(Bloomberg) -- Germany is banking on using the nation’s rooftops to speed up its solar push and cut reliance on fossil fuels. 

Half of the country’s new photovoltaic cells should be placed on buildings in the next seven years, according to a new government strategy draft presented on Friday. 

Germany aims to more than triple it solar capacity by the end of the decade, when it hopes to produce the bulk of its power from clean sources. But to achieve that, the country will also have to triple the amount of capacity it adds each year. 

Europe’s largest economy has struggled to lure the type of investment needed for a quick ramp-up of renewables, with urgency now rising as the nation aims to reduce its reliance on coal and replace Russian gas flows.

To speed up installation and approval processes, the government’s new strategy proposes eleven fields of actions, from cutting red tape to incentivizing plug-in solar units for balconies. 

According to the German Solar Industry Association, demand is on the rise, with four out of five real estate owners considering installing a PV module for powering or heating their homes. However, most panels will have to be mounted on company rooftops or as ground-mounted parks.

The challenge is that entrepreneurs expect a solar investment to pay for itself in seven to eight years on average, said the association’s chairman Carsten Koernig. “Under the current conditions, this is not yet possible in the majority of cases.”

The government aims to present its final photovoltaic strategy in early May.

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.