Solar power in Germany

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Solar power Germany 2016 fact sheet: electricity generation, development, investments, capacity, employment and the public opinion. Solar-energy-factsheet-germany.jpg
Solar power Germany 2016 fact sheet: electricity generation, development, investments, capacity, employment and the public opinion.
German electricity by source in 2023
Circle frame.svgBrown coalHard coalWindSolarNuclearHydroOther
  •   Brown coal: 77.5 TW⋅h (17.7%)
  •   Hard coal: 36.05 TW⋅h (8.3%)
  •   Natural gas: 45.79 TW⋅h (10.5%)
  •   Wind: 139.77 TW⋅h (32.0%)
  •   Solar: 53.48 TW⋅h (12.2%)
  •   Biomass: 42.25 TW⋅h (9.7%)
  •   Nuclear: 6.72 TW⋅h (1.5%)
  •   Hydro: 19.48 TW⋅h (4.5%)
  •   Oil: 3.15 TW⋅h (0.7%)
  •   Other: 12.59 TW⋅h (2.9%)
Net generated electricity in 2023 [2]

Solar power accounted for an estimated 10.7% electricity in Germany in 2022, up from 1.9% in 2010 and less than 0.1% in 2000. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Germany has been among the world's top PV installer for several years, with total installed capacity amounting to 81.8  gigawatts (GW) at the end of 2023. [7] Germany's 807 watts of solar PV per capita (2022) is the third highest in the world, behind only Australia and the Netherlands. [8] Germany's official government plans are to continuously increase renewables' contribution to the country's overall electricity consumption; long-term targets are 80% renewable electricity by 2030 and full decarbonization before 2040. [9] [10]

Concentrated solar power (CSP), a solar power technology that does not use photovoltaics, has virtually no significance for Germany, as this technology demands much higher solar insolation. There is, however, a 1.5 MW experimental CSP-plant used for on-site engineering purposes rather than for commercial electricity generation, the Jülich Solar Tower owned by the German Aerospace Center. Germany's largest solar farms are located in Meuro, Neuhardenberg, and Templin with capacities over 100 MW.

According to the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, in 2022, Germany generated 60.8 TWh from solar power, or 11% of Germany's gross electricity consumption. [11] :6

The country is increasingly producing more electricity at specific times with high solar irradiation than it needs, driving down spot-market prices [12] and exporting its surplus of electricity to its neighbouring countries, with a record exported surplus of 34 TWh in 2014. [13] A decline in spot-prices may however raise the electricity prices for retail customers, as the spread of the guaranteed feed-in tariff and spot-price increases as well. [4] :17 As the combined share of fluctuating wind and solar is approaching 17 per cent on the national electricity mix,[ citation needed ] other issues are becoming more pressing and others more feasible. These include adapting the electrical grid, constructing new grid-storage capacity, dismantling and altering fossil and nuclear power plants brown coal and nuclear power are the country's cheapest suppliers of electricity, according to today's calculationsand to construct a new generation of combined heat and power plants. [4] :7

History

Price of solar PV systems

History of PV roof-top prices in euro per kilowatt (€/kW) [14]

Germany was one of the first countries to deploy grid-scale PV power. In 2004, Germany was the first country, together with Japan, to reach 1 GW of cumulative installed PV capacity. Since 2004 solar power in Germany has been growing considerably due to the country's feed-in tariffs for renewable energy, which were introduced by the German Renewable Energy Sources Act, and declining PV costs.

Prices of PV systems/solar power system decreased more than 50% in the 5 years since 2006. [15] By 2011, solar PV provided 18 TWh of Germany's electricity, or about 3% of the total. [16] That year the federal government set a target of 66 GW of installed solar PV capacity by 2030, [17] to be reached with an annual increase of 2.5–3.5 GW, [18] and a goal of 80% of electricity from renewable sources by 2050. [19]

More than 7 GW of PV capacity were installed annually during the record years of 2010, 2011 and 2012. For this period, the installed capacity of 22.5 GW represented almost 30% of the worldwide deployed photovoltaics.

Since 2013, the number of new installations declined significantly due to more restrictive governmental policies.

About 1.5 million photovoltaic systems were installed around the country in 2014, ranging from small rooftop systems, to medium commercial and large utility-scale solar parks. [4] :5

It's estimated that by 2017 over 70% of the country's jobs in the solar industry have been lost in the solar sector in recent years. [1] Proponents from the PV industry blame the lack of governmental commitment, while others point out the financial burden associated with the fast-paced roll-out of photovoltaics, rendering the transition to renewable energies unsustainable in their view. [16]

A boom in small, residential balcony-mounted solar systems has been reported in the early 2020s. [20] [21] [22]

Governmental policies

Feed-in tariff for rooftop solar [23]

History of German feed-in tariffs in ¢/kWh for rooftop solar of less than 10 kWp since 2001. For 2016, it amounted to 12.31 ¢/kWh. [23]

As of 2012, the feed-in tariff (FiT) costs about €14 billion (US$18 billion) per year for wind and solar installations. The cost is spread across all rate-payers in a surcharge of 3.6 €ct (4.6 ¢) per kWh [24] (approximately 15% of the total domestic cost of electricity). [25] On the other hand, as expensive peak power plants are displaced, the price at the power exchange is reduced due to the so-called merit order effect. [26] Germany set a world record for solar power production with 25.8 GW produced at midday on 20 and 21 April 2015. [27]

According to the solar power industry, a feed-in tariff is the most effective means of developing solar power. [28] It is the same as a power purchase agreement, but is at a much higher rate. As the industry matures, it is reduced and becomes the same as a power purchase agreement. A feed-in tariff allows investors a guaranteed return on investment  a requirement for development. A primary difference between a tax credit and a feed-in tariff is that the cost is borne the year of installation with a tax credit, and is spread out over many years with a feed-in tariff. In both cases the incentive cost is distributed over all consumers. This means that the initial cost is very low for a feed-in tariff and very high for a tax credit. In both cases the learning curve reduces the cost of installation, but is not a large contribution to growth, as grid parity is still always reached. [29]

Since the end of the boom period, national PV market has since declined significantly, due to the amendments in the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) that reduced feed-in tariffs and set constraints on utility-scaled installations, limiting their size to no more than 10 kW. [30]

The previous version of the EEG only guaranteed financial assistance as long as the PV capacity had not yet reached 52 GW. This limit has now been removed. It also foresees to regulate annual PV growth within a range of 2.5 GW to 3.5 GW by adjusting the guaranteed fees accordingly. The legislative reforms stipulates a 40 to 45 per cent share from renewable energy sources by 2025 and a 55 to 60 per cent share by 2035. [31]

As of November 2016, tenants in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) will soon be able to benefit from the PV panels mounted on the buildings in which they live. The state government has introduced measures covering the self-consumption of power, allowing tenants to acquire the electricity generated onsite more cheaply than their regular utility contracts stipulate. [32] [33]

Grid capacity and stability issues

German electricity generation on 25 and 26 May 2012 Germany Electricity Generation 5-25-26-2012.png
German electricity generation on 25 and 26 May 2012

In 2017, approximately 9 GW of photovoltaic plants in Germany were being retrofitted to shut down [34] if the frequency increases to 50.2 Hz, indicating an excess of electricity on the grid. The frequency is unlikely to reach 50.2 Hz during normal operation, but can if Germany is exporting power to countries that suddenly experience a power failure. This leads to a surplus of generation in Germany, that is transferred to rotating load and generation, which causes system frequency to rise. This happened in 2003 and 2006. [35] [36] [37]

However, power failures could not have been caused by photovoltaics in 2006, as solar PV played a negligible role in the German energy mix at that time. [38] In December 2012, the president of Germany's "Bundesnetzagentur", the Federal Network Agency, stated that there is "no indication", that the switch to renewables is causing more power outages. [39] Amory Lovins from the Rocky Mountain Institute wrote about the German Energiewende in 2013, calling the discussion about grid stability a "disinformation campaign". [40]

Potential

Solar potential Germany GHI Solar-resource-map GlobalSolarAtlas World-Bank-Esmap-Solargis.png
Solar potential

Germany has about the same solar potential as Alaska, which has an average of 3.08 sun hours/day in Fairbanks.[ citation needed ]

Bremen Sun Hours/day (Avg = 2.92 hrs/day)

Stuttgart Sun Hours/day (Avg = 3.33 hrs/day)

Source: NREL, based on an average of 30 years of weather data. [41]

Statistics

Annual Solar Capacity Added Germany Solar Capacity Added.png
Annual Solar Capacity Added
Comparison of renewable technologies and conventional power plants in Germany in EuroCent per kWh (2018) Levelized cost of electricity Germany 2018 ISE.png
Comparison of renewable technologies and conventional power plants in Germany in EuroCent per kWh (2018)
The share of solar PV in the country's electricity consumption plotted against an exponential growth curve from 1990 to 2015, doubling every 1.56 years, or growing 56% annually on average. The doubling time and growth rate differ from those of average power and installed capacity as the overall consumption also increased over time. After 2012 the trend slowed down significantly, with only 8.2% of the electricity coming from solar power in 2019. Increase in german solar PV as a percentage of total electricity consumption.svg
The share of solar PV in the country's electricity consumption plotted against an exponential growth curve from 1990 to 2015, doubling every 1.56 years, or growing 56% annually on average. The doubling time and growth rate differ from those of average power and installed capacity as the overall consumption also increased over time. After 2012 the trend slowed down significantly, with only 8.2% of the electricity coming from solar power in 2019.

The history of Germany's installed photovoltaic capacity, its average power output, produced electricity, and its share in the overall consumed electricity, showed a steady, exponential growth for more than two decades up to about 2012. [ dubious ] Solar PV capacity doubled on average every 18 months in this period; an annual growth rate of more than 50 per cent. Since about 2012 growth has slowed down significantly.

Generation

YearCapacity
(MW)
Net annual
generation
(GWh)
% of gross
electricity
consumption
Capacity
Factor (%)
1990212e-045.7
1991212e-045.7
1992647e-047.6
1993936e-043.8
19941270.0016.7
19951870.0014.4
199628120.0024.9
199742180.0034.9
199854350.0067.4
199970300.0054.9
2000114600.016.0
2001176760.0134.9
20022961620.0286.2
20034353130.0528.2
200411055570.0915.8
2005205612820.217.1
2006289922200.368.7
2007417030750.498.4
2008612044200.728.2
20091056665831.137.1
201018006117291.97.4
201125916195993.238.6
201234077262204.358.8
201336710300205.139.6
201437900347356.0810.9
201539224373306.511.3
201640679368206.410.7
201742293380016.610.6
201845158434517.711.6
201948864443348.211.1
202054403485258.910.1
202160108483738.79.1
2022673995959611.110.1

Source: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, for capacity figures [6] :7 and other figures. [6] :16–41

Note: This table does not show net consumption but gross electricity consumption, which includes self-consumption of nuclear and coal-fire power plants. In 2014, net consumption stood at about 6.9% (vs. 6.1% for gross consumption). [4] :5

Nationwide PV capacity in megawatts on a linear scale since 1990.
Source: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy [6] :7

Solar PV by type

Installed PV capacity in Germany by class size 2017 [43]
Size
band
% of total
capacity
Notes
<10 kW14.2%Single direct use systems, mostly residential solar pv systems
10–100 kW38.2%Systems used collectively within one place such as a large residential block or large commercial premise or intensive agricultural units
100–500 kW14.1%Typically larger commercial centres, hospitals, schools or industrial/agricultural premises or smaller ground mounted systems
>500 kW33.5%Mostly district power systems, ground-mounted panels providing power to perhaps a mix of industrial and commercial sites

It is interesting to note that whilst large power plants receive a lot of attention in solar power articles, installations under 0.5 MW in size actually represented nearly two-thirds of the installed capacity in Germany in 2017.

PV capacity by federal states

Watts per capita by state in 2013
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10 - 50 Watts
50 - 100 Watts
100 - 200 Watts
200 - 350 Watts
350 - 500 Watts
500 - 750 Watts
>750 Watts Watts per capita Germany.svg
Watts per capita by state in 2013
  10  50 Watts
  50  100 Watts
  100  200 Watts
  200  350 Watts
  350  500 Watts
  500  750 Watts
  >750 Watts

Germany is made up of sixteen, partly sovereign federal states or Länder. The southern states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg account for about half of the total, nationwide PV deployment and are also the wealthiest and most populous states after North Rhine-Westphalia. However, photovoltaic installations are widespread throughout the sixteen states and are not limited to the southern region of the country as demonstrated by a watts per capita distribution.

PV capacity in MW [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] [53]
State2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2023
(April) 
W per
capita
(2023-4) 
Coat of arms of Baden-Wurttemberg (lesser).svg Baden-Württemberg 1,2451,7722,9073,7535,838.06,111.84,984.55,117.08,809791
Bayern Wappen.svg Bavaria 2,3593,9556,3657,9619,700.510,424.711,099.811,309.219,5631,484
Coat of arms of Berlin.svg Berlin 1119685063.268.680.583.921558
Brandenburg Wappen.svg Brandenburg 722196381,3132,576.12,711.22,901.02,981.55,9202,332
Bremen Wappen(Mittel).svg Bremen 45143032.335.339.942.270103
DEU Hamburg COA.svg Hamburg 79272532.135.836.536.99048
Coat of arms of Hesse.svg Hesse 3505498681,1741,520.91,661.81,768.51,811.23,201508
Coat of arms of Lower Saxony.svg Lower Saxony 3527091,4792,0513,045.13,257.43,490.63,580.45,957742
Coat of arms of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (great).svg Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 4888263455957.71,098.51,337.91,414.43,5192,184
Coat of arms of North Rhine-Westfalia.svg North Rhine-Westphalia 6171,0461,9252,6013,582.03,878.54,234.94,363.78,113452
Coat of arms of Rhineland-Palatinate.svg Rhineland-Palatinate 3325048411,1241,528.21,670.81,862.21,920.53,356817
Wappen des Saarlands.svg Saarland 67100158218318.8365.4407.3415.8738751
Coat of arms of Saxony.svg Saxony 1682885298361,280.81,412.31,575.11,607.52,995740
Wappen Sachsen-Anhalt.svg Saxony-Anhalt 941814508171,377.91,556.11,828.71,962.63,8911,793
DEU Schleswig-Holstein COA.svg Schleswig-Holstein 1593106959921,351.51,407.81,468.61,498.32,587885
Coat of arms of Thuringia.svg Thuringia 95159327467871.71,013.91,119.91,187.42,2261,055
Cumulative total installed5,9799,91317,55423,86634,076.736,710.138,236.039,332.471,259856
Capacity added3,9347,6416,31210,210.72,633.41,525.91,096.4

Photovoltaic power stations

Largest photovoltaic power stations

PV Power station Capacity
in MW p
CommissioningLocationNotes
Solarpark Weesow-Willmersdorf1872020 52°38′51.0″N13°41′29.8″E / 52.647500°N 13.691611°E / 52.647500; 13.691611 (Solarpark Weesow-Willmersdorf) [54]
Solarpark Tramm-Göhten1722022 53°31′36″N11°39′39″E / 53.5267°N 11.6609°E / 53.5267; 11.6609 (Solarpark Tramm-Göhten) [55]
Solarpark Meuro 1662011/2012 51°32′42″N13°58′48″E / 51.54500°N 13.98000°E / 51.54500; 13.98000 (Solarpark Meuro) [56]
Solarpark Gottesgabe1502021 52°38′28.7″N14°11′32.3″E / 52.641306°N 14.192306°E / 52.641306; 14.192306 (Solarpark Gottesgabe) [57]
Solarpark Alttrebbin1502021 52°41′51.0″N14°13′51.6″E / 52.697500°N 14.231000°E / 52.697500; 14.231000 (Solarpark Alttrebbin) [58]
Neuhardenberg Solar Park 145September 2012 52°36′50″N14°14′33″E / 52.61389°N 14.24250°E / 52.61389; 14.24250 (Neuhardenberg Solar Park) [56] [59]
Templin Solar Park 128.5September 2012 53°1′44″N13°32′1″E / 53.02889°N 13.53361°E / 53.02889; 13.53361 (Templin Solar Park) [56] [60]
Solarpark Schornhof1202020 48°38′56.4″N11°16′41.5″E / 48.649000°N 11.278194°E / 48.649000; 11.278194 (Solarpark Schornhof) [61]
Brandenburg-Briest Solarpark 91December 2011 52°26′12.1″N12°27′5.0″E / 52.436694°N 12.451389°E / 52.436694; 12.451389 (Brandenburg-Briest Solarpark)
Solarpark Gaarz902021 53°24′53″N12°14′49″E / 53.4148°N 12.2470°E / 53.4148; 12.2470 (Solarpark Gaarz) [62]
Solarpark Finow Tower 84.72010/2011 52°49′31″N13°41′54″E / 52.82528°N 13.69833°E / 52.82528; 13.69833 (Solarpark Finow Tower)
Eggebek Solar Park 83.62011 54°37′46″N9°20′36″E / 54.62944°N 9.34333°E / 54.62944; 9.34333 (Eggebek Solar Park)
Finsterwalde Solar Park 80.72009/2010 51°34′7.0″N13°44′15.0″E / 51.568611°N 13.737500°E / 51.568611; 13.737500 (Finsterwalde Solar Park) [63] [64]
Solarpark Zietlitz762021 53°38′21″N12°21′51″E / 53.6391°N 12.3643°E / 53.6391; 12.3643 (Solarpark Zietlitz) [65]
Lieberose Photovoltaic Park 71.82009 51°55′54.8″N14°24′25.9″E / 51.931889°N 14.407194°E / 51.931889; 14.407194 (Lieberose Photovoltaic Park) [66] [67]
Solarpark Alt Daber 67.82011 53°12′N12°31′E / 53.200°N 12.517°E / 53.200; 12.517 (Solarpark Alt Daber) [56]
Solarpark Ganzlin652020 53°22′54″N12°16′08″E / 53.3818°N 12.2688°E / 53.3818; 12.2688 (Solarpark Ganzlin) [68]
Solarpark Lauterbach54.72022 50°35′46″N9°22′08″E / 50.59600°N 9.36900°E / 50.59600; 9.36900 (Solarpark Lauterbach) [69]
Strasskirchen Solar Park 54December 2009 48°48′11″N12°46′1″E / 48.80306°N 12.76694°E / 48.80306; 12.76694 (Strasskirchen Solar Park) [56]
Walddrehna Solar Park 52.32012 51°45′45″N13°36′4″E / 51.76250°N 13.60111°E / 51.76250; 13.60111 (Walddrehna Solar Park)
Waldpolenz Solar Park 52December 2008 51°19′25″N12°39′4″E / 51.32361°N 12.65111°E / 51.32361; 12.65111 (Waldpolenz Solar Park) [70] [71]
Tutow Solar Park 522009/2010/2011 53°55′26″N13°13′32″E / 53.92389°N 13.22556°E / 53.92389; 13.22556 (Tutow Solar Park)

Location map

Other notable photovoltaic stations

Name & Description Capacity
in MW p
Location Annual yield
in MWh
Capacity factor Coordinates
Erlasee Solar Park, 1408 SOLON 12 Arnstein 14,000 0.13 50°0′10″N9°55′15″E / 50.00278°N 9.92083°E / 50.00278; 9.92083 (Erlasee Solar Park)
Gottelborn Solar Park 8.4 Göttelborn n.a. n.a. 49°20′21″N7°2′7″E / 49.33917°N 7.03528°E / 49.33917; 7.03528 (Gottelborn Solar Park)
Bavaria Solarpark, 57,600 solar modules 6.3 Mühlhausen 6,750 0.12 49°09′29″N11°25′59″E / 49.15806°N 11.43306°E / 49.15806; 11.43306 (Bavaria Solarpark)
Rote Jahne Solar Park, 92,880 thin-film modules,
First Solar, FS-260, FS-262 and FS-265 [72] [73]
6.0 Doberschütz 5,700 0.11 51°30′28.8″N12°40′55.9″E / 51.508000°N 12.682194°E / 51.508000; 12.682194 (Rote Jahne Solar Park)
Bürstadt Solar Farm, 30,000 BP Solar modules 5.0 Bürstadt 4,200 0.10 49°39′N8°28′E / 49.650°N 8.467°E / 49.650; 8.467
Espenhain, 33,500 Shell Solar modules 5.0 Espenhain 5,000 0.11 51°12′N12°31′E / 51.200°N 12.517°E / 51.200; 12.517
Geiseltalsee Solarpark, 24,864 BP solar modules 4.0 Merseburg 3,400 0.10 51°22′N12°0′E / 51.367°N 12.000°E / 51.367; 12.000 (Geiseltalsee Solarpark)
Hemau Solar Farm, 32,740 solar modules 4.0 Hemau 3,900 0.11 49°3′N11°47′E / 49.050°N 11.783°E / 49.050; 11.783
Solara, Sharp and Kyocera solar modules 3.3 Dingolfing 3,050 0.11 48°38′N12°30′E / 48.633°N 12.500°E / 48.633; 12.500
Solarpark Herten, 11.319 Modules from Astronergy 3 Rheinfelden 3,000 0.11 47°32′39″N7°43′30″E / 47.54417°N 7.72500°E / 47.54417; 7.72500
Bavaria Solarpark, Sharp solar modules 1.9 Günching n.a. n.a. 49°15′49″N11°35′27″E / 49.2636°N 11.5907°E / 49.2636; 11.5907 (Bavaria Solarpark)
Bavaria Solarpark, Sharp solar modules 1.9 Minihof n.a. n.a. 48°28′41″N12°55′09″E / 48.47818°N 12.91914°E / 48.47818; 12.91914 (Bavaria Solarpark)

Location map

Companies

Some companies have collapsed since 2008, facing harsh competition from imported solar panels. Some were taken over like Bosch Solar Energy by SolarWorld. Major German solar companies include:

See also

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The Renewable Energy Sources Act  or EEG is a series of German laws that originally provided a feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme to encourage the generation of renewable electricity. The EEG 2014 specified the transition to an auction system for most technologies which has been finished with the current version EEG 2017.

Different methods of electricity generation can incur a variety of different costs, which can be divided into three general categories: 1) wholesale costs, or all costs paid by utilities associated with acquiring and distributing electricity to consumers, 2) retail costs paid by consumers, and 3) external costs, or externalities, imposed on society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electricity sector in Germany</span> Overview of the electricity sector in Germany

Germany's electrical grid is part of the Synchronous grid of Continental Europe. In 2020, due to COVID-19 conditions and strong winds, Germany produced 484 TW⋅h of electricity of which over 50% was from renewable energy sources, 24% from coal, and 12% from natural gas. This is the first year renewables represented more than 50% of the total electricity production and a major change from 2018, when a full 38% was from coal, only 40% was from renewable energy sources, and 8% was from natural gas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energy in Greece</span> Overview of the production, consumption, import and export of energy and electricity in Greece

Energy in Greece is dominated by fossil gas and oil. Electricity generation is dominated by the one third state owned Public Power Corporation. In 2009 DEI supplied for 85.6% of all electric energy demand in Greece, while the number fell to 77.3% in 2010. Almost half (48%) of DEI's power output in 2010 was generated using lignite. 12% of Greece's electricity comes from hydroelectric power plants and another 20% from natural gas. Between 2009 and 2010, independent companies' energy production increased by 56%, from 2,709 Gigawatt hour in 2009 to 4,232 GWh in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photovoltaic power station</span> Large-scale photovoltaic system

A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building-mounted and other decentralized solar power because they supply power at the utility level, rather than to a local user or users. Utility-scale solar is sometimes used to describe this type of project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar power in Denmark</span>

Solar power in Denmark amounts to 3,529 MW of grid-connected PV capacity at the end of December 2023, and contributes to a goal to use 100% renewable electricity by 2030 and 100% renewable energy by 2050. Solar power met 6.1% of Danish electricity demand in 2022, the highest share in the Nordic countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solar power in Switzerland</span> Overview of solar power in Switzerland

Solar power in Switzerland has been growing rapidly in recent years due to declining system costs and a feed-in tariff instituted by the Swiss government.

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