FiT

Italy is faced with three very important considerations in determining how to power the nation: Very modest domestic energy resources (it imports 87% of its electricity), resulting high electricity prices and abundance of sunlight. Consequently, over the last few years the Italian government has instituted a series of policies to promote solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment. Growing from just 60MW in 2007, Italy installed almost 2GW of solar PV last year - making it the second largest market in the world.Read more

In Germany we will likely install about 8 gigawatts (GW) of new solar systems by the end of this year, meaning Germany will double its market compared to 2009 and hence would follow the worldwide trend (the world market in 2009 was 7.5 GW and 2010 is predicted to be about 14.7 GW).

For 2011, the German industry expects about 6 GW of photovoltaics (PV) to be installed, a number which was published recently in the “Roadmap for the Solar Economy” by the German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar).

In a perfect world we would be confident in these numbers and projections, but the situation is much more complex. The following are my thoughts on factors that could impact the solar industry in Germany in the coming year.Read more

Despite the fact that Germany has far fewer renewable energy resources than the U.S., Berlin is surging ahead of Washington in terms of green job creation. In just the last eight years, Germany has generated 300,000 jobs in the renewable energy sector (their fastest-growing in fact), while the U.S. has struggled to keep the renewable energy jobs it does have from being outsourced. Which begs the question: how did a country that has fewer sunny days per year than Seattle become such a clean energy powerhouse? In a word, policy.Read more

Earlier this month, I attended the world’s largest exhibition for the solar industry, Intersolar Europe, which reflects the dynamic developments along the entire value added chain in the areas of photovoltaics (PV) and solar thermal technology. Under the principle of connecting solar businesses, Intersolar brings together solar industry manufacturers, suppliers, institutes and associations, many of which use this time to discuss industry trends and challenges.Read more

The German government coalition recently made a cabinet decision to cut back support of PV solar electricity funding. Consequently, solar power plants may be promoted significantly less in the future. Despite major concessions from the industry, the reduction of the solar feed-in tariff (FiT) is considered drastic, although the actual relief for electricity customers will only be marginally affected for the time being.Read more