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Germany’s cabinet approves FIT plan

A week after the country’s new feed-in tariff (FITs) scheme was unveiled, Germany’s Cabinet has today approved the proposal, meaning it will now be sent to the Parliament for consideration.

Demonstrations against the changes are still taking place across Germany.

Solarpraxis/Mirco Sieg

With demonstrations continuing around the country over the new FIT scheme, devised by Germany’s Ministers of Environment and Economics, Norbert Röttgen (CDU) and Philipp Rösler, the first hurdle to their implementation has been cleared by the Cabinet. The plans must now be sent to parliament to be debated, before they can be passed into law.

Speaking to pv magazine last week, Henning Wicht said he believed there was a 20 percent chance that changes could still be implemented. Specifically, he thinks that the cuts will not be as harsh, and that the clause where Röttgen can make tariff changes without prior consultation will be scrapped.

In what will come as a relief to the industry, it seems that the March 9 deadline will be extended. It is not clear by how much, however.

Overview of the proposed FIT changes:

• A one-off cut will be applied to all photovoltaic systems. The original deadline was March 9, however as aforementioned, it seems likely this will be extended;
• Monthly FIT reductions of €0.15 per kilowatt hour will begin in May;
• The maximum size of a plant eligible to receive a photovoltaic FIT has been capped at 10 megawatts;
• Just 85 to 90 percent of solar energy produced will receive support; and
• Röttgen wants the power to make further tariff changes without prior consultation.