Germany doubles number of solar balcony power plants since start of 2024 – agency

The number of plug-in solar systems dubbed “balcony power plants” in Germany has surpassed 700,000 as of 2 October, having doubled since the start of 2024, according to reporting from news agency dpa, citing data from the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA). The registered systems bring the installed capacity of balcony solar PV to 600 megawatts. Just under 140,000 new systems were registered in the third quarter of this year. Plug-in solar makes up only a tiny fraction of total solar electricity capacity installed in Germany (83 gigawatt at the end of 2023).

In April, BNetzA simplified bureaucratic processes for registering new balcony power plants which, in combination with the price of solar having fallen further, is likely to continue the positive trend for plug-in solar installation, said Carsten Körnig, managing director of the Germany Solar Industry Association (BSW Solar). “In the future, tenants will be entitled to the consent of the landlord or homeowners' association to install and use a technically safe plug-in solar device,” he added, referring to rules greenlit last week by the Bundesrat to improve the rights of tenants and homeowners to install their own balcony solar installations up to 800 watts.

Germany is aiming for 80 percent renewable power in its gross electricity consumption by 2030. Renewables covered 57 percent of the country’s electricity production in the first half of this year. By April, Germany had already installed 3.4 million solar units nationwide, representing a 30 percent increase from a year earlier.