More and more German companies and households are turning to solar power for electricity generation. By the end of 2025, nearly 4.8 million photovoltaic (PV) systems were installed on roofs and land across the country, with a total rated capacity of about 106,200 MW, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). This marks a 17.6 % rise in the number of installations and an 11.8 % increase in installed capacity compared with the previous year. In 2024, there were already roughly 4.0 million PV systems with a combined capacity of 95,000 MW.
The growth momentum has slowed somewhat. At year‑end 2024, installations were 27.7 % higher than at the end of 2023, while growth in 2023 itself had been 27.3 %. The data include all PV plants that feed into the public grid and have a meter that records the amount of electricity injected; small systems such as balcony‑scale “Balkonkraftwerke” are normally excluded.
Imports of PV equipment fell in 2025. The value of imported solar cells and modules declined by 7.8 % to €1.8 billion, and exports dropped even more sharply, from €513 million in 2024 to €358 million in 2025 – a decrease of 30.1 %. China was by far the dominant supplier, representing 88.0 % of all imports, with the Netherlands following at 5.2 %. Import value was almost five times higher than export value, and most of the exported PV systems went to EU countries, notably Italy (15.9 %), Austria (14.8 %) and Switzerland (7.2 %).
PV module production in Germany fell dramatically in the first three quarters of 2025. Production decreased by 60.6 % compared with the same period the previous year, reaching only 509,200 units. In 2024, production had already dropped significantly – 1.5 million modules were produced for sale, a 56.2 % decline from 2023, when roughly 3.5 million modules were manufactured.
Private households not only meet their own electricity needs but also feed surplus solar power back into the grid. In 2023, 4.9 % of German households (about 2.0 million) earned income from selling solar electricity, up from 2.9 % (1.2 million households) in 2018. Average monthly revenue from solar sales fell to €153 in 2023, down 37 % from €243 in 2018. This decline is likely linked to the reduced feed‑in tariff for new PV installations under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG).