To achieve the ambitious climate targets of the Federal Climate Change Act a rapid expansion of renewable energies, particularly wind and photovoltaics (PV), is crucial. In this context, achieving 215 GW of installed PV capacity by 2030 has become a specific target of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG).

This report deals with the central role that buildings play in meeting PV expansion targets, with the potential to cover up to 25% of EU electricity consumption through rooftop PV. Rooftop PV systems offer high social acceptance and proximity to consumption, reducing conflicts with land use and environmental conservation goals. However, significant barriers hinder accelerated PV expansion, including monetary factors like changing economic conditions or the regulatory framework and non-monetary obstacles such as grid connection complexities.

The report takes stock of the status quo of PV use in the building sector and the associated obstacles and discusses relevant legal regulations and their development. It also includes profitability calculations for selected regulations and system types and suggests possible improvements to existing legislation.