10 GWh of solar power coming to Berlin?

The German state of Berlin is opening a Europe-wide tender process to select a new electricity supplier for the state's real estate. The consultancy Da.V.i.D. AG is working on the tendering documentation for Berlin's Ministry of Finance. "By mid-April, the text should be ready," says project manager Sabine Siebald.
 

A question of great significance for the PV industry must be quickly addressed: How will the Senate handle the state government's Sept. 1999 resolution calling for Berlin to cover at least 40 percent of its electricity needs through CHP plants and an annual 2 percent increase of the renewable energy share? According to the resolution, at least one-third of this 2 percent must come from PV systems installed in Berlin. With a possible need of 1 to 1.5 TWh per year, that would mean up to 10 GWh from solar systems within the first year.

"My fear is that although the quota for renewable energy will be maintained while the quota for solar will not," says Carsten Körnig, managing director of the solar industry lobby association Unternehmensvereinigung Solarwirtschaft e.V. (UVS). The coalition agreement between the new governing parties in Berlin, the Social Democrats (SPD) and Socialists (PDS), confirms the 2 percent share for renewables, but only vaguely refers to an "annual increase in the proportion" covered by PV. js

Da.V.i.D. AG
Sabine Siebald
phone +49/30/617899-30



 

Jochen Siemer
© PHOTON International, April 2002