Prospects for Grid-Parity of Photovoltaics Due to Effective Promotion Schemes in Major Countries

In recent years the costs of Photovoltaics systems has decreased significantly. A major reason for this effect were efficient and effective promotion schemes in major countries like Germany, Japan and Spain. The core objectives of this paper are: (i) to analyze the historical success criteria for promotion of PV; (ii) to investigate the prospects for looming grid parity - PV generation prices equal to final customers electricity price - and to discuss the design for corresponding effective future promotion schemes.