Environmental Leader

Already the world leader in solar, Germany expects a record in terms of new solar added this year. And now, with the UK set to adopt a national feed-in tariff, some predict heady growth for solar on the island commonwealth.

Germany is expected to add a record 2.5-3 gigawatts of solar capacity this year, said BSW, Germany’s solar association, according to a Reuters article.

The amount added this year alone will increase Germany’s solar capacity by more than half, considering it had 5.3 GW in place at the end of 2008. At the time, Germany had about a third of the world’s installed capacity.

The amount to be added this year represents an almost doubling of the 1.6 GW added last year. Solar industry leaders cite the low price and high availability of solar panels as the main reason for the growth.

And the growth is coming despite the fact that Germany’s feed-in tariff is scheduled to decline another 10 percent in 2010.

The addition of a feed-in tariff in the UK next April could lead to unprecedented growth there, speakers at the Solar Flair 09 conference said.

UK architects have been unanimous in saying that the cost of adding solar was preventing them from doing so. This makes the feed-in tariff all the more important, solar backers said.

The average home that installs solar and feeds in to the grid could make nearly $2,000 a year from the tariff.