Balcon power plants in Rhineland-Palatinate: Boom through less bureaucracy!

Balcon power plants in Rhineland-Palatinate: Boom through less bureaucracy!

in Rhineland-Palatinate, so-called balcony power plants, also known as plug-in solar devices, enjoy growing popularity. Over 20,000 of these systems have already been installed this year, which corresponds to more than a doubling compared to the previous year. The climb is like a boom that is particularly noticeable in the summer months. The reasons for this trend include simplified bureaucratic processes and technical adjustments.

balcony power plants enable households to produce their own electricity by converting sunlight into electrical energy. The core of these devices forms a solar module, combined with an inverter that feeds the generated electricity into the domestic network. Compared to larger solar systems on roofs or open spaces, the performance of these devices is limited, which significantly simplifies the Installation and registration

technical progress and simplified registrations

Since April this year, citizens who want to install a balcony power plant no longer have to register it with the network operator. Instead, registration with the Federal Network Agency is sufficient with only a few information. These reliefs are related to the federal government's solar package 1, which also caused changes in the Renewable Energy Sources Act. In this context, the installation became all the more attractive because old electricity meters can continue to be used and the performance limit of the systems was increased.

Gabriele Rau, managing director of the regional association of renewable energy (Lee), emphasizes that the reduction of bureaucratic hurdles and the possibility of installing in do-it-yourself process have contributed significantly to the increase. These areas not only offer technical progress, but also a scope for citizens' gifted citizens to actively contribute to the energy transition.

upswing through external factors

In addition to the technical simplification, external factors also play a role. Dagmar Schneider from the Rhineland-Palatinate energy agency emphasizes that the costs for the devices have been reduced in recent years and that they are increasingly available in construction and garden markets. The Ukraine War and the market conditions that bring high energy prices have increased the incentive in many places to create their own smaller energy sources.

The state government is now also promoting the purchase of such systems as part of the municipal investment program climate protection and innovation (KIPKI). This has led to a variety of municipal funding programs in Rhineland-Palatinate, which make it easier for citizens to finance a balcony power plant.

The role of tenants is also important. So far, it was mainly homeowners who benefited from the installation. But with the new regulations in tenancy law, which classify the balcony power plants as a "privileged measure", it will be easier for tenants to install such a system in the future.

Ultimately, these small solar devices only contribute marginally to achieve the larger expansion goals of the state government. According to the calculations of the energy agency, the contribution of the balcony power plants in the context of the total electricity requirement of a household is limited, but they can still cover up to 20 percent of the electricity requirement of a private household, which enables savings of up to 180 euros per year.

Overall, the balcony power plants seem to be a low -threshold approach in order to actively participate in the energy transition. Many citizens not only think of financial savings, but also want to reduce their ecological footprint and actively act against climate change. This increasingly popular technology could crystallize as another component in the transformation of the energy supply.

For a more comprehensive overview of the current situation for the balcony power plants and its development, further information is report on www.swr.de