The Bavarian state government wants to equip all 1,300 suitable roofs of public buildings with solar cells by 2025. But things are not really progressing, complain the Greens in the state parliament, and current figures show a sluggish expansion: Since the end of 2022, only 54 new systems have been installed on public buildings. Of the 11,000 roofs of state buildings, only five percent are covered with photovoltaics. The state government is missing its self-imposed goal of using all 1,300 roofs deemed suitable by the government as solar power plants by 2025.
The figures come from a response from the state government to a parliamentary inquiry from the Greens. This has been made available to the German Press Agency. Green parliamentary group leader Katharina Schulze described the progress of the expansion as a “poor reflection” despite “boastful announcements”. The population and the economy are investing heavily in solar systems – but the state itself is doing little. She took Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) personally to task. “The expansion of renewables under state responsibility must become a top priority.” Green energy expert Martin Stümpfig stressed that the state government is missing out on a trend, and that state buildings are being neglected in terms of their energy use: “Why should almost 90 percent of roofs here be unsuitable for photovoltaics?”
In 2022, the state government decided to provide 125 million euros for the expansion of photovoltaic systems on the roofs of state buildings. Söder likes to promote Bavaria as a “sunny state”, in contrast to the “wind states” in northern Germany. His thesis that Bavaria is the overall leader among the federal states in the expansion of renewable energies is contradicted by critics. According to the Federal Network Agency, 3.5 gigabytes of solar power were added in Bavaria last year. This is the largest increase among the states, but Bavaria is also the largest state in terms of area and has the second largest population after North Rhine-Westphalia.