From pv magazine Germany

In 2023, Germany imported nearly €3.6 billion worth of PV systems, primarily solar cells and modules. Compared to the previous year, the value fell by 12.5%, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported Monday.

PV imports continued to decline sharply in the first five months of the year compared to the same period last year. According to Destatis, the value fell by two thirds to just under €605 million. The value of exported PV products also fell by 64.9% during the period, from just under €616 million to just over €216 million. In the previous year, the value of exports had already fallen by almost a quarter to around €1.1 billion.

China remains “by far the most important country of origin” for PV products, accounting for 86.4% of the products imported into Germany. The Netherlands follows in second place with 5.4%, ahead of Vietnam with 2.6%. European countries are at the forefront when it comes to exports, with 17.8% of PV products going to Austria, followed by Italy with 11.4% and Switzerland with 9%.

Destatis also evaluated the figures for the production of solar modules in Germany, which show that 52.8% fewer units were produced in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year. According to the Statistical Office, just under 495,600 solar modules were produced in Germany. The decline in production of solar collectors used in solar thermal systems was even greater. Between January and March 2024, their production fell by 67.1% to around 21,300 units. With regard to module production in Germany, Destatis further reports that in 2023 there was already a year-on-year decline from 4 million to just over 3.4 million solar modules.

Destatis also published figures on the general development of the German PV market: In April, the total number of installed PV systems reached 3.4 million with a total capacity of 81.5 GW. Compared to April 2023, this represents an increase of 29.8% in systems and 20.5% in installed capacity. These figures include all PV systems that feed into the public grid and have an electricity meter. PV balcony systems are therefore generally not included.

Last year, the PV systems in operation fed around 53.6 million MWh of solar power into the grid — a record 11.9% of the total electricity feed-in, according to Destatis. The previous year share reached 10.6%. June 2023 proved to be the record month with more than 8.5 million MWh of solar power feed-in, accounting for a 27.3% share that month.

Popular content

How long do residential solar batteries last?

25 July 2024Multiple factors affect lifespan of a residential battery energy storage system. We examine the life of batteries in Part 3 of our series.