country focus: spain
Interview with Javier Anta, President of ASIF, the Spanish Photovoltaic Industry Association
Mr. Anta, in 2009 the Spanish PV market will probably drop to 100-150 MW, compared to 2.5 GW in 2008, this is a huge decrease. According to you, what are the lessons Spain has learnt from this situation?
All the PV community, and not only Spain, has learnt a main lesson: a significant and sustainable growth is better than a huge short term surge. The surge we had in 2008 made us advance years in the collective perception on the importance of PV as a factor in solving our energy problems, as we were able to successfully install power equivalent to several nuclear power stations in a few months. But looking at the price Spain and the PV world had to pay, I think a more sustainable growth would have been more aligned with the objectives we have.
How do you see the future for photovoltaics in Spain? What would be your recommendations to ensure a long term development of the market?
The future, after the 2008 surge is determined in Spain by the firm criteria of this Government – this one and, probably, the following ones whatever the colour of the government is –, that the planned growth has to be respected one way or the other, I mean with cap or without caps, as the Government thinks that the 2008 surge cannot be repeated. Having said this, I believe that this government – and the following ones whatever the colour –, is happy seeing PV decreasing costs and each year playing a more significant role in our electrical mix. We have demonstrated that we offer a technology ready to be a key player and they have accepted it. For this reason, I think the future for Spain is “sunny”, I mean, brilliant.
My recommendation is (bearing in mind that the economic support to the PV coming from the electricity tariff in Spain is clearly limited), to rely on grid parity –we are not far from it in Spain–, and on the net metering as a reasonable way to increase the penetration of PV in our electrical system without requiring additional economic support. ASIF has asked KPMG to prepare a strategic report to present this point, report which is being presented, at present, first, to the Government and Regulator in Spain.
ASIF is the Spanish Photovoltaic Industry Association, the national reference of photovoltaic energy in Spain. More than 475 companies and organisations are integrated in ASIF: manufacturers, promoters, consultants, installers, and distributors, technological and training centres.
For more information: www.asif.org.
