The number of small solar systems is probably even higher than reported. And the installed capacity has increased faster anyway. Which also has to do with a rule change.
The number of balcony power plants in Germany continues to rise rapidly. The Federal Network Agency's market master data register now counts 708,590 “plug-in solar systems” in operation (as of October 4th). That's twice as many as at the beginning of the year. The number is probably even higher, as there is a deadline of one month for late registrations and some systems – despite being required – are simply not reported.
The maximum installed capacity is now around 600 megawatts. It has even more than doubled since the beginning of the year, which is probably due to the fact that slightly more powerful systems can now be installed.
For the third quarter that has just ended, the market master data register shows 140,000 systems that were put into operation with a maximum output of 141 megawatts. These numbers are also likely to increase in the coming weeks due to late registrations.
The German Solar Industry Association expects the positive trend for balcony power plants to continue. The legislature has reduced bureaucratic obstacles and the prices of solar systems have continued to fall, said Managing Director Carsten Körnig.
In addition, the Federal Council recently agreed to improve the rights for tenants and homeowners. This finally clears the way for the use of plug-in solar devices on the balconies, terraces and roof gardens of millions of residential households in Germany, said Körnig. “In future, tenants will have the right to obtain consent from the landlord or the homeowners’ association
Attaching and using a technically safe plug-in solar device.”
However, the association points out an important distinction here: the legal simplifications only apply to real plug-in solar devices with an inverter with a maximum connected load of 800 watts. These are designed so that laypeople can connect them.
There are now an increasing number of larger self-build sets on the market that are offered as balcony power plants, but are not plug-in solar devices. These would have to be connected by an electrician and registered with the network operator. This also applies to systems with battery storage.
