Electricity generated from renewable sources is, for the most part, not consumed on site where the energy is produced, but fed into the public grid. Procedures for feeding into the grid are governed by the German Act on granting priority to renewable energy sources, or the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG). This obliges operators of public grids to accept, distribute and remunerate electricity generated from renewable energy sources as a matter of priority. Alongside photovoltaics, plants generating electricity from wind and hydropower, biomass, geothermal energy and from landfill, sewer and mine gas are also subsidised.
The operator of a plant generating energy from renewable sources receives a fixed tariff per kilowatt hour for a period of 20 to 25 years. The feed-in tariff for photovoltaics laid down in the EEG is subject to annual degression. This means that the later a plant is put into operation, the lower the feed-in tariff will be. German legislators lowered the feed-in tariff again on 1st January 2012. You can find an up-to-date summary of the feed-in tariff here.

The level of the feed-in tariff depends on the energy source, location, the capacity of the plant and the year in which the plant was commissioned. The feed-in tariffs for electricity generated from photovoltaic plants are not the same for grid feed-in and for on-site consumption. The level of remuneration depends on how capacities were expanded in the previous year. The feed-in tariffs were lowered once again with the latest amendment to the EEG on 1st January 2011. You can find an up-to-date summary of the feed-in tariff here.

Switching to generating energy from renewable sources is indispensible for sustainable, climate-friendly energy supply. The Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) is the foundation for renewable energy development in Germany. Subsidisation is necessary in order to balance out the economic disadvantages of renewable energy compared to conventional energy sources and to increase the share of renewable energy sources in total energy production.

By introducing the EU directive on the promotion of electricity from renewable energy sources, which came into effect in October 2001, the Council of the European Commission laid the foundations for increasing the share of renewable energy in EU energy consumption.
The first sub-goal provided for the share of renewable energy in total EU energy consumption to double to 12% by 2010, and for a 20% increase by 2020. The EU Member States adopted country-specific targets for electricity consumption from renewable energy sources; though these could not always be met despite considerable advances made.
One of the biggest challenges lies in adapting present infrastructures to decentralised renewable energy sources. Others include lack of transparency, disadvantaging clients and project partners in terms of grid access, and providing them with insufficient information.
The accusation frequently made, that the cost of generating electricity from renewable sources is too high, is unfounded, since the external costs incurred with conventional energy supply are not taken into consideration in direct electricity price comparisons.

We are not only active in the German market but also across Europe and worldwide. In the following you will find detailed information on the subsidisation of energy generation from solar installations for Bulgaria, France, Italy and Spain.

In Bulgaria, a law was introduced in 2006, which provides feed-in tariffs for electricity generated from photovoltaic plants for a 25-year period. The tariffs lie between 37.30 and 40.06 euro cents per kilowatt hour (as at May 2010). This regulation will apply until 2015.
There is also a subvention programme financed by the “European Funds for Competitiveness” to support businesses. The “Bulgarian Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Credit Line” (BEERECL) grants loans on the on the basis of the European Investment Bank credit line for reconstruction and development. This programme is expected to run until June 2011, although the funds made available have already been used up (as at January 2011).

There has been a statutory feed-in tariff for electricity generated by photovoltaic plants in France since the beginning of 2010. Remuneration is fixed for a period of 20 years; the regulation will apply until 2012. The law is recognised nationally, though the conditions are different for mainland France, its overseas departments and Corsica. The tariffs lie between 31.40 and 58 euro cents per kilowatt hour (as at May 2010).
Moreover, electricity generated by photovoltaic plants is subsidised using various tax relief models, which are nationally uniform. There are also a large number of regional subvention models with diverse conditions. More detailed information about this can be obtained from the regional offices of the “French Environment and Energy Management Agency” (ADEME).
In December 2010, the French government announced that, for the time being, no additional photovoltaic plants over three kilowatts will be authorised before March 2011. This is because the target of generating 500 megawatts per year from solar power has been met much sooner than was expected and the legal framework for photovoltaic subsidisation must now be re-established.

In 2003, Italy established a feed-in tariff for electricity generated from photovoltaic plants in its "Conto Energia” subsidisation programme. This regulation was last amended in January 2010 and provides for a feed-in tariff of between 28.0 and 37.0 euro cents per kilowatt hour for a period of 20 years (as at May 2010). There is also an extensive range of subsidisation possibilities on both a national and international level, such as tax relief and subventions or loans.
More detailed information about this can be obtained from associations such as the "Ministero dell’Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare, Direzione Generale per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile, il Clima e l’Energia" or from the "Associazione Produttori Energia da Fonti Rinnovabili" (APER). Moreover, building regulations based on the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive were introduced at the beginning of 2009, which stipulate how plants generating electricity from renewable energy sources should be installed on new and renovated old buildings.

In 2008, a feed-in tariff of 27.31 to 33.47 euro cents per kilowatt hour was laid down by law in Spain. This tariff is fixed for 25 years (as at May 2010). Other options for subsidisation are available in the form of subventions, loans and building regulations. The nationwide, uniform tax relief regulation was abolished on 1st January 2011; on a regional level, such subsidisation is now only available in the Basque region.
There are a large number of subvention measures; more detailed information about these can be obtained from associations such as “ASIF – Spanish Photovoltaic Industry Association”. On a national level, building regulations stipulating that systems for generating electricity from renewable energy must be installed in new buildings or existing properties which are undergoing considerable modernisation were introduced in 2006.