German minister says no guarantees on solar tariffs

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will not guarantee that existing rules for feed-in tariffs for solar power will be continued after 2012, environment minister Norbert Roettgen said on Wednesday.

Germany's renewable energy law (EEG) is due to come under review next year. The center-right government added an unscheduled reduction in feed-in tariffs for photovoltaic energy in the middle of 2009 and the tariffs -- the prices utilities are obliged to pay generators of renewable energy -- will fall again in 2011.

Asked if he could guarantee that the current rules on tariffs would be kept in place after the review, Roettgen said: "No."

"We're in talks with the (solar power) sector to come to a reasonable further development," Roettgen said. "We should be able to come to a reasonable further development."

Feed in tariffs are the sector's lifeline as long as grid parity -- the point at which renewables cost the same as fossil fuel-based power -- has not been reached.

The tariffs have made Germany the world's top market for solar power, accounting for half of all 2009 installations in the 18 billion euro global market. About half of the world's solar electricity is produced in Germany thanks to feed-in tariffs.

Roettgen said the expansion of the solar was moving forward so quickly that it was important to talk about the issue.

"Those who want renewable energy should keep in mind that there is a need for society's acceptance of it," Roettgen said.

Some members of parliament in his conservative Christian Democrats have said they want the feed-in tariffs cut further than planned in 2012.

Germany, a world leader in renewable energy, gets about 16 percent of its electricity from green sources -- triple the level of 15 years ago. It wants to raise that to 30 percent by 2020.

But the growing popularity of solar and wind power has also drawn criticism from consumer groups and some politicians, who complain the expansion of renewable energy costs consumers about 13 billion euros per year.

Germany added a record 3.4 gigawatts of photovoltaic capacity in the first half of 2010 and is on track to add about 8 gigawatts this year. That is nearly double the existing capacity of 9.8 GW installed at the end of 2009.

Germany's Renewable Energy Act has fueled its rapid growth over the last decade. The government cut the feed-in tariffs for photovoltaic power by a further 16 percent this year on top of the 10 percent annual reduction already included in the law.

(Reporting by Markus Wacket; writing by Erik Kirschbaum; Editing by Matthew Jones)