BERLIN, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Germany's total installed solar power capacity has surpassed 100 gigawatts (GW) for the first time, accounting for approximately 14 percent of the country's electricity consumption, the German Solar Association (BSW) said on Monday.

In 2024, around one million photovoltaic systems with a combined peak output of around 17 GW were newly installed on rooftops and open spaces, representing a 10-percent increase from 15.4 GW in 2023, according to the association.

Ground-mounted solar parks drove growth in 2024, with capacity expanding by about 40 percent year-on-year. Demand for plug-in solar devices, known as "balcony power plants," continued to surge, with newly installed capacity doubling compared to the previous year.

Germany aims to meet 80 percent of its electricity demand with renewable energy by 2030. To reach this goal, the country needs to install an additional 145 GW of wind energy and 215 GW of solar energy.

"With market growth of roughly the same magnitude over the next two years, we are entering the home stretch," said Carsten Koernig, managing director of the BSW.

However, Koernig warned that reaching the next milestones in the energy transition is not guaranteed. He emphasized that achieving these goals will require "an attractive and reliable regulatory framework" from the next federal government. ■