Legal & Economics · Subsidy Instrument · EEG 2024

EEG Market Premium for Wind Energy

The market premium (Marktprämie) is the financial compensation between the reference value awarded under the EEG auction and the actual price achieved on the electricity spot market. The transmission system operator (TSO) pays it monthly to the plant operator.

Calculation Formula

Market premium_month = reference value (anzulegender Wert) − monthly market value_wind

With site quality correction:

effective reference value = award value × site quality factor (Standortqualitätsfaktor) + south bonus (Südbonus)

Monthly Market Value Wind 2024–2026

Year / Month	Market value wind [ct/kWh]
Jan 2025	5.8
Apr 2025	4.2
Jul 2025	3.5
Oct 2025	5.1
Jan 2026	6.3
Apr 2026	3.9
Annual average 2025	4.7

Market value wind = volume-weighted average of spot market prices during hours of wind power generation. Source: TSO publications.

Example Calculation

Award value: 7.30 ct/kWh
Site quality factor: 0.95 (slightly below reference)
Correction factor: 1.06 (per EEG lookup table)
South bonus: 0.30 ct/kWh
Effective reference value: 7.30 × 1.06 + 0.30 = 8.04 ct/kWh
Monthly market value wind April 2026: 3.90 ct/kWh
Market premium April: 8.04 − 3.90 = 4.14 ct/kWh
Total revenue per MWh = 3.90 (spot sale) + 4.14 (premium) − 0.15 (marketer fee) = 79 EUR/MWh

Loss of Market Premium

Negative price rule: no market premium for hours with negative spot prices, if the negative prices persist for more than 4 consecutive hours
Gross/net market value: during negative-price hours the gross value (including premium) applies unless the loss-of-premium rule triggers
Balancing deviations: borne by the direct marketer, not the plant operator

Site Quality Factor Correction

The evaluation is conducted after 5, 10 and 15 years — actual yield is compared to the reference yield, and the reference value is adjusted retroactively:

Achieved yield vs. reference	Correction factor
100% (reference)	1.00
90%	1.11
80%	1.29
70%	1.49
60%	1.77
50% (lower bound)	2.07

Market value trend for wind: As the share of wind in the electricity mix increases, the market value for wind tends to decline (“cannibalization effect”). The market premium compensates for this — during sun-/wind-rich hours, electricity is often sold at very low or negative prices.

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Common Questions

Who pays the market premium?

The transmission system operator (50Hertz, Amprion, TenneT, TransnetBW), refinanced through the EEG surcharge / KfW Climate Transformation Fund.

How long does the market premium run?

20 years from commissioning, then transition to unsubsidized direct marketing without premium.

What happens with more than 4 hours of negative spot prices?

The market premium is forfeited entirely for those hours. In 2024, approximately 60 hours per year were affected — the trend is rising, making this an increasingly relevant profitability factor.