German government plans 300 GW of photovoltaics by 2035

The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz, BMWK) today submitted a draft amendment to several energy laws for coordination with other relevant ministries, including a draft amendment to the country’s Renewable Energy Law (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz, EEG). This includes the goal »that by 2035 electricity in Germany should come almost entirely from renewable sources,« as agreed by the governing parties SPD (Social Democrats), Bündnis 90/Grüne (Green Party) and FDP (Liberals) in their coalition agreement last December. To date, the EEG calls for CO2-neutral power generation »before the year 2050.« As also agreed in the coalition agreement, a renewable share of 80 percent of gross electricity consumption is to be stipulated by 2030, almost double the 42 percent achieved at the end of 2021.
Numerous individual measures are planned to achieve the new targets, including an increase in the annual addition of onshore wind power from around three gigawatts (GW) this year to ten GW in 2027. This level is then to be maintained until 2035. The target for offshore wind power is a total of at least 30 GW by 2030, after which four GW are to be added each year until 2035. Regarding photovoltaics, annual installation (which was 5.3 GW in 2021) is to be added at a rate of seven GW in 2022, rising to 20 GW per year by 2028, which will then also be maintained until 2035. In total, this would lead to 300 GW of solar power capacity. To achieve this goal, the volume of solar tenders is to be increased and the remuneration for small and medium-sized systems outside of the tenders is to be made more attractive. At the same time, the government also wants to create the possibility of using other support systems for larger renewable energy plants in the short term, in particular »Contracts for Difference« (CfD), which are not currently used in Germany.
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