Ukraine’s parliament has approved the second draft Green Energy Bill, paving the way for a 27% reduction in solar feed-in tariffs in the country from 2013.
The Romanian National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) has suggested the number of green certificates awarded to investments in PV and biomass should be cut.
Poland looks set to ramp up its support for large solar plants through a new feed-in tariff and a green certificates programme in a bid to meet European Union 2020 renewables targets.
The French Energy Regulation Commission (CRE) has fixed its feed-in tariff (FiT) to €0.035 (US$0.045) and €0.075 (US$0.097) for the fourth quarter of 2012, having fallen from €0.045 (US$0.058) and €0.095 (US$0.123).
The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has announced that solar installations under the country’s feed-in tariff (FiT) have reached 1.3GW across the UK, according to Solar Power Portal.
Diminishing government subsidies mean overall revenues in the European PV solar market will shrink to €6.57 billion by 2015, a study by market research company Frost & Sullivan has estimated.
The government of Tamil Nadu, India, has committed to generate 3,000MW of solar power by 2015 (1,000MW per year) through its newly launched Solar Energy Policy 2012, according to reports.
Ahead of the official release from the four leading German high voltage network operators (TSOs) next week, Reuters has released information that the push towards green power could cause the country’s renewable energy surcharge to rocket by almost 47% by next year. The article states that this is a reflection of the increasing amount of electricity from renewable sources, bought from producers at guaranteed prices above market rates.
The long and winding road to this final determination imposing anti-dumping and countervailing duties against Chinese manufacturers has finally been reached. The US Department of Commerce (DoC) has announced that Chinese producers/exporters have sold solar cells in the United States at dumping margins ranging from 18.32% to 249.96%. The DoC also determined that Chinese producers/exporters have received countervailable subsidies of 14.78% to 15.97%. This is approximately the same as the ruling in May and in some cases 10% lower.
Executives from American solar manufacturers, distributors and installers testified before the International Trade Commission demanding Chinese manufacturers be held accountable for the “unmistakable causes of damage to the American solar industry.” They added that without relief, including the application of duties for the surge in imports after the cases were filed, it is unlikely that the American industry can survive.
