London, 20 September (Argus) — Germany's liberal FDP party will present its proposals on how to change the way the country subsidises renewable power next week.

The FDP is one of the harshest critics of the country's renewable energy act (EEG) and junior coalition partner in chancellor Angela Merkel's government.

A working group on how to reform the EEG act, which stipulates feed-in-tariffs and feed-in-priority for power generated from renewable sources, will present its position on 24 September, an FDP spokesman told Argus today.

The spokesman declined to give details on the key elements of the proposals, but the FDP is likely to lobby for a market-based system to push on with the integration of renewable power into the competitive market.

The current subsidy scheme has “run its course” and needs “more competition and less state economy”, a chairman of the working group, Stefan Birkner, said earlier this year.

German economy minister and FDP party member Philipp Rosler is promoting fundamental reforms to the EEG, saying that subsidies are excessive and the main driver behind a foreseeable increase in consumer electricity prices.

The timing of the FDP proposals, ahead of a government consensus on the matter, reflects the party's eagerness to push reforms through parliament ahead of general elections in autumn next year.

Rosler recently admitted that he is at odds with environment minister Peter Altmaier, from Merkel's centre-right CDU party, over the timetable of the reforms.

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