According to a new report from the HTW Berlin – University of Applied Sciences, and German consumer association Verbraucherzentrale NRW, more than 190,000 plug-in solar devices have been installed in Germany in recent years. Up to 128,000 photovoltaic systems with a total output of up to 51 MW were installed in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
The two organisations polled all plug-in solar system providers in Germany, and 58 of the 156 active market participants took part. As per the report, the market depicts a vivid image of small and major suppliers. Approximately 75 per cent of plug-in solar systems are marketed directly to consumers.
There are still debates concerning standard-compliant connections and the electricity network operators’ “irrational” expectations. Plug-in balcony solar arrays must be reported to the Bundesnetzagentur, the German federal network agency, in the market master data record. However, according to the research, not all users complete the registration. The Berlin researchers are presently investigating the key roadblocks to reaching more renters and, as a result, better using the plug-in solar market’s potential in Germany.
In February 2022, the German Federal Network Agency, Bundesnetzagentur, issued a request for proposals for solar projects totaling 1.1 GW, onshore wind projects totaling 1.32 GW, and biomass projects totaling 274.86 MW. The solar tender’s ceiling tariff is $0.062 per kWh. In comparison to the previous three average bid prices, the ceiling tariff has increased by 8 per cent. In 2022, the agency expects to issue three tenders for 3.6 GW of solar power.
