13 Solar CEOs call on the EU Commission to urgently support European solar PV manufacturing

• In an open letter, 13 CEOs of leading European solar organisations urge the European Commission to take bold action to boost investment in Europe’s solar PV industrial base, in order to reinforce the Commission’s solar deployment and energy security ambitions. 
• Pointing to global developments in solar PV manufacturing support schemes in US and India, signatories call on EU leaders to build on the continent’s legacy of leadership in solar energy research.
• Highlighting a recent International Energy Agency (IEA) Special Report on solar PV chains, the letter raises concerns over the dominant concentration of supply chains in a single geography.
• Specifically, signatories call for additional support measures in the short-term replicating the success of the EU Chips Act and promoting solar PV production in the National Resilience and Recovery Plans.

BRUSSELS, Belgium (Tuesday 11 October 2022): In the context of critical EU solar deployment and energy security targets, yesterday 12 CEOs from leading PV manufacturers, and the CEO of SolarPower Europe, wrote to the European Commission to call for urgent action to support the redevelopment European solar manufacturing.

The letter welcomes the recent REPowerEU and EU Solar Strategy, while pointing to international measures that are accelerating the global competition for solar PV value chains outside of Europe. The US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) benefits for Operating Expenditure (OpEx) and Capital Expenditures is resonating with investors, while in India, innovative auction design is providing similar clarity to the industry. Signatories highlight the recent IEA Special Report on supply chains, raising concern about the dominant concentration of supply chains in a single geography.

To ensure Europe’s competitive participation within a globally diversified solar supply chain, and echoing President von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech last month, signatories call on the Commission to replicate the EU Chips Act’s success for critical solar PV technology, and promote solar PV production in the National Resilience and Recovery Plans. This translates to accelerated financial support for large-scale manufacturing projects, and competitive OpEx support, particularly for energy-intensive polysilicon and ingot/wafer production.

Letter Signatories:

Matthias Taft, Chief Executive Officer, BayWa r.e. 

Salvatore Bernabei, Chief Executive Officer, Enel Green Power

Mark Widmar, Chief Executive Officer, FirstSolar

Elisabeth Strauss-Engelbrechtsmüller, Chief Executive 

Officer, Fronius

Joachim Goldbeck, Chief Executive Officer, Goldbeck Solar 

Udo Möhrstedt, Chief Executive Officer, IBC SOLAR 

Xabier Viteri, General Manager, Renewable Energy Business Iberdrola Group

Dr. Gunter Erfurt, Chief Executive Officer, Meyer Burger Technology AG

Gøran Bye, Chief Executive Officer, Norwegian Crystals

Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Reinert, Chief Executive Officer, SMA Solar Technology

Walburga Hemetsberger, Chief Executive Officer, SolarPower Europe

Dr. Armin Froitzheim, Chief Technology Officer and Managing Director, Solarwatt 

Dr. Christian Hartel, Chief Executive Officer, Wacker Chemie AG 

© European Union 2022