Solar power in Germany
Germany is one of the world's top photovoltaics (PV) installers, with a solar PV capacity as of 2011 of almost 25 gigawatts (GW). The German solar PV industry installed about 7.5 GW in 2011,[2] and solar PV provided 18 TW·h (billion kilowatt-hours) of electricity in 2011, about 3% of total electricity.[3] Some market analysts expect this could reach 25 percent by 2050.[4]
Large PV power plants in Germany include Senftenberg Solarpark, Finsterwalde Solar Park, Lieberose Photovoltaic Park, Strasskirchen Solar Park, Waldpolenz Solar Park, and Köthen Solar Park.
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[edit] Overview
The German solar PV industry installed 7.5 GW in 2011,[2] and solar PV provided 18 TW·h of electricity in 2011, about 3% of total electricity.[3] Price of PV systems has decreased more than 50% in 5 years since 2006.[1]
Solar power in Germany has been growing considerably due to the country's feed-in tariffs for renewable energy which were introduced by the German Renewable Energy Act. As of 2012[update], the FiT costs about 14 billion euros (US$18 billion) per year to subsidize new wind and solar installations. The cost is spread across all rate-payers in a surcharge of 3.6 €ct (4.6 ¢) per kW·h.[5]
The German government has set a target of 66 GW of installed solar PV capacity by 2030,[6] to be reached with an annual increase of 2.5–3.5 GW.[7]
[edit] Statistics
Increases in installed solar PV power capacity and generation in recent years is shown in the table below:[8]
| Year | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity (MW) | 0.6 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 8.0 | 11 | 18 | 23 | 32 | 76 |
| Generation (GW·h) | 0.6 | 1.6 | 3.2 | 5.8 | 8.0 | 11 | 16 | 26 | 32 | 42 | 64 |
| % of total electricity consumption | <0.001 | <0.001 | 0.001 | 0.001 | 0.002 | 0.002 | 0.003 | 0.005 | 0.006 | 0.008 | 0.01 |
| Year | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Capacity (MW) | 76 | 186 | 296 | 435 | 1,105 | 2,056 | 2,899 | 4,170 | 6,120 | 9,914 | 17,320 |
| Generation (GW·h) | 64 | 76 | 162 | 313 | 556 | 1,282 | 2,220 | 3,075 | 4,420 | 6,578 | 12,000 |
| % of total electricity consumption | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.05 | 0.09 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 2.0 |
| Year | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
| Capacity (GW) | 17.3 | 24.8 | |||||||||
| Generation (TW·h) | 12 | 18 | |||||||||
| % of total electricity consumption | 2.0 | 3.2 | |||||||||
[edit] Photovoltaic power stations
| PV Power station | Nominal Power[10] (MWp) |
Production (Annual GW·h) |
Capacity factor |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finsterwalde Solar Park | 80.7 | Phase I completed 2009, phase II and III 2010 [11][12] |
||
| Senftenberg Solar Park[13] | 78 | Phase II and III completed 2011, another 70 MW phase planned | ||
| Strasskirchen Solar Park | 54 | 57[9] | 0.12 | |
| Lieberose Photovoltaic Park | 53 | 53[14] | 0.11 | 2009 [15][14] |
| Kothen Solar Park | 45 | 2009 | ||
| Waldpolenz Solar Park | 40[16] | 0.11 | 550,000 First Solar thin-film CdTe modules. Completed December 2008 [17][16] | |
| Reckahn Solar Park | 36 | |||
| Tutow Solar Park | 31 | Completed in 2010 | ||
| Helmeringen Solar Park | 25.7 | Completed in 2010 | ||
| Finow Solar Park | 24.5 | Completed in 2010 | ||
| Pocking Solar Park | 22 | |||
| Mengkofen Solar Park | 21.7 | |||
| Rothenburg Solar Park | 20 |
| DC Peak Power | Location | Description | MW·h/year | Capacity factor | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 MW | Arnstein | 1408 SOLON mover (see Erlasee Solar Park) |
14,000 MW·h | 0.13 | 50°0′10″N 9°55′15″E / 50.00278°N 9.92083°E |
| 8.4 MW | Gottelborn Solar Park | ||||
| 6.3 MW | Mühlhausen | 57,600 solar modules (see Bavaria Solarpark) |
6,750 MW·h | 0.12 | 49°09′29″N 11°25′59″E / 49.15806°N 11.43306°E |
| 6 MW | Rote Jahne Solar Park[19] | ||||
| 5 MW | Bürstadt | 30,000 BP Solar modules | 4,200 MW·h | 0.10 | 49°39′N 8°28′E / 49.65°N 8.467°E |
| 5 MW | Espenhain | 33,500 Shell Solar modules | 5,000 MW·h | 0.11 | 51°12′N 12°31′E / 51.2°N 12.517°E |
| 4 MW | Merseburg | 25,000 BP solar modules (see Geiseltalsee Solarpark) |
3,400 MW·h | 0.10 | 51°22′N 12°0′E / 51.367°N 12°E |
| 4 MW | Hemau | 32,740 solar modules | 3,900 MW·h | 0.11 | 49°3′N 11°47′E / 49.05°N 11.783°E |
| 3.3 MW | Dingolfing | Solara, Sharp and Kyocera solar modules | 3,050 MW·h | 0.11 | 48°38′N 12°30′E / 48.633°N 12.5°E |
| 1.9 MW | Guenching | Sharp solar modules (see Bavaria Solarpark) |
- | 49°16′N 11°34′E / 49.267°N 11.567°E | |
| 1.9 MW | Minihof | Sharp solar modules (see Bavaria Solarpark) |
- | n.a. |
[edit] Companies
Major German solar companies include:
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b BSW-Solar, Statistische Zahlen der deutschen Solarstrombranche (Photovoltaik), Oct 2011
- ^ a b Eckert, Vera; Christoph Steitz (9 January 2012). "German solar boom strengthens critics of subsidies". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/09/grid-regulator-solar-idUSL6E8C90YL20120109. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
- ^ a b "German solar power output up 60 pct in 2011". Reuters. 29 December 2011. http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL6E7NT1WK20111229?sp=true. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
- ^ Another Sunny Year for Solar Power
- ^ Lang, Matthias (14 October 2011). "2012 EEG Surcharge Increases Slightly to 3.592 ct/kWh". German Energy Blog. http://www.germanenergyblog.de/?p=7526. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
- ^ Property Wire (2010-04-22). "Germany Reducing Incentives For Solar Property Investment". NuWire Investor. http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/germany-reducing-incentives-for-solar-property-investment-55078.aspx. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
- ^ Lang, Matthias (21 November 2011). "New German 7.5 GWp PV Record by End of 2011". German Energy Blog. http://www.germanenergyblog.de/?p=8341. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
- ^ Böhme, Dieter (23 March 2011). "Zeitreihen zur Entwicklung der erneuerbaren Energien in Deutschland [Time series on the development of renewable energies in Germany]" (in German) (PDF). Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. http://www.erneuerbare-energien.de/files/pdfs/allgemein/application/pdf/ee_zeitreihe.pdf. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
- ^ a b PV Resources.com (2009). World's largest photovoltaic power plants
- ^ Note that nominal power may be AC or DC, depending on the plant. See AC-DC conundrum: Latest PV power-plant ratings follies put focus on reporting inconsistency (update)
- ^ Good Energies, NIBC Infrastructure Partners acquire Finsterwalde II and Finsterwalde III
- ^ Implementation of the 39 MWp – „Solar Park Finsterwalde II and Finsterwalde III“
- ^ SolarServer: 78 MW of the world’s largest solar photovoltaic plant connected to grid in Senftenberg, Germany
- ^ a b Lieberose solar farm becomes Germany's biggest, World's second-biggest
- ^ Germany Turns On World's Biggest Solar Power Project
- ^ a b Germany's largest Solar parks connected to the grid (19 Dec 08)
- ^ Large photovoltaic plant in Muldentalkreis
- ^ World's largest photovoltaic power plants
- ^ Construction Complete on 6 MW Thin-Film PV Installation in Germany Renewable Energy Access, 5 April 2007.
[edit] External links
- Cloudy Germany a Powerhouse in Solar Energy, Washington Post, 2007
- Southern Germany develops its PV Capacities
- Cloudy Germany unlikely hotspot for solar power
- Germany's sunny revolution
- World's Biggest Solar Plant Goes Online in Germany
- Official site about solar power and renewable Energy in the Emscher-Lippe-Region (German)
- Frondel, Manuel; Christoph M. Schmidt, Nolan Ritter and Colin Vance (November 2009). "Economic Impacts from the Promotion of Renewable Energy Technologies — The German Experience" (PDF). Ruhr Economic Papers. RWI Essen. http://repec.rwi-essen.de/files/REP_09_156.pdf. Retrieved 2010-11-26.
- "Performance of Photovoltaics (PV) in Germany". SMA Solar Technology AG. http://www.sma.de/en/news-information/pv-electricity-produced-in-germany.html. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
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