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Photovoltaics

After wind power, photovoltaics (PV) have the second largest share of renewable electricity production in Germany. The installed capacity in the country has grown to 54 gigawatts (as of the end of 2020).

In the responsibility area of 50Hertz there is a large number of PV installations and the largest number of ground-mounted PV installations in all of the four German control areas. Nevertheless, regional consumers cannot necessarily always directly accept the electricity generated during those sunshine hours. As a result, much excess ‘green power’ is fed into our transmission grid depending on the weather conditions and the time of day, and transported to the major industrial and consumption centres in southern and western Germany.

Photovoltaics

Photovoltaics (PV) is a technology for converting light (usually from sunlight) into electricity. PV technology uses a photoelectric effect in which the incidence of light on semiconductor elements (e.g. silicon) in a photodiode (solar cell) causes electron transitions and thus generates an electric current flow.
PV technology was first applied in aerospace engineering in the late 1950s. On earth, it gained more importance after the oil price crises of the 1970s and later evolved into a valid alternative for conventional electricity generation, aided by research and government grants. Today, photovoltaic electricity is an important part of the energy mix and one of the pillars of the energy Transition.

Photovoltaics next to 50Hertz substation in Neuenhagen - Photo: Jan Pauls

Today, solar power represents about three per cent of the German energy mix, and the trend is rising. In contrast to conventional power plants, the generation of electricity by photovoltaic installations is subject to fluctuations. This means that the electricity provided by solar modules seldom corresponds to the actual demand and that electricity has to be transported to where it can be consumed. Furthermore, the operators of the German energy supply grids are obliged by the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) to feed in all electricity generated from renewable sources into the grid with priority. In order to maintain the balance between offer and demand, grid operators have to compensate for fluctuations due to the weather. 50Hertz ensures this balance.

Below, you will find a number of important key figures relating to photovoltaics in the 50Hertz grid area:

Grid area of 50Hertz: photovoltaic specifications 2016 to 2021

Description201620172018201920202021
Maximum Photovoltaics infeed6,576 MW7,200 MW8,087 MW8,038 MW9,166 MW10,471 MW
Minimum Photovoltaics infeed0 MW0 MW0 MW0 MW0 MW0 MW
Largest quarter-hourly jump in Photovoltaics+860 MW / -576 MW+595 MW / -600 MW+826 MW / -655 MW+645 MW / -626 MW+1,054 MW / -769 MW751 MW / -732 MW
Largest hourly jump in Photovoltaics+2,005 MW / -1642 MW+1,875 MW / -1,824 MW+2,041 MW / -1,950 MW+2,222 MW / -2,132 MW+2,412 MW / -2,345 MW2,725 MW / -2,658 MW
Installed capacity of Photovoltaics power plants at the end of the year9,279 MW10,385 MW11,219 MW12,204 MW13,552 MW16,539 MW

The data from the table refers to solar power, including direct marketing, and are based on the extrapolation of the actual figures (15 minute mean capacity figures). The source of the installed capacity of renewable energies was changed to the installed gross capacity from the Market Master Data Register (MaStr) in the reporting year 2021.

Below the forecasted as well as the extrapolated actual figures are listed for solar feed-in in the 50Hertz grid area.
These data are of particular interest for market players such as PV electricity traders and direct marketers but also for associations, politics or universities, which is why we make them available to the public here.

Current forecast

Current activity value: MW
Date:

The forecast values for solar feed-in in the 50Hertz grid area are based on values from service providers. The data are always those of 9AM the previous day. Publication takes place daily at 6PM for the entire following day.

Based on the weather models (e.g. GFS, ECMWF) and the master data (geographic coordinates, address) of the individual PV installations, physical as well as statistical capacities are calculated for the near future (up to eight days).

Forecast values per 15 minutes

For each 15 minute interval, a capacity value is always supplied in megawatts (MW). A quarter of an hour for which no or implausible values are given, is entered as ‘not available’ (n.a.).

No data available.
Date From To Value [MW]
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A file with a table of the solar feed-in values, including past values, is available for download in CSV Format:

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Extrapolation

Current activity value: MW
Date: Uhr
Extrapolated actuals per 15 minutes

The actual solar power feed-in values in the 50Hertz grid area presented in the chart are determined by extrapolation on the basis of current values from selected photovoltaic installations / service providers. 50Hertz calculates a meta-extrapolation from different extrapolated values.

No data available.
Date From To Value [MW]
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A table, including past values, is available here for download in CSV Format:

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Archiv

Here you can find our publications on photovoltaics of the previous years:

Archive photovoltaics
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