Gigantic PV system enrages neighborhood: German “solar rebel” wants to emigrate to Spain

• Wolfgang Pauer lives in the Munich community of Hohenbrunn. He literally covered his six-person house with solar cells.
• The PV system makes it completely independent of the power grid. According to Pauer, he also saves 20,000 liters of heating oil a year.
• However, the large number of modules drew residents’ attention, who were bothered by the appearance. There are also safety concerns.

Whether in the form of small solar generators, as a trailer for extending the range of electric cars or as an awning that generates electricity: PV systems are currently on everyone’s lips. They are part of the life’s work of Wolfgang Pauer from Munich. He has been building modules on his property for around ten years. The complex is now so large that it clearly stands out on Google Maps.

Because Pauer has not only equipped the roof of his house with solar cells. The PV system stretches long over the facade, along a meter-long fence and covers his garage. Not everyone likes that. Residents expressed safety concerns years ago, reports Merkur.

Now the long-standing dispute between Pauer and residents has reached the next level of escalation. According to a court-ordered removal order, the father of the family is to dismantle a large part of the PV system. Pauer does not want to see this, and continues to proudly report on his mammoth project.

He saves up to 20,000 liters of heating oil a year, his house, in which six people live, is completely self-sufficient, both in summer and in winter. But local residents see it differently. In addition to isolated admiration for his project, there was a lot of criticism. Neighbors were bothered by the paved look and expressed safety concerns about fire protection. After all, the homeowner implemented surface coolers, special heat pumps and more on his own.

In 2013, an inspector came to the conclusion that the statics could be dangerous and that a fire hazard could not be ruled out. The conclusion at the time was that Pauer violated the applicable building regulations. Pauer sued, but the proceedings have dragged on for years. Til today. Pauer also appealed against the current decision.

“It’s sad and unfair,” he says. Nevertheless, the private solar installer is now thinking aloud about giving in and dismantling his PV system. He wants to look for a property in Spain and feed the generated electricity into the Spanish grid in the future. Perhaps special wind trees would have been an alternative for Pauer.