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Denmark Moves To Cool Its Red-Hot Solar Energy Market
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of Forbes
Posted: February 25th, 2013
http://www.forbes.com/sites/justingerdes/2012/11/30/denmark-...
Denmark's energy minister introduced legislation earlier this month that would ... trim generous subsidies that [along] with the falling price of [solar] panels had triggered [rapid] growth in the number of residential solar energy systems added to the grid this year. Homeowners have installed so many rooftop photovoltaic (PV) arrays in 2012 that Denmark exceeded its 2020 solar energy target (200 MW) eight years early. Unlike the solar energy booms in Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic, and Italy, where governments used feed-in tariffs to stimulate domestic PV markets, Denmarks solar surge has been powered by net-metering rules. Under a feed-in tariff scheme, homeowners, businesses, or other PV system owners are paid above-market rate for electricity sold to the grid over a long-term contract, usually 20 years; in net-metering jurisdictions like Denmark or California, PV system owners receive credit for surplus electricity sent to the grid. In Denmark, home to some of the highest electricity rates in Europe, the existing net-metering rules offer a generous return. The new rules introduced by Danish Climate and Energy Minister Martin Lidegaard on November 20 reduce the incentives offered to solar system owners and make PV arrays larger than 6 kilowatts eligible for subsidies. Under a national energy plan approved by the Danish Parliament in March, renewables will account for 35% of the electricity fed to the Danish grid by 2020 and 100% by 2050.
Note: Isn't that a strange title for the article? Why not something like "Denmark Achieves Solar Energy Goal 8 Years Early"? And with the questionable future of fossil fuels, why aren't more countries embracing policies like that of Denmark?
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