German’s €300m solar + battery subsidy scheme is oversubscribed on first day

A €300m scheme to provide members of the public with subsidies to allow EV owners to install a solar system has closed after one day due to it being almost immediately oversubscribed. 

The programme offered a subsidy of up to €10,200 to encourage homeowners with electric cars to install a photovoltaic system with power storage and a charging station.

The subsidy would have covered around a third of the total cost of installation and the homeowner would have to release the battery of their vehicle for discharging. The battery can thus serve as a small part of a reserve, from which electricity can also flow back into the grid or be used in the homeowner’s own home if necessary

Anyone rejecting this caveat could apply for a smaller grant.

Around 33,000 applications were submitted within 24 hours of the launch, prompting the bank to request that no further applications were submitted.

The transport ministry had allocated  a total of €500 million to the scheme with the remaining €200 million becoming available next year. 

The programme was aimed at boosting the switch to electric cars and reducing the need for public charging stations.

The German Solar Industry Association (BSW) said they were: ‘pleased with the great interest in private “solar filling stations” among the population, but at the same time not surprised. Even before the subsidy was launched, there had been a solar boom in German housing estates.

‘In the first half of the year, demand for solar power systems has already more than doubled compared to the same period last year.’

According to a BSW survey of solar installers, around 78% of people buying a photovoltaic roof would install a solar power storage system at the same time.