Berlin housing association plans 50 MW of PV

The municipal Berlin housing association HOWOGE plans to increase the total capacity of photovoltaic systems on its buildings to 50 megawatts over the next ten years; the current figure is around 2.6 megawatts. With 75,400 apartments, the company says it is »one of the largest lessors in Germany« and wants to use this plant park to »offer all our tenants electricity from our own roofs«.
HOWOGE estimates the necessary investment at € 71 million ($ 78.3 million), which will not be passed on to the rent. In the new buildings, the electricity is sold directly to the tenants; PV systems have been standard in »almost all« buildings since 2016 and the acceptance rate for »HOWOGE green electricity« is 80 percent. Around 3,700 households take advantage of the offer. In the housing stock, on the other hand, there are ties to other electricity suppliers, and experience shows that the willingness to switch is significantly lower. For this reason, solar power from the systems built here »will also be fed into the public grid until demand increases accordingly.«
© PHOTON