Solar power expansion revival advances unperturbed in Germany

The expansion of solar power in Germany continues steadily in Germany amid the coronavirus crisis and saw nearly 2 gigawatts (GW) of new installations in the first five months of 2020, pv magazine reports. The looming support cap for smaller solar power projects that the government ultimately agreed to remove in June following months of debates, has likely contributed to the high expansion level in the preceding months, the article says. The month of May, in which Germany eased pandemic-related restrictions on social interaction saw particularly strong growth, with almost 0.5 GW added.

Business confidence in Germany's solar power industry has picked up significantly after a severe slump with many bankruptcies in the sector up until 2015. Industry actors appear confident that the introduction of carbon pricing in the buildings sector and the increasing popularity of home batteries will put it on a solid growth path again. Solar power in the country had some of its most productive months ever in 2020, helping to elevate the share of renewables in power consumption to over 50 percent in the first half of the year. However, industry groups still warn that expansion levels must be boosted much further to reach emissions reduction targets and lament that the technology's vast potential for clean energy production still remains largely untapped.