Under the guiding theme of “Climate Change and Renewable Energy”, the 21st Petersberg Arbitration Days were held on 7 and 8 March 2025 at the Steigenberger Grandhotel Petersberg in Königswinter/Bonn. This year’s edition of the long-running conference was dedicated to the legal and procedural challenges arising from the green energy transition, with a particular focus on dispute resolution mechanisms in a rapidly evolving regulatory and technological environment.
In three thematically interrelated panels, the legal framework and practical particularities of disputes in the energy sector were subjected to differentiated analysis. The panellists explored new perspectives in dispute resolution and critically examined how conflicts in the context of renewable energy can be resolved sustainably and efficiently. The conference provided a cautiously optimistic outlook: the German arbitration and ADR community is well-prepared to make an effective contribution to addressing the anticipated disputes in the energy sector.
The high quality of the event was due to the carefully curated selection of topics, the excellent preparation of the speakers — namely Frank Bilstein (Kearney), Christian Duve (Duve Law), Ulla Gläßer (Europa-Universität Viadrina), Franziska Gräfin Grote (Orrick), Heiko Haller (Baker McKenzie), Stefan Leupertz (3D2L), Carlo Ottaviano (TenneT TSO), Stefan Schröder (Freshfields), Frank Sommerfeld (Allianz), and Almuth Vorndran (RWE Offshore Wind) — as well as the assured and methodical moderation by Stephan Breidenbach (Rulemapping Group) and Florian Cahn (Framatome).
The 21st Petersberg Arbitration Days impressively demonstrated that arbitration — possibly in combination with alternative dispute resolution mechanisms — remains a central instrument for resolving complex disputes, even in times of profound economic and regulatory transformation.
Thomas Klich
