200 GW Solar PV For Germany By 2030

• Germany new coalition of 3 parties have announced a 200 GW solar target for the country for 2030
• It would make solar roofs mandatory for all new structures and also encourage agrivoltaics and floating PV
• Coal will be phased out by 2030 instead of 2038 and electrolysis capacity is aimed to reach 10 GW by the target year

Bright sunny future is what Germany should be looking at as the new coalition government that's set to assume office in December 2021 announcing plans to have a national target for 200 GW cumulative solar PV capacity by 2030. That's a 100 GW more than 100 GW the previous government had planned (see German Parliament Passes EEG 2021; Industry Not Happy).

Germany's next federal government is to be formed by a coalition of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP), Free Democrats (FDP) and the Greens. The trio have reached and released a coalition deal in which the 200 GW solar target finds prominent mention.

In addition, the deal specifies it would enable all suitable roofs in the country to be used for solar energy in the future. Solar roofs would be mandatory for all new buildings to come up.

To steer the nation, market and the bureaucracy to achieve the aim, the new government promised it will eliminate several obstacles, including accelerating network connections and certification. It would also undertake work to adjust tariff rates check the obligation to tender for large roof systems and specify tender caps.

Agrivoltaics or agrisolar and floating PV will be encouraged too, to reach the goal. Among other renewables, the coalition will increase the capacities for offshore win to increase to at least 30 GW by 2030, 40 GW by 2035 and eventually raised to 70 GW by 2045. In addition, the new government will seek to phase out coal by 2030, instead of now planned for 2038.

Considering natural gas as 'indispensable' for a transition period, the government wants these to be built to use climate neutral gases as hydrogen. Germany would aim for an electrolysis capacity of 10 GW in 2030. The country's hydrogen strategy will be updated in 2022.

To achieve the 80% renewables share in the power mix by 2030, Germany will offer subsidies through EEG while also encouraging subsidy-free expansion through instruments as long-term power purchase agreements (PPA).

The increased focus on renewables in the announced deal should majorly be thanks to the presence of the Greens party that called for 12 GW annual solar additions for Germany from 2022 (see Germany's Green Party Wants 12 GW Solar Annually).

The Federal Solar Industry Association (BSW) is happy with the coalition commitments announced calling it a 'solid launch pad for successful solarization of the energy supply' in the country. "In the first 100 days it will be decided whether the overdue climate protection turbo will be ignited in this legislative period. Then the huge climate protection and eco-energy gap can be closed at the last minute. As an extremely popular, inexpensive and quickly scalable form of energy, solar energy will be the decisive factor in whether the positive government goals are achieved overall and whether the climate protection traffic light turns green," said BSW General Manager Carsten Körnig.

According to SolarPower Europe's (SPE) Global Market Outlook for Solar Power 2021-2025, Germany had installed a cumulative 54.6 GW solar PV capacity till the end of 2020, and expects the country to raise it to 98.3 GW by 2025 under its medium scenario under current policies (see SPE: 163 GW Solar PV Capacity Addition Globally In 2021).