D: PV system worthwhile despite falling feed-in tariffs

The legally guaranteed yield for feeding electricity into the grid from a private solar system continues to decline – but owning your own system is still worthwhile, as the German energy company 1Komma5° emphasizes. "The major financial benefit of a solar system comes from every kilowatt-hour of electricity you no longer have to buy expensively from the grid – not from the feed-in tariff," company co-founder Jannick Schall explained on Friday.

Intelligent control also significantly increases the savings potential. For electricity that private operators of a new PV system feed into the grid, they currently receive a guaranteed 7.94 cents per kilowatt hour for the next 20 years. Starting in 2024, the feed-in tariff has been decreasing by one percent every six months. For systems commissioned from August 1st onward, it will then be 7.87 cents. "But no one should be deterred by this," Schall explained.

According to 1Komma5°, the production of PV electricity with a private system costs an average of six cents. With a compensation of just eight cents, there's not much left over. However, if the electricity is used by the consumer, the consumer saves the cost of purchasing the electricity. At an electricity price of 39 cents per kilowatt hour, this results in a profit of 33 cents, as the company calculates.

“If you also optimize the PV system and battery with an intelligent control system and use a dynamic electricity tariff and variable grid charges, the savings can be increased to over 1,200 euros per year,” explained Schall.

APA/ag