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Robert Habeck: The German Economics Minister has failed in his plan to introduce a resilience bonus for the ailing solar industry.
© Hannes P Albert / dpa
The solar industry in Germany is under great pressure.
The Economics Minister originally wanted to help her with a “resilience bonus” - but this plan has now failed.
Berlin - The Green Party-led Federal Ministry of Economics has admitted that the so-called resilience bonus for the solar industry is off the table.
“It is very unfortunate that it will not come now,” said Economics State Secretary Michael Kellner on Wednesday.
“We will not let up and advocate for other alternative funding options at EU level.” German solar companies are in a very serious situation.
The resilience bonus should reward the use of components from Germany or Europe - with higher compensation for the electricity sold from solar power plants.
In the traffic light coalition, the FDP in particular was skeptical.
She feared a market distortion and more expensive solar systems.
But Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also recently strictly rejected subsidies for energy production.
He recently said that it was a mistake when promoting solar energy in Germany to initially pay high subsidies without degression.
EU wants to support manufacturers - import bans from China ruled out for the time being
As an alternative, the Ministry of Economics could now direct more money from regional economic development into the solar industry.
This would at least be possible in structurally weak regions.
In addition, loan financing from the state development bank KfW could be used more extensively.
The European Union also wants to help the crisis-stricken manufacturers of solar panels, but is ruling out import bans from China.
Otherwise the EU might not be able to achieve its climate goals.
The vast majority of solar panels and preliminary products come from China.
However, cheap imports from the People's Republic are a problem for many European manufacturers.
Factory closures are on the cards.
Additional state aid is seen as a possible response from the EU.
Last year, 40 percent more solar capacity was installed than in 2022, setting a new record level.
(Reuters, lf)