Germany achieves top grade in solar policy

German Solar Energy Policy

Germany has been awarded the top grade in an evaluation of its solar energy policies by the he United States affiliate of Green Cross International, a Geneva-based NGO headed by ex-Russian president Mikhail Gorbachev.

The renewable energy powerhouse was the only one to be awarded top billing in a survey of 16 countries.

The NewStatesman.com reports that the results of the Green Solar Report Card also showed that Italy, Japan, Greece and China improved their solar energy policy performances compared to last year.

The report rates the solar energy policies of various countries and indicated that most nations still have a long way to go toward harvesting the full potential of solar power as a clean and renewable energy source.

400 per cent growth

The US state of California was Germany's closest contender along with Italy who experienced almost 400 per cent growth in installed capacity over the last year.

There were many countries who improved on there 2008 tally, including Japan, Greece, China, the UK and Switzerland. However Australia and India failed to improve due to a lack of cohesion and long-term policy plans. The only countries to be failed by the report were Russia and Poland.

China, the UK and Canada did not make the grade at all, highlighting their lack of efforts in encouraging growth in solar energy.

CEO of Global Green USA, Matt Petersen, said that governments across the globe must start to shift subsidies from the more traditional energy sources such as oil, gas and coal to the renewable energies of the future like wind and solar.

Germany has long been a leading light in Europe's renewable energy vision and is up there with the world's largest importers of solar power. It also has an impressive amount of wind farms and its plans for rolling out a smart grid across the entire country are gathering pace.

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