General Framework

National Programme

Research, Development and Demonstration

• Cost-reduction for PV-cells and modules by decreasing production costs and by increasing cell and module efficiencies.
• Cost-reduction, technical optimisation and removing of other obstacles wich prevent the use of PV in different types of buildings.
• PV for decentralized, grid-independent electricity supply.

In the following, selected topics of important R&D activities in Germany are described.

• Crystalline Silicon
  Crystalline silicon is still the most important material for manufacturing solar cells. Today, emphasis is put on efficient manufacturing techniques. In 2001 new R&D activities are focused on:
  • the improvement of EFG ribbons (EFG - Edge-Defined Film-Fed Growth),
  • an improved crystal growth concept for ingot casted silicon and
  • innovative production systems for solar cells, e.g. Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP), In-line plasma processes, LED-Flasher systems.
  The aim is to strengthen technologically oriented small and medium sized companies and by this, to create a productive supply industry.

• Thin Film Technologies
  Thin Film Technologies have the potential to combine low material and energy-consumption with simple process technologies resulting in a cost-effective large area production. Today, several materials are used and a lot of cell concepts with different maturity are existing (see Table 1).

Table 1. PV cell technologies and R&D activities with federal support

Technology	New R&D activities with federal support
Currently amorphous Silicon (a-Si) has the highest technological maturity. In Putzbrunn RWE Solar GmbH is running a small production line.	Development of improved deposition techniques
Thin Film Solar Cells on basis of CuInSe2 (CIS) have been developed in Germany for years. Currently Würth Solar GmbH&Co. KG is operating a first pilot production line (Fig. 1).	Development of improved deposition techniques
Antec Solar is running a Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) pilot plant in Rudisleben, State of Thuringia.	Support of a further improvement of the production process
A very promising technique seems to be the crystalline Si thin film cell.	Joint R&D project to develop efficient deposition techniques on large substrates, development of ceramic substrates

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• System Technology
  Beside the ongoing development of modular PV system technology, including features supporting communication and power management the evaluation of PV-systems is a topic of interest. The corresponding activities to the latter are partly carried out under Task 2 of the IEA-PVPS programme.

• Demonstration
  Today, the Renewable Energy Law together with the "100 000 Rooftops Solar Power Programme" is the driving force for the development of the German PV market. Consequently, demonstration projects play a minor role within the current R,D&D-programme.
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  Implementation

  In the last several years, Germany has executed important programmes in the field of PV which have triggered remarkable results in market development and technology progress. Complementary to the R,D&D-programme, new PV-funding sources with growing importance, mainly in the area of market introduction have been established:
  • The "Electricity Feed Law," introduced in 1991, was replaced by the "Renewable Energy Law", in April 2000. The new law rules the input and favourable payment of electricity from renewable energies by the utilities. For PV systems built before the end of 2001, a feed in tariff of 0,51 EUR/kWh will be paid.
  • In January 1999, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) started the "100 000 Rooftops Solar Power Programme". Until November 2001, almost 37 500 applications were received and a total capacity of 126 MWp was granted (see Fig. 2). The programme is a soft loan programme (current rate of interest 1,9% per year) and will last until 2003.
    Applications can be filed by small and medium enterprises as well as by individuals. The BMWi offered a budget of approx. 460 mio EUR for the whole period of this programme.
  • Moreover, the BMWi supports the application of renewable energies (solar-thermal, geothermal, biomass etc.) with soft loans or subsidies. The PV initiative, “Sun at School,” is part of this programme.
  • Some of the Federal States (Länder) have defined their own programmes, mainly to support the application of renewable energy and energy conservation.
  • The Federal German Environmental Foundation (DBU) supports development and demonstration in the field of renewable energy sources and energy conservation.
  • A number of utilities have launched initiatives to build PV-demonstration and pilot systems or to provide advice and information. In a growing number of cases, financial support for the rational use of energy and for renewable energies is provided.
    Cost-effective payments for every kilowatt hour of energy fed into the public grid from PV and other renewable energy systems is offered by some utilities belonging to cities and communities.
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  Industry Status

  Over the years, an industrial infrastructure has been created with the main focus on crystalline Silicon technologies. However, as almost everywhere, the PV market still strongly depends on governmental support.

  Following an estimate of the German Federal Association Solar Energy (BSE), approximately 3 300 employees were working in the field of PV at the end of 2001; most of them were involved in the installation of systems.
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  Market Development

  The programmes described above have accelerated the installation of PV-systems in Germany significantly (Table 1). Following a first estimate there could be roughly 165 MWp on the grid at the end of 2001. Moreover, it is expected that this capacity will increase steadily within the next years due to the "100 000 Rooftops Solar Power Programme" together with the Renewable Energy Law.
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  Future Outlook

  Following the guidelines of the "100 000 Rooftops Solar Power Programme" for the coming years, the installed grid connected PV capacity is expected to increase steadily (see Table 2 and Fig. 2).

  Table 2. Installed PV power

  Year	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
  PV power [MW]	1,5	2,5	5,6	8,9	12,4	17,8	23,8	34	43	55	100	165

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  Further reading about Germany

  • Germany - Country information
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