German industry turns to solar in race to cut energy costs

> Although Germany has Europe’s biggest capacity of solar and wind power generation, its small and medium-sized companies have yet to benefit from lower electricity prices because of high grid fees and taxes they must pay. By generating their own solar power, they avoid those fees and taxes.

> A feed-in tariff of 9.3 euros cents per kilowatt-hour, higher than Tridelta’s power purchasing price, makes it currently cheaper for the company to sell future generated electricity to the grid and buy it back, Matthias said.

> Germany’s economy ministry declined to comment on companies’ electricity trading strategies.

> “There’s a high correlation between the feed-in tariffs and the build-up of solar PV roof top projects,” Hugo Willink, Executive Director at solar roofs developer Sunrock told Reuters.

It looks like Germany already has the renewable energy capacity, but the government seems to be encouraging companies to put up their own solar systems. Or maybe it’s a case of left hand not knowing what the right hand doing.