Experts see room for improvement in Germany's new solar law

The new legal framework for the expansion of photovoltaics planned by the German government in the so-called Solar Package I met with general approval at a public hearing of the Committee on Climate Protection and Energy on Wednesday (November 15). However, the experts called for further changes to ensure that the annual increase in the capacity of photovoltaic systems can be increased to 22 gigawatts (GW) as planned. The German Solar Industry Association BSW, for example, is calling for subsidies for products manufactured in Europe. Carsten Körnig, managing director of the BSW, says this is »probably the last chance for the solar industry to re-establish itself in Germany« in the face of fierce competition from the US and Asia. If a renaissance of the solar industry is to succeed, consumers and companies must not pay more for European solar products. The BSW's resilience concept was supported by Anne Eibisch, representing Meyer Burger Technology AG, a module and solar cell manufacturer producing in Germany.
Simone Peter, president of the Bundesverband Erneuerbare Energien (BEE), also wants more money. To encourage commercial property owners to invest significantly more in PV, the EEG feed-in tariffs for new systems on commercial rooftops should be adjusted.
However, Carsten Pfeiffer, head of strategy and policy at the Bundesverband Neue Energiewirtschaft, believes that it is not a question of »increasing remuneration, but of staying on course and removing obstacles«. This includes, for example, the issue of rights of way. A mechanism also needs to be worked out to allow unmet targets for wind power to be compensated for by photovoltaics. Instead, there are still braking elements within photovoltaics that prevent this, he said.
A summary of the comments can be found on the homepage of the German Bundestag.
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