The European Commission (EC) has proposed the European Solar Charter (ESC) in response to the challenges facing the continent’s solar industry. The document sets out a series of voluntary actions to be taken to support the EU’s photovoltaic sector and makes no mention of EU trade tariffs or restrictions on cheap imports of solar panels.
The European Commission announced the ESC in an effort to support Europe’s ailing solar energy sector. The document describes a series of voluntary actions, including accelerated permitting for the deployment of solar energy and PV production projects, as well as “ambitious non-price criteria” in government procurement, renewable energy auctions and other support schemes.
The charter was signed in Brussels on Monday by representatives of the 23 EU member states, the European Commission and various industry organizations, including the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) and SolarPower Europe (SPE).
The signatories committed to “supporting the competitiveness of the European PV manufacturing industry and promoting the creation of a market for high-quality products that meet high sustainability and resilience criteria, in full respect of the climate and energy objectives of the EU,” said the European Commission. Commission.
“We must ensure that the solar sector remains strong for Europe’s future energy mix focused on renewables,” European Energy Commissioner Kadri Simons said after the signing ceremony. “The European Solar Charter brings together the commission, national authorities and industry, promoting cooperation and supporting the production of solar panels made in Europe.”
European solar energy producers have repeatedly urged the European Union to intervene with emergency measures to protect them from insolvency. Earlier this year, the bloc finalized the Net Zero Industry Act, which would require at least 40% of solar equipment deployed on the continent to be produced locally. However, until the ESC’s proposal, the country has not been able to take emergency measures to help protect European businesses.
“Further urgent measures are needed in the short term to tackle the crisis in the European manufacturing industry,” the minister said concept document.
The ESC includes a series of voluntary actions to be taken to support the EU’s photovoltaic sector, such as price criteria. Criteria are also proposed for resilience, sustainability, responsible business conduct, ‘ability to deliver’, innovation and cyber security.
In addition, the document proposes to expedite permitting for PV production facilities and innovative forms of solar energy deployment, such as agrivoltaics, floating solar, infrastructure-integrated PV, vehicle-integrated PV and building-integrated PV.
The draft states that the European Commission also intends to facilitate access to EU financing for solar projects under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, Structural Funds, the Innovation Fund, the EU Modernization Fund and Horizon Europe, including the Strategic Technologies European Platform (STEP). .
The European Commission said it will also work with the European Investment Bank to support PV production projects and a potential cross-border European solar production project.
“While the Charter alone is not sufficient to rebuild a robust European photovoltaic value chain, we hope it will act as a rallying point for accelerating concrete action and serve as a signal that the European Union is not ready yet to submit a walkover. in competition with China, the US and India,” said ESMC Secretary General Johan Lindahl in response to the proposal.
The ESMC said the concrete results of the ESC will depend on three essential steps that must be taken without delay. They contain:
(1) Member States commit to quantitative purchase targets for resilient PV modules from the EU
(2) Dialogue with buyers, followed by concrete commitments to define percentages of resilient EU PV modules in their portfolios
(3) Bridge financing to secure final investment decisions
“Access to EU financing should be facilitated so that European PV production projects can reach at least 10 GW of additional final investment decisions by 2025,” the organization said in a statement. “Europe’s solar energy manufacturing industry needs clear, measurable and tangible targets, along with political support in this crisis.”
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