2024-07-18
According to the latest data from Clean Energy Associates, a US clean energy consulting company.Europe imported approximately 33GW of solar photovoltaic modules from China in the first fourmonths of 2024. This import accounted for 43% of China's total module exports. This data reflectsthe European photovoltaic market's high dependence on Chinese modules.
In the "Photovoltaic Supply, Technology and Policy Report for the Second Quarter of 2024" releasedby CEA, it provides an in-depth analysis of the photovoltaic supply pattern, policy dynamics andglobal silicon supply chain and technology development trends in the European and Americanmarkets. The report pointed out that the photovoltaic supply situation in Europe is undergoingsignificant changes, which is manifested in the fact that European local photovoltaic suppliers haveclosed production lines or filed for bankruptcy protection because they are unable to compete withimported products. Over the past 12 months, a number of companies, including cell and modulemanufacturer Mever Burger, Norwegian silicon ingot producer NorSun and polysilicon producerREC, have suspended or abandoned operations in Europe due to adverse changes in marketconditions.Production.
CEA is cautious about Europe's support policies for solar manufacturing. The report mentions threepolicies that could support solar production, namely the Forced Labor Ban, the Net Zero IndustriesAct (NZlA) and the Critical Raw Materials Act. Although the NZlA, which came into effect in lateOctober, aims to achieve 30GW of photovoltaic manufacturing capacity across the entire valuechain, CEA believes that its overall effect may be limited due to the lack of technology-specificfinancial incentives.
The report further pointed out that if the EU wants to compete with supply chains in China orSoutheast Asia, it will need to launch a large-scale financial support plan similar to the U.S. inflationReduction Act (lRA), but currently the EU does not have such a plan, At the same time, althoughNZlA has included "non-price standards" in public auctions to support EU local manufacturing, it stilllacks direct financial support like the lRA.