Archive: first published 2023-10-02. This recovered report describes events at that time and has not been updated to reflect subsequent developments.
Europe's solar power sector cautions against imposing tariffs on imports, highlighting potential harm to the clean energy expansion and urging support for local manufacturers.
As European policymakers explore measures to boost clean tech manufacturing in the region and reduce dependence on Chinese imports for green transition, the solar industry issues a plea against imposing tariffs on imports. This call to action is crucial in light of concerns that disrupting supplies from China could severely impede Europe's ability to rapidly deploy clean energy solutions.
The European Commission recently initiated an investigation that may result in tariffs aimed at protecting EU producers from cheaper Chinese electric vehicle imports. Concurrently, Germany is contemplating trade protections to safeguard local solar manufacturers from declining global prices.
Gunter Erfurt, Board Director at SolarPower Europe, emphasized that tariffs are not the optimal solution for the challenges facing the European solar industry. Instead, he advocated for incentivizing solar installations originating from resilient European solar production. This approach would allow for uninterrupted solar energy deployment while fostering steady growth in European solar manufacturing.
SolarPower Europe stressed that trade barriers on solar imports would constitute a "lose-lose strategy" and suggested supporting local manufacturers by streamlining assistance for local factories under EU state aid regulations. Notably, the statement did not explicitly mention China.
It's worth noting that over 90% of the EU's ingots and wafers for solar panels are sourced from China, according to the European Commission. European manufacturers have raised concerns about an influx of Chinese solar modules into the European market, sold at prices below manufacturing costs, which has forced them to reduce their prices. However, industry experts fear that restrictions on Chinese supplies could lead to a repeat of the period from 2013 to 2018 when solar energy installations in Europe temporarily declined, coinciding with EU restrictions on tariff-free imports of Chinese solar panels and cells.
Despite these challenges, the EU achieved a record installation of 40 gigawatts of solar power capacity in the previous year.
Original archive: Energy People.
