So far, only citizens or companies that have a suitable roof have been able to generate solar power.

Now the group of people is to be significantly expanded: a balcony in an apartment building, a wall or a garage is enough to operate a “balcony power plant”.

For example, two modules, two employees of the Solarinvest Main-Taunus initiative, the mayor and other people fit on the balcony above the entrance to Kelkheim town hall.

The city wants to encourage the construction of such facilities.

"500 balconies for Kelkheim" is the name of the campaign, for which 50,000 euros are available as funding, which results in a subsidy of 100 euros per system.

That's how the city's energy commission thought it up, and the city parliament finally agreed.

Andrea Diener

Correspondent in the Main-Taunus district

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So far, Solarinvest Main-Taunus was a cooperative that was supported by volunteers.

But one is currently being overrun, the demand is enormous, they say.

That is why Solarinvest has now hired its own employee.

The initiative operates citizen solar systems, advises and sells its own systems via the affiliated "Hauptsache Grün GmbH", for example devices suitable for the balcony at home.

The solar module in black and silver produces direct current, which is why an inverter is included that converts it into standard household alternating current.

The set costs 599 euros and is plugged into the socket; you only have to buy a connection cable for around 37 euros.

Currently there are still systems in stock.

The large version, 600 watts for 999 euros, should be available again from September.

“More of marathon runners than sprinters”

The so-called plug-in solar devices are easy to set up and cover a basic requirement with their 370 watts - "more marathon runners than sprinters", as they say.

Accordingly, they should be quite durable and last at least twenty years.

They supply electricity to routers, lamps and refrigerators.

Only when the hotplate is added does the in-house electricity meter gradually begin to turn.

Compared to the large solutions, however, the small systems have a few disadvantages: if you go on vacation and don't consume anything, you feed electricity into the grid, but you don't get any compensation.

Because that would mean a considerable amount of additional bureaucracy.

However, the balcony power plant is not entirely without bureaucracy either.

The system must be reported to the district and the Federal Network Agency.

In order to get the municipal subsidy, however, proof of purchase and the declaration of consent from the landlord are sufficient.

According to the Renewable Energy Sources Act, according to which solar power is of outstanding public interest, the latter can only refuse approval if there are tangible reasons.

Aesthetic preferences are not one of them.

Solarinvest supports and advises citizens on questions about the formalities.

"These are only small steps," says Kelkheim's Mayor Albrecht Kündiger (UKW), but refers to the Economics Minister when he says that every small project counts.

And at the same time, the larger ones are taken into account - for example on the roof of the town hall.

A full-fledged solar system is already in operation there, and more are to follow.