Rush for higher feed-in tarrifs sees big jump in German solar

The first half of this year saw a rush to install new solar panels in Germany that has resulted in a rise in capacity of more than 3 gigawatts for the Northern European country.

"Applications were flooding in during the last weeks of June as many operators wanted to secure higher feed-in tariffs, which were reduced considerably from July 1 2010," says Matthias Kurth the president of Germany's grid agency, BNetzA.

As of July 1, rooftop solar modules receive 13-percent less in subsidies from the government, while subsidies to solar parks were cut back 3-percent.

Further reductions to the feed-in tariffs for new solar installations will occur as the industry reaches the government's desired goal of bringing 3,500 MW online. It is estimated that solar energy producers will receive upwards of €100 billion over the lifetime of the solar power initiative.