Responsive feed-in tariff adjustment to dynamic technology development

This paper reviews the adjustments of the feed-in tariffs for new solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in Germany. As PV system prices declined rapidly since 2009, the German government implemented automatic mechanisms to adjust the remuneration level for new installations in response to deployment volumes. This paper develops an analytic model to simulate weekly installations of PV systems of up to 30kW based on project profitability and project duration. The model accurately replicates observed market developments and is used to assess different adjustment mechanisms against multiple scenarios for PV system price developments. The analysis shows that responsive feed-in tariff schemes with frequent tariff adjustments and short qualifying periods reach deployment targets most effectively.