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Solar system on single-family home: Already hundreds of inquiries every day

Photo: Jan Woitas / dpa

To enable more e-car users to charge their vehicles with climate-friendly electricity from their own roofs, the federal government is launching a 500 million euro solar subsidy program on Tuesday. However, the Federation of German Consumer Organisations criticises the new state subsidy programme for charging electric cars with solar power as anti-social.

"Only owners of owner-occupied residential buildings will benefit from the new subsidy program – i.e. exactly those who tend to earn more and have already benefited from other subsidies, such as the e-car purchase premium," said consumer advocate Gregor Kolbe. "The support is therefore anything but social."

Allocation on a first-come, first-served basis

However, taxpayers have to pay for the funds from the pot, which is worth up to 500 million euros, even if they do not own their own home. According to Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing, however, interest in the subsidy is already enormous among homeowners. "We already receive hundreds of inquiries about this every day. So we are exactly right with the approach of promoting a package of photovoltaic system, battery storage and charging station," said the FDP politician. In this way, the self-generated solar power is optimally used for charging the electric car and a maximum contribution to climate protection in the transport sector is achieved."

Applications can be submitted online to the state development bank KfW from Tuesday onwards. The first-come, first-served principle applies: if the funding pot is all, it is all. Funding is provided for the purchase and installation of a charging station for electric cars in combination with a photovoltaic system and a solar power storage system. According to the ministry and KfW, there is an investment grant of up to 10,200 euros – for owners of owner-occupied residential buildings who own an electric car or have ordered an e-car at the time of application (read the funding guideline in detail here).

From the point of view of the consumer advice centre, it is also critical that owners of apartments with parking spaces would not be able to take advantage of the subsidy. A spokesman for the German Association of the Automotive Industry, on the other hand, defended the new subsidy. In order for the transformation to climate-friendly mobility to succeed, appropriate funding programs are important, which also focus on the use of e-cars as mobile storage systems.

apr/dpa