“The sunshine giants”

Small solar energy companies that invest heavily in research and development are Germany’s last hope of gaining a good share in an industry in which the country has invested billions in subsidies, Daniel Wetzel writes in weekly newspaper Welt am Sonntag. Companies like Solarwatt and sonnen GmbH are operating in niche segments where they can beat market leaders from China that are focused on large-scale solar power projects, Wetzel explains. Unlike the case of Germany’s former solar leader Solarworld, subsidies via the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) “actually don’t play a role for us anymore,” Detlef Neuhaus from Solarwatt told the newspaper.

For more information on the EEG and solar energy, read the CLEW article Auctions to set the price for wind and solar - the debate.