1701929796 EU industrial law Solar industry warns about anti China clauses

EU industrial law: Solar industry warns about anti China clauses EURACTIV Germany

Ahead of a meeting of EU industry ministers on the “Net-Zero Industry Law” on Thursday (7 December), solar industry representatives warn against the EU Parliament’s demand to exclude Chinese solar modules from tenders governmental.

On Thursday, industrial policy ministers from the 27 EU member states will discuss the European Commission’s proposal for a Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) and hope to find a common position.

The law is one of the central elements of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s green industrial plan and aims to promote national production of climate-friendly technologies.

However, before the meeting, representatives of the solar industry warned that the version of the law approved in the European Parliament could harm renewable energy expansion targets. Parliament’s proposal would exclude Chinese solar panels, which represent 78 percent of the global market, from government funding programs awarded through competitive tenders.

“With stringent local content requirements in the Net-Zero Industry Act, Europe would torpedo the Green Deal and greatly undermine its own credibility when it comes to climate protection,” said Carsten Pfeiffer, head of the political department at the Federal Association of New York. Energy Industry (BNE), for Euractiv.

“Cheap and widely available photovoltaic modules from China would largely be excluded from European tenders overnight,” explained Pfeiffer. She was referring to the European Parliament’s position, which stipulates a 50 percent ceiling on Chinese “net zero technologies”, including solar modules, in renewable energy tenders.

In a letter to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD/S&D) and Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) before the meeting, the BNE emphasized that more than 90 percent of jobs in the solar industry are in planning and installation, while only one A small number occupy part of the jobs in the industry. Solar cell production was largely abandoned in Europe in the 2010s.

“These jobs must not be compromised carelessly,” warned the association and called on Habeck to reject the “severe protectionism” of the European Parliament.

The SolarPower Europe association, which represents solar module manufacturers and installers, made a similar statement.

The proposed entry criteria for public tenders are “a red flag for the solar industry and for everyone who is committed to energy security and the EU’s climate objectives,” said Dries Acke, policy director at SolarPower Europe, in a statement .

“Two things are true: we need to work harder to support European solar production. And Europe must be part of a globalized solar supply chain to achieve climate and energy goals,” she added.

EU industrial law Solar industry warns about anti China clauses

Exclusion from tenders for renewable energy

The requirements proposed by the European Parliament would not apply to solar systems installed on rooftops by private owners. However, they would lead to the exclusion of Chinese products from tenders for large renewable energy projects. This would affect, for example, solar parks, which make up a large part of the expected expansion of solar energy.

The proposal originally came from the French ruling Renaissance party, which wants to transform the Net-Zero Industry Law into a “Buy European” law. The US Inflation Reduction Act serves as a model, which links the promotion of green technologies to production conditions in the US.

Although the German Federal Ministry of Economy declined to comment when asked, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire (Renaissance/Renew Europe) signaled support for the proposal ahead of the ministerial meeting.

“If we are not able to defend the principle of ‘European content’ clauses, then our efforts will have been in vain and our companies will give up,” Le Maire said at the Growth Conference on Tuesday (5 December). in Paris.

He is prepared to stipulate a 60 percent European quota for the solar industry, public procurement, the development of offshore wind farms and the automobile industry, “without which state financing is simply not possible”.

Le Maire’s team contacted by Euractiv explained that this 60 percent mark is “a political objective”. However, it was unclear whether this was France’s official negotiating line on the NZIA.

1701929783 607 EU industrial law Solar industry warns about anti China clauses

Solar industry hopes for an exception

In the original proposal for the Net-Zero Industry Law, the European Commission proposed a policy target of 40% of green technologies produced in Europe by 2030, without making this a condition for program funding.

The proposal does not yet distinguish between the different technologies included, but representatives of the solar industry would like the specific conditions of their sector to be taken into account.

“European cell production could barely cover demand in Germany for a month, and module production could cover around 10 percent of EU expansion – and that with predominantly Chinese solar cells,” Pfeiffer said, referring to a current report from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. .

“We very much hope that Council members will guarantee more market reality,” he said, referring to negotiations between member states. “The solution is a specific technological approach to define and implement pre-qualification criteria in public photovoltaic energy auctions,” he added.

After the EU Council has adopted a common position, the Council and Parliament still have to agree on the final version of the law in so-called trilogue negotiations.

1701929785 898 EU industrial law Solar industry warns about anti China clauses

Green industry: “Less from China” rule instead of “Made in Europe”

Trade experts are relieved by the European Commission’s proposal for a law to establish green industries. A rule that favored European manufacturers included in an internal project was removed from the final version.

[Bearbeitet von János Allenbach-Ammann/Zoran Radosavljevic]