“Solar power from private roofs: Very attractive, but with limited potential”

Installing PV arrays on private homes and consuming the generated electricity is financially attractive, but will not have a large effect on Germany’s power system as a whole, according to a study by consultancy Prognos commissioned by energy think-tank Agora Energiewende*. “The personal use of solar power will remain secondary as a share of countrywide power consumption in the medium term, that is until 2035,” according to a press release. Fears that a rising number of private individuals generating their own electricity will lead to a considerable hike in electricity costs for other consumers are not justified, because they alone would have to shoulder costs such as grid fees and the renewable surcharge.

Find the study in German here.

*Like the Clean Energy Wire, Agora Energiewende is a project funded by Stiftung Mercator and the European Climate Foundation.