One of the main producers of renewable energy in Europe, Spain’s solar industry, is edging toward bankruptcy. Producers say they’ll be unable to repay credits after the government’s decision to cut subsidies. Banks will suffer and jobs will be lost.
Energy Minister José Manuel Soria has introduced a new
compensation plan for calculating levels of "reasonable
profitability" for renewable-energy production, distribution
and transportation. It will reduce payments to companies serving
the nation's electrical system by up to 2.7 billion euro
annually. It’s hoped the move could help cope with the
electricity system deficit that has been growing since 2005 and
now exceeds 25 billion euro.
To sap the annual deficit, which has been estimated by the
government at 4.5 billion euro this year, Spain is set to raise
consumers' electric bills by about 3.2 percent starting from
August, contributing about 400 million euro in extra revenue for
the system this year and 900 million euro next year, the Wall
Street Journal reports.
Experts are warning that with the increased levies on
self-consumed solar energy so high many households will have to
pay more for the electricity they generate themselves than they
would for regular grid power.
The main trade association for Spain's electric utilities which
distribute most the country's electricity said "the cuts will
compel our member companies to undertake a drastic reduction in
jobs and review their investments in Spain," Asociación
Española de la Industria Eléctrica (Unesa) warned.
Spain has over 4GW of installed capacity. For several years the
government reportedly pushed electricity retailers to pay
above-market, unaffordable prices to renewable-power producers.
Big subsidies triggered a boom in solar-power installations that,
according to the Wall Street Journal, far exceeded official
government targets. Between 2006 and 2012, when renewable-energy
output doubled, Spain boasted the fourth-largest such industry in
the world, according to the Economist.
In 2012 clean energy subsidies in Spain hit 8.6 billion euro,
nearly 1 percent of GDP. To fund the expansion, Spanish banks
lent the solar-energy companies nearly 30 billion euro. Potential
loan defaults could worsen the already heavy burden on Spanish
banks. The government is said to be in talks with banks to
forestall bankruptcies, with five of the biggest utilities saying
the new reforms will jointly cost them 1 billion euro a year.
With the new plan brought into action, the government has capped
profits for the solar energy sector at 7.5 percent before tax to
5.5 percent after tax. Spanish trade associations have been
shocked by the decision saying the new rate is less than the rate
that industry insiders are able to borrow at, leading many to
“bankruptcy because they won't be able to repay the credit
that financed them.”
According to the energy minister, "this reform is not wedded
to any part of the electric sector."
"We did what we had to do," Soria said.