After Trina and Jinko, Canadian Solar decides to Expand Capacity
February 21, 2014USA going bananas with its Solar Trade Policies – Taiwan in the crosshairs
February 24, 2014Germany has managed to substantially slow down the additions of solar energy systems to its grid. The country installed only 3.3 GW of new solar energy capacity in 2013, which is down sharply from the average of 7.5 GW it installed over the previous 3 years. The main reasons for the decline was the sharp cut down in feed in tariffs, which made Germany the world’s biggest country in terms of solar energy capacity. This trend is set to continue, with Germany expected to install just 2.8 GW of solar capacity in 2014 according to EUPD.
Germany has seen a sharp reduction in large scale utility grid connected solar farms as the feed in tariffs have become lower than the electricity rates. Note Germany has now primarily become a residential solar market and now more systems are being installed on the basis of “self consumption”. Solar electricity rates for home owners are now lower than what they pay to the utility for normal electricity. This means that it has become more economical to put up solar panels on your house than buying electricity from outside.
Toshiba has already partnered with a local company to start selling solar electricity to house owners competing directly with major utilities. The major solar installers are up in arms against the new regulations and targets. However given that Germany has installed such a huge amount of solar capacity in such a short time, the arguments ring a bit hollow. Germany has been instrumental in getting the solar industry and energy to where it is today. The country can take a bow and gracefully reduce the subsidies to allow pure economics to take over.