Leaders of the European solar manufacturing industry have come together to address an alarming crisis caused by the unsustainably low-priced PV modules from China. In a letter,  with the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) in the lead, the signatories explain that despite efforts like the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF) and the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), intentional actions by Chinese PV manufacturers threaten the European solar PV industry’s renaissance.

In an Industry-wide outreach to the EU and its Member States, the European PV industry urges the European Union and its Member States to take immediate action to avert a looming catastrophe, they said.

According to the signatories, the European solar industry and the plan to strengthen European resilience are under threat from Chinese PV manufacturers intentionally driving down prices. Over recent months, massive stockpiles of Chinese PV modules in European ports, equivalent to Europe’s entire annual installation demand, have built up. Imports are projected to reach 120 GW in 2023, overshadowing expected installations of just over 60 GW.

As a result, European PV module production has plummeted from 9 GW in 2022 to approximately 1 GW in 2023, with European manufacturers facing insolvency. The manufacturers now face a choice: continue production shutdowns and face bankruptcy or seek refuge in regions like the US that support their PV industry.

To address this crisis, the signatories have urged the European Commission and Member States to take swift action, including immediate exclusion from the European market of solar modules produced with forced labor; swift emergency acquisition of European PV manufacturers’ PV module inventories in response to the forced price decline caused by Chinese unjust trade practices; and encouragement for European PV installers and project developers to incorporate a minimum share of European production along the entire PV value chain for European PV deployment. 

SolarPower Europe also calls for actions

Record-low prices of solar imports risk damaging the EU’s open strategic autonomy goals, SolarPower Europe warns in a letter to the European Commission.  

Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe explained that "while price drops are typically welcome news, if unchecked they have serious repercussions for our open strategic autonomy. In the short term, this is already posing real challenges to domestic competitiveness and the rebirth of EU solar manufacturing. We’re urgently calling on EU leaders to save Europe’s strategic tech supply lines."

The current situation is exacerbated by a slight, temporary, slowing down of the European solar market in Q3, linked to inflation and tightening bottlenecks around grid connections and project permitting. 

Given the current situation, SolarPower Europe is urgently calling on the European Commision to take decisive action, such as: 

1. Swift emergency acquisition of European PV manufacturer’s module inventories.
2. Establishing a Solar Manufacturing Bank at EU level.
3. Address the inadequacies of the Temporary Transition and Crisis Framework (TCTF) for State Aid, in particular point 86.
4. Accelerate the adoption of the Net Zero Industry Act, including strong sustainability and resilience criteria in specific auctions.  
5. Advance the intended impact of the EU Forced Labour Regulation by backing the Solar Stewardship Initiative (SSI).
6. Enable collaboration between Member States support programmes.
7. Balance oversupply with a further boost demand for solar PV in Europe e.g. through the European Performance of Building Directive. 

"This is a rare second chance. Europe’s original solar manufacturing base was lost a decade ago. If we don’t respond rapidly and appropriately to this price crisis, we’re looking at another wave of bankruptcies, and a false start for EU's open strategic autonomy agenda," Hemetsberger concluded.