The SolarLokal Campaignin Kiel

Kiel has signed up the federal information campaign SolarLokal and has become the most northerly municipality which joined the publicity campaign for environmentally friendly solar power. SolarLokal is sponsored by the registered German Association for Environmental Assistance (Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V.) and the public company SolarWorld AG.

By taking part in SolarLokal, the city is continuing its long-standing commitment to the protection of the climate. The inhabitants of Kiel are to be more acutely aware of the ecological and economic advantages of solar electricity. Solar power installations are not only a profitable investment from a personal financial perspective, but they also protect the climate and offer new and sustainable areas of activity for the local trade.

In the area of electricity generation covered by the Stadtwerke Kiel AG, there are currently more than 200 established photo-voltaic installations linked to the national grid and equipped with electricity meters to measure the amount they feed in. Together they have a capacity of more than 780 kilowatts peak (kWp). In Kiel the average annual production of environmentally friendly solar electricity amounts to 815 kWh per kWp. People wishing to operate a solar power station themselves need a south-facing roof surface.

In accordance with concessional rates agreed between Stadtwerke Kiel AG and Kiel, the Stadtwerke company is offering a payment to cover costs of all electricity fed into the grid from systems within the municipal boundaries of up to 5kWp: anyone operating such system will receive a fixed-rate, one-off subsidy upon completion of the installation. In addition, any electricity fed into the national grid will be paid for in accordance with the provisions of the German laws governing the production of renewable energies (EEG.). Operators of roof installations, for instance, will receive contractually guaranteed payments which will remain constant for a period of 20 years, to a value which currently stands at 51.8 euro cents per kWh for the first 30 kWp of installed capacity. In the case of larger roof installations the payments are reduced for that part of the total capacity which exceeds 30 kWp. Via the "Solar Power Generation" programme of the Reconstruction Loan Corporation (KfW), there are also loans available to private individuals at advantageous rates of interest for the installation of solar power systems, so that systems can be operated economically and thus not only serve to protect the environment, but also bring financial benefits.

by Mr Jens Rasmussen