On behalf of Greenpeace, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE has published a short study on the demand for and potential of photovoltaics and solar thermal energy in Germany. Under the title "Solar offensive - How we can unleash an economic boom with solar energy and protect the climate", the scientists evaluate data on future energy demand, the availability of land and price and job trends, among other things.
Summary of the results: On the way to climate neutrality, the demand for electricity will increase significantly due to the increasing electrification of the energy, building, transportation and industrial sectors in Germany: By 2030 by a factor of 1.2 to 1.4 compared to today, and by a factor of 2 to 2.5 by the time the energy transition is completed in 2045. In order to comply with the new Climate Protection Act of June 24, 2021, photovoltaics and solar thermal energy, in addition to wind energy, must be greatly expanded.
In 2020, around 45% of gross electricity consumption was provided by renewable technologies (PV, wind, biomass and hydropower), with the rest coming from fossil and nuclear power plants.
Solar thermal energy can provide domestic hot water and heating and can be easily integrated into existing heat supply systems. Solar thermal systems with a total output of around 15 gigawatts are currently installed in Germany. In addition to other measures, an expansion to a total of around 45 to 49 gigawatts of solar thermal capacity is required for a climate-neutral heat supply in Germany.
In order to be able to install photovoltaic systems with 6 to 8 times the capacity, a lot of space must be made available. The study therefore focuses on the potential of so-called integrated photovoltaics. This means that photovoltaic systems are installed in traffic routes, on roofs or floating on bodies of water. In addition, thousands of new jobs would be created.
The strength of solar thermal energy lies in the fact that it does not consume fuel and can be easily combined with both renewable and conventional heat generators. In combination with gas and oil, it immediately saves fuel. Together with heat pumps, pellets or biogas, it increases the efficiency of the heat supply. It is easily scalable and can therefore be integrated very well into smaller decentralized systems as well as district heating networks with larger systems.
