German solar hits pump storage plans

摘要

The peak-flattening effect of solar photovoltaics in the German market is making Austrian investors in pumped storage projects nervous. "No one knows the repercussions of central vs. decentral supply," said Jurgen Maier, director of the German NGO Forum on Environment and Development in an address to the Austrian renewable energy umbrella trade association in Vienna May 16. Maier noted that those investing in renewables "are moving quickly before laws and regulations change," which could limit or make future guaranteed return on peaking plant investment less attractive.