City of Berlin lawmakers pass rooftop solar law, approve buyback of city grid
Spiegel, rbb
As expected, the Berlin House of Representatives has passed a law making solar photovoltaic (PV) systems mandatory on residential and non-residential buildings in the city, Spiegel writes. The Berlin Solar Law will go into effect on January 2023 and require private owners to install PV systems on new buildings and include them as part of roof renovations or conversions of older buildings. The Berlin Senate’s Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises Committee approved the draft law earlier this month.
The House of Representatives, where the centre-left SPD, Left Party and Greens hold a majority, also approved the buyback of city grid operator Stromnetz Berlin GmbH, which currently belongs to energy group Vattenfall, Berlin-Brandenburg broadcaster rbb reports. The Senate, which has long been trying to reverse the privatisations that took place over the past decades, approved the move in April. The city is expected to pay around 2.06 billion euros for the company in addition to additional acquisition costs in the millions.
