CleanTechnica reports that, due to its gross feed-in tariff, Germany has run out of solar panels.

A burst of new business at the end of 2009 put Germany close to adding a record of solar power to the grid, according to the head of Germany’s BSW solar industry association, Carsten Koernig. He estimates that in this year alone; it will be very close to 3 Gigawatts.

While he is not sure what the final end-of-year number will be, he is sure of one fact. It can’t be over 3 gigawatts, simply because there is no more capacity than that in the pipeline.

German supplies have completely sold out. Demand for parts, especially, and equipment such as inverters has outstripped supply. Germany’s very consumer-oriented feed-in tariff legislation makes it profitable for any homeowner to install panels on their roofs to supply the grid – – and so they do just that.

This shows the importance of a gross feed-in tariff in supporting and stimulating the renewable energy sector. The NSW government recently announced a gross feed-in tariff.