Municipality of Peiting pays subsidy for balcony power plants

Created: 04/08/2022, 12:00 p.m

By: Christopher Peters

Such balcony power plants will soon be supplying more and more green electricity in Peiting.

12,000 euros for 100 systems © archive

Driving the energy turnaround on a small scale is possible with so-called “balcony power plants”.

At the request of the Greens, the Peitingen municipal council decided at its most recent meeting to set up a funding program for mini solar systems.

Peiting – Günter Franz didn't beat around the bush for long.

The energy issue is becoming more urgent every day.

There is no time to procrastinate, the spokesman for the Greens said to himself, with a view to the current crisis.

The requested funding measure must therefore be implemented immediately.

"Let's show that we in Peiting are really serious about striving for a safe and climate-friendly policy."

The motion by the Greens, which was the subject of the most recent municipal council meeting, revolved around so-called “balcony power plants”.

This is a solar system in mini format, which has the advantage that you don't need a large roof or an open field to generate solar power.

It consists of up to two photovoltaic modules with a maximum output of 600 watts and an inverter and, due to its size, can be installed on the balcony, terrace or facade without any problems.

Also interesting for tenants

It is therefore also of interest to tenants for whom a normal PV system is generally out of the question.

The system is simply connected to the house network with a plug, where the generated energy is consumed directly.

A quarter to a third of the electricity requirement of an average single-person household can be generated with a 600 KWp device.

As the Lechwerke reported to the local newspaper when asked, the number of balcony power plants in the region is still more than manageable.

Just under 20 systems are currently registered in the Schongau and Peiting area.

In order to change that, the motion of the Greens provided for the municipality to contribute to the acquisition costs, namely with two euros per ten KWp of installed capacity up to a maximum of 120 euros.

Other municipalities such as Weilheim and Penzberg have already set a good example.

According to Mayor Peter Ostenrieder, the costs that you have to reckon with when buying a device are between 800 and 1100 euros.

A maximum of 100 balcony power plants are to be funded in this way, and the necessary sum of 12,000 euros should be included in the supplementary budget.

What must be considered with mini solar systems

If you want to install a mini solar system in your home, you have to consider a few things.

The Energy and Environment Center Allgäu (eza) has created a fact sheet in which the most important questions are clarified.

The Lechwerke point this out.

The experts recommend having a qualified electrician check the home installation before using a plug-in solar device.

Even if the assembly is easy, it should be carried out by a specialist contractor.

In addition, a mini solar system, like its bigger brothers, not only has to be registered with the grid operator, but also in the market master data register of the Federal Network Agency.

If modules are to be attached to the balcony railing or the facade, this is a structural change that requires the consent of the landlord.

But the administration went too fast here.

If you start now, the implementation will last until 2023, Ostenrieder noted.

Finally, the exact modalities for the funding would first have to be determined.

The amount could therefore be included in next year's budget.

"But we'll see that we can clarify the formalities by autumn so that people can start ordering," he promised.

"We're on the same wavelength there."

But Norbert Merk (CSU) saw no problem in providing the funds in the supplementary budget this year.

The District Treasurer found that this was quite possible with a reasonable process.

In general, the initiative by the Greens met with approval almost across the board.

Quiet criticism came only from Christian Lory (independents), who spoke of a "symbolic political application".

"But we've had more nonsensical ones here."

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Tobias Eding, on the other hand, found the Green Party's idea sensible, especially since you can easily install the mini-PV systems yourself.

But then the mayor stopped him.

Because of the funding, nothing works without an electrician.

In the end, the municipal council unanimously approved the Greens' motion.

You can find more current news from the region around Schongau at Merkur.de/Schongau.