The Russia-Ukraine conflict has made energy security a European priority. In order to get rid of dependence on Russian energy, large-scale development of renewable energy has become the first choice of European countries.
In March 2022, Germany raised its 2030 renewable electricity target from 65% to 80%, and accelerated the expansion of solar photovoltaic and wind energy, aiming to achieve 350 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity by 2030 , compared to 191 GW before. The UK first proposed a 2030 PV target in its energy strategy, and Portugal announced plans to reach its 2030 target by 2026.
On September 14, the European Parliament adopted a new revision of the 2018 Renewable Energy Directive, which supports the EU's 2030 increase in the proportion of renewable energy to 45%, exceeding the 40% target set by EU member states in June.
In this context, as an important pillar of clean energy transformation, solar photovoltaic power generation has ushered in explosive growth in Europe. At the same time, the European solar photovoltaic industry is making frequent moves, hoping to "recover" the market from Chinese companies and establish a "Made in Europe" photovoltaic industry.
01 Record high: 41.4GW of new photovoltaic installed capacity in the EU
Benefiting from record energy prices and geopolitical tensions, the development of the European solar power industry has been boosted rapidly in 2022 and ushered in a record year.
According to the latest report "European Solar Energy Market Outlook 2022-2026" released by the industry organization SolarPower Europe on December 19, it is estimated that the new installed capacity of photovoltaics in the EU will reach 41.4GW in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 47% from 28.1GW in 2021, and is expected to Doubling to an expected 484GW by 2026. The 41.4GW of new installed capacity is equivalent to powering 12.4 million European homes, and is equivalent to displacing 4.45 billion cubic meters (4.45bcm) of natural gas, or 102 LNG tankers.
In 2022, the total installed capacity of solar power in the EU will also increase by 25% from 167.5GW in 2021 to 208.9GW. Specific to the country, the most newly installed capacity in the EU countries is still the veteran photovoltaic player - Germany, which is expected to add 7.9GW in 2022; followed by Spain, with a newly installed capacity of 7.5GW; Poland ranks with 4.9GW newly installed capacity Third, the Netherlands newly installed 4GW and France newly installed 2.7GW.
Specifically, the rapid growth of photovoltaic installed capacity in Germany is due to the high price of fossil energy, which makes renewable energy more and more cost-effective. The increase in new installed capacity in Spain is attributed to the growth of household photovoltaics. Poland's move from net metering to net billing in April 2022, combined with high electricity prices and a fast-growing utility-scale segment, contributed to its strong third-place performance. Portugal joined the GW club for the first time, thanks to an impressive 251% annual growth rate, largely due to a surge in utility-scale solar.
It is worth noting that, according to SolarPower Europe, the top ten newly installed countries in Europe have all become GW-level markets. This is the first time that the newly installed capacity of other member states has also achieved good growth.
Looking ahead, SolarPower Europe predicts that the EU photovoltaic market is expected to maintain rapid growth. According to its "most likely" average path, it is estimated that the installed capacity of photovoltaics in the EU will exceed 50GW in 2023, reaching 67.8GW under the optimistic forecast scenario, which means that in On the basis of a year-on-year increase of 47% in 2022, it is expected to increase by another 60% in 2023. This will also lead to an increase of at least 85GW of solar capacity per year until 2026. SolarPower Europe's "low scenario" sees 66.7GW of annual PV installations by 2026, while its "high scenario" sees almost 120GW of solar expected to be connected to the grid annually in the second half of the decade.
02 Building an alliance: Europe intends to establish a "local manufacturing" photovoltaic industry
While installed capacity has been growing, calls for the establishment of a European PV manufacturing base have recently grown louder as Europe's reliance on Chinese PV imports has become more severe.
On December 9, the European Commission formally established the European Solar Photovoltaic Industry Alliance to promote investment in the EU's solar manufacturing industry. Initiated by industry, research institutes, associations and other interested parties, the alliance supports Europe's goal of reaching 30GW of indigenous manufacturing capacity across the entire solar PV value chain by 2025. This target is equivalent to more than six times the current annual output of about 4.5GW.
The new alliance will mobilize resources for European solar photovoltaic manufacturing projects, make full use of all existing and new production capacity, expand European local production capacity, and enable European photovoltaic value chain links (polysilicon ingots, silicon wafers, cells, modules), etc., in 2025 The committed manufacturing capacity reached 30GW. Industry body SolarPower Europe (SPE) said that at the current rate of installation, achieving 30GW of annual local manufacturing capacity would meet around 75% of the PV modules Europe needs each year. This target will also boost the sector, creating more than 100,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector alone and supporting around 1 million jobs focused on solar module installation and maintenance.
Speaking at the alliance's official launch, EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said: "Through this alliance we want to create a complete solar PV value chain in Europe, reducing our dependence and Create value in the EU." He believes that Europe still has a lot of work to do. Of the 450GW of photovoltaic modules produced globally in 2021, the EU-controlled supply chain produced less than 9GW of them.
"We've lost market share and we're trying to tap the employment potential in this area," he warned, warning that while solar energy was "absolutely necessary" for Europe's decarbonization and energy independence, the EU was almost entirely dependent on China for photovoltaic manufacturing. China currently controls 80% of the world's solar photovoltaic manufacturing capacity, and its global market share in polysilicon and silicon ingots will soon reach nearly 95%.
It is reported that the European Solar Energy Industry Alliance will implement a seven-point strategic action plan: 1) identify bottlenecks in scaling up manufacturing and provide recommendations; 2) facilitate financing channels, including establishing a commercialization path for solar photovoltaic manufacturing; A collaborative framework; 4) Sustain international partnerships and resilient global supply chains; 5) Support solar PV research and innovation; 6) Promote circular and sustainable measures; 7) Explore and develop a skilled workforce for PV manufacturing . Building on these seven action plans, the alliance's priorities will be to mobilize private and public funding for in-house solar PV manufacturing projects, thereby expanding capacity, ensuring a sustainable level playing field and stimulating demand for sustainable PV products.
According to the REPowerEU plan, the EU's goal is to add 45GW of solar energy annually by 2030, and the installed capacity will reach 600GW. In the absence of a solar energy industry strategy, Europe's reliance on China's crystalline silicon solar energy supply chain will only deepen. Therefore, building capacity within the EU is seen as key to achieving the goals set by REPowerEU in this region.
EIT InnoEnergy CEO Diego Pavia said, "Just as we have done for batteries through the European Battery Alliance, now it is time for us to do something for solar photovoltaics. We want to use a strong industrial value chain blueprint and stakeholder network to realize the whole process. The rapid development of manufacturing projects along the solar PV value chain for the benefit of EU citizens."