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EU INTRODUCES SOLAR CHARTER several globally competitive companies in sev-
The European Solar Charter, signed on 15 April eral steps of the value chain.
2024, sets out a series of voluntary actions to The European Solar PV Industry Alliance (ESIA),
be undertaken to support the EU photovoltaic launched in December 2022 to reinforce the
sector. cooperation within the industry, set itself the
Solar energy, particularly photovoltaics (PV), is target of 30 GW of production capacity along
currently the fastest-growing renewable energy the value chain, an objective considered achiev-
source in the EU. Last year, 56 GW of solar PV able by 2030. The ESIA pipeline includes more
were installed in the EU, two-thirds of it on roof- than 20 projects, including several at a mul-
tops, empowering consumers, protecting them ti-GW scale. The Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA),
from high electricity prices, and reducing land on which a political agreement was reached in
use. The installations in 2022 and 2023 saved February, aims to ensure that the Union’s overall
the equivalent of 15 billion cubic meters of Rus- strategic net-zero technologies manufacturing
sian gas imports in total, mitigating the risk of capacity, including solar PV, approaches or
disruption of gas supplies to the Union. In addi- reaches at least 40% of the annual deployment
tion, the sector provides around 650,000 jobs, needs by 2030. The act includes concrete meas-
90% of which are on the deployment side, and ures, such as accelerated permitting or market
this number is projected to increase to around access facilitation through the use of non-price
1,000,000 by 2030. criteria in public procurement, renewable energy
Achieving the 2030 EU target of at least 42.5% auctions and other support schemes.
renewable energy by 2030, with an ambition to However, further urgent action is needed in the
reach 45%, will require further acceleration in short term to address the crisis in the European
the deployment of renewable energy, including manufacturing industry.
solar energy. All relevant stakeholders – the Commission,
The bulk of the demand for solar modules in the Member States and the companies active
Europe is covered by imports from a single along the European solar PV value chain - should
supplier, China, a concentration that creates ensure that the green transition and the Euro-
short-term risks for the resilience of the value pean industrial objectives go hand in hand,
chain and long-term risks for price stability for accelerating the deployment of renewables
solar panels due to dependencies on suppliers while at the same time enhancing the EU’s secu-
outside of Europe. Access to affordable solar rity of supply by supporting the competitiveness
modules from a diversity of sources, as well as of the sector and the jobs it creates in the EU.
a resilient, sustainable, and competitive Euro- To this end, the European Solar Charter sets out
pean solar value chain, are therefore necessary immediate actions to be taken by the Commis-
to achieve a deployment rate in line with the sion, the EU Member States, and the represent-
above targets while enhancing the security of atives of the solar PV value chain, particularly
supply and mitigating the risk of supply chain wholesale distribution and manufacturing parts,
disruptions. to be implemented in order to ensure full com-
However, European solar module manufacturers pliance with EU competition law and state aid
have recently faced a particular challenge due rules.
to the combination of import dependency and
a sharp drop in the prices of imported panels. 2023: THE BEST YEAR EVER FOR NEW
In 2023, the solar photovoltaic sector in the WIND ENERGY
EU and globally saw the prices of the panels The global wind industry installed a record
plummet from circa 0.20 €/W to less than 0.12 117GW of new capacity in 2023, making it the
€/W. This unsustainable situation is weaken- best year ever for new wind energy. Despite a
ing the viability of existing European production turbulent political and macroeconomic environ-
and jeopardises planned investments for new ment, the wind industry is entering a new era of
manufacturing plants announced over the last accelerated growth driven by increased politi-
two years. As a consequence, some European cal ambition, manifested in the historic COP28
companies have either reduced their operations, adoption of a target to triple renewable energy
announced that they would prioritise production by 2030.
in other international markets, in particular the The GWEC’s Global Wind Report 2024 high-
US, or even announced their closure. lights increasing momentum in the growth of
Over the last few years, the EU has taken initia- wind energy worldwide:
tives to strengthen its support of the European -Total installations of 117GW in 2023 represents
solar PV manufacturing sector, which includes a 50% year-on-year increase from 2022

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