A cautionary tale from Germany's PV industry
06/03/10 20:13
A small article caught my eye recently in the Economist concerning the level of Germany’s feed-in tariffs.
It seems that after years of stoking the fires of the PV renewable industry, Germany is waking up to the fact that the levels of the feed-in tariffs may be too high to sustain. These tariffs were meant to help the fledgling industry find its feet with the extra cost of these tariffs coming from slightly higher electricity bills nationwide.
This was no bad thing when the industry accounted for less than 1% of Germany’s electricity generation. But with the level now approaching 2%, drastic trimming is now the order of the day.
One positive thing from all this is that the HSBC think that with the cost of wind turbine generation being 1/6 that of PV, perhaps UKPLC has plumped for the right renewable after all.
This was no bad thing when the industry accounted for less than 1% of Germany’s electricity generation. But with the level now approaching 2%, drastic trimming is now the order of the day.
One positive thing from all this is that the HSBC think that with the cost of wind turbine generation being 1/6 that of PV, perhaps UKPLC has plumped for the right renewable after all.
