Solar energy in vogue - uncertainties regarding subsidies
Solar systems are in vogue. Last year, high demand led to new records for the number of systems and output. The industry is expecting further growth in the new year - despite unclear subsidies.
According to the solar industry, more new solar systems for generating electricity and heat were installed in Germany last year than ever before. More than one million new systems were installed, reported the German Solar Industry Association (BSW) in Berlin.
A large proportion of these are so-called balcony power plants. Around 270,000 new plug-in solar devices were put into operation in Germany in 2023. That is four times as many as in 2022. However, it is unclear what will happen to state subsidies in light of the budget crisis.
State funding uncertain
In order to promote climate-friendly power generation, the state is helping interested parties. The level of interest was demonstrated in September: in less than 24 hours, the 300 million euros available for last year from the "Solar power for electric cars" program were exhausted. At times, the customer portal of the KfW development bank was overloaded due to the rush. Those who were eligible were able to enjoy an investment grant of up to 10,200 euros, intended for owners who wanted to buy an electric car and install a charging station for it in combination with a photovoltaic system and a solar power storage unit.
The Ministry of Transport actually wanted to make a further 200 million euros available for the current year - but this seems uncertain in view of the budget crisis. Details on savings still need to be clarified in close consultation with the members of parliament, the Ministry of Transport explained. The vote could not be anticipated.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs is also unable to say what will happen with solar funding in other programs. "The funding program for the development of production capacities for transformation technologies will remain in place," it said. However, a reduction is planned. "We are now clarifying what specific effects this will have and which projects can now be funded and to what extent. It is not possible to make a final statement on this at the moment."
Nevertheless, the industry association expects demand for solar installations to remain high in 2024. It justifies this with further increases in electricity prices and continued attractive subsidy conditions.
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Source: www.ntv.de
