An energy crisis was what made Germany turn its attention to solar panels on balconies. Now Germany has become one of the largest countries in terms of installed photovoltaic capacity.
One million solar panels. Germany had more than 500,000 solar panels installed on balconies less than two months ago, so the number is estimated to reach one million by the end of the year. This boom in self-consumption already occurred last year when 260,000 solar modules were registered, three times as many as in 2022.
The increase in solar systems on balconies and terraces is due to self-installation kits and the ease of registering the module in the system of the German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur).
But are they all registered? Germany’s Federal Network Agency estimates that around 220,000 solar panels installed in households are officially registered. However, many installations are outside the country’s energy register system, so the figures may vary. In April, the agency opened a registration system to facilitate accounting, and in future installations will have to be registered in the MaStR (data register). From then on, the agency will only report to the responsible grid operator.
How much power does it have? In the first half of the year, balcony solar panels have added a total of 200 megawatts of power, with an average of 900 watts per balcony. It is worth noting that the Federal Network Agency estimates that two thirds of the total number of new photovoltaic installations have been carried out on balconies and terraces.
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Can it be applied in Spain? Although we are a country known for its hours of sunshine, we also have a lot of flats, so installing solar panels on our balconies should be easier. Self-installable kits are gradually becoming part of the Spanish renewable energy market.
However, each legislation has its own regulations and in Spain it is mandatory that the installation of solar panels in private flats has the consent of the entire community of neighbours. In addition, the orientation of the buildings is a factor that hinders their expansion.
How does all this extrapolate to Europe? The adoption of this energy model in densely populated urban areas allows citizens to participate directly in energy generation. This way of reducing dependence on fuels allows the use of renewable energies to expand within the urban environment, meeting sustainability objectives.
However, there has been some reluctance among different countries in the European Union to install solar panels on balconies, including the Netherlands, which warns of the consequences of poor installation. However, there are changes, such as in Belgium, which will go from banning easy-to-install panels and batteries to allowing them from May 2025.
Image | Rudy23
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