Experts from Greifswald Moor Centrum (GMC) have dealt with the challenges associated with growing and harvesting paludiculture for some time. However, the legal, social and political conditions received little attention so far. Incentives for the use and exploitation of this concept are missing completely. Political ambitions to promote paludiculture are also weak and the legal framework has not yet been adopted to this innovation. These aspects are the subject of GMC’s project German Peatland Conservation Dialogue that made use of IKEM’s expertise in energy law.

In a study, IKEM identified the main obstacles for the dissemination of paludicultures and developed recommendations for legal adjustments. The objective was also to design incentive schemes to increase the use of paludicultures for both material exploitation and the energy recovery from cultivated and harvested plants. One particular requirement for the commercial use is its eligibility for funding under the applicable Renewable Energies Act (EEG), the Biomass Ordinance (Biomasseverordnung), the Renewable Energies Heat Act (EEWärmeG), the Energy-Savings Act (EnEV), the Combined Heat and Power Act (KWKG) and other legal requirements.