Germany to postpone solar incentive cuts

Germany’s plans to reduce solar power subsidies by up to 30 percent will be pushed back by at least three weeks, according to members of the ruling coalition.

A position paper, obtained by Reuters, describes how deputies from the Christian Democrats (CDU), the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Free Democrats (FDP) have agreed to postpone the date of the proposed cuts from March 9th to April 1st, citing the potential damage to both supplier and dealer confidence.

Last Wednesday, Angela Merkel and her cabinet approved the proposals put forward by Economy Minister Philipp Roesler and Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen to introduce the cuts from March 9th. 

Germany’s solar capacity now stands at 25,000 MW, with a record 7,500 megawatts added to its capacity last year and over 7,000 megawatts in 2010, nearly as much as the rest of the world combined. The German government has previously stipulated that it only wants to add 2,500-3,500 MW to its capacity each year.

To slow the rate of development the government wants to cut feed-in-tariffs (FITs) by up to 30 percent in a one-off move, following a series of annual cuts of around 15 percent.

Members from the CDU, the SPD, Greens and the CSU have all made their opposition to the cuts publicly clear. Bavarian-based CSU have been particularly loud in the voicing of their concerns and especially of proposed plans to sharply reduce the amount of subsidies granted to plants with a capacity of over 1,000 megawatts. Bavaria has seen rapid development of photovoltaic electricity since the introduction of FITs, and is home to the world’s largest one-piece solar power plant.

The proposed cuts would see incentives reduced from 0.2542 euro for small plants up to 10 kilowatts (KW) to 0.195 euro per kilowatt hour, to 0.165 euro for plants up to 1,000 KW and to 0.135 euro for plants of up to 10 MW. The cuts will only apply to new installations.

 

Images: Climate Action Stock Photos