Whether a photovoltaic installation is approval-free or goes through a formal procedure depends on size, location and type. Sound approval planning clarifies this early and avoids costly surprises.
What approval planning means here
Approval planning prepares all the documents required for the official authorisation of an installation and accompanies the procedure up to approval. For photovoltaics, the effort depends heavily on whether it is a rooftop or a ground-mounted installation and how large it is.
The aim is approval-secure planning: documents that are complete, that take account of the relevant regulations and that give the authority no opening for follow-up requests. Every follow-up request costs time, and time is often the decisive factor on energy projects.
When approval is required
Many rooftop installations are exempt from the building-law procedure, provided they stay within certain limits and there is no heritage or special case. This does not, however, release them from other duties such as registration with the grid operator and in the market master data register.
Ground-mounted installations are generally more involved. Often a local development plan is required, that is a land-use planning procedure with the municipality, supplemented by environmental assessments. For large installations further procedures may be added. Which requirements apply specifically is location- and state-specific and must be clarified early.
The approval planning process
Don’t forget the grid connection
The grid connection is, alongside the building-law side, the second critical path. The availability and capacity of the connection point, the coordination with the grid operator and the technical connection conditions often determine whether a location is economically viable.
Anyone who pursues grid connection and approval in parallel rather than one after the other loses less time. Both strands should be thought of together from the outset.
Typical pitfalls
The most common delays arise from underestimated procedures for ground-mounted installations, from missing or late-commissioned assessments and from a grid connection clarified only late. Heritage and nature conservation, too, are regularly considered too late.
From approval to realisation
With the approval the project is not yet finished but ready for execution. Now it shows whether the planning was sound: the installation is built, the grid connection established and the commissioning prepared.
In this phase too, technical support pays off. Anyone who supervises the execution ensures that what was approved and planned is actually built, and that deviations are recognised in time and documented cleanly.
The interface to the grid operator in particular is, in experience, sensitive. Connection dates, technical connection conditions and acceptance must fit the construction progress, otherwise a finished installation stands without feed-in.
Seamless support from approval planning to commissioning prevents the classic break between planning and construction. The knowledge from the procedure is retained and feeds directly into the execution, so that no time and information are lost at the transition.
Häufige Fragen
Does every PV installation need approval?
No. Many rooftop installations are exempt from the building-law procedure. Ground-mounted installations, by contrast, usually require a land-use planning procedure and environmental assessments. Registration duties with the grid operator always apply, however.
What distinguishes rooftop and ground-mounted installations?
Rooftop installations are often procedure-free; ground-mounted installations generally require a more involved procedure with the municipality and environmental assessments.
Why is the grid connection so important?
Because the availability and capacity of the connection point determine economic viability. It should be clarified in parallel with the approval.
Edoé Lassey
Edoé Lassey führt die LND Ingenieure GmbH als Bauüberwacher und Ingenieur für Infrastruktur- und Tiefbau. Die zertifizierten Rollen Technischer Berechtigter, Sicherungsüberwacher, Schaltantragsteller und Bauvorlageberechtigung gehören zum Leistungskern.
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