The European nation was the only country to get an A in Global Green's Global Solar Report Card; its A- grade was unchanged from 2008. California - which was rated independently of the U.S. - and Italy came in second and third, respectively, with grades of B and B-.
Spain, France, the U.S. and Japan shared C+ grades.
Poland and Russia got the two failing grades, due to their governments' lack of photovoltaic-specific incentives. But six nations improved from the 2008 ranking: Italy, Japan, Greece, China, the United Kingdom and Switzerland had better scores this year than last.
Matt Petersen, president and CEO of Global Green USA., said that "governments [need] to shift subsidies for oil, gas and coal toward solar and renewable technologies." The benefits, he said, are manifold: jobs will be created, people in need can be pulled from poverty and greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced. "The report card," Petersen continued, "enables us to see which countries … still need to strengthen their solar programs."
