The ongoing solar energy boom in Germany is pushing up power prices, an energy industry group claims. Prices for electricity rose by 2.1 percent in Germany during the first half of this year, the German Association of the Energy and Water Industries, or BDEW, said Monday. The energy industry lobby group credited mainly the billions of dollars in levies paid by German taxpayers for roof-mounted solar panels as responsible for the hike. Tariffs paid for wind, solar and hydro power will rise to $11.3 billion by the end of this year, up from $7.3 billion in 2009, the BDEW warned. Together with subsidies for the modernization of Germany’s aging energy grid, the total bill of taxes and levies this year will rise to $23.4 billion—a seven-fold increase since 1998, the group claims. Mehr hier