Last year solar installations in Germany produced 60% more electricity than in 2010, according to the country’s Federal Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar).
PV is playing an increasingly important role in Germany’s energy portfolio and the 18 billion kWh of electricity it generated in 2011 accounted for 3% of the country’s total power output and catered for the energy requirements of 5.1 million households.
Despite recent cuts to Germany’s feed-in tariff, the BSW expects solar’s share of the total energy portfolio to grow to 10% by 2020. This is being driven by falling prices – since 2007, the price of turnkey solar power plants has more than halved – and as desire to move away from a dependence on traditional energy sources.
Most crucial to this continued growth is a stable political climate, according to BSW’s managing director, Carsten Körnig. “What the solar industry needs now is political reliability. This is indispensable for the further expansion of renewable energies and an attractive investment climate in Germany is the only way solar can continue to compete in a now highly competitive growth market.” Körnig said.
