But as it did not succeed in keeping European manufacturers healthy, the EU Commission abandoned trade limitations in September Many commentators lamented that the support policy effectively meant that German power customers subsidise Chinese producers with whom domestic suppliers could not compete due to higher labour costs and stricter environmental regulation on panel production.
As of , the business climate among solar power companies in Germany has squarely bottomed out from its breakdown and reached the highest level in ten years. The industry looks ahead with more confidence , as the introduction of carbon pricing in the buildings sector and the increasing popularity of home batteries are about to substantially increase the panels' value for power users.
Solar power has become the cheapest mode of power generation in Germany, according to research institute Fraunhofer ISE. Depending on the type of installation and the sun's intensity, generating one kilowatt hour kWh with solar panels can cost no more than 3. Costs for equipment and installation, the biggest factor for investors, fell by 75 percent between and An analysis by British climate NGO Sandbag found that costs fell so much that new solar and wind power installations in German auctions are not only cheaper than new hard coal and gas plants, but also undercut the operation costs of existing fossil power plants.
However, support payments for existing and new solar power installations still carry substantial costs for German power customers, amounting to over Solar panel manufacturers in Germany have gone through difficult times and the lifting of EU tariffs on Chinese imports is likely to make things even harder for hardware-producing companies. On the other hand, the expected further drop in costs could inject new life in other sectors of the solar power industry.
Market observers estimate that the removal of trade barriers will substantially lower systemic solar power costs and lead to a boost in European demand by up to 40 percent in Foreign market leaders are often focussed on large-scale projects that yield high returns but will likely only account for a part of future growth, where small-scale prosumers are expected to play an important role as well.
Companies like Solarwatt or sonnen offer integrated solutions that allow for storing surplus solar energy at home and also sharing or trading it with neighbours and other prosumers around the clock. As prices for home storage technology have fallen sharply over the past years, they are set to benefit from a trend towards self-supply and decentralised production that makes them less reliant on support rates and could soon initiate a new wave of solar power investments in the country.
Although guaranteed support rates have fallen considerably since , the market has picked up again rapidly in Of the new installations added in the year before, the largest part was mounted on the roofs of private investors. In the first half of alone, 35, more installations were added by households and small businesses seeking to become more independent of market power prices.
However, falling panel prices that have been a large driver in the latest surge in solar power expansion could soon hit a plateau. This would allow other factors, such as greater productivity, sustainability and flexibility, gain in importance for researchers and investors.
Companies like British-German joint venture Oxford PV offer alternatives that challenge the dominant silicon-based solar panels. The company specialises in panels made with the material perovskite, which are believed to have a much greater efficiency potential than silicon models.
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