How to sell photovoltaic panels to Europe

Europe’s supply challenge: It’s all imported. This ambition faces a potential supply resilience risk: Europe currently relies almost entirely on imports from one country for the solar PV panels it needs. China dominates the solar-PV supply chain with almost 95 percent of the world’s wafer production (Exhibit 2).

Solar energy. Reducing the EU’s dependence on fossil fuels, solar energy plays a key role in both the clean energy transition and the REPowerEU plan. Solar energy technologies convert sunlight into energy, either as electricity (photovoltaics and concentrated solar power) or in the form of solar heat. Solar is the fastest growing energy .

The EU has agreed in principle a non-binding 40 percent self-sufficiency benchmark for solar panels and other identified strategic technologies, to be approached or achieved by 2030. However, for the solar sector specifically, there is no strong economic justification for an import-substitution approach.

The European Solar Photovoltaic Industry Alliance aims to build resilience and strategic autonomy for Europe's solar photovoltaic (PV) value chain. It will identify barriers, opportunities and investment possibilities in the solar PV value chain while also addressing circularity and sustainability and the impact on skills.

There are several options on how to provide a long-term future for a competitive European solar industry. A forward-looking industrial solar policy must go beyond potentially counterproductive .

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5 FAQs about [How to sell photovoltaic panels to Europe]

What is the European solar photovoltaic industry alliance?

On Friday 9th December, the European Commission officially launched the European Solar Photovoltaic Industry Alliance. This aims at scaling up manufacturing technologies of innovative solar photovoltaic products and components in the EU, in order to diversify production and establish a “Made in Europe” solar value chain.

Will European solar manufacturing be competitive with foreign competition?

There is no guarantee that European solar manufacturing will be competitive with foreign competition once subsidies expire. This is especially the case with the current generation of solar panels, on which Chinese companies benefit from huge economies of scale.

Is Germany a good country for photovoltaic installations?

The country also has one of the world's most developed photovoltaic markets - with around 80.7 GWp cumulated capacity. The German government has set PV installation targets of 215 GWp by 2030 and 400 GWp by 2040 respectively. Germany met the 9 GWp target for the year 2023 in just eight months - exceeding it by several gigawatts (14.1 GW capacity).

Are solar-PV companies refocusing investments from Europe to other regions?

Indeed, there are already indications of solar-PV companies refocusing investments from Europe to other regions—REC Solar recently announced it is canceling its plans for a 4 GW French plant, despite being selected in July to receive an EU grant. 22

Why did the European Commission stop importing photovoltaics from China?

On 24 July 2012, SolarWorld AG (from Bonn, Germany) filed a complaint with the European Commission alleging unfair pricing by Chinese photovoltaic manufacturers. This led to a full-blown antidumping investigation by the European Commission that concluded with restrictions on imports from China.

How to sell photovoltaic panels to Europe