The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) working group has released a recommendation document praising the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), but saying clearer and stronger support is needed for European solar manufacturing.
The ESMC working group has released a new recommendation document on strengthening the European solar industry.
The document welcomes the NZIA, but highlights the gaps that the European Commission must address through its future Green Industrial Deal and the new State Aid Framework. Vincent Delporte, the lead author of the report, said this coming policy “will be a unique opportunity to strengthen the European industrial framework, especially for solar energy.”
The working group recommends that the NZIA criteria be extended to all projects that receive public funding, both directly and indirectly.
“Many sustainable energy projects are developed with funding from a national institution or a European institution, either at project level or at group level. This form of public support should be considered a support mechanism and should include resilience and sustainability criteria,” the paper said. “A minimum level of resilience would therefore be systematically required for projects receiving such public funding. In addition, Member States’ funding calls for municipalities could include criteria for the purchase of a minimum number of EU-produced PV modules, or other NZIA technologies in general.”
Under the same recommendation, ESMC also calls for a differentiated European Central Bank rate for renewable energy projects using resilient hardware, a differentiation of value added tax to favor European products, and that the EU Member States will be required to include reindustrialization objectives in their national energy and energy policies. Climate plan.
Elsewhere in the document, the ESMC calls for an extension of the Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF), which currently expires in 2025. It said this could be used to allow member states to provide specific operational support when needed, such as low electricity prices in strategic industries to ensure European production capacity.
The document goes on to recommend strengthened support for PV capital expenditure and the establishment of a Climate Tech Sovereignty Fund, suggesting that a joint venture draws from public investors, private equity and pension funds “would make it possible to meet the financing needs of net-zero industrial projects.”
The ESMC document also notes that industrial startups often face major financing challenges, which delay project completion, and proposes the implementation of a dedicated pre-seed fund for such startups that meets the objectives of the Green Deal Industrial Plan.
The article also recommends extending the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to full PV modules. It says European solar manufacturers face carbon tariffs when importing components, such as aluminum or glass, to assemble solar panels, while Chinese companies exporting complete modules from China pay no such fee. The article suggests adding solar panels to CBAM’s product list to level the playing field and generate additional revenue.
“Since almost all PV manufacturers, including Asian PV manufacturers, have completed life cycle assessment and approved by third parties, implementation could be done with ease,” the paper said. The working group added that the European Commission must also send “a strong and ambitious message on the need to reindustrialise the energy sector”. transition sector to help mobilize private financing.”
The ESMC recommendations are available to read in full website. The latest publication follows recommendations on the NZIA And PV production in the EU made earlier this year.
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