Swiss FIT cuts threaten solar industry - Swissolar

Jul 10, 2014 - The Swiss government's proposal to reduce the remuneration rates for solar power by 22% from 2015 threatens the future solar installations in Switzerland and will jeopardize quality and safety, Swissolar said today.

According to the sector association, such radical reduction in payment rates will lead to the collapse of the market segment for cost-effective large-scale systems. Instead of the proposed massive cuts, Swissolar suggested a reduction of the feed-in tariffs (FITs) by between 2.5% and 8%, depending on the capacity of the solar power plants.

The government's plans also envisage further support to be granted only to power plants with Asian modules. Swissolar fears that such policy will promote the construction of poorly functioning systems. It warns that the already-limited available roof space will be covered by inefficient modules.

Switzerland almost doubled its newly installed solar power capacity in 2013, compared with the previous year. It installed 300 MW of solar capacity last year.

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