Not only gas, but also electricity is considerably more expensive than before for many consumers. This is driving the already booming demand for solar systems on the roof of one’s own house. The Dresden manufacturer Solarwatt benefits from this.
Dresden (dpa/sn) – Rising prices for electricity are also boosting homeowners’ demand for solar systems. The interest had already boomed, since the outbreak of the Ukraine war and the consequences for the German energy market there has been a hype, said the head of the Dresden solar manufacturer Solarwatt, Detlef Neuhaus, the German Press Agency. This drives the business figures to new heights. From January to the end of September, sales more than doubled to EUR 250 million compared to the same period last year – a record in the company’s 30-year history. The forecast for the year as a whole has now been raised from EUR 256 million to well over EUR 350 million (2021: EUR 160 million).
The company expanded its production in Germany last year. However, this is not yet running at full capacity, Neuhaus admitted. The run-up was more difficult than expected. Above all, failures as a result of the corona pandemic, both from our own teams and from service providers, would have made this more difficult. The number of employees has risen from 600 to 725 within a year. After the strong investments, Solarwatt should break even next year.
In the first nine months, the company sold around 49,000 systems (same period last year: 27,000), around half of them in Germany. “The market is growing dramatically”, stated Neuhaus. No provider can expand capacities so quickly. Solarwatt specializes primarily in smaller photovoltaic systems and storage systems for private use and also uses contract manufacturing in Asia to meet the high demand. At the same time, a further expansion of production in this country is being considered. According to Neuhaus, one is in the final determination phase.
“The order books in the photovoltaic industry are currently well filled”, confirmed the general manager of the German Solar Industry Association, Carsten Körnig. In the most recent industry barometer, most companies described their current business situation as very good.
In the first eight months, 21 percent more solar power was installed than in the same period last year, Körnig explained, referring to data from the Federal Network Agency. More new solar systems have already gone into operation than in the entire previous year. Demand from homeowners has risen particularly sharply (40 percent) and for ground-level solar parks (65 percent), while on commercial roofs there has been a decline of around 40 percent.
The enormous demand results in waiting times for interested parties. On average, they cheat for half a year or more, said Neuhaus: “The eye of the needle is the specialist tradesman.” Despite price increases for end customers of 20 to 25 percent, purchasing electricity for their own consumption is still worthwhile. Neuhaus calculated that they supplied electricity at a cost of less than 10 to a maximum of 15 cents per kilowatt hour.
