Solar Energy Perspectives - IEA

Chapter 10: Policies
Photo 10.1 China only begins to use PV at home alongside solar thermal
Source: Zheng Ruicheng, China Academy of Building Research.
Key point
At the end of 2011 China may emerge as world's third-largest PV market.
Effective support schemes today are based, directly or implicitly, on targets adopted by
governments for shares of renewable energy. These targets may be either generic or detailed
by resource, in their energy or electricity demand, at various time horizons. Even where
support schemes are feed-in tariffs (FITs), targets are useful in setting expectations that
developers, industries, bankers and investors may trust.
Setting ambitious targets also acts as an incentive for other governments to do the same – if
not all economies can benefit from a prime-mover advantage, latecomers may suffer from
a last-mover penalty.
This may also help both support and fine-tune each government’s support policies. If it is
possible to negotiate (perhaps in the framework of the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development, the G20 or the Clean Energy Ministerial) some kind of international
agreement to deploy solar energy technologies, a global, concerted strategy could emerge
from the current patchwork of national initiatives.
The setting of targets and policies and their implementation are not only matters for national
governments. Indeed, targets implemented at sub-national levels have often proven more
ambitious than national objectives (IEA, 2009d). Sub-national authorities are playing
a growing role in the deployment of renewable energies. The Spanish ordinances that make
solar water heating mandatory in new multi-dwelling buildings were first adopted by the
municipality of Barcelona, then several other cities and provinces, before becoming national
policy.
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© OECD/IEA, 2011