Environmental group warns over solar standard financing conditions

Berlin – On Monday, June 16, 2026, the environmental organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) expressed concerns regarding the planned solar standard within Germany's Building Modernization Act (Gebäudemodernisierungsgesetz). While the group supports the increased use of solar energy on building rooftops, it criticizes proposed changes that could weaken state-guaranteed feed-in tariffs for solar electricity.

According to DUH, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy's proposed alterations might render the generation of solar power from private rooftops unprofitable in many instances. The organization warns this could lead to reduced climate protection efforts and increased financial burdens for consumers. Furthermore, DUH anticipates a significant bureaucratic overload for municipalities that would need to process numerous exemption requests based on economic hardship.

"The solar standard is the right step to better utilize the great potential of building rooftops for the energy transition," stated DUH's Managing Director Barbara Metz. However, she added, "If the federal government simultaneously scraps the feed-in tariff for rooftop PV and imposes further economic risks on small installations, solar power from one's own roof will become unprofitable in many cases."

DUH urges the government to secure the solar standard with reliable funding conditions, rather than intentionally slowing down rooftop solar energy adoption. The organization suggests that the implementation should have been earlier and more ambitious.

The legislation aims to promote the installation of solar panels on new and renovated buildings. DUH's criticism specifically targets proposals to abolish or significantly limit the guaranteed feed-in tariff for new rooftop solar power, which could complicate profitability analyses for small and medium-sized enterprises.