LOS ANGELES, Oct 26 (Reuters) – The solar power market is not likely to see a boost in aid from Spain's new energy plan, which will debut a draft by January, one of the country's top energy officials told Reuters in an interview on Monday.
"The aid that we have, I think, has demonstrated that they have been sufficient to draw investment," said Spain's Secretary of State for Energy Pedro Luis Marin Uribe, who attended a bilateral business conference in Los Angeles,
"We have a clear pathway of installations in the years ahead … For now I don't see any need to increase (solar aid)," Marin said in an interview.
Spain has pushed to develop renewable energy projects at home and abroad and has targeted to connect 500 megawatts of solar power — a goal which Marin said the country would easily double by 2010 or 2011. The country also has a goal of adding 20,155 MW of wind power to its electricity grid by 2010.
The country last year reined in its incentives for solar power projects, a move that contributed to a global glut in panels.
Marin said that by January there should be a draft of Spain's new energy proposal for 2010 to 2015 and a final plan by June. He said he does not expect Spain to entirely phase out nuclear power by 2020.
Still, the energy official saw promise in the solar sector as well as other renewable resources for energy.
"I think in the next five years we are going to see a very important revolution in the productivity and the costs of solar technologies. It will be very positive so that the incentives will have to be increasingly smaller," Marin said.
While several Spanish companies — such as Iberdrola SA's (IBE.MC) U.S. unit and Abengoa Solar — have expanded in the U.S. market, picking up contracts with utilities and snagging millions in federal stimulus funds, Marin attributed their success to having local partners in the United States.
Marin also said that Latin America holds great opportunity for Spanish companies to invest in renewable energy projects.
