There was great excitement when Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) stopped the KfW funding program for energy-efficient new buildings and renovation projects at the end of January.

Although these programs are running again, at least in part, there is now a freeze on funding elsewhere: Due to the high demand, a number of federal states are stopping their funding for the installation of solar systems on house roofs and the associated electricity storage systems.

Julia Loehr

Business correspondent in Berlin.

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Bayern pulled the ripcord on Friday.

"The funds of almost 100 million euros earmarked for this funding program have been exhausted," said State Minister of Economics Hubert Aiwanger (free voters).

There is enough money for 100,000 applications.

While the demand for the program, which started in August 2019, was initially manageable, there has been a real rush since the end of last year, said a spokeswoman.

"People ran into our booth."

Thuringia has had similar experiences.

A funding program started there on April 1st.

The day fell on a Friday.

Funds were exhausted by the end of the weekend.

The Thuringian development bank had offered 10 million euros, 3,500 applications were thus fulfilled.

"Thousands more will get nothing," said a spokesman for the environment ministry.

Within the three days there were as many applications as before in several years together.

Use funding pots while they still exist

The high electricity prices and concerns about energy bottlenecks as a result of the Ukraine war are obviously bothering the homeowners.

Consumer advocates report a sharp increase in requests for energy advice.

Since it is becoming apparent that the federal government wants to prescribe stricter efficiency standards by law in the future, many people want to use the funding pots as long as they still exist.

At the federal level, funding for new residential buildings in accordance with the KfW Efficiency House 55 standard has now been discontinued.

From the beginning of 2023, according to Habeck's plans, this type of building should be the legal minimum for new buildings.

The funding for efficiency houses 40 is to start again on April 20 with reduced funding rates.

However, the one billion euros should probably be exhausted after a few weeks.

As far as solar systems and electricity storage are concerned, the picture is similar in the federal states.

The 75 million euros provided by Lower Saxony: long since exhausted.

The two programs of 10 million each in Baden-Württemberg were also quickly allocated.

"We have thus achieved our goal of start-up financing and will no longer continue the program," says the Stuttgart Ministry of Energy.

North Rhine-Westphalia, on the other hand, has only approved just under 80 of 139 million euros for 2022.

Solar roofs mandatory

Baden-Württemberg now relies on regulatory law.

Starting in May of this year, anyone who builds a new residential building will have to equip it with a photovoltaic system.

At the beginning of 2023, the solar obligation will be extended to roof renovations.

Berlin also wants to make solar roofs mandatory for new buildings and conversions from the beginning of 2023.

A nationwide regulation is only a matter of time.

The coalition agreement of the traffic light parties provides for them.

The federal states do not want to replenish exhausted funding pots.

"In the future, battery storage will be profitable for the most part even without funding," reports the Saxon Ministry of Energy.

Thuringia refers to Habeck's "Easter package" presented this week.

This makes the installation of photovoltaics more attractive.

Among other things, the package stipulates that the so-called feed-in tariff for solar power should not fall any further for the time being.

However, the conditions for private households that only feed part of their solar energy into the grid are less attractive.

Bavaria's Energy Minister Hubert Aiwanger called on Habeck to "continue the Bavarian success story throughout Germany" and launch a federal funding program.

In Berlin, the enthusiasm for this is manageable.

The Easter package is "very ambitious," said a spokeswoman for Habeck.

However, solar funding will be “further developed” in the building efficiency programs.