Caught in the German jungle of paragraphs: Because there is no special certification, which is actually not necessary, 1000 completely installed solar systems are not allowed to go to the grid. And that is by no means the only bureaucratic obstacle. Frustration is growing in the industry – just like with customers.
“Yeah, that annoys me!”
The somewhat gruff owner of a logistics company in Upper Bavaria has neither the time nor the inclination to talk to a curious journalist on the phone about the solar system on his hall roof. But there’s one thing he wants to get rid of before he hangs up. “If I had known what a hassle that was, I wouldn’t have installed this thing,” says the entrepreneur. “It’s always energy transition here, energy transition there, and in the end I’ve had a solar system on the roof since autumn, which I’m not allowed to take down. All because one stupid swipe is missing.”
The “stupid swipe” in question is a so-called “system certificate” that every larger solar system in Germany requires in order to be allowed to connect to the grid. Roughly speaking, the owner of a solar system must be able to prove to the grid operator that certain technical standards are met so that connecting the system to the grid does not jeopardize its stability. A normal process – if it weren’t for the “Technical Application Rules for Medium Voltage (VDE-AR-N 4110)”.
This rule, which has been in force since 2019, significantly lowered the limit value at which certification is required, from the previous 1000 kilowatts of power to 135 kilowatts now. However, the certification can only be carried out by a specially accredited certification body, of which there are around 20 in Germany. The result: the number of applications has multiplied, and the bodies can no longer keep up with the certification. “The waiting times have increased significantly and are now sometimes more than a year,” says Carsten Körnig, General Manager of the German Solar Industry Association. According to estimates by the association, more than 1000 fully installed solar systems cannot therefore go into operation.
For the owners of this system, this not only means long waiting times and thus lost money – but also a great deal of bureaucracy. “The documents for an application for the system certificate can fill several folders,” explains Katharina Vieweg-Puschmann, lawyer for energy law at the law firm Engemann
The new limit of 135 kilowatts goes back to a decision by the Federal Network Agency. Even smaller systems with an output of less than 1000 kilowatts would have to “make their contribution to system stability”, after they accounted for almost 20 percent of electricity generation in Germany, the authority argued at the time. However, as far as we know, the network operators have never published expert evidence that would support the new limit value,” says Körnig.
Also curious: The regulation, which stipulates an obligation for system certification, was actually only intended to translate a corresponding EU directive from 2017 into German law. However, the original EU directive did not stipulate that a certificate had to be presented for the grid connection. “The German legislator exceeds the requirements of EU law,” says Vieweg-Puschmann. The complex certification process, including lengthy computer simulations, is actually only intended for much larger systems. So Germany has adopted an EU directive – and simply invented a bureaucratic hurdle.
The farce about system certification is a particularly drastic example of how ordinances and regulations are slowing down the expansion of solar energy in Germany. Time is of the essence: by 2035, Germany wants to supply itself with 100 percent green electricity. Photovoltaics must also be expanded quickly for this to happen, and systems with a total output of 200 gigawatts are to be installed by 2030.
So far, according to the Federal Network Agency, Germany has a total capacity of 59 gigawatts. This means that about 20 gigawatts per year would have to be added over the next seven and a half years – but only five gigawatts were installed in 2021. The gap between aspiration and reality is large. “We will have to cover every roof in Germany with solar,” says Oliver Koch, CEO of Sonnen, one of the leading German manufacturers of electricity storage systems for photovoltaics. “There’s no other way.”
There is interest in this, both from the commercial and from the private side. “Business is booming, it’s going like crazy,” says Koch. “It was going well anyway, but the increased electricity prices have already increased demand.” The generation price for electricity from photovoltaic systems has long been superior to that of fossil fuels, and now there are also concerns about security of supply. “People want to get away from oil and gas, all at once,” says Koch.
But private customers are also faced with many obstacles when they decide to install a system on their own roof. The smaller systems on single-family homes or garage roofs do not require complex certification. But you still need to register with the local network operator, such as the local municipal utility.
And that’s where the next problem begins. According to the Federal Network Agency, there are almost 900 of these network operators in Germany, which is an absolute record in Europe. And they all have their own ideas about how such an application should be submitted. Where some operators have already activated an online portal, others still insist on a fax. It is up to the customer to find out how he or she has to submit the application – and what documents are required for this.
Anyone who speaks to representatives of the solar industry often hears comparisons with the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, that medieval patchwork of counties and principalities. “It’s a real small state, like in 1650,” says Mario Kohle, managing director of the solar system provider Enpal. “It’s like a Christmas present for customers. It’s already there, but they’re not allowed to unpack it.”
Coal should know. His company rents solar systems instead of selling them – and at the same time takes care of the paperwork for his customers. “Our dream is that the only thing someone has to do when purchasing a solar system is open the garden gate for our tradesmen,” says Kohle. In Germany this is a complicated dream. “We now employ more than 40 people who do nothing else than ensure that our customers log on to the network smoothly,” says the Enpal boss.
And according to the company, even these in-house experts need about four to five hours per registration, the process is so complex. Meanwhile, the network operators are piling up applications. “Some network operators need three months to process such a registration,” says Kohle. “And when customers are dissatisfied, one of the most common reasons is the waiting time. They come to us and say: ‘You’re not getting out of the tea, Enpal.’ And then explain to the customer what the problem is. Sometimes there’s just nothing you can do. We can’t just switch the system on like that.”
“In some cases, this is taking on dramatic traits,” says Mario Meyer, head of regulation and energy policy at Enpal. “Sometimes network operators say: ‘Well, the expansion is going too fast for us, we no longer have any connection capacities. We can no longer take this facility.’” The legislature must act here, Meyer demands: For example, with a mandatory option for online registration and a deadline by which the registration must be processed. “At the moment it is stipulated that the network operator has to process the registration, but he has no deadline,” says Meyer.
A successful registration often does not mean the end of the trouble. Anyone who operates a system with an output of more than 10 kilowatts and delivers excess electricity to their neighbors, for example, is considered a tradesman under German law – with all the associated obligations. The trade has to be registered with the municipality, the tax office issues an additional tax number, the Federal Network Agency wants to know to whom the electricity is distributed, and even the main customs office reports. Income tax and sales tax may also apply.
Anyone who, as the owner of an apartment building, wants to supply their tenants with their own electricity, has to fulfill nine so-called supplier obligations and ten reporting obligations, according to the “Bündnis Bürgerenergie”. As a result, many homeowners deliberately buy smaller systems in order to stay below the 10-kilowatt limit.
“I know that from myself,” says Koch, CEO of Sonnen. “I also have a private system on my house. The other day I got mail from the Chamber of Commerce because I’m also an entrepreneur. From the Chamber of Commerce!” The 10-kilowatt limit urgently needs to be raised to 30 kilowatts or even more, says Koch – because the power consumption per person will increase drastically as part of the energy transition. “It’s crazy that you should electrify everything – heat pump, electric car – but then assume that electricity consumption will not increase.”
The Greens-led Ministry of Economic Affairs is aware of the problems. During the grand coalition, State Secretary Oliver Krischer was one of the MPs who repeatedly pointed out the bureaucratic hurdles in the plenary session of the Bundestag. The abolition of the EEG surcharge on July 1 has already released some of the bureaucratic chains, but the industry has so far been waiting in vain for the really big hit. “When we tell colleagues from abroad about it, they don’t even know what we’re talking about,” says Koch about the German jungle of paragraphs. “Certain aspects” have indeed arrived at the new traffic light government. But, says Koch, “I don’t see much to make solar easier.”
In discussions with industry representatives, one wish crystallizes time and again: simply to be left alone. In return, the state could forego any subsidization of photovoltaics. “I do not think that there is a need for large financial support from the state, because renewable energies are simply the future,” says Enpal boss Kohle. “It would be enough to remove obstacles.” Colleague Koch agrees. “We don’t need a new, complicated regulation for every detail, but you can simply let us companies do it,” he believes. “We can do it. Solar power has to be easy.”
In Upper Bavaria, the bad-tempered boss of the logistics company is still waiting for his solar system to finally receive certification. “Since last fall, nothing has happened.” When does he think he will be able to connect his system to the grid? “I don’t know,” grumbles the entrepreneur, “I almost don’t give a damn.” And hangs up the phone.
