Bavarian State Secretary visits BELECTRIC

• Tobias Gotthardt, State Secretary in the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, visits BELECTRIC headquarters in Kolitzheim, Germany
• Off-the-record conversation on the increasing challenges of integrating ground-mounted photovoltaic systems into the grid

Kolitzheim (Germany) – BELECTRIC, member of Elevion Group, welcomed Bavarian State Secretary Tobias Gotthardt and Markus Wagenhäuser from the Department for Photovoltaics, Solarthermics and Wind Energy to Kolitzheim, Germany, on May 23rd. The company visit’s main topic was the growing challenges relating to the grid integration of ground-mounted photovoltaic systems.

Political momentum from Kolitzheim in Lower Franconia, Germany: On May 23rd, the solar energy company BELECTRIC welcomed Tobias Gotthardt, State Secretary in the Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, and Markus Wagenhäuser from the Department for Photovoltaics, Solarthermics and Wind Energy to its headquarters. The guests from the Bavarian State Ministry were received by the Management Board and relevant representatives of BELECTRIC.

After a greeting by BELECTRIC CEO Dr. Thorsten Blanke, Tobias Gotthardt gave a status update and an outlook on renewable energies in the German state of Bavaria. n off-the-record conversation on the growing challenges of integrating ground-mounted photovoltaic systems into the grid was followed by a tour of the construction site of a BELECTRIC solar farm located nearby.

Tobias Gotthardt, State Secretary in the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy, explains: “The expansion of photovoltaic systems in Bavaria has increased significantly in recent years. In 2024 alone, over four gigawatts were newly installed. What matters now is that all parties involved take more responsibility for the system integration of solar power. Ultimately, Bavaria needs the safest, smartest, and most sustainable energy system in the world. This includes the consistent expansion of the electricity grids as well as innovative concepts from grid operators and project planners. The combination of solar farms and storage systems promoted by BELECTIC will make an important contribution to this.”

“We are very pleased about the visit from the Bavarian State Ministry”, explains Dr Thorsten Blanke, CEO of BELECTRIC, Member of Elevion Group. “The new federal government’s coalition agreement promises a paradigm shift in terms of large-scale storage. We hope that Bavaria will now also proactively push ahead with the mentioned privileged status of battery storage systems. However, grid operators are currently reluctant to provide grid connections, if at all. A lack of grid serviceability is often put forward. Grid stability is an important issue for all of us, and we believe that the system-friendly integration of storage systems is part of the solution.”

Visit from the Bavarian State Ministry: Johannes Linder (Director System Design & Innovation at BELECTRIC), Jaroslaw Smialek (Senior Director Project Development at BELECTRIC), Tobias Gotthardt (State Secretary in the Bavarian State Ministry for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy), Dr. Thorsten Blanke (CEO of BELECTRIC), and Christian Weck (Head of Technical O&M at BELECTRIC) (from left) held an off-the-record conversation in Kolitzheim, Lower Franconia, Germany, focused on the challenges facing the solar industry.