Policy

Australia's Minister for Climate Change, Greg Combet has revealed that the country's subsidies for households that install solar panels will end a year earlier than planned. The Solar Credits Scheme, originally implemented in 2008, which gives households up to five times more renewable energy credits for the electricity generated by their solar systems, will now end in mid-2014, with the credit 'multiplier' reduced every year until that date.

Spain has made a decision to freeze the beginning of the country's €13.5 billion program to sell state-guaranteed power bonds until government debt-market volatility abates. Bank workers, who had begun calculating investor interest in the first tranche of bonds, will now have to wait until the yield stabilises on the country's debt.

Israel's National Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau has signed the first power purchase agreement (PPA) for renewable energy in the country's history, with Ketura Sun, the joint venture between Arava Solar Power Company (APC) and Kibbutz Ketura, which is developing a 4.9MW plant in the southern Arava near Eilat. The agreement, which will stretch over 20 years, is said to be worth NIS 250 million.

The Spanish government has now confirmed the country's reduced feed-in tariff rate, which will be paid to new solar-power projects. Ground-mounted plants' tariff will be cut by 45% while residential rooftop systems will be paid 5% less than before. All existing installations will receive the tariff quoted at the time of connection, for the full period of 25 years.

The Indian Government has warned that all companies that have been placed on the shortlist to qualify for incentives under the country's program to boost solar power generation will have to submit final bids by Nov. 16, reports Bloomberg.

The UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced the coalition government's Comprehensive Spending review, revealing that there will be no immediate cuts to the country's solar feed-in tariff, according to PV-Tech's UK sister site, Solar Power Portal.

According to the new Conto Energia III, Italy will reduce its funding for solar electricity in three phases starting from 2011. The cuts, which were first provisionally announced back in July, come in line with the current market conditions, which are forcing countries all over Europe to follow suit. However, despite these changes, EuPD Research remains positive that the Conto Energia III still offers a high degree of investment security.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has issued a proposed decision to launch a new renewable incentive program with the aim of driving the uptake of mid-sized renewable energy development. This next-generation feed-in tariff program will require investor-owned California utilities to purchase electricity from renewable energy systems between one and 20MW in size.

An announcement by Sharp Solar outlining the potential boom in the Turkish PV market has referred to the country’s government’s recent introduction of a €0.28 feed-in tariff for the first 10 years, with a rate of €0.22 thereafter for another 10-year period. Turkey receives an average of seven hours of sunshine per day, with a radiation intensity of 1,300 kilowatt-hours per square metre.

The UK feed-in tariff rates have now been finalized, offering its residents a financial incentive for producing renewable energy. The government has confirmed the proposed rate, which will begin to take effect from April 1, 2010.