EDITORSVIEW
How FiT is the industry
T
he industry has been buzzing with news as to who will be providing government
subsidies and who will not. With 51% of the global market, it was the German
announcements that caused the most consternation with shares first tumbling on a rumour
that the government was planning to cut the level of Feed in Tariffs (FiT) that the region had
depended on for growth. In the same week France and Italy announced reductions in their
industry support.
It would be easy to assume that this was a sign of decline in those regions but in fact the
governments are having to act due to the glut of companies and services vying for a slice of the tax payer pie on
offer. Although the announcements will affect industry output and orders, especially for German companies and
internationals heavily invested in the German market, there has also been a flurry of announcements of countries
introducing FiT’s to stimulate renewable energy. Although this will not replace the German market losses it does
point to emerging opportunities around the world for companies involved in the PV industry.
3
The real impact of the German announcement will be to speed up some of the industry maturation process and we
should expect to see some consolidation of solar manufacturing companies as well as tool providers. This will affect
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those companies whose business relies heavily on the German market and their ability to gain contracts outside of
.solar
Europe in the face of stiff competition. Another point that the industry needs to ask itself is how dependent had it
become on the support of one country rather than a concerted global effort.
-pv-management.com
With the recent Copenhagen conferences providing little direction for this or any other industry, it may be time for the
industry to educate governments on the inevitability of renewable energy rather than allow the current conversations
occuring in the media that suggest sustainable energy requirements are a debatable topic. The industry needs to
ensure PV remains an obvious relevant topic and not just a possibility.
Issue I 2010
David Ridsdale
Editor-in-Chief
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