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CLIMATE CRISIS

German police carry out nationwide raids against climate activists

German police on Wednesday carried out raids across seven states targeting climate activists of the "Letzte Generation" (Last Generation) group, which has sparked controversy with street blockades involving protesters glueing themselves to the asphalt.

Last Generation Berlin
Last Generation protesters glued themselves to the street in Berlin in April. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Paul Zinken

The raids were ordered in an investigation targeting seven people aged 22  to 38 over suspicions of “forming or supporting a criminal organisation”, said a joint statement by Bavaria’s police and prosecutors.

Fifteen properties were searched, two accounts seized and an asset freeze ordered.

The suspects are accused of “organising a donations campaign to finance further criminal acts” for the group via its website.

At least 1.4 million had been collected in the campaign, said the authorities, adding that “these funds were according to current information mostly used for the committing of further criminal action  of the association”.

The authorities did not specify the “criminal action” they were referring to but said two of the suspects are alleged to have tried to sabotage an oil pipeline between Trieste, Italy, and Ingolstadt, Germany, deemed a “critical  infrastructure” in Bavaria.

Dozens of climate activists from the group have found themselves before the courts in recent weeks over their traffic blockade actions.

READ ALSO: Munich airport forced to close runway due to climate protests

A Last Generation activist glues his hand to the street in Munich in November.

A Last Generation activist glues his hand to the street in Munich in November. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Lennart Preiss
‘Completely nuts’

Most have received fines for disrupting traffic or obstructing police work but some courts have begun toughening their sentences to also hand down jail convictions.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his coalition have also expressed frustration at the activists for their tactics ranging from hunger strikes to throwing mashed potato on paintings in museums.

Scholz this week blasted Letzte Generation’s protests as “completely nuts” and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck of the Greens has also frowned upon the activists’ protests.

The street blockades were “not a helpful contribution to climate protection,” Habeck had said, because they don’t win consensus but they “irritate people”.

Scenes of angry motorists shouting at the glued activists or dragging them off the streets have accompanied many of the street blockades.

The activists argue however that their protests are vital in the face of inadequate action taken by the government and society in general to protect  the environment and prevent catastrophic global warming.

“We, who are alive today, are the last who can still hinder the irreversible collapse of the climate,” the group said.

Besides Letzte Generation, Germany has seen a host of other climate  activist groups carrying out eye-catching protests in the last years.

Another group, Scientist Rebellion, hurled cake at Volkswagen bosses at the German carmaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting earlier this month.

Outside the meeting, protests also gathered to put pressure on Europe’s  biggest car maker to slash its carbon footprint.

READ ALSO: Last Generation climate activists plan to bring Berlin to a ‘standstill’

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CLIMATE CRISIS

How installing solar panels at home is set to become easier in Germany

As part of its drive to roll out renewable energy, Germany has passed a new law that will make it easier to install solar panels on your balcony. Here's what homeowners and renters need to know.

How installing solar panels at home is set to become easier in Germany

With rising prices affecting almost every area of life, many people are looking for ways to cut costs wherever they can. 

When it comes to electricity, this could include looking at renewable options like installing solar panels on your balcony.

According to data from the Federal Network Agency’s Market Data Register, this is an increasingly popular choice. As of April 2nd this year, there were around 400,000 balcony solar units in operation in Germany, compared to just 230,000 in the summer of last year.

These little photovoltaic systems can be a great way to become more self-sufficient by producing your own energy for the home – but despite the benefits, you may have been put off by fears of mountains of paperwork and an uncertainty around the rules.

READ ALSO: How to install a solar panel on your balcony in Germany (even if you rent)

The government’s new Solar Energy Package, passed on Friday, aims to solve this issue by making it simpler for people in apartments or single-family homes to install solar panels and use their own energy.

It’s part of a major drive to roll out renewable energy in Germany, pushing up photovoltaic capacity from 7.5 gigawatts in 2022 to 22 gigawatts in 2026 and ultimately 215 gigawatts by 2030. 

But what exactly is changing for homeowners and renters? Here’s what we know so far.

Streamlined registration process

Rather than having to register with your local network operator when installing solar panels on your balcony, in future simply registering with the Federal Network Agency’s Market Data Register will suffice. This streamlined process has been in place since April 1st, 2024. 

Increased capacity allowance

Solar devices installed in the home are allowed to be more powerful in future. If your future device has an installed output of up to 2 kilowatts and an inverter output of up to 800 volt-amperes in total, you can register it quickly in a simple and unbureaucratic registration process.

Previously, devices were only allowed an inverter output of up to 600 volt-amperes. 

No barriers on meters

In a transitional measure designed to encourage more people to switch to solar energy, balcony installations can be run through any type of meter on the market.

Solar panels on a German balcony

Solar panels on a balcony in Germany. The government is making it easier for people to produce – and use – their own solar energy. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/iStock.comMaryanaSerdynska | Maryana Serdynska

This includes meters without a backstop, which run backwards when more energy is produced than is used. These, alongside normal one-way meters with a backdrop, will be permitted for a limited time until modern digital meters can be installed. 

Under previous rules, both older types of meter were prohibited. 

Simpler energy storage

In future, balcony solar systems will be able to store energy with a conventional shockproof plug. This will make installation way easier than it was before.

READ ALSO: German government to subsidise up to €30,000 of heating revamp costs

Easier operation of multi-unit buildings

To enable tenants in apartment blocks to use cheaper solar power from roofs, garages or battery storage systems directly, the new instrument of “communal building supply” is being introduced. This eliminates the complicated requirement to feed energy into the general electricity grid and permits residents to use the energy generated themselves.

In future, tenants will also be able to take out an affordable supplementary tariff themselves for electricity that is not covered by their solar installation. Some rules on this still need to be clarified though, so watch this space. 

Tenant subsidies in commercial buildings

In future, tenant electricity will also be subsidised for commercial buildings and ancillary facilities such as garages if the electricity generated there is consumed immediately, i.e. without being fed through the grid.

This allows several energy systems to be combined and should avoid the overwhelming technical barriers that were previously a problem in residential neighbourhoods. 

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