How long will the development of photovoltaics depend on feed-in tariffs?
The big challenge for the renewable energy industry in general has been to make the cost of clean energy competitive with heavily-subsidised conventional energy. Householders or energy companies who wanted to install wind turbines or solar panels have been faced with lengthy pay-back times. Without increased consumer demand and political measures to facilitate access to the market, manufacturers of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, cannot produce the unit volumes needed to bring prices down and drive technological innovation. The Feed-In Tariff (FIT) has proven to be the most effective policy instrument in overcoming these barriers. The feed-in tariff allows the pay-back time for PV to be only several years instead of decades (see also Q.7). In 2008, the majority of installed PV systems benefit from well-designed grant support, in particular the feed-in tariff mechanism. This provides fair remuneration to the investor and rewards the effort made in investing in a clean energy source. Sol
