In addition to solar subsidy cutbacks of around 20%, planned for the start of 2019, the German Federal Ministry of Economics’ draft Energy Sources Act includes special tenders for PV and onshore wind. While many say the cuts cause great uncertainty for large-scale project developers, politician Peter Altmaier sees it differently: the energy transition is becoming safer and more affordable, he says. The decision to adopt or change the act now lies with the Federal Parliament.

The target of 105 GW of cumulative installed photovoltaic power, which was originally set for the end of the decade, has already been surpassed. PV Info Link says the 2020 solar target may now be revised upwards to 210-270 GW.

With the ruling coalition having agreed to extend additional tenders for PV and wind power, a related, draft bill by the Federal Ministry of Economics has been disclosed. The policy document includes a proposal for a 20% FIT reduction for solar installations ranging in size from 40 kW to 750 kW.

The new capacity figure fell on the previous month, mainly because fewer ground-mounted systems went online. The monthly retreat of FIT payments will stay at 1% for the next three months. According to SolarPower Europe, Germany will be by far the largest market in Europe, with 3 GW of new capacity this year.

The German PV equipment manufacturer has signed two letters of intent (LoI) for joint ventures with companies from Saudi Arabia at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Forum. The company declined to comment on the current political situation.

The final average price was slightly higher than that of the previous auction of the same kind. Successful bids were between €0.0386/kWh and €0.0515/kWh per kWh. Unlike the parallel wind energy tender, the tendered capacity was significantly oversubscribed, once again.

Analysts at Taiwan-based EnergyTrend and China’s PV Infolink have reported a further increase in demand for monocrystalline solar cells and modules in recent days. Their respective analyses on multi-crystalline products, however, do not match.

The project, under development by Gasunie, Tennet and Thyssengas, will convert wind power into green hydrogen. The plant commissioning should take place gradually starting from 2022.

The Munich-based company will receive up to €2 million for a large-scale storage facility in southern Germany. The system will consist of 52 lithium-ion car batteries –which are also used in the BMW i3 – and will be coupled with a wind farm.

There may be a much-vaunted ‘solar renaissance’ in the offing for Europe, but it hasn’t come quickly enough for the Swiss PV equipment supplier, which wants to handle most of its sales and services from China.