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The paper deals with the solar energy promotion in households in Ukraine. Despite the positive dynamics of solar power plants construction, today the share of electricity, generated on their basis, in the country's electricity mix remains insignificant. The main reason for this is the need for essential start-up investments. Since the economic efficiency of investment projects depends on installed capacity of plants, the structure and cost of the project financing sources; the paper focuses on estimation of financial sustainability of solar photovoltaic power plants construction under the credit programme 'Eco-Energy'. The obtained results show the high profitability of own and credit resources' investment in the considered projects that varies from 78.91% for the 10 kW solar power plants to 128.04% for the 30 kW ones. On this basis, policy recommendations for improving financing and other economic mechanisms to enhance renewable energy development in Ukrainian households have been developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present global energy scenario, in which fossil fuels play a preponderant role, faces significant energy and environmental challenges. To help address these challenges, countries across the world are increasing the contribution made by renewable energy (RE) resources to their energy supplies. Feed-in Tariff (FiT) is one of the most effective incentive policies used to promote the RE sector especially at the micro-generation level. The key objective of the FiT schemes is to provide financial support to residential, industrial and commercial consumers to encourage them to become RE producers. Solar photovoltaic (PV) is one of the most promising RE technologies. This paper provides an overview of the solar PV developments in the Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN) countries. It reflects upon the RE trends in the world as well as providing an introduction to the ASEAN countries. It reviews the progress of solar PV in each of the ASEAN countries especially in terms of RE policies, growth in terms of PV installations and research and development activities. Finally, the paper presents conclusions and a set of recommendations. Out of the 10 ASEAN countries, 5 have implemented FiT as a key policy incentive to stimulate the progress of RE. It is found that the ASEAN countries have great potential for solar PV in term of their annual solar insolation levels, which ranging from 1460 to 1892 kWh/m 2 per year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Japan started implementing a national Feed-In Tariff (FiT) mechanism on the 1st July 2012, which included specific payment tariffs for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations. This marks a new era in the renewable energy landscape in Japan. This paper aims at analysing the solar PV prospect in Japan, particularly in both residential and non-residential sectors. The paper presents, first, an overview of energy trends in Japan prior to the Fukushima event. This is followed by a short review of solar PV progress in the country, highlighting the major policies and programmes that have been implemented as well as the installations that have been carried out over the past two decades. Next, the financial impact of the new FiT scheme on consumers is evaluated. The financial analysis investigates the total profit, the average annual return on investment and the payback period. For a comparison purposes, a similar financial analysis is also conducted with selected countries around the world – namely Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. The results from this analysis indicate that the new Japanese FiT rate generates a good profit, a moderate annual return on investment and an acceptable payback period, suggesting an increasing trend of solar PV uptake over the next years. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Renewable energy is a focal point of discussion in the European Union, as clean production technologies contribute to all three aims of energy policy (security, competitiveness, and sustainability). This paper focuses on an empirical assessment of feed-in tariff and quota obligation policies, as well as their policy design elements, applied to solar photovoltaic energy in the European Union over the period 2000–2014. The results indicate that only feed-in tariff policy has significant impacts in terms of installed photovoltaic capacity. However, its main policy design elements (tariff size and contract duration) have a positive but not significant influence on the development of this clean production technology. Policy-makers should consider the importance of reducing regulatory uncertainty about these parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Serbian government has recently introduced the system of feed-in tariffs for electricity generated from renewable sources. The proposed feed-in tariff for photovoltaic electricity is set to 0.23€/kWh paid for 12 years, with the PV electricity produced after the first 12 years being sold at the grid electricity market price for the rest of the plant lifetime. Although such FIT could have been justified by the small, average retail grid electricity price of just 0.054€/kWh for Serbian households, the investment appraisal of a real case of 2.82kWp PV power plant in two Serbian cities of Zlatibor and Negotin, clearly illustrates that the proposed FIT framework is not sufficient to attract investments into PV in Serbia. In the second part of the paper, we have analyzed alternative, more reasonable feed-in tarrif frameworks, with the goal of selecting those able to sustain the PV adoption and diffusion in Serbia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]