Erfurt shines in the solar ranking: almost twice as much energy as in 2012!

Erfurt shines in the solar ranking: almost twice as much energy as in 2012!

Erfurt shows how it works: With an installed solar output of 560 watts per inhabitant, the city is currently in eighth place in the so-called wattage competition. This impressive number is more than just a statistic - it is the result of constant growth. While Erfurt started with 290 watts per capita a few years ago, the output has almost doubled. This puts the city even ahead of such renowned places as Heilbronn and Freiburg im Breisgau. As the Erfurt city administration reports in its current press release erfurt.de, this growth shows that the solar boom of the last few years has not failed to have an impact.

A look back: In the climate protection concept of 2012, the city set itself the ambitious goal of achieving an installed capacity of 100 megawatts (465 watts per inhabitant) by 2020. Even if this goal was not fully achieved, progress in recent years has provided new momentum. The mudflat competition, which was launched on February 21, 2021, will further encourage the city. It will continue until a large city can double its installed photovoltaic output per resident.

The race for the best places

The competition is divided into three categories: major cities with over 100,000 inhabitants, towns and municipalities. The ranking takes place weekly and is on the platform wattbewerbe.de visible. Erfurt is in the impressive company of Paderborn, which holds the top position with almost 1,000 watts per resident. The data for this competition is based on the Federal Network Agency's market master data register (MaStR), which ensures that every installed photovoltaic system in Germany is correctly registered.

These developments are not only important for Erfurt, but also for the entire energy transition in Germany. As the Federal Environment Agency umweltbundesamt.de states, renewable energies covered 22.4% of gross final energy consumption in 2024. A clear increase of 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous year. The goal is to increase this share to 41% by 2030. Wind energy makes the largest contribution, followed by biomass and photovoltaics.

The role of photovoltaics

Photovoltaic systems that convert solar energy into electrical energy are an essential part of this. These systems feed the energy generated into the network and thus help cover energy requirements. But photovoltaics are weather dependent and can only work during the day. Wind power is therefore also used in Erfurt to stabilize the network. When feed-in levels stagnate, such as during calm times, a combined cycle system is used to compensate for the undersupply.

Another interesting fact: By converting organic waste into electricity and biogas, which is possible in dry fermentation plants, up to 20,000 tons of waste can be converted into energy every year, which is also fed into the local grid. These developments show how diverse the commitment to renewable energies is in Erfurt.

The progress Erfurt has made in solar energy is an encouraging sign that other cities can also achieve their energy goals if they take the right steps. It is clear that the path to the energy transition is still a long one, but the step towards a more sustainable future is already clearly noticeable in Erfurt.