Ikea sells its own balcony power plant for self-assembly.
From this week on, Ikea stores will offer a DIY balcony solar power kit for a small price. It comes with a portable battery included.
Solar Power Systems to Surpass Brown Coal Power Plants in Germany
In the expected scenario this year, solar power systems are anticipated to provide more electricity to private and industrial consumers than domestic brown coal power plants.
Surpassing Brown Coal with Solar Power Generation
After Europe produced more solar power in 2024 than electricity from rock and brown coal power plants combined, Germany is now following suit. Carsten Körnig, Managing Director of the Federal Solar Industry Association (BSW Solar), stated that "clean solar power is expected to surpass brown coal in domestic power generation in 2025. It is increasingly displacing the most climate- and health-damaging form of electricity."
Strong Growth
In 2024, brown coal accounted for 15.61%, just slightly ahead of solar power at 15.57% of Germany's total net electricity generation, according to the latest data from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE).
Impact on Climate
The environmental impact is significant: the operation of around five million solar power systems in Germany resulted in the avoidance of over 50 million tons of greenhouse gases in the last year, as reported by the Federal Environment Agency.
Private Solar Power Generation
Current estimates indicate that solar systems with a total capacity of approximately 105 GW are currently in operation in Germany, with 38% attributed to residential areas, 29% to commercial rooftops, 32% to open-space installations, and nearly 1% to plug-in solar systems.
Future Outlook
The government plans to have 215 gigawatts of solar generation capacity in operation in Germany by 2030. The BSW Solar welcomes the government's initiative to expand solar energy and storage capacities, emphasizing the need to remove further market barriers.
Interesting Fact
According to calculations by the energy consulting firm Neon, solar panels are already significantly reducing electricity prices. Without solar power, prices at the electricity market would be about 25% higher. Home energy consumers save approximately €9 billion annually with affordable solar power, with savings of around €80 per year for a typical household. Industrial consumers save about 10%. Owners of their own solar power system can expect even higher annual energy cost savings.