Hamburg's government buildings are getting photovoltaic roofs

The program aims for 100,000 square meters of solar panels

Hamburg's Senate wants to use the city's roofs to generate energy. A short-term special program aims to create a total of 100,000 square meters of photovoltaic space with government buildings being the first to undergo the transformation. At the same time, city authorities have launched a survey into the structural and technological state of the private housing stock.

Hamburg's governmental roofs are ready to make their contribution to climate protection

The city of Hamburg is pushing hard to meet 2023 and 2030 targets for CO2 reduction.  The city's solar power program has the highest priority according to Finance Senator Andreas Dressel, who at an interview for NDR 90.3, a local radio station, commented: "This is a topic that is important to the entire Senate. The First Mayor gave us this mandate."

All 700 city-owned buildings, from the museum to the fire station, are currently being examined to see whether they can support photovoltaic systems. The spotlight is currently on the police station in the Alsterdorf District and two schools as potential candidates for solar energy generating roofs.

The installation of solar panels on the roofs of governmental buildings will happen in a multistage program, with the first stage set to be completed by 2023. The companies Sprinkenhof, Schulbau Hamburg and Hamburg Energie Solar have signed a letter of intent claiming that they will be able to provide 13 megawatts of clean energy by the end of this stage. In the final stage, an output of 50 megawatts should be possible.

A survey in Hamburg’s residential buildings

The Ministry for Urban Development and Housing is currently investigating how the CO2 balance of Hamburg's residential buildings can most effectively be improved.

For this purpose, an online survey of a randomised selection of owners of residential buildings was started on 9 July 2021 and will continue in the coming weeks. The push calls for 35,000 owners of properties in Hamburg to be solicited for the survey.

The aim of the survey is to get a representative picture of the structural and technical state of the residential buildings in Hamburg. For example, some of the questions are about the current state of the houses in terms of energy efficiency and the energy sources they use.

This information will later determine the cost and feasibility of the modernisation required.  On one hand, the climate targets must be achieved and, on the other, affordability for the owners and tenants needs to be guaranteed.

An overview of the CO2 reduction program

On 22 December 2020, the Senate agreed upon a requirement on solar roofs and highly efficient heating systems for the construction of new buildings in the city. To be more precise, 15% of the energy powering a building’s heating system after renovation should come from renewable sources.

According to city authorities, the photovoltaic obligation alone can save 60,000 tons of CO2 by 2030, contributing to a quicker energy transition, while increasing the competitiveness of the local economy and providing added value.