Agreement reached on new German feed-in tariff, maximum 12% regression

Feb 9, 2001 - Mark Osborne - pv-tech.org

Fears of further aggressive cuts to the German feed-in tariff (EEG) mid-year, on the back of installations exceeding 6GW in 2010, would seem to have been averted with industry and government provisional agreement on a new tariff structure. Although yet to be ratified into law, the new FiT structure limits regression to a maximum of 12% in July, should installations reach 6.5GW from March-May (normalized annually).

However, the new mechanism allows for a FiT increase should installations not reach 2.5GW and no cut would be implemented should installations fail to reach 3.5GW on a normalised annual run-rate based on installations from March to May, 2011.

Importantly, the standard annual FiT reduction is expected to be changed from the current 21% reduction to a less aggressive 9%, reviving the previously long-standing annual tariff regression rates.

The proposed tariff changes are as follows:

< 2.5GWp: FiTs would be increased by 2.5%

< 3.5GWp, no further cut

< 4.5GWp: 3% FiT cut

< 5.5GWp: 6% FiT cut

< 6.5GWp: 9% FiT cut

> 6.5GWp: 12% FiT cut