Urban Solar Development: Tips to Avoid Black Sheep
In recent years, Germany has been making significant strides in solar power expansion, with some cities leading the way in the transition to a more climate-friendly energy future. However, not all regions are keeping pace, and action is needed to ensure the country meets its ambitious climate targets.
Bavaria, Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, and urban regions in North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg are among the leading cities and regions in solar power expansion. Bavaria, in particular, is expected to add 4 GW of solar capacity in 2024, thanks to high solar irradiation, early rooftop solar mandates, and a dense network of installers. Berlin and Hamburg have strong solar adoption due to municipal grants for rooftop solar and balcony modules, federal incentives, and mandates requiring solar installations on new buildings.
Other leading cities include Regensburg, Oldenburg, Fürth, and Ulm, which are going well above what's needed to stay in line with the Paris Agreement. In contrast, cities like Rostock, Lübeck, and Dresden are way off track and would need to double their solar expansion every year to meet the 2035 target.
The average annual solar expansion in German cities has almost tripled from 514 to 1,432 megawatts between 2022 and 2024. This growth is supported by robust policy frameworks, such as rooftop solar requirements for new builds and building retrofits in several states. The combination of these mandates, financial incentives, and technological innovation (e.g., building-integrated photovoltaics) will be essential for all cities to increase solar capacity and meet the Paris goals by 2035.
However, some regions, especially outside Bavaria and the large city-states, lag in solar adoption. To meet the Paris climate goals by 2035 and Germany’s ambitious federal targets of 215 GW solar capacity by 2030, states and cities without stringent rooftop solar requirements or substantial solar incentives will need to intensify their solar deployment efforts. This includes expanding rooftop solar on both residential and commercial buildings and developing more utility-scale solar projects.
The German Environmental Aid is urging the government to provide the right incentives for solar power expansion and is calling on Minister of Economics Katherina Reiche to support citizen involvement in the energy transition and simplify energy sharing and communal building energy supply. The organisation uses data from the Market Master Data Register of the Federal Network Agency and a study from the University of Applied Sciences for Engineering and Economics in Berlin to monitor solar expansion in major cities.
If the government does not provide the right incentives, Germany might fall behind on its climate goals. Last year, only seven cities in Germany were on pace with the Paris climate goals regarding solar expansion. The other 42 cities in Germany are lagging behind, with Potsdam and Salzgitter needing to triple their solar expansion efforts to hit the 2035 target.
Berlin, for example, is following a "Solarcity Master Plan" to cover a quarter of its electricity needs with solar power by 2035. However, according to the latest analysis, Berlin is falling short by 4% in terms of its solar expansion goals.
In conclusion, while Germany has made significant progress in solar power expansion, there is still much work to be done to ensure the country meets its ambitious climate targets. The German Environmental Aid is urging the government to provide the right incentives for solar power expansion and for cities and regions to intensify their solar deployment efforts to help Germany reach its climate goals by 2035.
- The German Environmental Aid is urging the government to provide financial incentives to encourage solar power expansion, specifically in regions outside Bavaria and the large city-states that are lagging behind in solar adoption.
- In order to meet the Paris climate goals by 2035 and Germany’s federal targets of 215 GW solar capacity by 2030, states and cities without stringent rooftop solar requirements or substantial solar incentives will need to intensify their efforts with Solar deployment, which includes expanding rooftop solar on residential and commercial buildings and developing more utility-scale solar projects.
- Berlin, which aims to cover a quarter of its electricity needs with solar power by 2035 through its "Solarcity Master Plan", is currently falling short by 4% in terms of its solar expansion goals, underscoring the need for incentives and intensified solar deployment efforts to meet national climate targets.
