Brussels is under industry pressure to step in and protect its own solar sector by enacting stringent tariffs. However, tariffs are unpopular in Europe and cause tension between governments. Closing the EU's borders to Chinese solar panels was not an option, EU energy policy chief Kadri Simson said March 4.
Are cheap Chinese solar panels driving record solar energy installations?
A flood of cheap Chinese solar panel imports is driving record solar energy installations. 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.
Restrictions on Chinese imports elsewhere, including the US, have diverted shipments to Europe, says the European Solar Manufacturing Council. New capacity (GW) Europe's smaller manufacturers can't compete on price: Chinese-made panels can be produced for as little as half the cost of European-manufactured equipment.
Can European solar companies compete with China's cheap solar imports?
Solar panels in Fujian province, China. European companies have been unable to compete with a glut of cheaply-priced solar imports from China © AFP via Getty Images Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Europe's solar industry should be basking in sunshine.
New capacity (GW) Europe's smaller manufacturers can't compete on price: Chinese-made panels can be produced for as little as half the cost of European-manufactured equipment. The gap between imports and European solar installations should fall this year, reckons Rystad's Marius Mordal Bakke, but this spread remains well above normal levels.
Are European solar imports crushing Europe's few local solar manufacturers?
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% more than in 2022.
Are European solar panels in a crisis?
European local solar panel manufacturers have reached a crisis in that they say they can't compete with cheap imports and oversupply. Businesses are shutting down, while a “glut” of Chinese panels are sitting in warehouses around Europe, according to an earlier report from Reuters last year.