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Germany has reported a record growth in the energy capacity of its solar power industry.
Figures released by the Federal Network Agency (FNA) show that the peak output of the country’s solar facilities grew to 7,500 megawatts (MW) in 2011. The FNA, which oversees Germany’s energy sector, said that in December a megawatt peak figure of 2,980 was reported.
Image via Fraunhofer ISE
The megawatt peak is the maximum power generated under the optimum conditions. In other words, when there are no clouds and the sun is directly overhead. In reality, solar power facilities rarely reach this peak, especially in Northern Europe where overcast skies are commonplace.
Even so, Germany is one of the world’s leading producers of solar energy, producing enough power last year to supply 5.1 million German households. The country’s network of photovoltaic cells raised electricity output in 2011 by 60 per cent over 2010 to 18 billion kilowatt hours. That represents over 3 per cent of the national power grid. In fact, to give an indication of just how far ahead Germany’s solar industry has reached, the country produces more solar power in a month than the United States does in a year.
However, Germany’s rapid advance as a solar nation has been helped in large part by government subsidies. Solar farm operators and homeowners with solar panels on their roofs collected more than €8 billion ($10.4 billion) in handouts in 2011. These subsidies have led to German consumers having to pay the second-highest electricity prices in Europe.
Last year the German government cut its €100 billion ($130 billion) subsidy package to the solar industry. As a result, a string of solar companies have declared bankruptcy, the most recent of which, Q-Cells, saw its market value drop from €8 billion ($10.4 billion) five years ago to just €35 million ($46 million).
