Small and mid-sized towns hold enough solar potential to power all German households - EON
Clean Energy Wire
Rooftop solar panels in small and mid-sized German towns technically could generate enough electricity for the 41 million households in Germany, according to calculations by energy company E.ON. There would, in fact, be enough energy to power 66 million households. Around 63.5 percent of the German population live in small or mid-sized cities, and utilising roofs in these areas across the whole of Germany could give a total generating capacity of 204 gigawatt peak (GWp), according to the company’s analysis. The government’s goal of reaching 215 GWp from solar by 2030 could almost be reached with this one intervention alone, it added. For the analysis, E.ON looked at the towns Arnsberg and Sundern in the Sauerland region of western Germany. The roof area of roughly 35,000 buildings was included, from which around three quarters were suitable for the installation of solar panels. Higher still was the suitability of residential buildings, which was 83 percent.
The government recently moved to make the installation of photovoltaic systems easier on residential buildings. In May, the number of solar panel systems in Germany hit three million, allowing the country to cover 10 percent of its electricity demand. By 2030, the country aims to increase that share to 30 percent.
