Over 40,000 systems fall out of the feed-in tariff

14.11.2025

Source: E & M powernews

The number of PV systems over 20 that are no longer eligible for EEG funding has more than doubled compared to the previous year. By 2030, the figure will be almost 200,000.

The age pyramid is growing rapidly at the top. While 16,074 "PV units" fell out of the feed-in tariff under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) in 2021, this year the figure is 44,232, according to an analysis by the German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar) based on the Federal Network Agency's market master data register. Accordingly, 66,044 PV systems will reach the over-20 age next year. In 2030, the number will rise to 188,811.

In Bavaria, this year there will be 19,220 systems, next year there will be 25,631 according to the BSW Solar analysis. Baden-Württemberg is in second place in the state comparison, with 9,979 PV systems this year and 15,172 reaching the age threshold in 2026. In North Rhine-Westphalia, 5,284 systems will lose subsidies this year and 7,430 in 2026. In the federal state of Lower Saxony, 2,759 systems will lose subsidies this year and 4,453 next year.

More than a third (36 percent) of the installations nationwide that will slip out of the scheme at the end of the decade are in Bavaria, just under 19 percent in Baden-Württemberg, 14 percent in NRW and 8 percent in Lower Saxony.

Operators of systems that reach the critical age have three options as to how they can continue to use the technology economically, as the KEA Climate Protection and Energy Agency Baden-Württemberg (KEA-BW) and the Baden-Württemberg Solar Cluster emphasize. The options are Continued operation with full feed-in, conversion to self-supply or repowering.

Options for continued operation

According to the KEA-BW, those who opt for continued operation with full feed-in will receive a "feed-in tariff light" from the grid operator. This is based on the average revenue that solar power generates on the electricity exchange. The grid operator's marketing costs are deducted from this. According to KEA-BW, this option is worthwhile for households with very low local electricity consumption. EEG systems with more than 100 kW installed capacity must switch to direct marketing.

Option two is to switch to self-consumption and feed in the solar power that cannot be used in the household. This option is suitable for households with moderate to high electricity consumption and who want to save electricity costs through self-consumption.

The third option is to repower the system. "A repowering measure within the EEG remuneration period is planned: Up to the output of the old plant, there will continue to be the existing EEG remuneration until the end of the subsidy. For the additional output of the plant, the operators will receive the new applicable EEG remuneration for 20 years plus the year of commissioning," says the KEA. However, the EU has not yet approved this under state aid law.

Author: Manfred Fischer