In a major blow to critics who suggested that the Spanish solar PV market would collapse in 2009, the Government of Spain has approved new feed-in tariffs restoring the markets faith in the Spanish program.
While the details in news accounts are not entirely clear, it appears that the Spanish cabinet has agreed on new tariffs that will apply to about 500 MW of new solar PV capacity in 2009 and about 450 MW in 2010.
It appears that ground-mounted systems will receive €0.32/kWh ($0.50/kWh) for 25 years, and that the smallest rooftop systems will receive €0.34/kWh ($0.54/kWh) for 25 years.
Interestingly, the revised tariffs for rooftop systems–if confirmed–compare well to independently derived solar PV tariffs proposed in California and Florida, two US states with insolation commparable to that in Spain. The tariff proposed for solar PV systems less than 30 kW in California is $0.57/kWh for 20 years.
Various accounts suggest that Spain will have a total installed PV capacity by the end of 2008 from 1,500 to 1,800 MW.
Spain is the world’s second largest solar PV market after Germany.
