ET Solar Starts Work at German Solar Parks to Beat Tariff Cut

ET Solar Group Corp, a Chinese solar company, started work at two projects in Germany as it seeks to finish the parks before a potential cut in subsidies.

The projects include a 7.6 megawatt project in Hohen Wangelin, 150 kilometers (93 miles) north of Berlin and a 5- megawatt plant in Ratzlingen, east of Wolfburg, the Nanjing- based company said today in an e-mailed statement.

German solar installations in the three months to March more than tripled to 1,800 megawatts compared to the same period a year ago, when 513 megawatts were connected, as developers rushed to take advantage of subsidies before they’re cut.

ET Solar, which makes solar modules and develops solar farms, plans to finish the ground-mounted photovoltaic plants by the end of June, according to the statement. Wattner AG, a Cologne, Germany-based solar company, owns the projects.

“We are set to complete another sizeable volume ahead of the potential tariff cut by June this year,” ET Solar Chief Executive Officer Dennis She said in the statement.

Chancellor Angela Merkel seeks to curb financial support for solar in reaction to an installation boom. Her plan to cut subsidies by a record starting April 1 was blocked by state leaders in the upper house on May 11. The bill was sent to a parliamentary panel for arbitration.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sally Bakewell in London at sbakewell1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net