German solar industry expects double-digit growth in 2024 – Xinhua

Germany aims to cover at least 80 percent of its gross electricity consumption with renewable energy by 2030 and to achieve climate neutrality by 2045, five years earlier than the European Union as a whole.

BERLIN, June 18 (Xinhua) — Following last year’s boom in Germany’s solar market, newly installed photovoltaic capacity is expected to grow by a double-digit percentage in 2024, the country’s Solar Association (BSW) said on Tuesday.

After significantly expanding capacities on residential roofs over the last five years, companies are now shifting their focus towards commercial storage systems, according to BSW.

“Solar and storage technology is increasingly becoming the standard,” said Carsten Koernig, managing director of BSW. Commercial roofs and low-yield open spaces are “now increasingly being electrified with the help of solar technology.”

The industry association expects demand to remain high beyond 2024. Every second company and more than 60 percent of private property owners in Germany are interested in investing in a solar power system, according to a survey by market research institute YouGov on behalf of BSW.

In the first four months of this year, the Federal Network Agency has registered a newly commissioned solar power capacity of more than 5 gigawatts, an increase of around 35 percent year-on-year.

Germany aims to cover at least 80 percent of its gross electricity consumption with renewable energy by 2030 and to achieve climate neutrality by 2045, five years earlier than the European Union as a whole.

To achieve the energy transition, the government passed a solar-related package that came into force in mid-May. It reduces bureaucracy in the construction and operation of photovoltaic systems and is intended to further accelerate the expansion of solar energy.

The Europe’s largest economy generated 58.4 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources in the first quarter of 2024, according to preliminary results by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), marking the highest share ever recorded in a first quarter.  ■

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