The summer of 2021 was gray and rainy, but that didn’t affect the expansion of solar energy. The industry association BSW argues that things should go even faster in the next few years.
The solar industry expects the expansion of solar energy in Germany to accelerate further over the next few years.
This year, the installed output of photovoltaic systems will increase by an estimated 10 to 15 percent – that would be around five gigawatts, as the German Solar Industry Association (BSW) announced on Wednesday. In order to achieve the climate targets raised by the outgoing black-red coalition shortly before the federal election, more than tripling the annual expansion to 15 to 16 gigawatts would be necessary, said BSW managing director Carsten Körnig in Munich.
According to BSW, there are currently around 4.5 million solar systems in operation for generating electricity or heat. According to the industry association, a driver of the expansion in the next few years will be the increasing spread of electric cars and the associated electricity demand. “We expect around ten million electric cars by 2030,” said Körnig. “Surveys repeatedly show that almost 80 percent of e-car owners charge their vehicles at home.” According to BSW estimates, ten million e-cars would mean a requirement of 30,000 gigawatt hours of charging current.
Homeowners have invested heavily in solar energy in recent years, but the demand from companies and businesses for solar systems has fallen, as Körnig said. The BSW managing director blamed unattractive funding and framework conditions for this. Accordingly, private operators of smaller solar systems do not have to pay an EEG surcharge, but commercial enterprises do.
The federal government has tightened the climate targets, but so far has not increased the expansion targets for renewable energies, said Körnig. According to the BSW managing director, a much faster expansion of solar energy cannot be achieved without a larger participation of companies. “This is not only possible with solar parks and with homes.”
The association therefore demanded an “acceleration law” for solar energy from the future federal government. First and foremost, higher expansion targets for photovoltaics should be placed.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
