Simply more solar power: Federal government facilitates installation of balcony power plants

In pursuit of a greener energy future, the German government has taken a new step to encourage the expansion of renewable energy. A recent article on tagesschau.de reports on the government's plans to make it easier to install balcony power plants and how this measure could further advance solar energy in Germany.

**Relief for balcony power plants: elimination of bureaucracy**

The article highlights that the federal government is planning to simplify electricity production through small balcony power plants. A draft law from the Ministry of Economic Affairs provides for the current bureaucracy surrounding the installation of balcony photovoltaic systems to be reduced. Currently, interested parties must register the system with the grid operator and use a so-called bidirectional meter.

Information on how to correctly register your balcony power plant can be found here .

Both of these are now to be eliminated under the new rules. In future, it will be sufficient to register the balcony power plant in a database. Even older non-digital electricity meters can continue to be used temporarily by turning backwards when electricity is fed into the grid. These simplifications will help to significantly reduce the bureaucratic effort involved in installing balcony power plants.

**Higher capacity and use of solar power in multi-family homes**

The planned reform also envisages raising the power limit for balcony power plants. Plant operators are currently allowed to generate up to 600 watts of electricity, but this limit is to be increased to a maximum of 800 watts. This will enable more efficient power generation and pave the way for more powerful plants.

In addition, multi-family homes will also benefit from the use of self-generated solar power. Larger systems with high levels of self-consumption could pass on their surplus quantities to the grid operator without paying any compensation or incurring any costs. This change makes it easier to integrate renewable energies in urban environments.

**More solar parks on open spaces and criticism from the farmers' association**

Another important aspect of the planned reform concerns the use of open spaces for solar parks. Disadvantaged agricultural areas are to be opened up to photovoltaic systems in order to advance the energy transition. However, the expansion of photovoltaics on agricultural land will be limited to 80 gigawatts by 2030.

Despite the positive aspects, the solar package has also been met with criticism. The German Farmers' Association has expressed concerns about the limitation of the expansion of photovoltaics on agricultural land. In addition, the "duty of tolerance" has been criticized, which obliges property owners to grant operators of solar systems access to their properties.

**Final thoughts: A step towards a renewable future**

The federal government's plans to facilitate the installation of balcony power plants signal a clear will to promote renewable energy and reduce bureaucracy. These measures could help to further expand solar energy in Germany and thus pave the way to a sustainable energy future. While some challenges and concerns remain, this step is a positive and important contribution on the way to a greener energy supply.

Source: tagesschau.de