Balcony power plants to be promoted more strongly

Those who are interested in a photovoltaic system but do not own their own home can alternatively turn to a balcony power plant. These compact solutions for tenants and apartment owners allow the use of solar energy even without a roof. After PV systems for balconies have long been criminally disregarded by politicians, the idea now seems to be germinating to strengthen them significantly. A new photovoltaic strategy would like to permit among other things balcony power plants up to an output of 800 Watts with classical Schuko plugs. Objections on the part of landlords should also no longer be possible.

Tailwind for balcony power plants

Apparently, Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) is planning another push in the field of energy transition. After a draft on the planned ban on new gas-fired heating systems from 2024 already became public in recent weeks, the ministry has now presented a promising photovoltaic strategy. Among other things, this envisages significantly simplifying reporting obligations. Furthermore one would like to permit it to the users to connect the compact PV plant also over a Schukostecker. Potential buyers of a balcony power plant might be pleased however above all about the fact that one would like to take up the installation as privileged measure in the WEG and BGB. This should mean that in future tenants will no longer have to rely on permission from their landlord if they want to install a balcony power plant.

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Consequently, this may no longer contradict the measure. Another significant change concerns the maximum AC power that a balcony power plant may offer. The limit has so far been 600 watts. However, the strategy paper envisages that the threshold will be raised to 800 watts. Finally, backward-turning meters are also to be allowed when operating a balcony power plant – at least temporarily. Thus, the regulation probably provides that toleration of such meters may be maintained until it has been determined that a new meter is needed. This means that the new PV strategy paper will probably not allow owners of photovoltaic systems to use backward-turning meters. Also, the acquiescence solution should only apply to small balcony power plants.

Demand is expected to increase

A look at the market reveals that demand for alternative energy solutions is steadily increasing. Those who don’t set up a balcony power plant that feeds electricity into their own grid are instead placing a power station with matching panels on their own balconies. But pure balcony power plants are also celebrating high sales figures. It is not without reason that manufacturers are increasingly bringing compact PV solutions onto the market. One example is the balcony power plant Anker SOLIX, which was recently presented. If the changes in the PV strategy paper really are put into practice, more manufacturers are likely to present their version of compact options for green energy generation in the future. Last but not least, the environment will benefit from this. Since this is only a strategy paper so far, we unfortunately cannot yet say when the corresponding measures will be put into practice.