Germany Exits 2024 With 16.2 GW New Solar PV Installed Capacity
Source：taiyangnews
Germany’s solar PV capacity additions beat the last few years with 16.2 GW installed in 2024, according to BNetzA. (Photo Credit: TaiyangNews)
Key Takeaways
- BNetzA says Germany installed around 20 GW of new renewable energy capacity in 2024
- With 16.2 GW, solar PV was the largest contributor with most of it corresponding to the distributed generation segment
- Balcony solar PV systems also grew in numbers as the agency recorded close to 435,000 systems in the market register with close to 400 MW added in 2024
The Federal Network Agency or Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA) of Germany says the country exited 2024 with close to 20 GW of new renewable energy capacity addition, representing a 12% increase on a year-on-year (YoY) basis with solar PV being the largest contributor at 16.2 GW.
In 2023, Germany installed 14.26 GW PV capacity (see Germany’s Official 2023 Solar Installations Exceed 14 GW).
A 162 MW solar power plant in Saxony was the largest to come online during the reporting year, while Bavaria saw the maximum increase in PV capacity with 4 GW.
Most of the PV capacity installed last year, or around 2/3rds, came up on residential rooftops or on buildings and facades, and the remaining as ground-mounted projects.
The agency also counts a slight increase in the average gross capacity of the storage systems combined with solar systems. There is also an increase in balcony PV plug-in systems whose capacity grew from 200 MW in 2023 to 400 MW in 2024, as the agency registered around 435,000 systems in the market data register. BNetzA believes this number could be higher in the eventual analysis.
At the end of 2024, Germany’s total installed renewable energy capacity increased to around 190 GW, 99.3 GW of which corresponds to solar PV. Recently, the German solar association BSW-Solar pegged the cumulative at over 100 GW with the addition of around 17 GW last year (see Germany Exceeds 100 GW Solar PV Capacity Milestone, Says BSW-Solar).
However, BNetzA is yet to release its detailed Market Master Data Register for the month of December 2024, which is scheduled to be released by mid-January 2025.
Among other renewables, BNetzA counts 2.5 GW of onshore wind capacity additions, below last year’s additions, and comprises the ‘decommissioned plants deducted from the newly commissioned plants.’ Almost 700 MW of wind capacity was registered as permanently decommissioned, shared the agency; however, almost 15 GW of onshore wind capacity received permits.
“The rapid expansion is having an effect. Renewable energies are now taking over the main role in electricity generation in Germany - measured against total generation in Germany, 254.9 TWh or almost 60 percent came from renewable energy sources. At the same time, we have used less coal to generate electricity than we have for decades,” said Germany’s Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, Robert Habeck.