German government, solar industry association conclude FiT cut conundrum

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Federal Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen and the German Solar Industry Association have agreed to bring forward the reductions of financial support for solar power in order to facilitate the further expansion of photovoltaics in Germany. The government revealed late last week that, together with the industry, it was set to bring in a reduction of up to 12%, which would be pulled forward six months to July 1st this year.

“The industry and I have agreed…that there need to be a reduction in [solar electricity] subsidies,” Röettgen told delegates at the annual Handelsblatt energy conference in Berlin on Wednesday.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

This early reduction could amount to between 3 and 15%, depending on market growth. The basis for calculating this early reduction will be the development of domestic photovoltaic demand from March to May 2011, as determined by the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur).

If, however, the market slows and projected market growth for the entirety of 2011 is less than 3.5GWp, the first feed-in tariff adjustment won't occur until the beginning of 2012, as previously planned.

“We welcome this clear political commitment to expanding photovoltaics, to Germany as a production site and to the more than 130,000 jobs created so far by photovoltaic technology,” said Günther Cramer, president of BSW-Solar.

The objective in expanding photovoltaics is to increase the proportion of Germany's power supplied by solar energy from around 2% currently to at least 10% by 2020, while simultaneously cutting costs by at least half during the same period.

“Moving these flexible portions forward sets the photovoltaic industry an ambitious goal of further reducing costs within a very short space of time, so that the price of photovoltaic systems remains attractive to consumers. This agreement on flexible adjustment to financial support makes it possible to avoid introducing a fixed cap to the market.

A fixed cap would not only cancel out competitive market forces, but would also prove counterproductive to the objective of further reducing the price of photovoltaic systems,” continued Cramer. “Flexible adjustments to the feed-in tariff contribute significantly to attaining our goal of expanding installed photovoltaic capacity from 52-70GW by 2020, while limiting the cost of solar power to around two cents/kWh.”

The solar industry is also expected to expand module production and upstream production steps in Germany from 3.2GW to more than 8GW by 2020, shaping the global move toward a renewable energy supply, with a substantial proportion of ‘made in Germany’ photovoltaics.

Cramer states, “Our objective in this is to become capable of competing with conventional energy sources as quickly as possible. Thanks to great successes in cost reduction, first market segments will be independent of financial support by 2017.”

Read Next

July 4, 2025
Australian retailer AGL Energy has confirmed its acquisition of South Australia’s Virtual Power Plant (SAVPP) from Tesla.
July 3, 2025
Renewable energy curtailment in Brazil is set to reach 8% across the country, and be as high as 11% in the north-east, by 2035.
July 3, 2025
Spanish IPP Zelestra has secured a €235 million (US$277 million) increase to its sustainability-linked loan, bringing the total to €770 million.
July 3, 2025
US tracker manufacturer GameChange Solar has introduced the Genius Tracker TF, a new terrain-following solar tracker system designed to deliver “the industry’s lowest grading requirement on challenging terrain.” 
Premium
July 3, 2025
Meeting the UK’s solar targets will not simply require the installation of new capacity, but investment in grid infrastructure and training.
July 3, 2025
TotalEnergies has expanded its renewables assets in the Caribbean, sold a stake in projects in Portugal and begun construction on two PV parks in Spain.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK