The solar power policies and markets of Asia and Europe

This article examines and compares the design and roll-out of solar policies of three major markets in Asia and Europe in 2012. The photovoltaic (“PV”) and concentrated solar power (“CSP”) policies of India, Thailand, Malaysia, in Asia and Germany, Italy and Spain in Europe are analysed on the basis of policy documents publicly available on web portals of the relevant government authorities in the respective countries in addition to independent reports and studies. The aim here is to measure and compare the form and quantum of state support extended to the solar power generation sector in these six fairly comparable countries in Asia and Europe, provide an overview of the design and deployment of solar power policies and estimate the costs of carbon mitigation through solar power in the six countries. The countries were chosen on the basis of available information and data in English from primary sources such as government policy documents, announcements and reports, and the scale of solar power policies and their relative maturity.