The summer is currently bringing good returns to the German solar industry. The share of renewables in electricity consumption is rising. At the same time, however, there is much to be done. For example, the expansion of wind energy remains insufficient. "In order to achieve their own goals, politicians need to speed up approval procedures in particular", explains Markus W. Voigt, CEO of the aream Group.

There are success stories in Germany when it comes to green energy: from mid-2021 to mid-2022, for example, the share of environmentally friendly energy sources averaged just under half of total electricity consumption. On July 17, more than 40 gigawatts of solar energy were fed into the public power grid in Germany for the first time, according to the Freiburg-based Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems. Nevertheless, much remains to be done in the expansion of renewable energies in Germany. At the same time, electricity consumption will increase in the coming years due to e-mobility, information technology and the expansion of heat pumps.

Wind energy in particular is still showing too little momentum. In the first half of 2022, according to the German Wind Energy Association (BWE), new installations remained just below the previous year's level, and new permits are being issued only slowly. There are problems especially in the south of Germany: Bavaria approved only three new wind turbines between January and June 2022, and three new turbines went online. "The ball is now in the court of the federal states when it comes to accelerating expansion. A rethink must finally take place here", says Voigt. Because only a balanced portfolio of solar and wind plants will be able to secure the energy supply. This is also shown by the production statistics for the past month:

In July, the wind blew relatively weakly in Germany, with only 82 percent of the target values achieved. As it had been better in the previous months, the target achievement for the entire first half of the year is 98 percent. In the case of solar energy systems, the good summer ensured that the target value was exceeded by one percent. In Spain, yields were 25 percent below expectations due to low irradiation values. In Italy, on the other hand, the target value was achieved with a precision landing of 101 percent.