Bundesnetzagentur says Germany’s new PV additions during August 2024 totaled 790 MW
This decline is significant considering that the country has been installing over 1 GW every month for quite some time now
The final numbers may change as the agency updates the registrations next month, as it usually does
After several months of GW-scale solar PV additions, Germany’s Federal Network Agency or Bundesnetzagentur has reported a dip in August 2024 with installations totaling 790 MW.
In comparison, in August 2023, the country installed 1.37 GW and 1.47 GW in July 2024. The latter is a revision from the 1.404 GW it reported previously (see Germany Installed Over 1.4 GW New PV During July 2024).
With this decline in monthly PV installations, the agency believes Germany now needs to install 1.602 GW every month to achieve its overarching target of 215 GW by 2030. Till July 2024, the monthly target recommended was 1.592 GW.
The EEG-funded rooftop solar systems registered the steepest decline, with a combined 518.9 MW, down from 919.4 MW installed in the previous month. Open-space solar PV plants awarded through tenders put into operation during the month were a combined 154.4 MW, having slid from 371.6 MW in July 2024.
During the reporting month, 76.4 MW of open-space projects were installed, compared to 109.6 MW last month.
Overall, from January to August 2024, Germany installed 10.179 GW of new PV capacity, taking the cumulative to over 93 GW. In comparison, onshore wind energy added 1.3 GW, offshore wind 635.1 MW, and biomass 97.6 MW during 8M 2024.
A clear picture is likely the next time Bundesnetzagentur publishes monthly statistics as then it may update registrations in the Market Master Data Register (MaStR).
A recent assessment of the MaStR by Internationales Wirtschaftsforum Regenerative Energien (IWR) expects the solar boom to continue ‘unabated’ in Germany this year, leading 2024 additions to exceed 15 GW.
“Even if solar construction in Germany currently appears high at around 15,000 MW per year, the pace of expansion in China currently eclipses everything on an international level. In the first seven months of 2024 alone, solar installations with a capacity of 123,500 MW were newly installed in China. A record annual expansion of around 250,000 MW of solar capacity is expected in China in 2024. In Germany, total solar capacity has so far reached around 93,200 MW, but it has also taken us 30 years to achieve this,” said IWR Head Norbert Allnoch.