Solar power in Germany

Map of average solar radiation in Germany. For most of the country annual average values are in between 1100 and 1300 kWh per square metre.
Solar potential
Electricity by source in 2014
Nuclear Brown Coal Hard Coal Wind Solar Biogas HydroCircle frame.svg
  •   Nuclear: 91.8 TWh (17.2%)
  •   Brown Coal: 140.7 TWh (26.4%)
  •   Hard Coal: 110.1 TWh (20.7%)
  •   Natural Gas: 33.9 TWh (6.4%)
  •   Wind: 51.4 TWh (9.7%)
  •   Solar: 32.8 TWh (6.2%)
  •   Biomass: 53 TWh (10.0%)
  •   Hydro: 18.5 TWh (3.5%)
Net generated electricity in 2014[1]

Solar power in Germany consists almost exclusively of photovoltaics (PV) and accounted for an estimated 6.2 to 6.9 percent of the country's net-electricity generation in 2014.[2][3] The country has been the world's top PV installer for several years and still leads in terms of the overall installed capacity, that amounted to 38,555 megawatts (MW) by the end of March 2015, ahead of China, Japan, Italy, and the United States.[4]

About 1.4 million photovoltaic systems are installed all over the country, ranging from small roof-top systems, to medium commercial and large utility-scale solar parks, that altogether contributed 35.2 terawatt-hours, or about 6.9 percent in 2014 (preliminary estimate).[2]:5 This brings the country's share of renewable electricity to about 31 percent, and in line with the official governmental goal of reaching 35 percent by the end of the decade.[3] However, new installations of PV systems have declined steadily since the record year of 2011 and continued to do so throughout 2014. It's estimated that about half of the country's jobs have been lost in the solar sector in recent years. While proponents from the PV industry blame the lack of governmental commitment, others point out the financial burden associated with the fast paced roll-out of photovoltaics, rendering the transition to renewable energies unsustainable in their view.[5]

The official governmental goal is to continuously increase renewables' contribution to the country's overall electricity consumption. Long-term minimum targets are 35% by 2020, 50% by 2030 and 80% by 2050.[2]:6 The country is increasingly producing more electricity than it needs, driving down spot-market prices[6] and exporting its surplus of electricity to its neighboring countries (record exported surplus of 32 TWh in 2013 and 34 TWh in 2014).[1] Paradoxically, a decline in spot-prices may well raise the electricity prices for retail customers, as the spread of the guaranteed feed-in tariff and spot-price increases as well.[2]:17 As wind and solar PV is approaching 17 percent on the national electricity mix, other issues are becoming more pressing. These include, adapting the electrical grid, constructing new grid-storage capacity, dismantling and altering fossil and nuclear power plants – brown coal and nuclear power are the country's cheapest suppliers of electricity, according to today's calculations – and to construct a new generation of combined heat and power plants.[2]:7

The nation's largest solar farms are located in Meuro, Neuhardenberg and Templin, with capacities beyond 100 MW. Also, concentrated solar power (CSP), another solar power technology that does not use photovoltaics, has virtually no significance for Germany, as this technology demands much higher solar insolation. There is, however, a 1.5-megawatt experimental CSP-plant used for on-site engineering purposes rather than for commercial electricity generation, the Jülich Solar Tower owned by the German Aerospace Center. Moreover, solar heating does not use solar energy for power generation and is therefore not included in this article.

Overview

Price of solar PV systems
History of PV roof-top prices in euros per kilowatt (€/kW).[7]

The German solar PV industry installed 7.6  gigawatts (GW) in 2012[8] and 7.5 GW in 2011,[9] and solar PV provided 18 TWh of electricity in 2011, about 3% of total electricity.[5] On midday of Saturday May 26, 2012, solar energy provided over 40% of total electricity consumption in Germany, and 20% for the 24h-day. The federal government has set a target of 66 GW of installed solar PV capacity by 2030,[10] to be reached with an annual increase of 2.5–3.5 GW,[11] and a goal of 80% of electricity from renewable sources by 2050.[12] From 3.5 GW to 4 GW are expected to be installed in 2013. Solar power in Germany has been growing considerably due to the country's feed-in tariffs for renewable energy which were introduced by the German Renewable Energy Act. Prices of PV systems have decreased more than 50% in 5 years since 2006.[13]

As of 2012, the FiT costs about €14 billion (US$18 billion) per year for wind and solar installations. The cost is spread across all rate-payers in a surcharge of 3.6 €ct (4.6 ¢) per kWh[14] (approximately 15% of the total domestic cost of electricity).[15] On the other hand, as expensive peak power plants are displaced, the price at the power exchange is reduced due to the so-called merit order effect.[16]

German electricity generation on May 25 and May 26, 2012

Germany set a world record for solar power production with 25.8 GW produced at midday on April 20 and April 21, 2015.[17]

According to the solar power industry, a feed-in tariff is the most effective means of developing solar power.[18] It is the same as a power purchase agreement, but is at a much higher rate. As the industry matures, it is reduced and becomes the same as a power purchase agreement. A feed-in tariff allows investors a guaranteed return on investment - a requirement for development. A primary difference between a tax credit and a feed-in tariff is that the cost is borne the year of installation with a tax credit, and is spread out over many years with a feed-in tariff. In both cases the incentive cost is distributed over all consumers. This means that the initial cost is very low for a feed-in tariff and very high for a tax credit. In both cases the learning curve reduces the cost of installation, but is not a large contribution to growth, as grid parity is still always reached.[19]

Boom period

More than 7 GW of PV capacity had been installed annually during the record years of 2010, 2011 and 2012. For this period, the installed capacity of 22.5 GW represents almost 30 percent of the worldwide deployed photovoltaics. Since 2013, the amount of new installations declined significantly due to more restrictive governmental policies. Germany is projected to lose its leading position as the world's largest producer of photovoltaic electricity to China before the end of the decade.

Governmental policies

Since the end of the boom period, national PV market has since declined significantly, due to the amendments in the German Renewable Energy Act (EEG) that reduced feed-in tariffs and set constraints on utility-scaled installations, limiting their size to no more than 10 MW.[20]

The current version of the EEG only guarantees financial assistance as long as the overall PV capacity has not yet reached 52 GW. It also foresees to regulate annual PV growth within a range of 2.5 GW to 3.5 GW by adjusting the guaranteed fees accordingly. The legislative reforms stipulates a 40 to 45 percent share from renewable energy sources by 2025 and a 55 to 60 percent share by 2035.[21]

Grid capacity and stability issues

Germany had not installed adequate storage to accommodate high percentages of wind and solar power and in 2012 is exporting peak generation to neighboring countries.[22]

Approximately 9 GW of photovoltaic plants in Germany are being retrofitted to shut down if the frequency increases to 50.2 Hz, indicating an excess of electricity on the grid. The frequency is unlikely to reach 50.2 Hz during normal operation, but can if Germany is exporting power to countries that suddenly experience a power failure. This leads to a surplus of generation in Germany, that is transferred to rotating load and generation, which causes system frequency to rise. This happened in 2003 and 2006.[23][24][25]

However, power failures could not have been caused by photovoltaics in 2006, as solar PV played a negligible role in the German energy mix at that time.[26] In December 2012, the president of Germany's "Bundesnetzagentur", the Federal Network Agency, stated that there is "no indication", that the switch to renewables is causing more power outages.[27] Amory Lovins from the Rocky Mountain Institute wrote about the German Energiewende in 2013, calling the discussion about grid stability a "disinformation campaign".[28]

Statistics

Exponential growth of German solar PV capacity and its average electrical power on a log scale. It doubled on average every 18 months between 1990 and 2012. This corresponds to an annual growth rate of almost 59%.
Main articles: Growth of photovoltaics and Solar power in the European Union

The history of Germany's installed photovoltaic capacity, its average power output, produced electricity, and its share in the overall consumed electricity, shows a steady, exponential growth for more than two decades. Solar PV capacity doubled on average every 18 months in this period; an annual growth rate of more than 50 percent.

LCOE comparison of renewable technologies and conventional power plants in cents/kWh.
Year Capacity (MW) Annual yield (GWh) % of gross electricity consumption
1990 2 1 0.0
1991 2 1 0.0
1992 6 4 0.0
1993 9 3 0.0
1994 12 7 0.0
1995 18 7 0.0
1996 28 12 0.0
1997 42 18 0.0
1998 54 35 0.0
1999 70 30 0.0
2000 114 60 0.0
2001 176 76 0.0
2002 296 162 0.0
2003 435 313 0.1
2004 1,105 557 0.1
2005 2,056 1,282 0.2
2006 2,899 2,220 0.4
2007 4,170 3,075 0.5
2008 6,120 4,420 0.7
2009 10,566 6,583 1.1
2010 17,944 11,729 1.9
2011 25,429 19,599 3.2
2012 33,033 26,380 4.3
2013 36,337 31,010 5.2
2014 38,236 34,930 6.0
Source: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, for capacity figures[29]:7 and other figures[29]:14–38
Note: This table does not show net-consumption but gross electricity consumption, which includes self consumption of nuclear and coal-fire power plants. For 2014, net-consumption stands at approximately 6.9% (vs. 6.1% for gross-consumption).[2]:5
Solar PV's share in the overall consumed electricity grew exponentially since 1990, doubling every 1.56 years, or growing 56% annually on average. The doubling time and growth rate differ from those of average power and installed capacity as the overall consumption also increased over time.
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
Nationwide growth of PV capacity in megawatts on a linear scale since 1992.
Source: EPIA[30] and Bundesnetzagentur[4] for 2014.

PV capacity by federal states

Watts per capita by state in 2013[31]
  10 - 50 Watts
  50 - 100 Watts
  100 - 200 Watts
  200 - 350 Watts
  350 - 500 Watts
  500 - 750 Watts
  >750 Watts

Germany is made up of sixteen, partly sovereign federal states or Länder. The southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg account for about half of the total, nationwide PV deployment and are also the wealthiest and most populous states after North Rhine-Westphalia. However, photovoltaic installations are widespread throughout the sixteen states and are not limited to the southern region of the country as demonstrated by a watts per capita distribution.

PV capacity in MW[32][33]
State 2009  2010  2011  2012  2013(A) 2014(B)
Baden-Württemberg 1,772 2,741 3,581 4,286 4,742 5,036
Bavaria 3,955 6,323 8,067 9,124 9,915 10,615
Berlin 19 31 46 65 69 77
Brandenburg 219 564 1,546 1,724 2,698 2,980
Bremen 5 14 25 31 34 37
Hamburg 9 14 22 30 33 35
Hesse 549 897 1,207 1,591 1,595 1,710
Lower Saxony 709 1,511 2,284 2,959 3,255 3,484
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 88 249 520 839 1,117 1,338
North Rhine-Westphalia 1,046 1,961 2,812 3,545 3,828 4,126
Rhineland-Palatinate 504 867 1,175 1,458 1,663 1,813
Saarland 100 163 223 301 349 388
Saxony 288 527 888 1,094 1,444 1,533
Saxony-Anhalt 181 408 856 1,223 1,467 1,747
Schleswig-Holstein 310 674 953 1,225 1,375 1,454
Thuringia 159 298 519 818 976 1,076
Notes: A) as per July 22, 2013[34] B) as per July 16, 2014[35]

Photovoltaic power stations

Largest German photovoltaic power stations (20 MW or larger)[36]
PV Power station Capacity
in MWp		 Notes
Solarpark Meuro 166 70 MW completed 2011, 166 MW in 2012[36]
Neuhardenberg Solar Park 145 Completed September 2012[36][37]
Templin Solar Park 128.5 Completed September 2012[36][38]
Brandenburg-Briest Solarpark 91 Commissioned in December 2011
Solarpark Finow Tower 84.7 Completed in 2010/2011
Eggebek Solar Park 83.6 Completed in 2011
Senftenberg Solarpark 82 Phase II and III completed 2011, another 70 MW phase planned[39]
Finsterwalde Solar Park 80.7 Phase I completed 2009, phase II and III 2010 [40][41]
Lieberose Photovoltaic Park 71.8 Completed in 2009[42][43]
Solarpark Alt Daber 67.8 Completed in 2011[36]
Strasskirchen Solar Park 54 Commissioned in December 2009[36]
Walddrehna Solar Park 52.3 Completed June 2012
Waldpolenz Solar Park 52 550,000 CdTe modules. Completed December 2008[44][45]
Tutow Solar Park 52 Tutow I completed in 2009, II in 2010, III in 2011
Kothen Solar Park 45 Operational since 2009
Jura Solar Park 43 Completed in 2014[46]
Jännersdorf Solar Park 40.5 Commissioned in 2012
Fürstenwalde Solar Park 39.6 Commissioned in 2011
Reckahn Solar Park 36 Completed in 2011
Perleberg Solar Park 35 Completed in 2012
Krughütte Solar Park 29.1 Completed in 2012
Solarpark Heideblick 27.5 Completed in 2011
Solarpark Eiche 26.5 Completed in 2011
Lauingen Energy Park 25.7 Completed in 2010
Pocking Solar Park 22 Completed in March 2006
Mengkofen Solar Park 21.7 Commissioned in December 2009
Rothenburg Solar Park 20 Commissioned in 2009
Other notable photovoltaic (PV) power plants[47]
Name & Description Capacity
in MWp		 Location Annual yield
in MWh		 Capacity factor Coordinates
Erlasee Solar Park, 1408 SOLON 12 Arnstein 14,000 0.13 50°0′10″N 9°55′15″E / 50.00278°N 9.92083°E
Gottelborn Solar Park 8.4 Göttelborn n.a. n.a. n.a.
Bavaria Solarpark, 57,600 solar modules 6.3 Mühlhausen 6,750 0.12 49°09′29″N 11°25′59″E / 49.15806°N 11.43306°E
Rote Jahne Solar Park, 92,880 thin-film modules,
First Solar, FS-260, FS-262 and FS-265[48][49]		 6.0 Doberschütz 5,700 n.a. n.a.
Bürstadt Solar Farm, 30,000 BP Solar modules 5.0 Bürstadt 4,200 0.10 49°39′N 8°28′E / 49.650°N 8.467°E
Espenhain, 33,500 Shell Solar modules 5.0 Espenhain 5,000 0.11 51°12′N 12°31′E / 51.200°N 12.517°E
Geiseltalsee Solarpark, 24,864 BP solar modules 4.0 Merseburg 3,400 0.10 51°22′N 12°0′E / 51.367°N 12.000°E
Hemau Solar Farm, 32,740 solar modules 4.0 Hemau 3,900 0.11 49°3′N 11°47′E / 49.050°N 11.783°E
Solara, Sharp and Kyocera solar modules 3.3 Dingolfing 3,050 0.11 48°38′N 12°30′E / 48.633°N 12.500°E
Bavaria Solarpark, Sharp solar modules 1.9 Günching n.a. n.a. 49°16′N 11°34′E / 49.267°N 11.567°E
Bavaria Solarpark, Sharp solar modules 1.9 Minihof n.a. n.a. n.a.

Gallery

Companies

Major German solar companies include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Electricity production from solar and wind in Germany in 2014 (German version)" (PDF). http://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/''. Fraunhofer Institute, Germany. 5 January 2015. pp. 2, 3, 6. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 "Recent facts about photovoltaics in Germany" (PDF). Fraunhofer ISE. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Electricity production from solar and wind in Germany in 2014" (PDF). http://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/''. Fraunhofer Institute, Germany. 2014-07-21. p. 5. Archived from the original on 2014-07-22. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Photovoltaikanlagen: Datenmeldungen sowie EEG-Vergütungssätze" [Monthly reported new installations of PV systems and current feed-in tariffs] (in German). Bundesnetzagentur. Retrieved February 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "German solar power output up 60 pct in 2011". Reuters. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  6. ↑ Electricity Spot-Prices and Production Data in Germany 2013
  7. ↑ Average turn-key prices for roof-top PV systems up to 100 kWp. Sources: for data since 2009 photovoltaik-guide.de, pv-preisindex , using for each year average price of month of January. Data source for previous years (2006-2008), see Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft e.V. (BSW-Solar), September 2009, page 4, quarterly figures from EUPD-Research.
  8. ↑ German solar power installations at record high in 2012
  9. ↑ Eckert, Vera; Christoph Steitz (9 January 2012). "German solar boom strengthens critics of subsidies". Reuters. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  10. ↑ Property Wire (2010-04-22). "Germany Reducing Incentives For Solar Property Investment". NuWire Investor. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
  11. ↑ Lang, Matthias (21 November 2011). "New German 7.5 GWp PV Record by End of 2011". German Energy Blog. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  12. ↑ Germany
  13. ↑ BSW-Solar – Statistische Zahlen der deutschen Solarstrombranche (Photovoltaik), Oct 2011
  14. ↑ Lang, Matthias (14 October 2011). "2012 EEG Surcharge Increases Slightly to 3.592 ct/kWh". German Energy Blog. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  15. ↑ Electricity
  16. ↑ Morris, Craig (2 February 2012). "Merit order effect of PV in Germany". Renewables International. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
  17. ↑ EEX Transparency Platform: Actual Solar Power Generation (chart)
  18. ↑ The U.S. Needs a Feed-in Tariff
  19. ↑ PV Learning Curves:Past and Future Drivers of Cost Reduction
  20. ↑ "Changes for solar in Germany". renewablesinternational.net. 3 April 2014. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  21. ↑
  22. ↑ Energiewende
  23. ↑ The “50.2 Hz” problem for photovoltaic power plants
  24. ↑ Timeline of the mains frequency
  25. ↑ Impact of Large-scale Distributed Generation on Network Stability During Over-Frequency Events & Development of Mitigation Measures
  26. ↑ Michael Döring (1 January 2013). "Dealing with the 50.2 Hz problem". http://www.modernpowersystems.com/''. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  27. ↑ "Germany's Network Agency says power outages "unlikely"". http://www.renewablesinternational.net/''. 6 December 2012. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  28. ↑ Amory Lovins (23 August 2013). "Separating Fact from Fiction in Accounts of Germany’s Renewables Revolution". http://energytransition.de/''. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie – Zeitreihen zur Entwicklung der erneuerbaren Energien in Deutschland (February 2015)
  30. ↑ "Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics 2014-2018". www.epia.org. EPIA - European Photovoltaic Industry Association. p. 34. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  31. ↑ "Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics 2014-2018". www.epia.org. EPIA - European Photovoltaic Industry Association. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  32. ↑ Bundesnetzagentur – EEG-Statistikbericht 2009
  33. ↑ Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics until 2016, p.70
  34. ↑ "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". Web.archive.org. 23 July 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  35. ↑ "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". Web.archive.org. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 36.4 36.5 PV Resources.com (2009). World's largest photovoltaic power plants
  37. ↑ Lima Group: BV Neuhardenberg
  38. ↑ CFB News: Commerz Real Acquires Germany’s Largest Solar Park
  39. ↑ SolarServer: 78 MW of the world’s largest solar photovoltaic plant connected to grid in Senftenberg, Germany
  40. ↑ Good Energies, NIBC Infrastructure Partners acquire Finsterwalde II and Finsterwalde III
  41. ↑ Implementation of the 39 MWp – „Solar Park Finsterwalde II and Finsterwalde III“
  42. ↑ Lieberose solar farm becomes Germany's biggest, World's second-biggest
  43. ↑ Germany Turns On World's Biggest Solar Power Project
  44. ↑ Germany's largest Solar parks connected to the grid (19 Dec 08)
  45. ↑ Large photovoltaic plant in Muldentalkreis
  46. ↑ Photovoltaik in Oberfranken: IBC SOLAR stellt Jura-Solarpark mit insgesamt 43 MW fertig; Energiewende soll den Wirtschaftsstandort auch künftig stärken, 26 February 2014
  47. ↑ World's largest photovoltaic power plants
  48. ↑ Construction Complete on 6 MW Thin-Film PV Installation in Germany Renewable Energy Access, 5 April 2007.
  49. ↑ http://www.webcitation.org/6QwLVgSYo Rote Jahne Factsheet (de)

External links

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