Intersolar 2007: Germany Leading the International PV Market

Intersolar 2007: Germany Leading the International PV Market

June 21, 2007

    BERLIN, June 21 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Industry players
from all over the world will be present in Freiburg, Germany
for this year's Intersolar convention from June 21 through
23. 560 exhibitioners and 26,000 visitors from over 90
countries will be in attendance and Invest in Germany will
be there to outline the advantages of PV investments in
Germany.

    Germany is the world's leading market for PV energy.
55% of the PV capacity worldwide is installed in Germany,
and last year Germany's PV industry generated EUR3.8
billion in sales. A main reason for Germany's leading
position in PV energy is the Renewable Energies Act, (EEG).
The law requires power companies to buy electricity from the
owners of PV installations at a set price, 37.96 to 54.21
EURct/kWh over twenty years.

    This so-called "feed in tariff" has resulted
in a ready-made market for PV technology production.
Additionally, various government incentives are available
for companies investing in eastern Germany, in areas such
as "Silicon Saxony," where numerous PV and
semiconductor firms are present.

    It is not only the political conditions that encourage
photovoltaic investments in Germany. Germany's workforce
and research landscape are also superb. For example, the
Canadian company ARISE Technologies Corporation is building
a PV cell manufacturing plant in the German town of
Bischofswerda. The company's CEO Ian MacLellan sees
Germany's workforce as one of its main features, "We
selected Germany because it is the largest solar market in
the world. It has a high concentration of solar technology
companies and has access to skilled technical labor."

    American solar company First Solar is also opening its
EUR115 million facility in the German town of
Frankfurt/Oder at the beginning of July. Furthermore, the
California-based start-up Signet Solar recently broke
ground on a new R and D, and production center near the
city of Dresden.

    Germany is committed to the future of PV energy and
renewable energies. The country possesses all of the
requirements both politically and economically for
international PV companies to thrive, as many already are.

    Invest in Germany is the official investment promotion
agency of Germany. Its mandate is to assist and advise
international companies about investment opportunities in
Germany. Invest in Germany can be found in Hall 1, Booth
1.03.09 at Intersolar in Freiburg.



    For more information, please contact:

     Eva Henkel
     Invest in Germany
     Tel:   [phone]
     Fax:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     http://www.invest-in-germany.com