A European momentum for photovoltaics

While the energy issue is more than ever at the forefront of countries’ sovereignty, we are delighted that the European Union has decided to react strongly through the existing framework that the Green Deal offers.

The #RePowerEU plan presented by the European Commission gives pride of place to renewable energies, bringing solar energy back to the forefront. The Commission sets the goal of “over 320 GW of solar photovoltaic energy by 2025, which is more than double the current level” and 600 GW in 2030.

While we share this ambition, we believe that it must be combined with a strategy to deal with international competitors in the sector. It would be counterproductive to switch our energy dependence from Russia to China, the leading supplier of solar panels. Moving from hydrocarbons to metals requires a clear and immediate strategy, at the risk of facing a shortage before the end of the decade.

The launch last Friday of the “Important Project of Common European Interest” (#IPCEI) is a step in the right direction to mobilize Member States to support the European PV industry and its international competitiveness.

We also applaud the proposed regulation requiring Member States to install solar panels on all “public and commercial buildings with a floor area greater than 250 m2” and on all new residential buildings by 2030.

These positions adopted by the EU are part of a generally favorable context for the sector:

The Green Deal which aims for European carbon neutrality by 2050,
The European Solar Initiative (ESI) which aims to produce 20GW of PV in Europe by 2025,
The inclusion of PV in the list of “at risk of strategic dependence” industries.

We still have a long way to go, but all these initiatives validate the vision we have always had of the industry’s evolution along with our goal of producing 20 GW of photovoltaic panels by 2030 – integrating the entire value chain, from ingot to module, wafer to cell.