Solar modules on the roof of the BVG warehouse in Weißensee.
© dpa
Berlin is making progress in the expansion of solar energy. Including private balcony power plants, almost 33,700 photovoltaic systems with a total output of 327 megawatts have now been installed in the capital.
This was announced by Senator for Economic Affairs Franziska Giffey (SPD). Around a fifth of these systems are located on properties owned by the state. In the capital, around 4.2 percent of total electricity production now comes from solar energy.
This share is set to rise to 25 percent by 2035. This corresponds to a required output of 4,400 megawatts. "If we continue as before, we have very good prospects of achieving this," emphasized the Senator.
To date, eight solar systems with a total output of 520 kilowatts (kW) have been installed on the properties of Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG). There are plans for 13 more systems. The BVG would then be able to generate almost a tenth of the electricity it needs for its sites from solar energy, said operations manager Rolf Erfurt during a visit to a system at a depot in Weißensee. The company is being supported by Berliner Stadtwerke. Berlin's largest solar plant is currently being built on the roofs of the Berlin Trade Fair. A total of 20,000 modules with an annual production of around 7.3 gigawatt hours are to be installed on around 20 trade fair roofs by the end of this year.