Zapatero ruins Spain’s photovoltaic industry
2008 was a record year for PV solar industry in Spain as far as installed power, new jobs and investments are concerned. 2009 will be recalled as a excessively pessimistic year for the same trade. In the first six months of 2009, 28.000 people have already lost their work and not owing to the world economic crisis.
The cause of this harmful year resides in a law made by the socialist government in 2008: namely RD 1578/2008. RD 1578/2008 replaces RD 661/2007 that had just come into force the preceding year by the same administration. The new RD changes the following:
* Introduction of a yearly quota for installed power
* Average FIT (Feed-In Tariff) reduced from .47€/kWh to .29€/kWh.
The effect has been a rush by the industry to install and sell as much as possible before its coming into force. Between January and September 2008 2,700 MW were set up in Spain, an increment of 385% over 2007. Spain became the country with the largest PV park mounted. The situation looks entirely singular for 2009. A mere 200 or 250 MW will be mounted. The industry will loose one third of its 42,000 direct jobs. The totality funding will climb down from 16,000 million € to 1,600 million €.
Zapatero’s administration, once again, demonstrated insufficiency of forethought and pathetic planning. They engendered a speculative inclination by offering bighearted Feed-In Tariffs, only to cut them down purely one year afterwards; consequently, turning into losing any investment made by operators in the business. This includes stocks, engaging and teaching, as well as company increase and establishment. The FIT established in RD 661 did not allow for the fee for energy and added to the broad spectrum insufficiency of the energy industry. And the new FIT lauched in RD 1578 is extremely old school and has triggered off a crisis in the industry.
The fee for production of PV energy keeps collapsing lower and lower due to advances in technology. This is specially true with concentrated photovoltaics that decrease by far the amount of silicon crystals indispensable. It seems probable that in a period of two to three years the PV mounted in Spain during 2008 may look outmoded and costly.