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Spanish government keeps solar industry in FITs suspense, after announcing fraud investigation

Spain's Asociación Empresarial Fotovoltaica (AEF) announced at a press conference held last week that negotiations on future solar subsidiaries have been postponed for the next two months, while the country's government awaits the results of an investigation to find out which PV plants were illegally connected to the power grid in September 2008.

The outcome of the PV fraud investigation will help determine future subsidies' cuts. Image: Uli Carthaeuser/Pixelio.

Savings potentials are then to be determined in such a way that future cuts in subsidies can be calculated on the basis of these figures.

This postponement in the tug of war, which has already lasted more than four months, has prompted AEF President Juan Laso - one of the participants involved in the negotiations - to comment: “Either they don’t want to, they can’t, or they have no idea what is going on here.”

He went on to say: “During the entire period there has not been one agreement, not a single understanding. Today we still don’t know what the government actually wants. We made several suggestions that respect investment security even with the cuts, but the government was willing to cross the line of legality from the very outset.”

The head of the association also criticized the fact that the stalemate surrounding solar subsidies has already prevented installation of an additional 500 megawatts and investments of more than €1.5 billion.

Related Spanish news:

• Spain: PV parks to be investigated for fraud
• Shock for Spain’s solar industry, pv magazine told
• Spain overtakes US with world's biggest solar power station; aims to reach 2,500 MW by 2013