29.07.2024

According to an association survey, the expansion of PV systems is supported by three quarters of the German population. At the same time, most people underestimate the electricity potential of rooftops.

The efficiency of solar technology and solar energy on domestic roofs is significantly underestimated. This is the result of a representative population survey conducted by You Gov on behalf of the German Solar Industry Association (BSW). In the survey conducted at the end of May, just 7 percent of respondents correctly estimated how much solar power can be produced annually on the roof of an average single-family home. 77 percent of respondents consider the further expansion of solar energy to be important, according to the survey of 2,132 citizens.

Photovoltaics (PV) is also very popular and recorded a higher expansion in the first half of 2024 than in the same period last year. According to data from the Federal Network Agency, the interim target set by the German government for this year for the total PV capacity installed in Germany to date of 88,000 MW has now been exceeded. By 2030, 215,000 MW of solar power plant capacity is to be installed, which would correspond to a share of electricity consumption of around 25 percent.

According to the BSW, a 70 square meter photovoltaic system is enough to cover the entire electricity requirements of a four-person household, including 20,000 kilometers of driving for an electric car and the electricity requirements for a heat pump. 93 percent of those surveyed underestimated the potential solar power yield of such a solar system or were unable to provide an estimate.

More PV systems on company roofs

"We should eliminate this collective solar misconception in order to further increase the willingness to invest in this climate-friendly and inexpensive energy source," commented Carsten Körnig, Managing Director of the BSW, on the survey results. After the annual installed solar power output on German homes had previously increased tenfold in just five years, the majority of installation companies in the home segment have seen a decline in demand for solar roofs in recent quarters.

The willingness to invest has recently increased among companies that want to electrify their company roofs with the help of solar energy, and it also remains generally high among private households. A survey also conducted at the end of May revealed that more than one in two private property owners and more than one in two companies are interested in a solar power system among those who have suitable solar roofs but not yet a solar power system.

According to a preliminary interim analysis by the BSW, the Federal Network Agency's market master data register recorded an overall increase of around 25 percent in the PV capacity newly commissioned in the first half of 2024 compared to the same analysis period in the previous year. Growth was driven by solar power plants installed on open spaces and company roofs, each with an increase of around 55%.

Solar power covers 12 percent of gross consumption

In total, the Federal Network Agency reported a gross installed PV capacity of around 90.4 MW as of July 18, 2024, distributed across more than 4.25 million photovoltaic units. In total, the installed solar systems produced around 62 billion kWh of electricity in 2023, covering around twelve percent of total gross electricity consumption.

However, the proportion of electricity consumption accounted for by photovoltaics varies greatly between the federal states. According to estimates by Fraunhofer ISE, 37% of the electricity required in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, 33% in Brandenburg and 20% in Bavaria was already generated by solar systems last year. In the city states of Hamburg, Berlin and Bremen, however, photovoltaics only account for between 0.5 and one percent of total electricity demand.

Author: Susanne Harmsen
Source: Energy & Management Powernews