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Solar power boom
Document type: article
Download file(s):
137991 (141 KB)
Abstract:
Last year more the solar industry made record profits. The worldwide demand for PV solar systems grew from a mere 125 megawatts (MW) in 1999 to 4,500 MW in 2008. This huge increase in demand was largely due to market incentives, in particular the feed-in tariff (FiT). The FiT was first introduced in Denmark, then on a larger scale in Germany and later in Spain. It works as follows: utility companies are obliged by law to accept - and give priority to - renewable energy (wind or solar) that ‘third parties’ produce and feed into the electricity grid. They also have to pay a fixed amount per kilowatt hour (kWh), guaranteed for many years (20 in Germany, 25 in Spain). To cover the costs of the FiT scheme, utility companies are permitted to raise the price per 1 kWh that households pay for their electricity. In most cases, the costs of the incentive scheme do therefore not appear in government budgets.
Authors:
Lammers, E.
Category:
General
End Page:
14
Serial number:
13
ISSN:
1874-2033
Journal:
The Broker
Keywords:
energy resources
,
sustainable development
Language:
eng
Organization:
The Broker
Year:
2009
Right:
© 2009 IDP. This article has been licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported license.
Subject:
Environment and Natural Resources
Start Page:
12
Title:
Solar power boom