Evaluation by German Environmental Aid: Not even every tenth major German city is doing enough to expand solar power

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Photovoltaic systems on house roofs in a village in the Lower Allgäu: “Where is the pace in Germany when it comes to solar energy on roofs?”

Photo: Bernd Feil / MiS / IMAGO

According to German Environmental Aid (DUH), not even ten percent of cities have installed enough new solar power systems in the past two years to meet the Paris 1.5 degree limit. This was the result of an evaluation of data from the Federal Network Agency's market master data register, said the DUH in Berlin. Private households were also taken into account in the evaluation.

Of all 82 major German cities, only Oldenburg, Paderborn, Regensburg, Neuss, Oberhausen, Gütersloh and Erlangen are on a very good path. Accordingly, the bottom-placed Potsdam, Lübeck and Bremerhaven would have to increase their expansion rate by 350 percent in order to steer towards the 1.5 degree limit.

According to the Paris Climate Agreement, the global temperature increase should be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius if possible, but in any case to well below two degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial age. This is the only way to ensure development that is resilient to the consequences of climate change.

DUH calls for a nationwide solar standard and a reduction in bureaucracy

“Where is the pace in Germany when it comes to solar energy on roofs?” asked DUH Federal Managing Director Barbara Metz in view of the survey. “Judging by the Paris Climate Agreement, we are far from a satisfactory expansion rate in German cities.” The federal and state governments should ensure “that municipalities can start the urgently needed solar turbo.” The DUH is calling for the introduction of a nationwide solar standard in new buildings as well as in existing buildings when renovating. In addition, a significant reduction in bureaucracy is necessary.

In the opinion of the DUH, the federal government is pursuing a goal that is far too low when it comes to expanding solar energy: »Measured against the federal government's goals, solar expansion boomed in 2023. However, measured against the Paris climate protection goals, the over 14.5 gigawatts of newly installed PV capacity is enough "It's not even close," it says in a statement from the DUH.

Industry insiders such as Mario Kohl, founder of the solar system start-up Enpal, blame the traffic light government for the slow expansion. So a lot of potential and momentum has been lost in 2023: "The months-long wrangling over the heating law has unsettled many consumers," Kohl told SPIEGEL at the end of last year. "And then in September Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) plunged our industry into chaos with his misguided funding program."

The federal government recently announced that it had achieved its expansion goals for solar energy earlier than expected. The federal government had set itself the goal of covering at least 80 percent of gross electricity consumption in Germany with renewable energies by 2030. The share of renewable electricity in the total load is already more than 56 percent. Nine gigawatts were set as the expansion target for solar power capacity for 2023. In fact, this value was already reached in August 2023.

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