If a tree worthy of protection shades a rooftop PV system, the homeowner may have to accept the lower output of the system. This is the result of a decision by the Berlin Administrative Court (Ref.: 24 K 26/24 of 17 March 2026). In the case in question, a homeowner had applied to the relevant district authority for permission to fell a healthy pine tree that was around 50 years old because the protruding branches were shading the PV system on the roof of his house. The district authority did not grant the licence. The owner appealed against this - but without success.

According to the Berlin Tree Protection Ordinance, a felling licence must be granted by way of exception if public interests require it. The use of renewable energies, which is in the overriding public interest according to Section 2 EEG, on the one hand, and nature conservation on the other, are two opposing public interests. However, no fundamental priority of climate protection follows from § 2 EEG. The court ruled that if nature conservation and climate protection are in conflict, neither of the two constitutionally protected interests should be given priority in principle. In this case, however, it prioritised the public interest in preserving the tree. In the court's opinion, the lower profitability of the PV system for the homeowner did not have to be included in the consideration, as this was not a public interest.

An appeal against the judgement can be lodged with the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Regional Court.