The Spanish government has been leading Europe in the development of solar energy.Naturally this is because Spain has a lot more sun than most countries in Europe.
The target of the Spanish government is to have 12% of the country on renewable solar energy by 2010.Some estimates place this objective at 30%.With Spain being the 4th largest manufacturer of solar energy in the world it is exporting most of it to Germany.By the end of this year the total amount of solar power produced in Spain will increase from 2GW to 3GW.
The Spanish government in an effort to finance the solar energy and biomass installations is raising the cost of electricity by up to 7% to finance grants for this form of energy.The grant money doesn’t seem to be accessible to the man in the street,only to those who have the space for solar panels,companies and those who can afford the initial costs for installation .The system seems to help those who are more than capable of helping themselves financially.Most who qualify are at the high end of the income scale.The average consumer will find it very difficult to qualify for a grant.So it looks as though the low end of the income scale is actually financing the upper end of the income scale.
The whole system seems geared to the investor and not to the consumer.Consequently the consumer is voting with his feet and the grant system will be phased out in 2010.
