Net public electricity generation reached a record share of 59.7 per cent in 2023. The share of the load was 57.1 per cent. This is the result of an analysis presented today by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE. New records were set for wind and solar power in 2023. In contrast, generation from lignite (-27 per cent) and hard coal (-35 per cent) fell sharply. Photovoltaics stood out in the expansion of generation capacity: at around 14 gigawatts, the expansion was in double digits for the first time and significantly exceeded the German government's statutory climate protection target.
Kategorie für Blog: PV
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PV strategy presented
Today, Federal Minister of Economics and Climate Protection Robert Habeck presented the second PV-The aim is to significantly accelerate the expansion of solar energy in Germany. The goal is to significantly accelerate the expansion of solar energy in Germany. To this end, the strategy identifies measures in a total of eleven fields of action. The spectrum ranges from measures in the area of energy policy to the topics of securing skilled labour, industrial value creation in Europe and technology development. This was preceded by a first photovoltaic summit in March 2023. Since March, the PV strategy has been consulted. More than 600 comments were received.- One third of homeowners plan to install in the next twelve months
- High electricity prices fuel demand for cheap solar energy
- Online survey of 1,000 people - representative survey by age and gender
Researchers at DIW Berlin have developed the "Ampel-Monitor Energiewende" - monitor the extent to which the government's energy policy agenda is being implemented - immense efforts are needed to close the gap between the announced targets and the current status quo
More and more companies, but also private households, are using the sun's energy to generate electricity: In March 2022, 2.2 million photovoltaic systems with a total nominal output of 58,400 megawatts were installed on roofs and properties. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the number of systems thus increased by 10.1 % compared to the same month of the previous year, while the installed capacity rose by 9.7 % within a year. In January 2018, when the figure was first collected, there had been a good 1.7 million installations with a nominal capacity of 42,300 megawatts. Since then, the number of turbines has risen by just under 34.0 %, while installed capacity has increased by 38.3 %.
The Federal Cabinet today adopted the so-called Easter Package at the proposal of Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Robert Habeck. This is the largest amendment to energy policy legislation in decades. The Easter Package comprehensively amends various energy laws in order to accelerate and consistently drive forward the expansion of renewable energies.
Sascha Müller-Kraenner, Federal Director of Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), comments on today's debate on the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) in the Bundestag: "The Grand Coalition is breaking its promise to set higher expansion targets for renewable energies for the year 2030 before the end of this legislative period. An agreement failed primarily due to the energy transition obstructionists within the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. The German government is thus ignoring the implementation of the new EU climate targets and disregarding the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court to tackle more ambitious climate protection measures before 2030. The amendment to the Renewable Energy Sources Act is missing the centrepiece. At the end of 2020, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier announced an ambitious expansion path for wind and solar energy for the first quarter of 2021. After a long wait, there was only the famous drop in the ocean: four gigawatts of onshore wind energy and six gigawatts of photovoltaics are the targets for 2022. Longer-term expansion targets? Not a chance. Clearly, the need for a rapid transformation of our energy supply has not yet been recognised by the CDU/CSU, despite all their climate protection commitments during the election campaign."
In a recently written short study, scientists from the Department of Energy System Analysis at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE prepared an evaluation of the Market Master Data Register (MaStR) and the EEG system master data for photovoltaics (PV). Important findings of the analyses were that with 38 percent of the newly installed capacity, the increase in capacity in Germany is increasingly taking place in the segment of rooftop systems larger than 100 kW, 22 percent of the newly built PV systems are erected in a west, east or east-west direction and 19 percent of these systems have tilt angles smaller than 20 degrees.
The industry figures published annually by BVES show a fundamentally positive development in retrospect for 2020 and in the forecast for 2021. Across all technologies and segments, sales in the energy storage industry grew by over 10 percent to EUR 7.1 billion in 2020.
On 22.12.2020, the Senate passed the first legal ordinance on the Hamburg Climate Protection Act. This regulates the concrete implementation of the solar roof obligation and the integration of renewable energies when replacing heating systems. With these regulations, Hamburg is one of the pioneers in climate protection in the building sector nationwide.
In the context of the Green Deal, the EU's tightened targets on the path to climate neutrality envisage a reduction in CO2 emissions of 55% by 2030 and 100% by 2050. Against the background of these tightened parameters, the question arises as to the impact on the energy transition in Germany. Based on its energy system model REMod, Fraunhofer ISE has calculated the consequences of the new EU targets for the expansion of renewable energies in Germany and now presents the results in a short study.
In the EEG draft 
The German government plans to make a number of changes in the rooftop PV segment. According to information from pv magazine, an exemption from trade tax is planned and neighbourhood solutions are to become possible.
The German Solar Energy Society e.V. (DGS) and the energy advice service of the consumer advice centre have been cooperating with each other since 1 December 2020. Consumer enquiries from both institutions are answered by the energy advisors of the consumer advice centre. In return, the DGS trains the advisors of the consumer advice centre in the subject area of plug-in solar devices.
The state of Lower Saxony has launched a new funding programme for battery storage systems. The funding guideline was published in the Lower Saxony Ministerial Gazette on 21 October. Applications can be submitted to the NBank with immediate effect.
The subsidy of up to 40 per cent of the net investment costs of a battery storage system applies in connection with the new construction or expansion of PV systems (at least 4 kWp). In addition to natural persons, grant recipients can also be companies, legal entities, local authorities and many others.
Wohnungsbaugenossenschaft Neues Berlin and Berliner Stadtwerke have agreed on another joint tenant power project. Six solar power systems with an output of around 500 kilowatts are being built in the Mühlengrund housing estate in Hohenschönhausen. Tenants of more than 1,100 apartments will soon be able to benefit from green electricity from their own roofs.
"Solar energy is a fundamental pillar of the energy transition. In order to further support this and to achieve our goal - a complete power supply from renewable energies by 2030 - we are further expanding our successful solar offensive: In addition to expanding the solar storage programme, which is in high demand, we are currently developing a solar register for Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition, we will also promote solar carports, balcony plug-in modules, wall boxes or agro-PV projects in the future," announced Environment and Energy Minister Ulrike Höfken during the event under the motto "Solar Offensive Rhineland-Palatinate: Investments for Climate and Economy" as part of the series "Wednesdays in the MUEEF" in Mainz today.
Offensive for green electricity: Installation of 1,000 new photovoltaic systems and 2,000 charging points in Deutsche Wohnen neighbourhoods
"The building sector is responsible for around one third of all CO2-emissions in Germany. To achieve a climate-neutral building stock by 2050, the energy refurbishment of existing buildings alone is not enough," explains Michael Zahn, CEO of Deutsche Wohnen SE. "We also need to exploit the technological possibilities for CO2-Reduction to the fullest and open up the opportunity for our tenants to live sustainably."
Good news for the PV industry: The solar cap will be abolished and solar expansion will be further promoted. The photovoltaic potential in Germany is enormous - especially when it comes to using roof space on new buildings. The new LichtBlick SolarCheck now shows in detail how well the 14 largest German cities are currently exploiting this potential. Enormous differences are revealed: While Nuremberg (49.1%) and Hanover (46.8%) exploit almost half of their potential, Munich and Düsseldorf do not even reach the 10 percent hurdle. The absolute taillight: the Hanseatic city of Hamburg with only 7.2 percent - one more reason for the solar obligation for new buildings planned by the mayor's office.
The parliament of Bremen wants to oblige the use of solar energy on all new and existing buildings in Bremen and Bremerhaven. Whenever the roof surface is completely renewed, they are to be equipped with a solar system in the future. This is photovoltaics and, if necessary, also solar thermal energy. The Senate is currently examining the latter.
Environment Minister Franz Untersteller reacted with relief to the agreement reached yesterday by the coalition on the amendment of the Climate Protection Act. The law is to be passed by the state parliament before the summer break and will then replace the previous climate protection law from 2013.
The use of solar energy is an important pillar in the energy mix of the future and for the concrete implementation of the energy transition. At the end of 2019, around 1.8 million solar power systems with an output of 49,873 megawatt peak (MWp) were installed across Germany. With around 45 billion kWh of climate-friendly electricity, these accounted for a share of just under eight percent of German electricity generation. This amount is mathematically sufficient to supply 12.8 million households with electrical energy for a year. The approximately 280,000 turbines installed in NRW had an output of around 5,300 megawatt peak.
Brussels/Freiburg, 5 May 2020 - An alliance "Solar Europe Now", officially launched on 5 May, is calling for solar energy to be recognised as a key technology for the objectives of the European Green Deal. The new alliance, which currently includes more than 90 players from the entire value chain of the European solar industry, is concerned that the photovoltaic sector is not being given enough consideration in the current presentation of the Green Deal.
The Ministry of Energy plans to increase the performance contribution for solar power plants up to 30 kilowatts in the coming year. This is intended to enable significantly more private roofs to be used for solar power generation in the future.
In Vienna, as a rule, no residential building may be erected without a solar system in the future. This is stipulated in an amendment to the building code, which is currently being evaluated, the red-green city government informed on Monday. Currently, such a photovoltaic obligation applies only to industrial buildings.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, around one in two (50.6 percent) of the 18,334 residential buildings (excluding dormitories) approved in 2019 are to be heated predominantly or exclusively with renewable energies.
From the meeting of the Senate on 10 March 2020:
The Senate today adopted a comprehensive catalogue of measures to accelerate the expansion of solar energy in Berlin, following a proposal by the Senator for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises, Ramona Pop.
Senator Pop: "The potential study for the Solarcity Masterplan has shown that we can harvest 25 per cent of the electricity generated with solar energy from Berlin's rooftops. We must therefore accelerate the expansion of solar energy in the city. It is necessary for the federal government to finally improve the legal framework for solar energy in cities. Nevertheless, we want to actively utilise the available scope at state level. With the Solarcity Masterplan, we will expand information and advice, provide incentives and also examine regulatory instruments. The implementation of the Solarcity Masterplan is a joint task for the Senate, but also for all Berlin stakeholders from business and society."
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The documentary features a 5-minute sequence about the Waldquelle ecological housing estate in Bielefeld. Ute Möller, one of the founders, gives a tour of the eco-settlement and talks about the experiences and developments in the now almost 25-year-old settlement with lots of wood, greenery and solar cells on the roof.
This week, the German cabinet plans to adopt the draft bill on the coal phase-out law. However, the roadmap for the shutdown of coal-fired power plants that is to be voted on deviates in several places from the coal compromise reached last year. The Solar Cluster Baden-Württemberg points this out and demands considerable improvements. According to the draft law, carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced significantly less than agreed in the first ten years: By 2030, only five gigawatts instead of 20 gigawatts of power are to be switched off. In addition, the number of CO2 allowances will not fall to the same extent as coal-fired power generation.
ROBIN WOOD has scrutinized the green electricity offers of 1,200 providers and publishes the results today in the "ROBIN WOOD Eco-Electricity Report 2020.". The environmental organization rates eight offers as recommendable. The current research report was realized with the support of the Open Knowledge Foundation Germany.
Germany's largest cooperative housing project in Berlin 28:58 min Video available until: 12/02/2020 First broadcast on: 2.12.2019 Living in the metropolis, in a large community, according to its own rules. Central, energy-saving, ecological, cosmopolitan, inclusive. The residents of Möckernkiez in Berlin-Kreuzberg have fulfilled this dream.
Senate adopts concrete measures for the next ten years and sets new CO2-targets for 2030 and 2050
December 3, 2019. Today, the Senate has set two decisive courses to achieve Hamburg's climate goals with an update of its climate plan and a new climate protection law. CO2 emissions are to fall by 55 percent by 2030, and Hamburg is to become climate-neutral by 2050. The climate plan describes the responsibility and the respective CO2 reduction targets in the sectors "transport", "private households", "trade, services, commerce" and "industry". It contains a large number of concrete measures which are to lead to the necessary reduction of CO2 emissions by 2030. The draft of the new climate protection law creates a binding legal framework for this.
Decentrally generated electricity from renewable energies can cover the demand for electrical energy in Bavaria both in balance and in perspective. This is the result of a joint study by the grid operators Bayernwerk Netz GmbH (Bayernwerk), LEW Verteilnetz GmbH (LVN) and Main-Donau Netzgesellschaft. The Bavarian power grid operators have analysed which development paths are possible for Bavaria with regard to renewable power generation and whether climate neutrality can be achieved in the power sector. The grid operators received scientific support from the Forschungsstelle für Energiewirtschaft e.V. (Research Centre for Energy Economics).
The project, initiated by the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschut
The BUND Yearbook Ecological Building & Renovation, published by BUND Deutschland (BUND), helps by making owners fit for discussions with the house bank, architect, energy consultant and craftsmen. The guidebook, which will be available from November, shows what can be done and how: Based on numerous house portraits, the annual compendium helps the reader to find out which measures, building materials and technologies are best suited to their own project.
The ecovillage Sieben Linden has existed near Berlin for 30 years. The documentary gives a detailed insight into life there and what the villagers have experienced so far. Available until 28.10.2024
A subsidy programme for small electricity storage units with grants of up to 3000 euros was launched today in Brandenburg. The state Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy is supporting private homeowners in purchasing a battery storage unit if they generate the electricity themselves with a photovoltaic system on their own roof. The small-scale storage program is limited to an initial 500 grants. It [...]
Photovoltaic modules can generate climate-friendly electricity for decades Old modules must be disposed of properly New BSW information paper provides information on disposal points and gives important safety instructions One advantage of photovoltaics is that it can supply electricity for decades if it is installed and components are chosen properly. If photovoltaic modules are eventually no longer used for solar power generation due to damage or age [...]
The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects a boom in photovoltaics over the next five years. Worldwide, installed solar power capacity is expected to grow by 720 gigawatts (GW). www.solarserver.de/...iea-erwartet-massives-wachstum-der-photovoltaik/
