9 July 2010 - Germany's upper house of parliament has agreed to a reduction of the country's feed-in tariff of up to 16 per cent while giving the industry an extra three months to adjust with a 13 per cent cut.
The cuts came on top of regular tariff adjustments approved on an annual basis. The Bundesrat backed the compromise from a mediation committee to cut the tariffs by 13 per cent in July and then another 3 percentage points to 16 per cent from October, following agreement from the lower house on Thursday.
The German tariff cuts are the result of a compromise reached on Monday between the upper and lower houses of parliament. The original proposal to immediately cut support for roof-top solar installations by 16 per cent hit a brick wall in the upper house.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government had pressed for deeper cuts, insisting that support must be brought into line with drops in solar prices of as much as 40 per cent. Moreover, consumer organizations have been campaigning for reductions, pointing to rising electricity prices.
Earlier this month, the cash-strapped Spanish government also announced cuts to premium tariffs for wind power and reduced the number of hours that wind and solar thermal power are eligible for premiums. But while the reductions were modest, the industry expressed fear that the photovoltaic solar sector would bear the brunt of upcoming subsidy cuts.
Elsewhere, the Czech Republic approved cuts to its generous feed-in tariffs in March, while Italy has also announced cuts to subsidy regimes for renewables.
