But those same imports are crushing Europe’s few local solar manufacturers. Governments and industry are split over how to respond. Europe just had a bumper year for green energy. European Union countries installed record levels of solar capacity, 40 per cent more than in 2022.
The first is the economic risk that China might in the future make use of its predominant position in global solar PV manufacturing to distort the market and artificially obtain additional economic rents. The second is the geopolitical risk that China might restrict solar-panel exports to certain countries to pursue geopolitical goals.
European solar panel manufacturers have previously asked the EU to consider trade safeguards on Chinese imports, but Brussels and governments including Germany have warned broad curbs on Chinese supply could stunt Europe's fast expansion of clean energy.
Imposing trade restrictions on Chinese solar panels would lead to higher costs, slowing deployment of panels and, possibly, a net-negative job effect. That would occur if more jobs were lost from a slowing of deployment than new jobs were created in possible new manufacturing facilities.
Policy-makers are scrambling to respond, but are split over how to do so. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck wrote to the European Commission in November, expressing concern that the EU executive was about to slap trade restrictions on Chinese solar imports, a letter seen by Reuters showed.
[Photo credit: © European Union 2024 - Source : EP] The European Union needs to take into account its ambitious targets for solar power deployment before it considers any measures to curb imports of photovoltaic panels, wafers and other components, a senior EU official said on Monday (5 February).