Sopago: “Further measures are needed for a successful energy transition.”

Munich, 23.04.2024 – After a lengthy struggle, the parties in the coalition have agreed on the “Solar Package 1”, which could be voted on by the Bundestag as early as Friday. Among other things, the law is intended to accelerate the expansion of photovoltaics in Germany and facilitate the construction and operation of solar systems. “The package contains long overdue and sensible regulations. However, further measures are needed to successfully implement the energy transition,” says Volker Klös, co-founder of Munich-based solar carport provider Sopago.

According to Solar Package 1, photovoltaic systems with a total output of 13 gigawatts (GW) are to be built in Germany this year, with a further 18 GW to be added in 2025. Half of the PV systems to be installed are to be built on open spaces, with the remaining 50 percent on roof surfaces – including solar carports.

Additional incentives for the construction of large photovoltaic systems

What stops many private individuals and companies from investing in renewable energies are often bureaucratic hurdles and lengthy approval procedures. With Solar Package 1, the traffic light government is focusing on incentives rather than mandatory requirements: “Measures such as a photovoltaic obligation for buildings generally lead to additional work when applying for and approving PV projects. More requirements are also a further burden for the construction of such systems. The government is taking the right approach by creating positive incentives to invest in photovoltaics instead,” says Volker Klös from solar carport provider Sopago.

Solar Package 1 includes measures designed to motivate companies to install and operate large solar systems. A frequent obstacle is the current obligation to directly market self-generated energy from 100 kilowatts (kW) feed-in power, which can be very costly and makes the operation of such systems less profitable. In future, this obligation is to be abolished and operators will instead be able to pass on surplus energy directly to the grid operator. Although they will not receive any remuneration for this, they will save the costs of direct marketing – and a lot of bureaucracy. This should primarily benefit companies that consume most of the electricity they produce themselves. In addition, the feed-in tariff for commercial rooftop PV systems is to be increased by 1.5 cents per kWh.

In addition, in future a system certificate will only be required from 270 kW feed-in capacity (currently 135 kW) or 500 kW installed capacity. Below this limit, system certification will be sufficient, which will be much less bureaucratic. It will also be easier to combine solar systems that are located at separate connection points. Additions will then no longer result in these thresholds being exceeded.

Separate tenders for PV carports

Last but not least, Solar Package 1 includes specific tendering procedures for the new category of “special solar installations”, which also includes parking lot photovoltaic systems. This is intended to prevent such PV systems from competing with large ground-mounted systems, which are naturally much more efficient due to their lower installation costs. In the past, this has led to solar parks, for example, receiving more funding than smaller systems such as PV carports. The new segment will now receive special support and achieve a tender volume of up to 2075 megawatts per year.

More funding, less bureaucracy

For Volker Klös, the measures contained in Solar Package 1 are a good start. However, the photovoltaics expert is calling for even less bureaucracy: “First of all, uniform building regulations for carports, which are subject to the building laws of the federal states, would be desirable. If there were also accelerated approval procedures within this framework, such PV projects could also be implemented much more quickly,” is his assessment. “The current regulations do not recognize structures such as modern carports with solar modules; they are treated as special garage structures that generate their own electricity. In order to simplify application and approval procedures, PV carports must become an independent building structure.”

Klös sees targeted support measures as another way of driving forward the expansion of renewable energies: “Better support via the feed-in tariff would be necessary. It would also be conceivable to promote the combination of solar carports and charging stations in a special way and to approve such systems more quickly. In this context, the grid operators must also be supported: Because as long as they only incur costs and expenses, for example due to grid expansion and grid commitments for photovoltaic systems, they will not set up any new procedures.”

When will solar package 2 be available?

Solar Package 2, which contains further measures to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and speed up approval procedures, is also due to be introduced in the course of the year. New funding programs are also envisaged in the draft bill.