While most commentators have attributed the deficit to the growth of renewable energy, the origins of the tariff deficit pre-date the rise of renewable energy in Spain. In the early 2000s, and again between 2005 and 2008, rising natural gas costs also contributed significantly to its growth, as utilities were not allowed to fully pass on the rising cost of fuel.
Spain FIT
Spain remains in the news with further changes to its feed-in tariffs. We spoke with Berlin-based Canadian analyst Toby Couture to go beyond the headline that “Spain has thrown out feed-in tariffs.”
Spain’s government has announced the end of the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) system for renewable energy. – See more at: http://www.csp-world.com/news/20130713/001121/spain-kills-feed-tariff-renewable-energy#sthash.RkePcVxT.dpuf
EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard has spoken out against retroactive feed-in tariff cuts on Catalan TV, in advance of the release of a final text of Spanish electricity sector reform.
A new round of retroactive changes hobbles Spain’s renewable energy sector. The legacy of the electricity system deficit weighs on the future. . .
Since the beginning of November, wind power has been the largest source of electricity within Spain – ahead of even nuclear and coal power – according to the Spanish wind power association’s blog. While the country got around a sixth of its electricity from wind turbines in 2011, the figure now regularly reaches 25 percent, putting wind power production in Spain close to the Danish average of 30 percent for 2012.
The author traces the evolution of feed-in tariffs – the most successful and most widely used support mechanism for renewable electricity – in Germany, Spain and France. He reveals increasing cross-national policy similarities in feed-in tariff design – despite the failure of harmonizing instruments at the European level. He explains these increasing policy similarities by applying policy convergence theory. . .