Political momentum is swaying in favour of European solar panel manufacturers, as work progresses on a new EU law banning forced labour practices that would effectively block Chinese imports.
The European Union needs to take into account its ambitious targets for solar power deployment before it considers any measures to curb imports of photovoltaic panels, wafers and other components, a senior EU official said on Monday (5 February).
Saxony prime minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU/EPP) blamed the USA’s ‘protectionism’ against China for the current malaise of European solar manufacturers, arguing that it proves the necessity of an independent trade policy approach towards China.
European solar panel manufacturers have warned they are “poised to shut down manufacturing lines” unless the EU takes emergency measures to save the sector, such as a buy-out of their inventories, which have piled up in recent years due to an influx of cheaper versions from China.
France is lagging behind its initial renewable energy targets for 2023, although it is set to pick up the pace by 2030, but not enough to meet EU targets, the latest figures from the French Renewable Energy Observatory published on Thursday (25 January) show.
Meyer Burger, the biggest producer of solar modules in Germany, has announced plans to close down and relocate to the US, fuelling political debates on whether the industry deserves long-term state support to ensure its survival.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is forecasting a 61% share for renewable electricity in Europe by 2028, partly due to an unprecedented surge of previously unforeseen solar panel installations.
Nearly every second citizen in Germany and France is either negative towards renewable energies or does not have an opinion on them, according to a recent survey conducted across 26 European countries.
Romania aims to have over eight gigawatts (GW) in photovoltaic renewable energy production units installed by 2030, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai over the weekend following his country’s accession to the International Solar Alliance.
118 countries – China and India not included – have signed up to a pledge to triple their renewable energy capacity and double their rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030.
With the Net Zero Industry Act due to be voted in the European Parliament on Tuesday (21 November), the EU could exclude Chinese products from public tenders for large renewable energy projects.
Building agrophotovoltaics on arable land – which is when the same area of land is used to obtain both solar energy and agricultural products – could lead to the transformation of agricultural areas into energy production plants, President Rumen Radev said before the Constitutional Court on Monday.
Romania’s old power grid may not be able to cope with the unprecedented surge in the use of photovoltaic systems which so far has resulted in a volume of 1.063 MW of energy generation.
Europe's solar power industry has warned policymakers not to impose tariffs on imports, amid fears that disrupting supplies of products from China would seriously damage Europe's ability to rapidly install clean energy.
To meet its EU targets, France will need to triple its use of renewable power and reduce its energy consumption by a third by 2035, France’s electricity grid operator RTE said in its 2030-2035 energy outlook.
The European Parliament gave its final approval on Tuesday (12 September) to legally binding targets to expand renewable energy faster this decade, a central part of Europe's plans to curb climate change and shift away from fossil fuels.
Fewer solar panels and heat pumps are expected to be funded through EU funds in Slovakia in the future as the environmental ‘do no significant harm’ principle will be among the criteria to apply for state funding from July. The change …
The Irish government improved its support for companies switching to solar power on Tuesday, opening up an ongoing scheme providing grants for solar photovoltaic installations to a broader range of businesses. Story updated to correct unit of measurement and statistic The approved changes …
The digitalisation of distribution grids is one of the main priorities of the German Federal Network Agency, which presented ambitious plans on Monday (26 June) for the expansion of the country's electricity grid.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the United Arab Emirates' clean energy company Masdar have joined forces to create a path to tripling the world's renewable energy capacity by 2030, ahead of the UN's next annual climate conference, COP28.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is giving €29 million to a special purpose vehicle owned by France's Voltalia, to develop the 140 MW Karavasta solar plant in southwest Albania, at a time communities continue to oppose hydropower, the country’s current number one energy source.
The Group of Seven rich nations on Sunday (16 April) set big new collective targets for solar power and offshore wind capacity, agreeing to speed up renewable energy development and move toward a quicker phase-out of fossil fuels.
Sunny weather has forced the Czech state-owned company ČEPS to disconnect hundreds of solar power plants from the grid for the first time in history as their high production levels created a surplus that threatened the national power grid.
The European Commission is drafting a new target to have at least 40% of clean technologies manufactured in the EU by 2030 as part of a drive to meet climate goals and strengthen energy independence. Eligible technologies include renewables, nuclear power and carbon capture and storage, among others.
