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Berlin, June 19, 2020 – After long and tough negotiations, the solar lid was lifted today. “With the opening of the solar lid there is finally clarity and planning security for solar companies and investors again”, Joachim Goldbeck welcomes the decision. As Managing Director of GOLDBECK SOLAR and President of the German Solar Industry Association (BSW) he has followed the discussions closely over the past few months.
The solar lid has its origin in the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), in which it was included in 2012 as a restriction on subsidies. It was intended to limit PV expansion to 52 gigawatts in order to take account of technical and supposed financial restrictions in connection with the expansion of renewable energies. For some time now, however, there has been agreement that the restriction on subsidies contradicts all the objectives of energy system transformation. Joachim Goldbeck commented: “Small PV systems should also continue to receive strict support from the German government. This is the only way to achieve the energy turnaround in the long term.
At the same time, economic aspects also play a major role. “In the worst case, the funding stop would result in a huge market slump of up to 80 percent. This is actually not justifiable,” says Goldbeck. This negative trend has already been noticeable in recent months. For example, already planned projects were cancelled and new positions were no longer filled. The opening of the solar lid is now providing relief in the industry. “Plant manufacturers and operators can now plan better again. In the long run, the industry will benefit enormously from this,” says Goldbeck.
There is a high level of satisfaction within the BSW ranks and from various companies. Joachim Goldbeck: “Irrespective of my office at BSW, I very much welcome the lifting of the lid also as Managing Director of GOLDBECK SOLAR. Now one of the biggest investment barriers of the energy turnaround could finally be removed. This shows that the efforts of the last few months have paid off.
For Joachim Goldbeck and BSW, however, the work is far from over. “We are working on the fact that after the opening of the lid, a major legislative reform will follow in the fall at the latest.” This should remove further market barriers and significantly accelerate the expansion of photovoltaics and storage.
