German biogas farms and biomass heat program face profitability and funding limits

Family Wagenhofer’s 150 kW biogas plant in Niederbayern supplies electricity, heat and fertilizer, but the farmer notes that only larger operations can achieve a viable return. Experts explain that a livestock herd of about 8‑10 GV units is needed to fill a 1 kW capacity, and that smaller installations face high capital costs and reduced EEG feed‑in tariffs, which have been falling by 0.5 % per year since July 2024.

At the federal level, the EEW (Renewable Process Heat) programme’s 7.5 MW cap on biomass installations and the exclusion of technologies such as pyrolysis are being challenged by the German Wood Energy Association. The association argues that the cap blocks roughly 350 MW of investment and prevents annual CO₂ savings of about 500 000 t, and calls for the removal of size limits, inclusion of sustainable wood fuels, and support for negative‑emission technologies.

Both reports highlight financial and regulatory hurdles that limit the expansion of renewable energy projects in Germany’s agricultural and industrial sectors.