Solar Power from Balconies
The German government’s Solar Package simplifies the construction and operation of photovoltaic systems and accelerates the expansion of solar energy. Balcony power plants can now be installed more easily, with approximately 730,000 plug-and-play solar systems currently in operation.
More and more people are using balcony power plants for their electricity supply.
The Solar Package I makes it significantly easier for citizens and businesses to install photovoltaic (PV) systems and utilize solar energy. Many people are now successfully taking advantage of these new opportunities for solar power from their own balconies. Currently, about 730,000 plug-and-play solar systems are in operation in Germany.
The legislative package for the solar package has set the right course. The successful expansion of solar energy also contributes to achieving climate protection goals.
01. Simplifications for Plug-In Solar Devices in Property and Tenancy Law
Additionally, in 2023, the federal government passed a draft law on property law and tenancy law to further simplify the installation of plug-in solar devices—namely, balcony power plants. The Bundestag has adopted the new regulation, and the Bundesrat has now also passed the law. This aims to include electricity generation by plug-in solar devices in the catalog of so-called privileged measures in property and tenancy law. Homeowners in multi-family houses and tenants will be able to request their homeowner associations or landlords to allow the installation of balcony power plants in the future.
For questions and answers regarding the new regulations in property and tenancy law, please visit the Federal Ministry of Justice.
02. Photovoltaics on the Balcony
The Federal Network Agency has already simplified the registration of balcony power plants as of April 1, limiting it to a few easily entered data points. The previous requirement to register with the grid operator has been eliminated. The Federal Network Agency automatically informs the grid operator about the new balcony power plant.
The simplifications are effective: around 730,000 balcony power plants are already in operation in Germany.
03. Further Simplifications through the Solar Package Law:Digital electricity meters are not mandatory
New balcony photovoltaic (PV) systems will not be required to have a bidirectional meter—meaning a digital meter. Temporarily, these systems can continue to use the older Ferraris meters. When electricity is fed back into the grid, the existing meter will simply run backward, reducing the amount of electricity consumers need to pay for.
More powerful PV systems are allowed
Balcony solar installations can now be more powerful. Systems with a total installed capacity of up to 2 kilowatts and an inverter capacity of up to 800 volt-amperes can be registered more easily.
Electricity feed-in via socket is possible
Future balcony PV systems will be able to connect using a standard Schuko plug, significantly simplifying installation. A norm will still need to be developed in collaboration with relevant associations.
Solar power for multi-family houses
To enable tenants in multi-family houses to utilize cheaper solar power from roofs, garages, or battery storage directly, a new instrument called “joint building supply” is being introduced. This eliminates the complicated detour of feeding PV power into the general electricity grid.
Regulations on billing and timely announcements in the event of supply interruptions are also precisely defined. In the future, tenants will also be able to conclude a favourable supplementary tariff themselves for electricity not covered by the inexpensive PV roof power.
05. Business: Unbureaucratic Expansion of Large PV Systems
So far, systems with an installed capacity of more than 100 kilowatts have been required to be directly marketed. This is changing: in the future, system operators will be able to pass on their surplus amounts to the grid operators without compensation and without direct marketing costs. This will benefit operators with high self-consumption. The new unbureaucratic regulation is intended to encourage them to install more PV systems on large roofs.
Additionally, with the Bundestag’s resolution, the feed-in tariff for commercial roof PV systems is increased. The threshold for mandatory participation in tenders for very large systems is reduced from 1,000 kilowatts to 750 kilowatts with a one-year transition period, and the tender volumes are increased.
06. Strengthening the Expansion of Sustainable Open-Space Systems
The solar package also regulates the more sustainable expansion of solar parks without consuming more free areas. Therefore, the combined use of areas for agriculture and PV modules, known as agri-PV, is particularly encouraged. This allows for multiple uses of the land while preserving agricultural interests. To make better use of sealed areas, PV is also to be promoted on parking lots.
For these special solar systems, future tenders will provide preferred subsidies and a higher maximum value, along with a higher feed-in tariff for the smaller segment.
For new PV open-space areas, five minimum nature conservation criteria will be introduced, of which operators must comply with at least three. Strict protected areas under the Federal Nature Conservation Act will, of course, be excluded.
07. More Solar Energy for Climate Protection
Germany aims to be one of the first industrial nations to operate in a climate-neutral manner by 2045. The electricity sector must largely function without greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. By 2030, at least 80 percent of gross electricity consumption should be covered by renewable energies. To achieve these goals, the federal government is doing everything it can to massively accelerate the expansion of renewable energies. Solar energy will play a crucial role in meeting Germany’s ambitious climate goals.
08. Higher Expansion Targets for Solar Energy
The legal expansion targets for solar energy were already raised in the EEG 2023. With the solar package, the higher expansion targets for PV are to be achieved: by 2030, 215 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity should be added. The target for 2023 was exceeded: instead of 9 GW, new solar systems with a capacity of 14.6 GW were installed, nearly double the amount in 2022. In 2024, 13 GW and in 2025, 18 GW of solar capacity should be added. From 2026, more than three times as much should be added, reaching 22 GW. The expansion is expected to come from approximately half open-space areas and half roof systems.
