Spain's National Energy Commission (CNE) has received 392 applications from new solar projects to qualify for the country's new feed-in tariff level. The rate given to facilities whose applications are accepted will be EUR 0.34/kilowatt-hours (kWh) [US $0.43/kWh] for small systems plants and EUR 0.32/kWh for large plants.

The selection procedure, as stated in the government's regulations, will take place in the order in which that applications were received. The CNE said that the high number of applications shows that the new tariff rate is still attractive and stable.

This news follows reports earlier in the month that Spain's solar market grew three times more than many analysts expected. CNE said that close to 3 gigawatts (GW) of solar power projects were connected to the country's grid between January and November of last year.

So far, only 2 GW of the total installations have been grid connected and officially registered with the Spanish government. Because of this, the CNE said that Spain's the final installed capacity figure for 2008 could be higher.