According to a recent study published by the German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur), Germany installed 3.7GW of PV systems in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 19% compared to 3.2GW installed in the first quarter of the 2023 line.

Germany installed 1.47GW of PV systems in January, 1.14GW in February and 1.1GW in March. As Germany has set a target of installing 215GW of PV systems by 2030, an additional 22GW of PV systems will be needed each year. According to data released by the German Federal Network Agency at the end of March 2024, to achieve this goal, Germany needs to install 1,587 MW of photovoltaic systems per month.

According to a study published by consulting firm Mercom Capital Group, Germany installed 3.5GW of PV systems in the fourth quarter of 2023, but the German Federal Network Agency later revised this figure to 3.9GW.

As of the end of March 2024, the cumulative installed capacity of photovoltaic systems in Germany was 86.2GW. According to the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) plan issued by the German government, the target of cumulative installation of 88GW of photovoltaic systems needs to be achieved by the end of 2024, 128GW by 2026, 172GW by 2028, and 215GW by 2030.

The states of Bavaria, Saxony, Baden, Wurttemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia led Germany in installed PV system capacity, accounting for nearly 65% of the installed PV system capacity in Germany in the first quarter of this year.

Bavaria has the highest installed PV system capacity at 760.2MW. Saxony followed with 599.3MW; Baden-wurttemberg had 546.6MW and North Rhine-Westphalia 474.8MW.

In August last year, the German government approved a $63.3 billion green investment plan to help develop renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions.

In January, the German Federal Network Agency lowered the price ceiling for the auction of rooftop photovoltaic systems in 2024 to 0.105 euros /kWh (about $0.12 /kWh) from 0.1125 euros /kWh (about $0.12 /kWh) in 2023. The price cap for ground-mounted PV systems is €0.737 /kWh (about $0.80 /kWh)/, the same as in 2023.

In July 2023, an auction of 191MW rooftop PV projects planned for tender in Germany was 79% oversubscribed, with 155 bids received for a total installed capacity of 342MW. A total of 79 bids were accepted for a total installed capacity of 193MW. Editor/Xu Shengpeng