Listen to some commentators and you could be forgiven for thinking that the solar/PV industry in Europe was on its knees, decimated by tariff cuts, economic crises and cheap imports. However, experts on the cutting-edge of the industry tell a different story, with many claiming that the ‘green shoots of recovery’ are well-established, while some claim we are in fact heading for another boom. PES went on the hunt for the truth.
Let’s start with the UK. In August this year, solar panel installations were 54 per cent less than the weekly average for the previous year, following a cut to the government’s feed-in tariff incentive scheme in April. And while the number of installations has recovered slightly since the 90% drop seen in the weeks immediately following the halving of the subsidy on 1 April, they have failed to match the level of installations in 2011.
However, while smaller solar installations may be dropping, larger projects in Britain are still being approved. Earlier this month, the country’s largest solar project, an 8MW farm, was given the go-ahead.
Two even bigger projects in Cornwall are currently in the early stages of planning. Utility company Good Energy is looking into applying for planning permissions for a 25-30MW project on 224 acres, while the German firm Kronos Solar is looking at a 120-acre site in the south of the country for a 25MW installation.
Talking of Germany, things aren’t looking too bad there, either.
The latest installation figures from the German Federal Network Agency show that the country’s mid-year subsidy change for rooftop installations has caused a surge in solar demand for the first half of 2012, with more than 4.3GW installed in a period of just six months. This figure compares to just 1.71GW installed in the same period last year.
