Sweden closes rebate scheme for rooftop PV

The Swedish government has revealed that the deadline to submit applications for its rebate scheme for rooftop PV projects will close on July 7. This means that interested homeowners now have less than 30 days to submit their subsidy applications.

Svensk Solenergi, the Swedish solar industry body, said that the closure of the scheme could bring the domestic PV market to a halt. The rebates have been the main driver for solar energy in Sweden in recent years.

The government has also decided to postpone its deadline to complete projects under the rebate scheme from Dec. 31, 2020, to Jun. 30, 2021, as the pandemic has delayed the construction of many installations.

The Swedish authorities said they will still support solar and that the rebate scheme will be replaced by unspecified tax breaks from January. “But the proposed tax deduction will apply only to private individuals, not enterprises,” Svensk Solenergi said.

The government had allocated a budget of SEK1.2 billion ($128 million) for the solar rebate scheme. The program is open to homeowners, businesses and public entities. It covers 20% of the cost of buying and installing a PV system. The Swedish Energy Agency has thus far devoted SEK3.2 billion to the 10-year initiative.

The agency said that Sweden’s operational PV capacity increased from 411 MW at the end of 2018 to 698 MW at the end of 2019. In March, it revealed that it expects solar generation to surge in the 2018-22 period, alongside a predicted rise in wind power output.

This week, the agency predicted that solar generation of 400 GWh in 2018 would soar to 1.7 TWh within the next two years, with output from wind rising from 16.6 TWh to 38 TWh. However, it noted that its outlook did not consider the effects of the pandemic on the global economy.