European Solar Charter
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European Solar Charter to support the photovoltaics “made in EU”
On 15th April 2024, the European Solar Charter was signed in Brussels by 23 member States and representatives of photovoltaic industry with the aim of supporting the European production of photovoltaic solutions. Among the representatives there were: Enel Group, Engie, Solarwatt and SMA.
With 56 GW installed in Europe in 2023, the PV sector is the fastest growing renewable energy source in the European Union. The need to sign this act certainly does not come from a decline in demand, but rather from a desire to promote the development of the entire photovoltaic production chain in Europe, in order to cope with the main supplier and competitor: China. Indeed, the import from a single producer creates short-term risks to the resilience of the supply chain and, in the long term, price instability.
European manufacturers are currently facing the challenge of the drastic drop in panel prices and Chinese competition: since 2023, prices have decreased from 0.20 €/W to 0.12 €/W. As a result, European manufacturers have reduced their production line, some have given priority to other markets such as the US, and still others have announced their closure.
This market trend led the European Solar PV Industry Alliance to take action for strengthening the European PV industry. The text of the Charter defines all the measures that the Commission, the member States and the representatives of the solar supply chain must take to ensure compliance with competition law. In particular, among the main subscribed measures there are:
• the promotion of sustainable and high-quality photovoltaic products through other criteria than price - in public procurement and for support schemes – such as: product resilience, sustainability and responsibly innovative business.; • better European production capacity through cooperation among member States in accordance with the expected demand growth; • the promotion of innovative forms of solar energy, such as: agrivoltaics, floating solar energy, integrated photovoltaics etc. All members are committed to monitoring future developments and contributing to a fair and competitive international environment. The European Commission will evaluate the implementation of the commitments one year after signing the Charter.