Germany May Cut Rates 18% for Solar-Power Producers
Germany’s government aims to reduce rates earned by solar-power producers by 17 percent to 18 percent [instead of the schedule drop of around 10 percent] to lower consumer prices and spur solar-panel makers to compete more (...) “Cuts of such magnitude could lead to a booming demand in the first quarter and afterwards to a market shakeout because small and financially weak companies with a narrow product focus might not be able to cope,” said analysts. (...) Germany’s move would follow France, which on Jan. 13 cut tariffs for power from rooftop solar panels by 24 percent. The French government said it wanted to avoid overheating an industry that was expanding faster than other renewable energies. Spain made similar cuts in 2008 for similar reasons. (...) [In the Stock exchange] Solarworld slumped as much as 6.5 percent in Frankfurt trading, the biggest intraday drop since Sept. 1. Q-Cells fell as much as 7.5 percent while Solon SE lost as much as 8 percent.