German cities fail to harness potential of solar PV on new buildings – green power provider
Clean Energy Wire
German cities are failing to fully utilise solar PV installations on new building rooftops, according to the country’s largest green power provider LichtBlick. The ratio of newly installed solar system surface area to newly built roof areas is less than 30 percent in eight of Germany’s 14 largest cities, the SolarCheck 2021 shows. In cities where there is a lot of construction the ratio of solar PV is generally low, showing that it isn’t being used by most property developers, Lichtblick argues. "The solar subsidies in the metropolises are by far not as effective as would be necessary to achieve the new climate goals. The next federal government should therefore introduce a nationwide solar obligation for new buildings,” said LichtBlick’s climate and energy coordinator Ralf Schmidt-Pleschka. The average ratio of new solar PV installations on roofs has risen from 26 percent in 2020 to 29 percent in 2021.
Some German states are planning compulsory solar regulations, but these “still resemble a patchwork quilt,” LichtBlick writes. The city of Berlin is set to make solar PV mandatory for new and renovated buildings, both residential and non-residential, starting in 2023.
