Sandra Enkhardt
Germany: PV development continues to decline
Germany added more than 10,000 PV installations with a total capacity of 291.64 MW in August. Starting October, FITs for PV systems between 1 and 10 MW will fall for the first time below EUR 0.10 per kilowatt hour.
Diehl Controls cuts 50 jobs
Photovoltaic manufacturer Diehl Controls plans to let go of 50 employees in its production facility in Wangen, Germany. The works council and trade union have already agreed upon a severance package for the employees.
Germany: 313 MW of newly installed PV in July
The Federal Network Agency in Germany has presented the latest figures for added photovoltaic capacity in the country. Up to now around 2,110 MW of total capacity has been registered. Solar parks exceeding 10 MW are no longer being developed.
Bosch modules continue to be produced
Photovoltaic module manufacturer Bosch will continue production until the end of the year according to reporting in the German press. Thereafter Bosch will discontinue the manufacture of crystalline solar modules. Whether there will be a new investor for the plant in Arnstadt remains uncertain.
Reported signs of state aid for Chinese PV manufacturers emerge
The EU Commission has reportedly found evidence that Chinese PV manufacturers benefitted from state subsidies. There will be no provisional duties implemented, however, and the compromised reached in August will remain in place.
EU energy commissioner calls for reform of German RE law
EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger called for a fundamental reform of Germany’s renewable energy law during a speech in Berlin.
Switzerland plans radical solar subsidy cuts
The Swiss Solar Energy Professional Association (Swissolar) calls the government’s plans for PV “catastrophic”. Feed-in tariffs, payment duration and the separate category for integrated PV systems are on the chopping block. Still there might be some positive outcomes.
Positive signals from Trina, Yingli and Jinko Solar
Analysts from IHS see the second quarter of 2013 as a turning point. Leading Chinese PV manufacturers have posted very positive quarterly figures and markedly improved prospects. The recovery is not expected to be short lived.
Germany: Monthly FIT degression remains at 1.8%
Germany added some 300 MW of new photovoltaic capacity in June, according to the German Federal Network Agency. Hence, monthly FIT reductions of 1.8% will apply for the months of August, September and October.
Number crunch in German solar sector
The bankruptcies, losses and production cuts of German photovoltaic companies show the dire state the country’s solar industry is in. An enquiry made by the Die Linke political party revealed there are only around 87,000 jobs in the PV sector and sales figures have also shrunk drastically. The ongoing EEG discussions are, however, not responsible for the turmoil, according to the federal government.
