On November 9th, the Lower Saxony state parliament decided on a solar obligation in the amendment to the Lower Saxony building regulations (NBauO). The solar obligation is specified in §32a.
The solar obligation applies to those buildings that have a roof area of at least 50 m² and at least 50% of the roof area should be covered with photovoltaics/solar.
The solar obligation is coming in Lower Saxony – Image: Dziajda & Fit Ztudio|Shutterstock.com
The gradual introduction of compulsory solar energy in Lower Saxony
- From January 1, 2023, the solar obligation applies to new buildings with predominantly commercial use
- From January 1, 2025 for new residential buildings
- From January 1st, 2024 for all other new buildings
- The draft law does not provide for a solar obligation for renovations
- From January 1, 2023, when an open parking lot or parking deck is constructed with more than 50 parking spaces for motor vehicles. Parking spaces that are located directly along public roads and that are dedicated to public transport are exempt from the obligation.
The path to compulsory solar energy in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is the second largest federal state by area. But it is three times behind the first-placed state of Bavaria with an installed solar output of 3,930 megawatt peak (MWp). In comparison: Bavaria stands at 12,545 MWp. Even the smaller federal states of Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia are ahead of Lower Saxony.
The solar obligation is intended to bring about the energy transition in Lower Saxony. On March 23, 2021, Olaf Lies, Lower Saxony's Minister for the Environment, Energy, Building and Climate Protection, announced the latest information and direction for the solar requirement.
The important seaports of Emden, Cuxhaven and Wilhelmshaven in Lower Saxony are also affected.
Background to the solar obligation
With almost 4 gigawatts (GW), Lower Saxony is far behind the required 65 GW that the country needs to achieve a net supply of renewable energy by 2040. That means there are still almost 94% missing!
How does Lower Saxony want to achieve the goals with the solar obligation?
Lies Olaf (2012) , Provided by Olaf Lies, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 50 gigawatts of commercial buildings are to be built on the roofs of houses.
- New buildings, with predominantly commercial use and a roof area of at least 75 square meters.
- Future planning of new buildings must take the statics and safety of a solar system into account. The same applies to the construction of new residential buildings. A possible subsequent construction of a solar system must be taken into account.
- At least 50% of the roof area should be used for a solar system.
- In exceptional cases the obligation does not apply.
We need an ambitious expansion of photovoltaics, says Environment Minister Lies. He sees the expansion of commercial roofs as the crucial point for success. “Climate protection is one of the central challenges of our time. There is not much time left to prevent irreversible tipping points in the climate system and thus avoid dramatic consequences for people and the environment,” adds Lies.
Lower Saxony state parliament decides on implementation
In its 89th session on November 10th, 2020, the Lower Saxony state parliament decided: Go to the roofs for the climate! Make the energy transition decentralized and use solar power
The resolution states, among other things: “Solar energy enjoys broad support among the population, because generating solar energy on the existing roof surface has unbeatable advantages. When existing roof areas are used to generate energy, additional space consumption is avoided. Electricity and heat energy can be generated and used decentrally and close to the consumer. The costs for solar thermal and photovoltaic modules have fallen significantly in recent years. The electricity generated can be used to operate heat pumps for heating or cooling purposes. Electric vehicles can be charged in an environmentally friendly manner using solar power generated using appropriate storage modules. In combination with battery and heat storage, the self-consumption of the solar energy generated becomes significantly more efficient and flexible. This allows network bottlenecks or feed-in peaks due to surplus generation to be buffered. The state parliament welcomes the advisory services offered by the Lower Saxony Climate Protection and Energy Agency such as the 'Solar Check', which advises homeowners on the possibilities of using solar energy, storage options and optimizing their own consumption.”
What are the main points in this decision?
Lower Saxony state parliament resolution of November 10, 2020 PDF download
- To create incentives for the use of solar energy in both new and existing buildings.
- To launch an attractive solar storage funding program for municipalities and private individuals.
- To change the Lower Saxony building law so that the construction and use of photovoltaic systems becomes mandatory when building large roof areas of commercial halls.
- When reorganizing the state spatial planning program, the framework conditions must be created so that suitable areas can be used for open-space solar (free-field systems, open-space systems, solar parks) or agricultural solar; agriculturally unused areas and border locations are to be preferred.
- To provide information material about financing models and the tax treatment of solar projects, for example by developing a handout on leasing models for investors.
- In addition, the state parliament is asking the state government to work at the federal level to abolish the EEG levy on self-used electricity from solar systems.
- Abolish the obligation to tender for rooftop solar.
Decision on a program of measures worth over 1 billion euros
On November 25, 2020, the Lower Saxony state government decided on a comprehensive program of measures for climate protection with a financial volume of over 1 billion euros.
“The program of measures adopted today is the largest investment program for climate protection in Lower Saxony to date. In this way, we from Lower Saxony are making our contribution to national and international climate protection goals. At the same time, we are providing important impetus for the Lower Saxony economy with our funding priorities. We want to show that climate protection can be a driver for growth and innovation at the same time,” emphasizes Environment Minister Olaf Lies: “Lower Saxony is the No. 1 energy state in Germany, Lower Saxony wants to become the No. 1 climate protection state. “With the program of measures adopted today, we are making a central contribution to this Lower Saxony climate path.”
Renewable energy offensive: A comprehensive funding program for battery storage is intended to massively promote the expansion of solar technology in Lower Saxony. At the same time, the framework conditions for the expansion of renewable energies in Lower Saxony are to be improved by reducing regulatory barriers and a PV requirement on commercial roofs is to be introduced.
When does the solar obligation come into force in Lower Saxony?
Now on Tuesday, the state government approved a bill to amend the Lower Saxony building regulations presented by Construction and Energy Minister Olaf Lies. She released the draft for association participation. With the planned changes to the Lower Saxony building regulations, a further simplification of the building permit process will also be implemented.
If all goes well, the law should come into force on January 1, 2022. This would also apply to the seaports in Emden, Cuxhaven and Wilhelmshaven.
🢂 We will keep you updated here about further developments in Lower Saxony!
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