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The PV world 10 years ago – Summer Series Part VI

New feed-in tariffs in France. The French Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea announced in January the new injection rates, which would apply retroactively from January 1, 2010, to avoid speculation. The rate for PV installations of up to 250 kW went from €0.3280 to €0.3140 per kWh; for PV systems larger than 250 kW it ranged from €0.3280 to €0.3940. All tariffs had a duration of 20 years, with a 10% decline planned by 2012.

Gigafactory announcement in Portugal. In Portugal, RPP Solar announced a gigafactory that was set to start cell and module production in March. The site would consist of five factories, a research center, 60 engineers, 1,900 employees. The company intended to produce 1 GW of modules in 2015. RPP Solar planned to sell the modules at €1.54 per watt, with the aim of reaching €1.00 per watt in 2013.

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Argentina supports renewable energy projects. Argentinean President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner launched in 2009 a program to install 1 GW of renewables, of which about 20 MW would come from photovoltaic technology and solar thermal energy. In early 2010, Decree 562/2009 was approved, granting tax benefits to renewable projects. The national electricity supplier, Energía Argentina SA, launched an international tender for the construction of renewable plants, and five companies announced photovoltaic projects totaling 22.5 MW.

Japan, bets on residential PV. The government launched a housing development program that paid JPY70,000 (€529) for each kilowatt installed to plants of up to 10 kW. Parliament allocated JPY9 billion yen (€68 million at the then exchange rate) for the first quarter of 2009 for the installation of 130 MW of residential PV until the end of March. The FIT would last for 10 years, and was JPY48 (€0.362) per kWh. Installations up to 500 kW were remunerated at JPY24 (€0.181).

Source: pv magazine