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Dresden / Freiberg (dpa / sn) - The solar industry in Saxony looks to the new year with confidence.
Detlef Neuhaus, head of the Dresden company Solarwatt, expects further growth for photovoltaics due to increasing demand.
Not least because the amendment to the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) is intended to increase the proportion of renewable energies to 65 percent by 2030.
Neuhaus wants to put a new production line for modules into operation at the site in the third quarter and invest more than 10 million euros for it.
In addition, the Swiss Meyer Burger Technology AG wants to revive the former Solarworld location in Freiberg and start producing solar modules in the second quarter.
According to the Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft, 184,000 new solar power systems with an output of around 4.9 gigawatts were installed in Germany last year.
This corresponds to a performance increase of 27.6 percent compared to 2019. Accordingly, the demand among homeowners increased particularly strongly.
The industry association registered an increase of 99 percent compared to 2019 - and thus almost a doubling of demand.
As a manufacturer of glass-glass modules and energy storage systems, Solarwatt also benefited from this.
Last year, the company reported sales of around 120 million euros; in 2019 it was 90 million euros.
The increase is mainly due to modules for home builders and smaller traders, in some cases extra shifts had to be driven.
Solarwatt wants to take on around 100 new employees this year, currently around 500.
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Neuhaus speaks of a "turning point".
While the first chapter on photovoltaics was more for ideologues, solar power has established itself as a “powerful means” against climate change.
With regard to the new EEG, he speaks of a “good signal”.
But it is not a big draft.
“This is not the amendment to the law that we need to move towards CO2 neutrality with the speed and consistency that we urgently need.”
In mid-December the Bundestag reformed the Renewable Energy Sources Act.
This is intended to promote the construction of more green electricity systems, for example.
It should become cheaper to use self-produced solar power.
For this purpose, the output from which the green electricity surcharge is due has been increased.
Plants with an installed capacity of up to 30 kilowatts should be exempt from the levy and provide up to 30 megawatt hours of electricity per year for personal consumption.
Gunter Erfurt, Managing Director of Meyer Burger Technology AG, welcomed the rule: "Otherwise it would be the same as if I had to pay taxes for my self-grown and cooked strawberries."
The Swiss group wants to start producing solar modules in Freiberg and Bitterfeld-Wolfen (Saxony-Anhalt).
"As things stand today, we are assuming that both plants will open in May," said Erfurt.
First of all, the company looks at homeowners, and then with increasing production capacity, larger parks.
The company plans to present itself at the Intersolar trade fair in Munich on June 9th.
"That drives our schedule."
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In Freiberg, the company took over the existing production, but some things have to be rebuilt and converted, new software.
The former Solarworld system was put into operation in 2011 and was ahead of its time in terms of the degree of automation, robot and transport technology.
“It's a lot of work, but it pays off that we use existing technology,” says Erfurt.
The AG is investing around 145 million euros in building the two plants.
So far, the company has mainly sold machines for the production of solar cells and solar modules and has a larger location in Hohenstein-Ernstthal for this purpose.
In the future, Meyer Burger intends to produce solar cells and modules with a capacity of 400 megawatts each in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
In the long term, the capacity is to be expanded to five gigawatts, creating up to 3000 jobs.
Meyer Burger does not have any problems in finding skilled workers: around 850 applications were received for the initial 350 positions in both plants.
The shift model works 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
“The first people have been on board since October.
Many want to work on the energy transition. "
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According to the Ministry of the Environment, most recently (2017) almost 23 percent of the electricity in Saxony - just a quarter - for the public supply came from renewable energies.
This corresponds to a feed-in of around 5,900 gigawatt hours.
Photovoltaics thus make up 5.7 percent.
Estimates by the Institute for Energy Leipzig assume an increase to 25.2 percent for 2019.
According to the ministry, there are no more recent figures.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210208-99-344811 / 2