More solar power for Merkel

09/14/2017 | Print view

The photovoltaic system at the Chancellery in Berlin has been fundamentally renewed and expanded with more powerful solar modules. - © Tischbeinahe/Wikimedia — © Tischbeinahe/Wikimedia

The photovoltaic system at the Chancellery in Berlin has been fundamentally renewed and expanded with more powerful solar modules.

A practical and hopefully symbolic act: The PV installation on the rooftop of the German Federal Chancellery in Berlin was modernized and enlarged. The solar power is feed into the house grid of the building for self-consumption. Thus Angela Merkel and her staff can use more solar electricity.

The photovoltaic system on the flat roofs of the building complex was fundamentally renewed and enlarged in the course of a renovation. "Thanks to the use of modern, more powerful modules and optimization in the design, we have significantly increased the performance of the system," says Stephan Riedel, Managing Director of MR Sun Strom, which is responsible for the rehabilitation. The Dresden photovoltaic specialist is designing and installing solar power systems all over Germany. in close collaboration with Naturstrom. The eco-energy supplier has a share in Sun Strom and is developing a concept for the renovation and cost-effective operation of old photovoltaic plants with the Dresden company.

Increased power from 150 to 200 kW

The solar system on the flat roofs of the north and south wing went into operation already in 2001 under the auspices of the former red-green federal government. "With regards to the striking building architecture, the modules are horizontal," explains Stephan Riedel. In the course of the comprehensive renewal, Sun Strom has increased the power of the system from 150 kW to 200 kW. 756 modules were used, which, like the inverters, are from a German manufacturer. The plant has already been feeding in recently.

Solar self-consumption

Every year, it is supposed to produce more than 180,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity - roughly equivalent to the annual consumption of 60 average households. Compared to the old plant, the new modules thus deliver a third more yield on the same area. To the chancellor's pleasure, because the solar power is fed into the house network and thus covers a part of the electricity demand. "A new large display is visualizing how much the plant is currently generating," says Riedel. Thus the employees of the Federal Chancellery see at a glance that the work in the building complex - at least partly - is made possible by solar power.

Harbinger of a future development

"The renewal of the facility at the Federal Chancellery is the harbinger of a development which will have a noticeable effect on the pace of energy generation in a few years," explains Dr. Thomas E. Banning, Chairman of the Management Board of Naturstrom. "From 2021 onwards, feed-in tariff payments will be phased out for many thousands of solar and wind power plants each year. Their operators must consider in time whether the continued operation or a new investment is worthwhile. And above all, how you want to use or market your own electricity. "With the share in the solar service specialist Sun Strom, Naturstrom has therefore positioned itself at an early stage as a contact partner for operators of older photovoltaic power plants. (HCN)