Faced with a crisis in plunging values for credits paid to businesses managers and homeowners who install solar energy systems, New Jersey regulators are recommending an extension of long-term, utility-sponsored programs but at a rate that critics say is inadequate.

A straw proposal being recommended to the Board of Public Utilities by the Office of Clean Energy would providing for an additional 120 megawatts of solar capacity over three
years.

That would amount to about 40 megawatts each year, less than half
of what was installed last month (84 megawatts) in New Jersey’s
overheated solar sector, reports NJ Spotlight.

“It’s not enough to do anything to prevent a collapse in the solar
market,” said Lyle Rawlings  of Advanced Solar Products, Inc., a
Flemington-based solar developer. “We’re extremely concerned.”

Rawlings said the 120-megawatt expansion recommended by the straw
proposal falls far short of what is necessary to soak up the oversupply
of solar credits. “We believe a minimum of 450 megawatts is needed, and
even that doesn’t close the gap between supply and demand,” he said.

The straw proposal is also unclear whether the state will ramp up the
requirement that power suppliers provide more of their electricity from
solar projects, Rawlings said.

“If they are only proposing to expand utility programs another 120
megawatts, a lot of homeowners, schools, towns and churches will be
unable to pay off the bonds for their solar systems,” he said.

Division of Rate Counsel Director Stefanie Brand, however, described
the straw proposal as reasonable. “It’s not too much,” said Brand, whose
division has been wary about expanding solar programs because the solar
credits are ultimately paid off by ratepayers.

“It’s a better solution than some of the things that have been
proposed,” she said, referring to a couple of industry-recommended
compromises. “Ratepayer subsidies never have been intended to subsidize
this industry for the long term. That wasn’t the deal.”

[Editor’s Note: See yesterday’s video interviews with Stefanie Brand and other key players in the debate over the future of offshore wind energy projects in NJ] 

Solar energy also making environmental news in Europe

Political tension over energy policy, particularly government incentives to promote solar, wind, and other alternative energy providers, is growing–not only in the United States but also in Europe.

In Germany, solar-energy advocates and several major trade unions are accusing the center-right government of undermining Germany’s historic Energiewende, or energy transition, according to a report in Renewable Energy World. 

In the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, the government shut down half of its nuclear power plants and pledged to accelerate the country’s transition to renewable energies.

 Yet, nearly a year down the road, there is still no overreaching
strategy for Germany to meet the ambitious targets it set for itself,
including having 36 percent of its electricity generated by green
sources in 2020. Moreover, in recent weeks the government announced a
draft law that includes hefty reduction in the subsidies that solar
power receives from its Feed-in Tariff.

A second element in the draft
law shifts responsibility for the amount of renewable electricity
eligible for support from parliament to the ministries. This has Energiewende proponents worried that investors will be subject to short-term
ministry decisions that will undermine security of planning and
financing of projects.