Germany misses solar power expansion target again

The expansion of Germany’s solar power capacities has failed to fulfil government targets for the fourth year in a row, with additional installations reaching just 1.6 gigawatt (GW) instead of the planned 2.5 GW, industry association BSW Solar says in a press release. The association of solar and storage companies urges the country’s government coalition negotiators of the conservative CDU/CSU alliance and the Social Democrats (SPD) to initiate an ad-hoc programme for “solarising” the power, heating and transport sectors, introduce a CO₂ price, and abolish expansion caps for solar and storage capacities. An “unparalleled” drop in prices recently had reignited demand for the technology, BSW Solar adds. “Our energy system is ready for a substantial acceleration of solar expansion,” the association’s head Carsten Körnig says. Körnig  added that solar power had by now become one of the cheapest forms of energy production that could create a large number of jobs if current global expansion trends are sustained.

Read the press release in German here.

See the CLEW article Auctions bring German solar power price to new record low for more information.