The number of photovoltaic systems installed in Germany reached a record level last year. The industry expects a sustained solar boom in 2024.
According to industry figures, more new solar systems to generate electricity and heat were built in Germany last year than ever before. More than a million new systems have been installed, the German Solar Industry Association (BSW) reported today in Berlin.
The so-called balcony power plants play a large part in this. Around 270,000 plug-in solar devices were put into operation in Germany in 2023. That is four times as many as in 2022.
Solar cells on roofs and open spaces
According to the Federal Network Agency, systems with a peak output of around 14 gigawatts were put into operation on roofs and open spaces when generating electricity from sunlight, the association also reported. This is 85 percent more than in the previous year 2022.
Half of the newly installed solar power output in 2023 was in the home segment, according to the BSW. Around 31 percent were photovoltaic systems in open spaces, around 18 percent were systems on commercial roofs. “Due to their low specific output, the large number of plug-in solar devices did not account for two percent of the newly installed PV output,” emphasized BSW Managing Director Carsten Körnig.
12 percent of German power consumption
There are now around 3.7 million solar power systems in operation in Germany. In 2023 they would have generated around 62 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and thus covered around 12 percent of Germany’s total electricity consumption.
“We expect a sustained solar boom in 2024,” explained Körnig. The reason is continued rising electricity prices and attractive funding conditions. In order for the growth targets to be achieved in the following years, the reduction in bureaucracy must not come to a standstill. Further measures to speed up the process are required in order to upgrade the electricity and heating networks more quickly.
Many Property owner plan new facilities
For 2024, more than 1.5 million property owners are planning to install a solar system on their roof, according to the BSW. The association relies on a representative survey conducted by the opinion research institute Yougov among around 1,000 property owners in mid-December.
According to this, 69 percent of owners of residential properties with suitable roof areas can imagine building a solar system on the roof area. “16 percent are already planning this in the next 12 months,” it said.