Federal Environment Minister Nobert Röttgen, from the CDU party, has decided that further cuts need to be implemented on solar subsidies to curb the massive expansion of photovoltaics in Germany. He apparently told the German "Handelsblatt Jahrestagung Energiewirtschaft" according to the German Press Agency (dpa), "We need an adjustment, and tomorrow I will speak with the industry".
It seems like a significant reduction is a necessity. He added that the suggestions indicated in the EEG (German Renewable Energy Act) for further FIT reductions were due to the drastic price decline of solar modules.
An installed capacity of 7,500 megawatts in one year, namely 2011, is also seen as too much, also from the point of view of grid connection and stability. Nevertheless, Röttgen wishes to hold Germanys position as technology leader.
Röttgen has always been for a flexible ceiling for solar. He had also previously rejected a fixed cap of annual solar installations. He added that new proposals do not always lead to reliable predictions.
On Wednesday, pv magazine ran an exclusive interview with German Consumer Rights expert Holger Krawinkel, in which he advocated dramatic cuts to the photovotlaic FITs. This, he aruged, would not only ease the financial burden on the consumer, but also bring to end arguments as to photovoltaics being too expensive a technology.
Popular content
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
Share
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.