»PV model state« Bavaria builds too few new plants

The German state of Bavaria, which has been in the top region worldwide for years in terms of installed photovoltaic capacity with around 1.2 kilowatts per capita and is therefore a widely recognized »model state,« is adding far too little new solar power capacity. This is one of the results of the analysis "»Energiewende on track«, which the Bavarian energy industry association VBEW (Verband der Bayerischen Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft) commissioned from the Research Center for Energy Economics (Forschungsstelle für Energiewirtschaft, FfE).
Bavaria is still doing comparatively well in terms of PV. When it comes to the construction of new wind power plants, on the other hand, it is far behind in a comparison to other German federal states. The installation of large battery storage systems, grid development or energy-oriented refurbishment of buildings also fall short of the self-set targets, in some cases dramatically. »For not a single indicator,« explains the VBEW, »is the energy turnaround even remotely on target.«
The Bavarian Climate Protection Act, which is due to be passed this autumn, is to stipulate that the economy should be climate-neutral until 2040 – five years earlier than envisaged by the federal government for the whole of Germany – and that a 65 percent reduction in carbon emissions should be achieved by 2030. At the end of May, the Bavarian cabinet had formulated the necessary expansion targets for this. The actual implementation, however, is far from that.
According to calculations by FfE, a newla installed PV capacity 3.26 gigawatts per year would be required. In 2021, however, only 1.3 GW, or 40 percent of the necessary volume, was achieved. For wind power, the figure was only five percent (25 instead of 530 megawatts), and for large-scale battery storage, two percent (14 instead of 835 megawatt hours of capacity). »If we continue as we are,« says VBEW CEO Detlef Fischer, »the climate-neutral Bavaria by 2040 is an illusion, at best a political show to appease the population.«
© PHOTON