EPIA seeks EU support against curtailments of renewables subsidies

Dec 20, 2012 - The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) has requested that the European Commission (EC) take actions against member states that are introducing retroactive measures or moratoria on support schemes for renewables.

The letter, sent on Monday and signed by more than than 70 companies and associations in the solar PV sector, makes reference to recently implemented or upcoming measures in several EU countries, including Belgium, France, the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria and Greece.

According to the EPIA, this trend must be stopped as such actions "seriously damage the investment climate in general and for renewables in particular, not only in the countries where they occur, but also throughout Europe". The letter also states that retroactive measures "will seriously endanger the achievement of 2020 targets."

In March, EPIA asked the EU to develop a specific policy for PV that would maintain existing jobs, facilities and investment and also encourage further expansion.

Bulgaria and France have slashed their feed-in tariffs for renewables by 39% and 20%, respectively. Italy plans to stop all PV subsidies and Ukraine has cut feed-in tariffs for solar power plants put on stream from April 2013. In Spain, the government has imposed a moratorium on power-sale subsidies for renewable energy projects commissioned after the end of the year.

At the same time, other countries, such as Poland, have opted to keep supporting renewables with favourable policies.

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