In terms of climate change policy, Saxony-Anhalt has done its homework: In terms of renewable energies, the Federal State has developed into a prime example for green technologies. In 2011, renewable energies already constituted 44% of the net energy generated. Therefore, Saxony-Anhalt is in the top tier in a Germany-wide comparison. The national average is around a fifth.

Photovoltaics contributes around 4% to energy generation from renewable energies. In 2011 alone, 3,809 new panels with a total output of 448 MWp were installed in Saxony-Anhalt. The average size of the panels is 1187.6 kWp, second place in the national average. Overall, currently around 14,550 photovoltaic panels are generating energy from the sun, with an installed output of around 869 MWp.

At the beginning of 2012, a 28 megawatt solar power station from GERO Solarpark GmbH started operation in Amsdorf near Halle. The modern power station, a €50 million investment, provided solar energy just seven weeks after the ground breaking ceremony. The client is GERO Solarpark GmbH, whose shareholders GETEC green energy and ROMONTA planned and developed the project together, and implemented it with Q-Cells as the system integrator. Therefore, the majority of the investment sum remained in Saxony-Anhalt. The annually electricity usage of around 9,000 households can be covered by the new plant.

In light of the current crisis of the PV sector, Saxony-Anhalt faces great challenges in terms of industrial policy. The state supports the affected companies in SOLAR VALLEY as far as possible, to create new prospects in spite of the large international competition and the dumping prices. Thereby, the focus is on strengthening local research and development, so that new chances arise from the crisis. The Fraunhofer Centre for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP plays an important role in this.

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