Germany Solar Capacity Growth: Strong Solar Installations
In the first quarter of 2025, Germany saw significant expansion in its solar capacity, adding 3.2 GW of new installations. The Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) reported that March alone contributed 1.28 GW to this growth, bringing the total installed solar capacity to 160.7 GW. This impressive growth follows a record year in 2024, where Germany added 15.2 GW of new solar capacity, reaching 157.5 GW by year-end. This continued expansion reflects Germany’s commitment to renewable energy and its ambitious carbon reduction targets. While Germany continues its solar expansion, it is worth noting potential challenges highlighted in reports such as the Germany solar additions 2025 Face Shocking Decline to 787 MW which discusses a decline in installations in later months.
The majority of new installations in March were small-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems with capacities less than 300 kW, accounting for 1.04 GW of the total capacity added. Systems between 300 kW and 750 kW contributed 73.3 MW, while larger systems above 750 kW added 172 MW.
Record Installations and Germany Solar Capacity Growth
The first quarter of 2025 witnessed a record 166,000 new solar installations. Impressively, 116,000 of these systems included battery storage, demonstrating a growing trend towards integrated energy storage solutions. This surge in installations is further fueled by the increasing interest in self-consumption, with 1.18 GW of the new capacity dedicated to on-site usage. This shift towards energy independence aligns with the broader movement towards distributed energy resources and the benefits of generating and consuming renewable energy locally. The increasing popularity of self-consumption can also be attributed to the declining attractiveness of the German feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme. Only 61.2 MW of the new capacity opted for the FIT, a significant decrease from previous years. With FIT rates reduced to €0.0608 ($0.066)/kWh for systems up to 10 kW and €0.0584/kWh for systems between 10 kW and 40 kW, self-consumption offers a more financially viable option for many system owners. This shift is partly driven by global trends impacting the solar industry, including tariff disputes and the cancellation of certain subsidy programs, as discussed in articles like Shocking 2024 petition challenges Laos solar imports and Solar for All canceled: Shocking $7 Billion Program Cut.
Germany Solar Capacity Growth in Large-Scale Projects
Germany also experienced growth in large-scale solar projects, adding 172 MW of capacity from systems larger than 750 kW in March, bringing the total capacity of large-scale solar to 20.5 GW. The BNetzA also revealed that 77 MW of the new capacity was constructed outside the tender scheme, increasing the total capacity of non-tendered solar systems to 3.4 GW. This growth in both small-scale and large-scale projects, coupled with the increasing emphasis on self-consumption, underscores Germany’s unwavering commitment to a sustainable energy future.
