissible voltage limit has already been reached. Requirements in a feed-in commitment, for example on reactive power or controllability, therefore often seem formal but are decisive for safe grid operation. The EEG requires the grid operator to also provide the information needed for the technical requirements under Section 9 EEG.

Flexible grid connection agreements

Since February 2025, German law has expressly recognised flexible grid connection agreements. Under Section 8a EEG, grid operators and operators of a plant using renewable energies can agree to limit the maximum active power feed-in at the connection. This limit may be restricted to individual time windows and may differ in level for each time window. The plant operator must technically comply with the limit at all times. The agreement is voluntary. However, if the most favourable connection point is not the closest point, the grid operator must examine whether such an agreement is possible. According to the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur), it can enable connection at a closer connection point if the operator accepts reasonable restrictions on connection capacity. The grid operator's obligation to take up the electricity is then limited to the electricity within the agreed limit.

Section 17(2b) EnWG applies to all connection users, including battery storage systems, that draw electricity from the grid. Under it, the grid operator may offer a flexible agreement. This gives it the right to demand a static or dynamic limitation of the withdrawal or feed-in capacity. Among other things, the agreement must regulate the level of the limitation, its periods, the term and the technical requirements. For storage units this is particularly important, because they can relieve or burden the grid. If a storage unit charges during high local generation, it can reduce a bottleneck. If it operates only according to market prices, it can aggravate local problems. A commitment for a storage unit should therefore fit its operating concept, for example a grid-supportive control.

Bottlenecks during ongoing operation: redispatch instead of feed-in management

Even with a feed-in commitment, a plant may later be temporarily curtailed when the grid reaches its limit. A correction to the previous version is necessary here: the former feed-in management (Einspeisemanagement) under the EEG no longer exists as a separate instrument since 1 October 2021. It was transferred into redispatch 2.0 under the EnWG. Since then, conventional power plants, plants using renewable energies and CHP plants have been deployed in a common system for resolving bottlenecks. Feed-in priority is preserved through minimum factors: renewable and CHP plants may only be ramped down if this is significantly more effective than with conventional plants. Such curtailment has different causes and legal consequences than the connection assessment, including as regards financial compensation. The commitment sets the connection framework but does not eliminate every later bottleneck.

Significance for project development and public debate

For project developers and financiers, the feed-in commitment is often one of the most important documents for risk assessment. A site with good land and high yield can become economically unviable if the nearest connection point has no capacity. A more distant point makes cable routes, rights of way, transformers and switchgear bays more expensive. A limited feed-in capacity reduces revenues, but often also connection costs. Delays increase financing costs and can endanger deadlines from tenders. In public debate, the term shows that plants do not come into being through investment and permits alone, but must be integrated into a grid. However, many commitments say little about actual commissioning, annual quantities or later curtailment. A delayed commitment also does not mean that too little electricity could be generated overall. Conversely, a commitment provides no firm capacity in times of scarcity. Wind and solar plants feed in depending on the weather, and storage units are limited by state of charge and operating strategy. Grid capacity and security of supply are therefore different questions.

Used correctly, the term links four things: the plant, the connection capacity, the grid connection point and the operating rules. Whoever discloses this link can see what a project depends on: the land, the financing, the permit, the grid connection or the later grid operation.

Sources

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Edited by eCMS on 11.11.2026 19:43

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