Photo Gallery Here Comes the Sun
Government subsidies for solar energy in Germany have reached absurd proportions, as ordinary consumers pay out billions to support solar power.
Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen: Plans to reduce the subsidies are encountering massive resistance from the industry and a number of German states, which benefit from the current arrangement.
Frank Asbeck, CEO of the German photovoltaic giant Solarworld and an unofficial solar industry spokesman, fears a solar eclipse and sees a "wave of bankruptcies" headed for the industry.
A protestor dressed as Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen attacks a solar module in protest against the cuts.
Solar panels on houses in the southern city of Freiburg: People in cloudy northern Germany are effectively subsidizing the sunny south.
