German Market Environment

In the first decade of the 2000s, the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) was the driving force for the expansion of renewable energy. In 2012/2013, political missteps led to the collapse of the growing industry. Rebuilding was challenging due to the lack of a political framework and the associated poor financing options.

It was not until 2018 that the market tentatively regained momentum. In 2020, photovoltaic systems with a capacity of 4.9 gigawatts were newly installed – more than at any time since 2012.

In 2021, almost 2 million solar systems (installed capacity of 54 gigawatts) supplied around 10% of the electricity produced in Germany, with the share of electricity generation from photovoltaics continuing to rise.

The Federal Network Agency has published the expansion figures for renewable energies in 2022. According to the Agency, the net addition of photovoltaic capacity for last year was 7.2 GW, a figure that is three times higher than the amount that wind energy achieved.