Germany has been among the world's top PV installer for several years, with total installed capacity amounting to 81.8gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2023.[6] Germany's 974 watts of solar PV per capita (2023) is the third highest in the world, behind only Australia and the Netherlands.[7] Germany's official government plans are to continuously increase renewables' contribution to the country's overall electricity consumption; current targets are 80% renewable electricity by 2030 and full decarbonization before 2040.[8]
The country is increasingly producing more electricity at specific times with high solar irradiation than it needs, driving down spot-market prices[10] and exporting its surplus of electricity to its neighbouring countries, with a record exported surplus of 34 TWh in 2014.[11] A decline in spot-prices may however raise the electricity prices for retail customers, as the spread of the guaranteed feed-in tariff and spot-price increases as well.[3]:17 As the combined share of fluctuating wind and solar is approaching 17 per cent on the national electricity mix,[citation needed] other issues are becoming more pressing and others more feasible. These include adapting the electrical grid, constructing new grid-storage capacity, dismantling and altering fossil and nuclear power plants and to construct a new generation of combined heat and power plants.[3]:7
History of PV roof-top prices in euro per kilowatt (€/kW)[12]
During the Reagan administration in the United States, oil prices decreased and the US removed most of its policies that supported its solar industry.[13]:143 Government subsidies were higher in Germany (as well as Japan), which prompted the solar industry supply chain to begin moving from the US to those countries.[13]:143
Germany was one of the first countries to deploy grid-scale PV power. In 2004, Germany was the first country, together with Japan, to reach 1GW of cumulative installed PV capacity. Since 2004 solar power in Germany has been growing considerably due to the country's feed-in tariffs for renewable energy, which were introduced by the German Renewable Energy Sources Act, and declining PV costs.
Prices of PV systems/solar power system decreased more than 50% in the 5years since 2006.[14] By 2011, solar PV provided 18TWh of Germany's electricity, or about 3% of the total.[15] That year the federal government set a target of 66GW of installed solar PV capacity by 2030,[16] to be reached with an annual increase of 2.5–3.5GW,[17] and a goal of 80% of electricity from renewable sources by 2050.[18]
More than 7GW of PV capacity were installed annually during the record years of 2010, 2011 and 2012. For this period, the installed capacity of 22.5GW represented almost 30% of the worldwide deployed photovoltaics.
Since 2013, the number of new installations declined significantly due to more restrictive governmental policies.
It's estimated that by 2017 over 70% of the country's jobs in the solar industry have been lost in the solar sector in recent years.[19] Proponents from the PV industry blame the lack of governmental commitment, while others point out the financial burden associated with the fast-paced roll-out of photovoltaics, rendering the transition to renewable energies unsustainable in their view.[15]
A boom in small, residential balcony-mounted solar systems has been reported in the early 2020s.[20][21][22]
History of German feed-in tariffs in ¢/kWh for rooftop solar of less than 10kWp since 2001. For 2016, it amounted to 12.31 ¢/kWh.[23]
Germany introduced its feed-in tariff in 2000 and it later became a model for solar industry policy support in other countries.[13]:145
As of 2012[update], the feed-in tariff costs about €14billion (US$18billion) per year for wind and solar installations. The cost is spread across all rate-payers in a surcharge of 3.6€ct (4.6¢) per kWh[24] (approximately 15% of the total domestic cost of electricity).[25] On the other hand, as expensive peak power plants are displaced, the price at the power exchange is reduced due to the so-called merit order effect.[26] Germany set a world record for solar power production with 25.8GW produced at midday on 20 and 21 April 2015.[27]
According to the solar power industry, a feed-in tariff is the most effective means of developing solar power.[28] It is the same as a power purchase agreement, but is at a much higher rate. As the industry matures, it is reduced and becomes the same as a power purchase agreement. A feed-in tariff allows investors a guaranteed return on investment– a requirement for development. A primary difference between a tax credit and a feed-in tariff is that the cost is borne the year of installation with a tax credit, and is spread out over many years with a feed-in tariff. In both cases the incentive cost is distributed over all consumers. This means that the initial cost is very low for a feed-in tariff and very high for a tax credit. In both cases the learning curve reduces the cost of installation, but is not a large contribution to growth, as grid parity is still always reached.[29]
Since the end of the boom period, national PV market has since declined significantly, due to the amendments in the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) that reduced feed-in tariffs and set constraints on utility-scaled installations, limiting their size to no more than 10kW.[30]
The previous version of the EEG only guaranteed financial assistance as long as the PV capacity had not yet reached 52GW. This limit has now been removed. It also foresees to regulate annual PV growth within a range of 2.5GW to 3.5GW by adjusting the guaranteed fees accordingly. The legislative reforms stipulates a 40 to 45 per cent share from renewable energy sources by 2025 and a 55 to 60 per cent share by 2035.[31]
As of November 2016[update], tenants in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) will soon be able to benefit from the PV panels mounted on the buildings in which they live. The state government has introduced measures covering the self-consumption of power, allowing tenants to acquire the electricity generated onsite more cheaply than their regular utility contracts stipulate.[32][33][needs update]
Germany subsidizes the installation of solar capacity.[13]:145
Grid capacity and stability issues
German electricity generation on 25 and 26 May 2012
In 2017, approximately 9GW of photovoltaic plants in Germany were being retrofitted to shut down[34] if the frequency increases to 50.2Hz, indicating an excess of electricity on the grid. The frequency is unlikely to reach 50.2Hz during normal operation, but can if Germany is exporting power to countries that suddenly experience a power failure. This leads to a surplus of generation in Germany, that is transferred to rotating load and generation, which causes system frequency to rise. This happened in 2003 and 2006.[35][36][37] However, power failures could not have been caused by photovoltaics in 2006, as solar PV played a negligible role in the German energy mix at that time.[38]
In December 2012, the president of Germany's "Bundesnetzagentur", the Federal Network Agency, stated that there is "no indication", that the switch to renewables is causing more power outages.[39]Amory Lovins from the Rocky Mountain Institute wrote about the German Energiewende in 2013, calling the discussion about grid stability a "disinformation campaign".[40]
Source: NREL, based on an average of 30 years of weather data.[41]
Statistics
Comparison of renewable technologies and conventional power plants in Germany in EuroCent per kWh (2018)
The history of Germany's installed photovoltaic capacity, its average power output, produced electricity, and its share in the overall consumed electricity, showed a steady, exponential growth for more than two decades up to about 2012. [dubious–discuss] Solar PV capacity doubled on average every 18 months in this period; an annual growth rate of more than 50 per cent. Since about 2012 growth has slowed down significantly.
Note: This table does not show net consumption but gross electricity consumption, which includes self-consumption of nuclear and coal-fire power plants. In 2014, net consumption stood at about 6.9% (vs. 6.1% for gross consumption).[3]:5
Installed PV capacity in Germany by class size 2017[43]
Size band
% of total capacity
Notes
<10kW
14.2%
Single direct use systems, mostly residential solar pv systems
10–100kW
38.2%
Systems used collectively within one place such as a large residential block or large commercial premise or intensive agricultural units
100–500kW
14.1%
Typically larger commercial centres, hospitals, schools or industrial/agricultural premises or smaller ground mounted systems
>500kW
33.5%
Mostly district power systems, ground-mounted panels providing power to perhaps a mix of industrial and commercial sites
It is interesting to note that whilst large power plants receive a lot of attention in solar power articles, installations under 0.5MW in size actually represented nearly two-thirds of the installed capacity in Germany in 2017.
PV capacity by federal states
Watts per capita by state in 2013
10– 50 Watts
50– 100 Watts
100– 200 Watts
200– 350 Watts
350– 500 Watts
500– 750 Watts
>750 Watts
Germany is made up of sixteen, partly sovereign federal states or Länder. The southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg account for about half of the total, nationwide PV deployment and are also the wealthiest and most populous states after North Rhine-Westphalia. However, photovoltaic installations are widespread throughout the sixteen states and are not limited to the southern region of the country as demonstrated by a watts per capita distribution.
Some companies have collapsed since 2008, facing harsh competition from imported solar panels. Some were taken over like Bosch Solar Energy by SolarWorld. Major German solar companies include:
↑ Burger, Bruno (3 January 2024). Öffentliche Nettostromerzeugung in Deutschland im Jahr 2023[Public Net Electricity Generation in Germany in 2023](PDF) (in German). Freiburg, Germany: Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme ISE. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
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