The German solar market experienced a period of transition in the first quarter of 2026, characterized by a cooling of photovoltaic installations alongside a significant surge in battery storage adoption. According to data from the German Solar Association (BSW-Solar), total solar capacity additions fell by 6% to 3.51 GW, primarily driven by a sharp decline in the residential sector. Conversely, the energy storage market grew by 67%, fueled by a massive increase in large-scale battery projects. Despite the storage boom, industry leaders are urging policy reforms to ensure long-term stability for renewable energy investments.
The downturn in the solar sector was most pronounced in private rooftop installations, which plummeted by 21% to approximately 850 MW. This follows a similar downward trend observed during the same period in the previous year. The commercial segment also faced challenges, with new installations dropping by roughly one-third compared to the first quarter of 2025. However, ground-mounted systems provided a bright spot for the industry, growing by 20% to reach 1.97 GW and accounting for more than half of all new solar capacity during the quarter.
In stark contrast, the battery storage sector saw robust expansion. More than 2 GWh of new storage capacity was integrated into the grid, representing a 67% increase over the first quarter of the previous year. The primary driver of this growth was the large-scale segment, where installations exceeding 1 MWh saw a staggering 270% rise, contributing over 1 GWh to the total. Commercial storage also saw healthy growth of 42%, while the residential sector, focusing on systems between 5 and 20 kWh, maintained a steady pace with 0.74 GWh of new capacity.
Germany’s total stationary battery storage capacity has now reached approximately 28 GWh across 2.5 million systems. This infrastructure supports a massive solar fleet of over 121 GW. Despite these gains, BSW-Solar is calling for urgent regulatory changes to remove existing market barriers. The association’s recommendations include streamlining grid connection procedures, optimizing grid fees, and simplifying rules for co-location storage to prevent battery operations from becoming prohibitively expensive.
Carsten Körnig, Managing Director of BSW-Solar, warned that upcoming legislative changes and potential subsidy cuts for small-scale solar could create market volatility. While a short-term spike in demand is expected due to pull-forward effects from the upcoming Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) amendment, Körnig emphasized that temporary booms are no substitute for reliable investment conditions. The association also advocates for ending the practice of curtailing solar power during grid congestion or negative price periods, suggesting that excess energy should instead be diverted to local storage systems.