Oh man, Solar power is all the rage in big cities these days. Apparently, 40 cities in Germany are on track to meet the Paris climate goals by 2035 with their annual solar expansion. But hold up, the other 42 cities are lagging behind, like way behind, according to the German Environmental Aid’s analysis.
In the past two years, about half of the 82 cities looked at by the German Environmental Aid have been doing pretty well in terms of solar expansion, aiming to hit the Paris Agreement goals by 2035. The other cities, though, need to step up their game – and some need to do it big time.
On the bright side, cities like Regensburg, Oldenburg, Fürth, and Ulm are leading the pack in solar expansion, going well above what’s needed to stay in line with the Paris Agreement. They’re like the rock stars of solar power, expanding by more than 50% more than necessary.
But then there are cities like Rostock, Lübeck, and Dresden that are way off track. They would need to double their solar expansion every year. And Potsdam and Salzgitter? Oh boy, they need to triple their efforts to hit the 2035 target.
Despite the disparities, solar power is making progress in big cities. Just last year, only seven cities were on pace with the Paris climate goals. Now, the average annual solar expansion in German cities has almost tripled from 514 to 1,432 megawatts between 2022 and 2024. That’s a pretty big jump if you ask me.
The German Environmental Aid keeps tabs on solar expansion in major cities regularly. They base their analysis on data from the Market Master Data Register of the Federal Network Agency and a study from the University of Applied Sciences for Engineering and Economics in Berlin. Germany needs to reach 590 gigawatts of installed solar power by 2035 to stay on track with the climate goals.
Big cities like Munich and Cologne have made strides in achieving a more climate-friendly solar expansion. Berlin, for instance, is following a “Solarcity Master Plan” to cover a quarter of its electricity needs with solar power by 2035. Even though Berlin is falling short by 4% according to the latest analysis, other cities should look to it as an example.
The German Environmental Aid is calling on Minister of Economics Katherina Reiche to support citizen involvement in the energy transition and not hold it back. They also want to make it easier for solar panels to be installed on apartment buildings and simplify energy sharing and communal building energy supply.
So, there you have it – solar power is the way to go, and cities need to get on board. Let’s hope the government steps up and provides the right incentives. Otherwise, we might fall behind on our climate goals.
