Expansion of PV in Baden-Württemberg: More than 1 GW Output Achieved Again

Baden-Württemberg is making good progress in the expansion of solar power. In the first half of 2024, private individuals, companies, and municipalities installed photovoltaic systems with a total installed capacity of 1,032 MW. For the second time in a row, the expansion during this period was in the four-digit megawatt range.

The new figures were compiled by the KEA Climate Protection and Energy Agency Baden-Württemberg (KEA-BW) and the Solar Cluster Baden-Württemberg for the Photovoltaic League Baden-Württemberg. The Photovoltaic League is a ranking of the most successful districts in the southwest in terms of solar power expansion. The results are published semi-annually. The preliminary figures are based on data from the Federal Network Agency's market master data register and calculations by the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW).

75,056 new systems

A total of 75,056 new systems were added in the southwest in the first six months of this year. The electricity generated from these can supply around 300,000 households per year. Looking at the expansion in the individual 44 urban and rural districts, there are significant differences.

In the first half of 2024, the southwest missed the new record mark for photovoltaic expansion by only 40 MW – the second half of 2023 thus remains the one with the greatest photovoltaic expansion to date, with 1,072 MW.

“With the good numbers at the beginning of the year, it seems realistic to reach the 1,997 MW from 2023 by the end of the year,” reports Tina Schmidt from the Photovoltaic Network Baden-Württemberg. “However, the condition is that the expansion does not slow down.”

BW now in second place nationwide

With the result in the first half of the year, Baden-Württemberg has worked its way up to second place nationwide in the state comparison and has left the long-term second place North Rhine-Westphalia behind. Bavaria remains unchallenged in first place.

The majority of the current increase in the southwest is made up of building solar systems with 723 MW of installed capacity – 70% of the total installed capacity in the first half of the year. Ground-mounted PV systems added 309 MW. The total installed capacity of PV systems in Baden-Württemberg was 11,307 MW as of June 30, 2024.

The analysis by KEA-BW and the Solar Cluster also shows the different expansion speeds in the urban and rural districts. In the state comparison, Main-Tauber-Kreis in the Heilbronn-Franken region ranks first with an expansion of 110 MW in the first half of the year, followed by Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis with 58 MW in the Rhine-Neckar region and Sigmaringen with 53 MW in the Bodensee-Oberschwaben region.

Which Districts Lead in Building Roof Installations and Solar Parks

Looking at the PV expansion of building and ground-mounted systems, the following picture emerges: The leaders in PV building installations are the Rhein-Neckar district with 35 MW, the Ortenau district with 34 MW, and the Karlsruhe district with 32 MW. For new solar parks in the first half of the year, the districts of Main-Tauber lead with 96 MW, Neckar-Odenwald with 44 MW, and in third place Sigmaringen with 26 MW.

Regarding the total installed capacity on roofs and open spaces in recent years, the districts of Alb-Donau (546 MW), Ravensburg (528 MW), and Biberach (508 MW) are currently leading in Baden-Württemberg.

Still Plenty of Space on Roofs and Open Areas

The expansion of PV systems in Baden-Württemberg has been steadily increasing in recent years. This trend continues even after the record expansion year of 2023. However, many unused potentials still exist: Comparing already used spaces with suitable areas for solar parks, for example, makes it clear that the potential is only utilized to about a third depending on the district.

This also applies to the potential on roof areas. The top-ranked Alb-Donau district has only exploited about 26%, a quarter of its potential, as shown by the photovoltaic dashboard of the State Institute for Environment Baden-Württemberg (LUBW). Overall, there is still much to be done in the southwest.

“Despite all successes: PV expansion must be significantly accelerated to meet the growing electricity demand safely and in a climate-friendly manner,” says Tina Schmidt.