Astonishing news from Spain

In a report by pvXchange published in the current issue of pv magazine, a market analyst claims that "only around 8.6 megawatts has been connected to the grid in 2009 in Spain even though more than 250 megawatts has been approved."

Unfortunately, no explanation is given, and I cannot find anything else in German or English on the web. However, I was able to reach the author, who told me that banks are reluctant to lend money these days.

Does anyone know anything else about this?

SolarWorld CEO proposes near 30% cut in FITs

On Wednesday, Frank Asbeck apparently told Handelsblatt (according to photovoltaik.eu -- the Handelsblatt site is premium content) that he could imagine a one-off reduction of another 10 percent on April 1 or July 1 of next year after the already scheduled reduction of 9 to 11 percent (depending on type of system) that will already take effect on January 1. The new rates for roof arrays would then reportedly be around 25 percent lower than in 2008 and nearly 30 percent lower for ground-mounted arrays.

Meanwhile, Joachim Pfeiffer, energy spokesperson for the CDU, has stated that the automatic reduction that will take place on January 1 does not go far enough. ("Dies wird jedoch nicht ausreichen, um die Verbraucher vor unzumutbaren Kosten in den nächsten Jahren zu bewahren".)

The German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar) has yet to come out with any specific proposals of its own.

How Germany sees Merkel's speech in Congress

On Tuesday night, a commentator on the nightly news here in Germany started off with the comment that Angela Merkel gave a speech in the US that she had never given in the Bundestag -- one tailored specifically to Americans. That seems to be the general tenor here: Americans like to hear the personal stuff, not just substance. Die Zeit comments:

The speech was not grand, but major. She told the Americans what they like to hear: she talked about herself and her life behind barbed wire. About her desire for blue jeans and freedom -- and the big, unbelievable moment when the Wall fell and she was allowed to enter the West to live her own "American dream."

Die Welt ran an article entitled "Merkel's Speech Pleases America and Helps Germany" (Merkels Rede gefällt Amerika und hilft Deutschland), which perhaps sums up the reaction the best: the German press seems to believe that Merkel served Germany best by just telling Americans what they want to hear anyway.

The comments under these articles are a bit different, however. Commenters seem to feel that Merkel was kotowing a bit excessively. Not everyone seems convinced, as Merkel claimed, that America wants the best for Germany. At Die Zeit, one person even pointed out that, while the United States did indeed encourage France and Britain to let the two Germanies unite, it was these powers who caused the split in the first place in the late 1940s (prompting another commenter to ask, What would you have done?).

Incidentally, the German press also produced a review of how the world press received the new German Foreign Secretary. They found that Americans in particular like to point out that he is openly gay.

It is indeed noteworthy that a gay man and a woman in pants now represent the country, as this excellent article in German about the history of women's rights and gay rights in Germany points out.

Pictures of China

Anyone wondering what life must be like in China outside of the relative glamor of its booming coastal cities might be interested in these photos.

And those interested in great collections of photos on the web might also want to drop by the Boston Globe.

If you have any other recommendations, feel free to drop me a comment -- I love to sift through great photos.

Update on solar rates in Germany

Recently, I blogged on how solar rates would be reduced in Germany effective January 1. I stated that they would now be reduced by 11 percent, but that is not true for every type of system -- some will be reduced by nine percent. (Both decreases represent a further reduction.)

The press release from Germany's Network Agency is here (PDF) in German. There is still no translation of that press release, and the agency has not yet responded to my query about whether one will be published in English.

(Update: the Agency says the press release will not be translated.)

One further comment: the press release states that the roughly 1400 megawatts installed from Q4 2008 - Q3 2009 were spread across some 77,000 arrays, putting us at an average arrays size of only 19 kilowatts (the average home rooftop probably only has three or four kilowatts). Clearly, homeowners' small arrays drive the German market.

Resource on EU policies

The German Environmental Ministry has just completed a website -- in German and English -- that provides an overview of policies related to rates paid, grid access, and types of policies. A lot of links to original legal texts are also included.

The website looks to be an excellent source for anyone wanting to see what a particular EU country does.

PV shortage

From September 2008 to September 2009, prices for photovoltaics fell by roughly 30 percent, but in October, it seems that prices began rising again. At present, a lot of the biggest names in the business are practically sold out and manufacturing at full blast. But the biggest shortage is in the inverters -- the equipment used to convert the direct current from the panels into alternating current for the grid.

It will be interesting to see how quickly prices rebound and how the rebound affects the expected reduction in the German feed-in tariff.