Germany installs 14 GW of renewable solar energy in 2023

Germany’s Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) announced, based on preliminary figures, on January 5 that the country achieved an overall 17 GW increase in its renewable energy capacity in 2023, out of which 14.1 GW amounted to solar.

These numbers raised the country’s total renewable capacity to 170 GW, a 12% year to year increase, and made renewables account for 52% of Germany’s total energy production, surpassing the 50% mark for the first time.

As for solar alone, it saw an 85% boom compared to the 7.5 GW capacity measured in 2022, which was mostly attributed to residential solar PV module installations.

Furthermore, the German Solar Industry Association (BSW) reported that more than a million modules were installed last year, bringing the total to 3.7 million.

Out of these, some 7 GW came from residential unit installations, which marked a 135% year to year increase. These were followed by a 4.3 GW capacity from ground-mounted parks (40% increase), and finally, 2.5 GW were attributed to PV modules mounted on commercial properties (75% increase).

It was also stated by the BSW that about 70% of the solar systems that were installed on buildings included battery storage systems, while it is also expected that the residential boom will further increase in 2024.

Characteristically, according to the BSW, about 1.5 million more private property owners are planning to equip their houses with solar PV modules.

However, not everything went according to plan, as Germany’s both onshore and offshore wind targets were falling behind in 2023, while the delay was partially attributed to bureaucracy.