BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - According to the solar industry, more new solar systems for generating electricity and heat were installed in Germany last year than ever before. More than one million new systems were installed, the German Solar Industry Association (BSW) reported in Berlin on Tuesday. A large proportion of these are so-called balcony power plants. Around 270,000 new plug-in solar devices were put into operation in Germany in 2023. That is four times as many as in 2022.

According to the Federal Network Agency, systems with a peak output of around 14 gigawatts of electricity generation from sunlight were newly commissioned on roofs and open spaces. This is 85 percent more than in the previous year 2022.

According to the BSW, half of the newly installed solar power capacity in 2023 was attributable to the residential segment. PV systems on open spaces accounted for around 31 percent and PV systems on commercial roofs for around 18 percent. "Due to their low specific output, the large number of plug-in solar devices accounted for less than two percent of the newly installed PV output," emphasized BSW Managing Director Carsten Kornig.

There are now around 3.7 million solar power systems installed in Germany. They would have generated around 62 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2023, covering around 12 percent of German electricity consumption.

The industry association expects demand to remain high in 2024. It justifies this with further increases in electricity prices and attractive demand conditions. "We expect the solar boom to continue in 2024," explained Kornig. However, to ensure that the growth targets are also achieved in subsequent years, the reduction in bureaucracy must not be allowed to stall. Further measures to speed up procedures are needed to upgrade the electricity and heating grids more quickly.

In 2024, more than 1.5 million property owners were planning to install a solar system.

-owners are planning to install a solar system on their roof surface,

the BSW reported further. The association based this projection on a representative survey conducted by the opinion research institute Yougov among over 1,000 property owners in mid-December. According to the survey, 69 percent of residential property owners with suitable roof space could imagine installing a solar system on their roof. "16 percent are already planning to do so in the next 12 months," it continued.

Specifically, the association expects demand in the residential segment with rooftop systems with a PV output of up to 30 kilowatts to be on a similar scale to 2023 in 2024. Last year, PV rooftop systems with a total peak output of seven gigawatts were installed in this segment. In contrast, the BSW expects market growth for PV systems on commercial roofs and open spaces./tob/DP/zb