Photovoltaic incentive programs country profiles

MARKET TRENDS

With virtually unlimited potential, photovoltaic (PV) technology is the most promising source of electricity for the future.

Driven by carbon concerns, desire for energy independence and limited oil and gas production, many governments want to increase the share of electricity produced by solar panels. However, photovoltaic electricity production remains one of the most expensive.

An effective way to increase PV electricity production is to reduce the cost through targeted incentives. In the last ten years a number of government sponsored incentive programs have been established.

Japan and Germany led the way and each encountered tremendous success. The demand for solar panels experienced in recent years in those countries has been a direct result of their incentive programs. When a country decides to promote PV energy with incentives it will result in: immediate investment opportunities; creation of thousands of jobs; and shipping of solar products in substantial volumes. But, incentive programs are complex and it is crucial for everyone involved to have a clear picture of the situation to make informed choices.

As an example, in 2007 Spain launched interesting PV incentives which created demand and investors responded. As installed capacity exceeded targets, in 2008 the Spanish government limited the program. The PV industry in Spain was hit hard. In 2007 all lights were green and companies expanded capacity. By 2009, the limitation of the incentives reduced demand and companies suffered due to over investment.

To properly gauge the market, each new incentive program must be analyzed and converted into a number of peak megawatts (MWp) installed. As countries rush to promote this technology many new incentive programs have been announced. China, France, Czech Republic and Bulgaria among others are rolling out programs. The opportunities these programs create are not without peril.

OBJECTIVE OF THE REPORT

After discussing with key experts for each country and analyzing their programs, we have published this report to explain the market in detail. The objective of this report is to provide the best information on each country active in the PV field with data summarizing the type and the definition of incentive programs in a concise way.

For each country the following details are provided:

• general data
• Population 2006 (million)
• GDP 2006 (billion 2000$)
• Growth of GDP 1990-2006 (%)
• Total Energy production (Mtoe)
• Energy use (Mtoe)
• Energy use growth 2005-2006 (%)
• Electricity production (GWh)
• Electricity consumption (GWh)
• Electric Power consumption per capita (kWh per capita)
• Shares of source of electricity
• Nuclear, oil, wind, PV...
• Irradiation map
• Description of the incentive program
• MWp
• Key targets and possible cutoff points
• Breakdown of installation
• Residential, commercial, solar farms, rural electrification
• Past amount of installation and forecast of governments