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Solar subsidies at some risk in German election

Center-right coalition could slash solar subsidies

By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch 22 Sept 09

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — Though broad political support for renewable energy is certain to stay in place regardless of what government emerges after Sunday’s national election, a center-right coalition will likely push for bigger cuts to the state subsidies that have helped make Germany one of the global leaders in green energy.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), together with its southern sister party the Christian Social Union, is favored to win the most votes, but not enough to govern alone…………….

Whoever wins the elections, the prospects for renewable energy in Germany are likely to remain bright, because there is broad-based political consensus to promote this sector, analysts said……………
Nuclear power is a hot-button issue in Germany, with Merkel’s CDU favoring an extension of the lifetime of existing nuclear power plants, while the SPD and the Greens strongly support an early shutdown of nuclear facilities………..
By 2020, Germany aims to increase the share of renewables to 30% of its total electricity consumption and to 14% of heating and cooling requirements……………
“The solar industry creates so many jobs in Germany that they [politicians] don’t really want to put those jobs at risk,” said Treasa Ni Chonghaile, fund manager for alternative energy at KBC Asset Management in Dublin. The German renewable energy sector employed nearly 280,000 people last year, an increase of more than 10% from 2007, according to government data.

Center-right coalition could cut solar subsidies – MarketWatch

September 24, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, ENERGY, Germany | renewables