Schwerin (dpa/mv) – The state’s support program for 20,000 “balcony power plants” in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has been criticized by the renewable energy industry. “Only a single modern wind turbine with 5.5 megawatts produces far more electricity than all 20,000 balcony modules together and costs about half the funding,” said the chairman of the state association for renewable energies, Johann-Georg Jaeger, on Thursday.
The funding of 500 euros causes a very high bureaucratic effort in relation to the funding amount, which can hardly be justified. The lack of staff in the responsible administration will be exacerbated even further. In addition, there are also considerable delivery times for balcony modules. Funding makes no sense in this situation.
At the same time, Jaeger criticized the fact that the construction of 5,000 megawatts of ground-mounted photovoltaic systems was currently being blocked because two state ministries interpreted the criteria differently. Against this background, the planned funding is more of a diversionary maneuver. “The use of sun and wind is progressing far too slowly in MV because the state government is not taking a clear line,” complained Jaeger.
The red-red state government wants to encourage homeowners and tenants in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to produce more solar power for their own needs. A state subsidy program for photovoltaic systems (PV) on balconies is to start in October. The state wants to provide 10 million euros for this. The purchase of a PV system can be subsidized with up to 500 euros per household, it said. The funding guideline is currently being coordinated by the departments. After their publication, the applications could be submitted to the state funding institute. PV systems with an output of up to 600 watts are to be funded. These are not subject to approval. They would only have to be reported to the energy supplier, according to Environment Minister Till Backhaus (SPD).