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Country guide

Solar in Germany

2026-04-25
last updated

Germany has the most mature balcony solar (Steckersolar, Balkonkraftwerk) ecosystem globally. The Solarpaket I law (May 2024) raised the balcony inverter limit from 600 W to 800 W and simplified registration. Rooftop systems benefit from 0% VAT and EEG feed-in tariffs.

Balcony solar (Balkonkraftwerk)

Inverter limit: 800 W AC output (raised from 600 W in Solarpaket I, May 2024)
Panel limit: 2,000 Wp DC peak power
Registration: simplified — only Marktstammdatenregister (MaStR), no DNO notification
Renter rights: tenants now have a legal right to install with landlord's consent (cannot be unreasonably refused)

Authoritative sources: Bundesnetzagentur, MaStR, VDE-AR-N 4105.

EEG feed-in tariff (Einspeisevergütung)

Rates degress semi-annually (Feb/Aug). For systems registered in H1 2026, approximate rates for full feed-in (Volleinspeisung):

  • ≤ 10 kWp: ~12.9 ¢/kWh
  • 10-40 kWp: ~10.8 ¢/kWh
  • 40-100 kWp: ~8.8 ¢/kWh

Self-consumption with surplus feed-in (Überschusseinspeisung) gets lower rates (~8 ¢/kWh for ≤10 kWp). Rates fixed for 20 years from commissioning.

VAT relief

0% VAT (Mehrwertsteuer-Nullsteuersatz) on residential solar equipment ≤30 kWp installed at residential buildings. Started January 2023, currently active.

Useful tools for DE users