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New German Federal Planning and Permitting Law Plans8 May 2025

Hardly any other area of law has had as many changes implemented to it by Germany’s previous federal government than planning and permitting laws for (renewable) energy facilities. These included the Wind Area Requirement Act (“Windflächenbedarfsgesetz”), amendments to the repowering regulations and the legal clarification regarding overriding interest in the expansion of renewable energy. The aim of these laws was to accelerate the expansion of energy generation from renewable sources by removing obstacles to in sector projects. The new federal government intends to continue this approach as demonstrated by the inclusion in its coalition agreement of paragraphs promoting the further acceleration of planning and permitting processes in both the chapter on climate and energy and in the section on rural areas, agriculture, food and the environment.

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"Hardly any other area of law has had as many changes implemented to it by Germany’s previous federal government than planning and permitting laws for (renewable) energy facilities."

According to the coalition agreement, the use of a “deemed permitting concept” will be extended. This concept basically states that if a competent authority has not reacted to a complete application within a stipulated period of time, the respective permit will be deemed to have been granted. This puts pressure on the relevant authorities regarding both the permitting procedure itself and the scope of participation by public bodies. In practice, it remains the case that statutory requirements regarding the duration of procedures or the submission of comments are frequently not complied with by certain authorities and that this is used as a tool to slow down unwanted permitting procedures. The “deemed permitting concept” can be a successful counter to this.

Another noteworthy proposal is extending certain regulations on procedural simplifications in priority areas to include infrastructure projects in the energy sector.

In this respect, the coalition agreement speaks of examining the possibility of applying the same procedural simplifications which had a positive effect tin accelerating energy also in other infrastructure areas. It is clear from these proposals that the new government is primarily concerned with restricting the ability of environmental organisations to lodge complaints, which has repeatedly lead to considerable delays to infrastructure projects. This where proposals to simplify environmental permitting law come in. Notably, threshold values for mandatory EIA projects are to be raised. The new coalition wants to determine whether preliminary EIA assessments can be suspended for amendment permits. Alleged violations of EIA obligations are generally the trigger for legal action by environmental organisations. The statements in the coalition agreement go even further. The Environmental Appeals Act (“Umweltrechtsbehelfsgesetz”), the main legal basis for appeals from environmental organisations, is to be reduced to the minimum required under EU law. In addition, legal remedies will only available to those directly affected.

"Overall, the coalition agreement outlines that speeding up the planning and approval projects will continue and be extended to cover all infrastructure projects."

The coalition is also planning to restrict rights under the Environmental Information Act. Whether this is intended to speed up procedures or provide more procedural privacy. remains to be seen.

Irrespective of (renewable) energy projects, the government’s commitment to further accelerating planning and permitting procedures is abundantly clear from the coalition agreement. The point is emphasised several times in its statements on its proposed infrastructure package and the need to reduce bureaucracy. The statement ‘In all specialist areas in which early approval can practicably be granted without irreparable damage, we want to introduce the so-called deemed permitting’ gives rise to great expectations.

Overall, the coalition agreement outlines that speeding up the planning and approval projects will continue and be extended to cover all infrastructure projects. The focus is clearly on limiting the opportunities for environmental organisations (and other parties not directly affected) to take legal action. Authorities will also be given clearer time limits for decisions, which will be secured by deemed permits. If these measures are implemented, it will be good news for infrastructure and energy project developers.

 

Click here to view all articles in our series about the German federal government’s 2025 coalition agreement which offer a legal and practical assessment of selected topics from the coalition agreement.

 

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