Renewable energies: Rich man questions subsidies for private solar systems

Economics Minister Katherina Reiche questions the subsidies for green electricity from private photovoltaic systems. "New, small PV systems are already profitable in the market and don't require subsidies," the CDU politician told the "Augsburger Allgemeine" newspaper. Prices for systems and storage have fallen significantly. However, Reiche does not want to change the feed-in tariff for existing solar systems. "Homeowners have grandfathering for their systems."

Anyone who generates solar power on their roof and feeds it into the grid receives a fixed amount per kilowatt-hour for 20 years. This amount varies depending on the size of the system, the type of feed-in, and the time of commissioning. The higher the capacity of the system, the lower the compensation. More money per kilowatt-hour is paid if all the electricity generated is fed into the grid, rather than just the surplus after self-consumption. The compensation is gradually reduced. Those who connect their system next year will receive less than those who start now.

Reiche emphasized that the systems must feed their electricity into the grid intelligently. Therefore, PV systems should be connected to power storage systems and be controllable, participate in the market, and market their electricity. The Minister of Economic Affairs believes it is no longer appropriate for operators to build systems without considering the power grid. "All of this makes our power system unnecessarily more expensive. I want to change that," she said. Onshore wind and solar systems must contribute more to the costs of grid expansion in the future.

Reiche also wants to get his hands on the feed-in tariff paid to operators when their plants are shut down to protect against grid overload. He argues this regulation has been in place for too long.