Reiner Metzger thought it a smart investment two years ago when he installed a four-kilowatt-peak (kWp) solar panel - made in China - on the roof of his Berlin home.
By law, he can sell the solar electricity to German power plants at a set rate until 2029, and looks to make a small fortune in 20 years.
'These solar panels generate about 3,600 kilowatt-hours (kWh) a year under German weather conditions,' said Metzger, an editor, who paid Euro10,000 (HK$104,000) for the panel. 'And I can expect Euro28,800 profit in two decades.'
His parents can earn more than three times that figure with a bigger, 17 kWp solar panel module set atop their farmhouse. It is expected to produce Euro122,400 worth of solar power in the same period.
Small power producers like Metzger, who are guaranteed a subsidy for their efforts, have in part helped Germany make the painful transition from nuclear dependence to being a global leader in renewable energy use.
The German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) allows citizens to sell solar power to plants at 40 euro cents per kWh, and German households need only pay 20 euro cents per kWh to light up their homes.
With such incentives, it's no wonder that Germany leads the world in terms of solar panel and wind turbine installations, with the percentage of renewable sources (such as wind, biogas and hydroelectricity) in its energy mix rising to 20.8 per cent in the first half of this year from 18.3 per cent in 2010, according the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW).
