High electricity prices mean that more and more people want to produce their own electricity. The installation of balcony power plants is booming. However, the state capital rejects funding.
In view of the high electricity prices, more and more people in Saxony-Anhalt are installing balcony power plants. The largest regional network operator in East Germany, Mitnetz, informed the German Press Agency that the number of connected systems in the network had more than quadrupled from 575 in 2021 to 2381 last year. DThe company is currently expecting 7,000 new systems this year.
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The second major network operator in western Saxony-Anhalt, Avacon, is also expecting the number of systems to double in the current year. There is a big increase.
During installation, solar modules are attached to balconies, for example. The electricity is fed into the circuit of the apartment with an inverter and consumed directly. This allows permanently running devices such as a refrigerator to be operated. As a rule, the energy cannot be stored. Landlords must agree to the attachments.
The Greens in Magdeburg had recently tried to have the city set up a support program for balcony power plants. However, the City Council voted against it given the cost and limited benefits. Some other cities in Germany, such as Jena, are already promoting the purchase of such a system.
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In Magdeburg, the municipal utilities themselves offer the solar systems for sale. The installation of the systems has also risen sharply in the state capital. While in 2021 there were 24 new systems throughout the year, this year there are already more than 130. The municipal utilities also point out that probably not all operators have properly registered their systems.
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But balcony power plants are not only an issue in the big cities. According to the municipal utility, more and more of these systems are also being used in Stassfurt (Salzland district). Three years ago there were still two systems officially, now there are already 40 this year.
“The trend is rising sharply and we assume that there will be a larger number of unreported systems,” said a spokeswoman.