Solarweltmeister Deutschland? Ein gewaltig teurer Irrtum
This article updates the analysis of FRONDEL,RITTER and SCHMIDT (2008) on the costs and effects of the promotion of photovoltaics (PV) in Germany. Our current estimate of approximately € 82 bn in subsidies for all PV systems installed in Germany from 2000 to 2010 is almost three times higher than the costs previously forecasted. The reason for this cost explosion was the almost exponential annual growth of PV capacity, which was fueled by sharply falling module prices due to a global glut and the sustained high feed-in tariffs for solar power. The continued rise in costs, which reached almost € 110 bn by the end of 2012, was regrettably accompanied by negligible environmental impacts and punctuated by a series of bankruptcies in recent years, testifying to the scheme’s short-lived effects on employment creation. Per-haps most puzzling is the policy decision taken in the summer of 2012 to promote PV until an upper-bound capacity of 52,000 MW is reached, which would result in more than a doubling of the capacity that was installed until the end of 2011.
Frondel, M., C. Schmidt and C. Vance (2013), Solarweltmeister Deutschland? Ein gewaltig teurer Irrtum. List Forum für Wirtschafts- und Finanzpolitik, 39, 2, 99-121
DOI: 10.1007/BF03373044