Solarenergie-Förderverein Deutschland

The Solarenergie-Förderverein Deutschland e. V. (SFV) is a German environmental-policy association headquartered in Aachen. Founded on 15 November 1986 as the Solarenergie-Förderverein e. V., it was renamed Solarenergie-Förderverein Deutschland e. V. on 1 November 2003. It is recognised as a non-profit organisation and operates nationwide, working as an environmental-protection association under its statutes. Its membership consists of individual (private) members as well as supporting members, mostly companies, who do not hold voting rights. The association's central goal is the fastest possible conversion of energy supply to 100 percent renewable sources, especially solar and wind power. It also advocates the technical removal of CO2 from the atmosphere. It regards climate change caused by the use of fossil fuels and the dangers of radioactive radiation from nuclear energy as the greatest threats to human civilisation. Beyond campaigning, the SFV offers a consultation service for operators of photovoltaic systems and acts as a nationwide interest representative for private solar-power producers; it is a non-permanent assessor at the EEG Clearingstelle (the arbitration body for Germany's Renewable Energy Sources Act). The SFV is best known for the so-called Aachener Modell (Aachen Model), a market-introduction instrument for renewable energies first applied in 1994. The underlying idea of cost-covering remuneration was first presented by the SFV in 1989 and entered the Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz (EEG) in 2000, which led to the rapid spread of solar installations in Germany. The association develops proposals for the market introduction of renewable energies, for electricity storage (Power-to-X) and for a tax restructuring of the economy. In recent years it has increasingly demanded the expansion of electricity storage, arguing that a full renewable supply requires adequate storage and conversion technologies introduced through a market-introduction scheme comparable to the EEG. The SFV publishes a quarterly magazine, Solarbrief (ISSN 0946-8684), and regularly distributes newsletters on renewable-energy topics. It has long published cartoons by Gerhard Mester on climate change and the energy transition. On 23 November 2018, BUND and the SFV, together with eleven individuals including Josef Göppel, Hannes Jaenicke and Volker Quaschning, filed a constitutional complaint at the Bundesverfassungsgericht over insufficient German climate policy; the initiative for this constitutional action came from the SFV. The association has adopted five statutes in its history: in 1986, 1997, 2003, 2019 and 2024. On its website the SFV currently campaigns against planned changes to the EEG 2027 and the grid-connection package, warning that they threaten to slow the expansion of solar power on buildings. It commissioned the PV2027 study by aquu, which it says shows that planned cuts could drastically curb the expansion of private photovoltaic systems, with so-called zero feed-in curtailing 69 percent of the electricity yield of a typical PV system, extending the payback period of typical PV battery systems by 10 years to more than 25 years, and tripling generation costs to 31 cents per kilowatt-hour. The association also states that on 17 July 2026 it wrote urgently to the Federal President demanding a review of the constitutionality of the Gebäudemodernisierungsgesetz (GModG).

The Solarenergie-Förderverein Deutschland e. V. was founded on 15 November 1986 in Aachen under the name Solarenergie-Förderverein e. V. It was renamed Solarenergie-Förderverein Deutschland e. V. (SFV) on 1 November 2003. Over its history the association has given itself five statutes: in 1986, 1997, 2003, 2019 and 2024. It is recognised as non-profit and operates nationwide as an environmental-protection association. One of the association's best-known contributions is the so-called Aachener Modell (Aachen Model), a market-introduction instrument for renewable energies first applied in 1994. The underlying idea of cost-covering remuneration was first presented by the SFV in 1989. It entered the Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz (EEG) in 2000 and thereby led to a rapid spread of solar installations. The SFV develops proposals for the market introduction of renewable energies, for electricity storage (Power-to-X) and for a tax restructuring of the economy. As a nationwide interest representative it supports private solar-power producers and is a non-permanent assessor at the EEG Clearingstelle. In recent years the association has increasingly demanded the expansion of electricity storage. It argues that because electrical power is not needed continuously at the same level but according to demand, and because electricity must be delivered second-precisely to avoid grid instability, every form of electricity production — including fossil and nuclear — is bound to storage (coal piles, oil tanks, cavern storage, fuel rods, reservoirs). A full renewable supply therefore requires adequate storage, and the decisive question in the system conversion is when which new storage or conversion technologies (Power to X) must be available. In the SFV's view, a market-introduction scheme comparable to the EEG is necessary to achieve technology development and cost reduction in time. The SFV publishes the quarterly magazine Solarbrief (ISSN 0946-8684) and regularly sends newsletters on renewable-energy topics. It has for many years published cartoons by Gerhard Mester on climate change and the energy transition. On 23 November 2018, BUND and the Solarenergie-Förderverein, together with eleven individuals — among them Josef Göppel, Hannes Jaenicke and Volker Quaschning — filed a constitutional complaint at the Bundesverfassungsgericht (BVerfG) over insufficient German climate policy. The initiative for this constitutional action came from the SFV, and it was described as the first lawsuit of its kind, intended to increase pressure on politicians to do more against climate change. More recently, the SFV has campaigned against planned changes to the EEG 2027 and the grid-connection package, warning that they threaten to slow solar expansion on buildings with far-reaching consequences for the regional solar industry, citizen energy and the energy transition. It commissioned the PV2027 study from aquu, which it says shows that the planned cuts could drastically curb private PV expansion. The association also states that on 17 July 2026 it wrote urgently to the Federal President demanding a review of the constitutionality of the Gebäudemodernisierungsgesetz (GModG), arguing that in its current form the law endangers the heat transition and climate protection.

• 2026

  SFV writes urgently to the Federal President demanding review of the constitutionality of the Gebäudemodernisierungsgesetz (GModG).

• 2024

  Fifth statute adopted.

• 2019

  Fourth statute adopted.

• 2018

  BUND and SFV, with eleven individuals, file a constitutional complaint at the Bundesverfassungsgericht over insufficient German climate policy; the initiative came from SFV.

• 2003

  Renamed Solarenergie-Förderverein Deutschland e. V. (SFV); third statute adopted.

• 2000

  The cost-covering remuneration idea enters the Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz (EEG), leading to rapid spread of solar installations.

• 1997

  Second statute adopted.

• 1994

  The Aachener Modell is applied for the first time.

• 1989

  SFV first presents the idea of cost-covering remuneration, the basis of the Aachener Modell.

• 1986

  Founded in Aachen as Solarenergie-Förderverein e. V.

Non-profit environmental-policy association and nationwide interest representative for private solar-power producers, advocating 100% renewable energy and technical CO2 removal.

• Solarbrief (quarterly magazine, ISSN 0946-8684)

  Quarterly magazine published by the association.

• Newsletters on renewable energy

  Regular newsletters around the topic of renewable energies.

• Consultation service for photovoltaic system operators

  Advice service offered by the SFV for operators of photovoltaic systems.

• Aachener Modell (Aachen Model)

  Market-introduction instrument for renewable energies, first applied in 1994; its cost-covering remuneration idea entered the EEG in 2000.

• PV2027 study (commissioned from aquu)

  Study commissioned by SFV on the effects of planned EEG 2027 cuts on private photovoltaic systems.

1. 1SFV Startseitesfv.de
2. 2Solarenergie-Förderverein Deutschlandwikidata.org
3. 3Solarenergie-Förderverein Deutschlandde.wikipedia.org