Photovoltaic news and pv jobs

Guillotine RE law (EEG) amendment: A call to immediate and determined opposition!

02. March 2012 By:  Karl-Heinz Remmers

Publisher, Karl-Heinz Remmers talks about what you can do to help save Germany's solar industry from the proposed feed-in tariff changes.

Dear readers,

The extremely short deadline of March 9, 2012, given for the alteration of subsidies to photovoltaics is akin to a decapitation strategy or, as Wikipedia formulates it, "Shock and Awe" (S&A). "Shock and Awe (technically known as rapid dominance) is a military doctrine based on the use of overwhelming power, dominant battlefield awareness, dominant maneuvers, and spectacular displays of force to paralyze an adversary's perception of the battlefield and destroy its will to fight." The mass media spread the term above all in its usage through U.S. forces in the Iraq War.

Since February 23, 2012, all those involved in the photovoltaic industry know that this hard-line strategy is effective. Did they not themselves feel, on Thursday and Friday last week, paralysis and emptiness while everything went suddenly haywire? Thousands of customers, deliverers, planners, all telephoning in orders incessantly to, in some fashion, gain a handle, and often only a despairing one, on the sudden alterations. Don’t be concerned then that it is still difficult for you to grasp the events or even accept them as real – you’re in good company.

But this will be of little use to this high-handed government, for this story is not over yet. There are many of us. As such we can defend ourselves against the lust for power of the Ministries and the Federal Cabinet, and indeed proceed in hope that a majority of the Members of the Bundestag will not allow their fundamental task of creating legislation to be taken away from it by its executive bodies. And above all, that many can be found them to whom the protection of trust and the very future itself are still worth something.

What you can do?

On March 5, 2012, at 13:00, come to the large-scale demo at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate! There will be many people there. And so that it gets really big, come yourself and bring with you all of those affected. There are no excuses. We have to show our faces and also demonstrate that the community affected is not just full of weaklings you can simply push about.

Talk to your local representative: A tried and tested tactics are protest actions through letters etc., as those of amongst others BSW-Solar (www.bsw-solar.de).

Yet do it differently this time: Go to your representative’s consultation hour, or just go to their office. Or call them and also the Bundestag. Don’t be afraid to get on peoples’ nerves. Then describe simply, in a personal fashion, why it concerns you. Use your own words: it needn’t be fancy. Best of all, go there directly accompanied by your staff and make it clear what the problem is (or throw down your copies of employee notices and contract cancellations as evidence). That’s a smart move given that many members do not know the exact substance of the issue and are receiving false information from their party leadership. The few better informed politicians specialized in environmental issues cannot do this alone. There are simply too few of them and they are too fragile before the force of their opponents.

Get in contact with the campaign teams or visit the Christian Democrats (CDU) and Liberal (FDP) events in Schleswig-Holstein and in Saarland. Tell the teams and the other participants what they are seeking to destroy in the election area in question. Say it loud and clear so that it becomes apparent to all what the CDU/CSU and above all Philipp Rösler’s FDP stand for.

Local press: At the current time, a lot of the media is somewhat skeptical as to whether, in face of the vehemence of the assault against photovoltaics, the action of the government is acceptable in its current form. That also applies to the majority of the media which has reported in more critical fashion. Present your story and your situation there in a more critical fashion. Write to your local paper if you have had to dismiss people, or also if you belong to those who will lose their work or livelihood. Say clearly why this is the case and how lamentable it is from the government to embark on this course at such short notice.

Online: Use all internet forums and social media in order to articulate the situation and link up with others. Here too you should clearly state your opinion. The general and the final negotiations will likely occur in Berlin. As such, leave the highfalutin sentences and compromise solutions to others!

Nonetheless, when protesting, and despite your anger, do not launch personal or insulting attacks. It may well be the case that your addressee knows little about the background to events and, as so often in the Bundestag, is simply following the herd. In an election season, members of the Bundestag can only communicate the fury of the people in the area in which the election occurs.  However, they are surely more likely to do this if treated with respect.

Try to be aware that, due to the intensity of the assault and the speed with which measures being moved forward, no time is to be lost. In March, most of the proposed alterations will be negotiated in the Bundestag and are, as such, able to negotiated about until then. At the end of March, a veto by the Bundesrat upper house of parliament is possible, as well as mediation procedures.

The Bundestag does not have to obey the Bundesrat though and as such can overrule these latter procedures. And although the Bundesrat can propose improvements, this will not though be able to overturn the law. So this situation deserves your full attention in March and April.

Remember, just like in football: "It’s not over until the referee blows his whistle."

See you on March 5, 2012, in Berlin, Germany!