“After the solar eclipse”

Today’s judgement by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg on import tariffs on Chinese pv modules will determine the course of a possible resurrection for the industry in Germany and other EU countries, Michael Bauchmüller writes in Süddeutsche Zeitung. The pv industry thrived in Germany before a cancellation of its significant subsidies in 2012 pulled the plug “practically overnight”, Bauchmüller explains. Tariffs subsequently imposed on cheaper Chinese competitors drastically reduced pv expansion as the modules were made artificially expensive, he writes. But optimism once again is rife in the pv services industry, Bauchmüller adds. Falling prices might make pv modules more attractive again, leading to “an end of the solar eclipse,” solar association BSW told the newspaper.

Read the article in German here.