NRW Achieves Record Photovoltaic Expansion in 2023, Driving Renewable Energy Growth

NRW experienced a record year for photovoltaic expansion in 2023. As an evaluation of the reports in the market master data register carried out by the State Renewable Energy Association of North Rhine-Westphalia (LEE NRW) shows, 211,111 photovoltaic systems with an output of 2,165 megawatts (MW) have gone into operation across the country. Compared to the previous year, this means more than doubling, because in 2022 the expansion in North Rhine-Westphalia amounted to 955 MW. In a comparison of federal states, NRW ranks second in absolute terms with its new new construction record, after Bavaria and ahead of Baden-Württemberg.

“It’s nice to see that, in percentage terms, the solar upswing in North Rhine-Westphalia is still above the new record figures at the federal level,” says LEE NRW Managing Director Christian Mildenberger. The increased energy prices and the desire of many citizens as well as industrial and commercial companies to become more independent with their own photovoltaic systems are the main reasons for the immense solar boom for LEE NRW.

This development is also reflected in the number of small balcony power plants: around 55,000 new plug-in solar systems, which, however, account for less than two percent of the newly installed output, generated solar power across the country for the first time last year. “For many households, these mini solar systems are a test balloon, which is often followed by the purchase of a larger photovoltaic system,” says Mildenberger.