Bundestag votes in favour of solar incentive cuts

The German Bundestag has voted in favour of cuts in solar incentives and approved new guidelines for renewable energies. With a majority of votes from the coalition, the law to change regulation regarding renewable energies (17/8877) passed the Bundestag on Thursday.

305 members of the Bundestag voted for, 235 against the new law that sees cuts in FiTs up to 32%. Further, a proposal by Die Linke to retract the cuts and to introduce a support program for the solar industry was declined.

Environment minister Dr. Norbert Röttgen (CDU) defended the cuts once more. “The success story of photovoltaics will continue,” he said. The law will take effect from July 2012.