The European photovoltaic manufacturing industry shows signs of recovery. Although China’s competitiveness in the sector has not yet reached, there will be new investments that will create the environment for the return of “made in Europe” products to the market, such as panels, storage units and inverters.
It is important to emphasize that China remains the world’s leading supplier of solar technology. Approximately 87% of the equipment imported by Germany last year came from China. The total value of imports amounted to approximately 3.1 billion euros, according to data from the German Statistical Office.
Nevertheless, without drastically changing the overall picture presented above, the growing importance of the solar market in Europe, combined with the high energy prices, provide an impetus for investments in new plants in the industry.
According to a pv Europe article, the solar industry is recovering in Europe for economic reasons. The geographical approach to the European market, the lowest risk compared to sea trade and the risk from foreign exchange transactions create a number of comparative advantages for the European industry, especially in the EU market.
The European Union has adopted a recovery strategy for the European solar equipment manufacturing industry, aiming to 30 GW of photovoltaic capacity by 2025 and at least 40% by 2030.
For its part, the European Council of Solar Technology Manufacturers (ESMC) in a response to the announced European targets outlines the reasons why immediate support from the local industry in the industry is necessary.
Overall, the reasons that require greater determination for the implementation of the relevant European strategy are the certainty in achieving the green energy targets, as well as the economic incentive. A domestic production would contribute, at least in part, to address the huge deficit resulting from the importation of 95-97% of photovoltaic system material, estimated at billions of euros.
