SolarPower Europe has launched a major policy push for an industrial strategy for solar in Europe. The core element of this call for action is the ambition to see large-scale module manufacturing set up in Europe. SolarPower Europe represents the European solar manufacturing community with over 35 leading EU solar industrial players backing the call including Wacker, SMA, Total, Weidmuller, Voestalpine, SolarWatt, ABB, and Enel.
Meet 15 GW yearly by solar products made in Europe
Christian Westermeier, President of SolarPower Europe, unveiled the new call. "SolarPower Europe has brought forward its policy asks to develop all segments of the manufacturing value chain in Europe. We believe that the time is right to focus on developing the supply side policy framework to support the new market opportunities that SolarPower Europe has fought for, and won, on the Clean Energy Package and in the Trade case, over the past year. Demand for solar is set to rise soon to around 15GW a year in Europe and we should now see a concerted effort to deliver on every segment of the industrial value chain here in Europe. Our members unanimously backed this call both in our Industrial Strategy Taskforce and at our Board meeting. We want to see all solar products, including wafers, cells and modules, made in the EU in the coming years."
Delivering an industrial policy
Aurélie Beauvais, Policy Director at SolarPower Europe, enthused "We have contributed significantly to creating the positive market environment for solar in Europe, our focus is now on delivering an industrial policy. We had our first success this year by driving the process to see the Clean Energy Industrial Forum created by the European Commission. Now we have ambitious policy asks on the table and we expect our European policymakers to deliver. Not only do we want 5GW cell and module factories in Europe, driven through relaxation of state aid laws, but we also want to see specific regulatory support to ensure that finance is accessible, land is made cheaply available to manufacturers, energy costs are kept low and that administrative burdens to develop and grow solar manufacturing companies are addressed and reduced."
SolarPower Europe's key recommendations will be put in front of the European Commissioner for Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, in January at the next high level Clean Energy Industrial Forum. (HCN)
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More useful information:
https://www.pveurope.eu/News/Markets-Money/Initiative-for-a-strong-European-solar-industry
https://www.pveurope.eu/News/Markets-Money/94-000-new-solar-jobs-in-Europe-by-2021
https://www.pveurope.eu/solar-modules/construction-500-mw-pv-manufacturing-facility-turkey-started
