Only Ontario offers significant incentive. In 2006 the Ontario Power Authority intro­duced the Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program which was replaced with the 2009 Feed-In Tariff program for renewable energy (FIT). The FIT program was fur­ther divided into the MicroFIT program for projects less than 10 kW, designed to encourage individuals and households to generate […]

In 2002 the Renewable Energy Development Plan was approved which aimed for the generation of 10% or more of Taiwan’s total electricity generation through renewable energy sources by 2010. This plan led to concerted efforts by all the concerned to develop renewable energy and to aggressively adopt its use. In 2004, Taiwan enacted ‘Measures for […]

In 2005 the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency initiated the Very High Efficiency Solar Cell (VHESC) Programme to develop 50% efficient solar cells over the next years. The aim of the Programme is to reduce the average load of 20 pounds (ca 9 kg) that an average soldier has to carry to power the […]

The U. S. strategy for overcoming the challenges and barriers to massive manufacturing, sales, and installation of PV technology is to achieve challenging targets throughout the development pipeline. Specific broad R&D efforts toward achieving these goals include: PV Systems & Module Development, PV Materials & Cell Technologies, Testing & Evaluation, and Grid/Building Integration. The PV […]

The aim of this SETP or Solar Programme is to develop cost-competitive solar energy systems for America. The current Multiannual work-programme runs from 2008 to 2012 (DOE 2008). More than $170 million (€121.4 million) are spent each year for research and development on the two solar electric technologies, Photovoltaics and Concentrated solar power, which are […]

Many State and Federal policies and programmes have been adopted to encour­age the development of markets for PV. These consist of direct legislative mandates (such as renewable content requirements) and financial incentives (such as tax credits). Financial incentives typically involve appropriations or other public funding, whereas direct mandates typically do not. In both cases, these […]

(a) Increase R&D investment to $250 million/annum by 2010; (b) Strengthen investments in crystalline silicon, thin-film, and balance-of – systems components, as well as new system concepts that are critical to the industry now – reducing the gap between their current cost and performance and their technical potential; (c) Support higher-risk, longer-term R&D for all […]

(a) Enact a residential and commercial tax credit that augments current State and Federal support. The first 10 kW installed would receive a 50% tax credit capped at $3 per watt. Any system above 10 kW would be eligible for a 30% tax credit capped at $2 per watt. Decreasing the caps by 5% per […]