Electrical Equipment / Components & Telecoms

As a global leader in the photovoltaic industry, China should cooperate with the international community to jointly initiate and formulate relevant regulations, providing strong support for China's international trade in photovoltaic exports to the world.

In the face of the energy crisis caused by geopolitics, extreme weather and other factors, the European Commission has recently made plans in succession to prepare for large-scale construction in the photovoltaic field. On October 11th, the European Commission announced on its official website that it had officially approved the establishment of a new solar photovoltaic industry alliance to accelerate the deployment of solar power generation facilities throughout the EU. The latest research shows that due to rising energy prices and increased manufacturing costs, the EU's "ambitious" photovoltaic layout faces the risk of being shelved. On the one hand, it is the high demand for photovoltaics in the European Union, and on the other hand, the rising manufacturing costs in the local area have once again highlighted the advantages of China's photovoltaic industry in terms of scale and low costs. This also provides a platform for the further development of Chinese photovoltaic international trading enterprises in Europe.

On October 10, President of the European Commission von der Leyen publicly stated at the EU Digital Summit that the EU would accelerate the transformation of renewable and clean energy in order to get rid of dependence on Russian energy as soon as possible. It is reported that the European Union has formulated two detailed plans for this. According to Reuters, the draft of the EU's upcoming "Energy System Digitization Plan" requires that solar panels be installed on the roofs of all commercial and public buildings in the EU region by 2027; Before 2029, solar panels will also be installed on all new residential buildings in the EU region. In May of this year, the European Union released an energy plan called "REPowerEU", which also mentioned the EU's layout of photovoltaic facilities. The plan requires that the overall photovoltaic installed capacity of the EU reach 320 gigawatts by 2025 and 600 gigawatts by 2030. It can be seen that in the pursuit of "energy freedom" in the EU, the importance of solar power generation is self-evident.

Wang Yuanfeng, director of the carbon neutrality Science and Technology and Strategy Research Center of Beijing Jiaotong University, said: "Europe is experiencing the 'pain' of the energy crisis, and solar power plays an obvious role in supplementing local energy. In the long run, the large-scale deployment of solar power has also accelerated the transformation of renewable energy in Europe."

But it is inevitable that the European photovoltaic industry is facing cost pressure. A study by energy consulting firm Rystad Energy found that due to the rise in electricity prices, the manufacturing costs of the local photovoltaic industry in Europe have significantly increased, resulting in the risk of approximately 35 gigawatts of photovoltaic manufacturing projects being put on hold. Rystad Energy also stated that due to the increase in operating costs, energy intensive enterprises in the local photovoltaic industry chain have temporarily closed their production lines, which also poses a risk of financing failure for related projects.

At the same time, China's exports of solar equipment to Europe are shining brightly. It is reported that China is currently the largest exporter of photovoltaic modules, and Europe is also the largest export market for Chinese photovoltaic modules.

According to data from the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, in the first half of 2022, the total export volume of China's photovoltaic international trade components reached 78.6 gigawatts, with component exports reaching $22.02 billion, a year-on-year sharp increase of 116.1%, with exports to the European region reaching over half. The advantages of China's photovoltaic industry are becoming increasingly prominent. Compared to Europe, China has stronger competitiveness in technology, industry scale, manufacturing costs, and other aspects. Most importantly, China's photovoltaic industry has richer production and practical experience, which will help Chinese international trading enterprises better enter the European photovoltaic market. "Wang Yuanfeng said.

He also proposed that Chinese companies need to remain vigilant in the face of the blue ocean market. Firstly, at the trade level, Chinese international trade enterprises need to prepare for possible "anti monopoly" measures and avoid a passive situation. Secondly, at the geopolitical level, there have been voices saying that Europe should not rely on China's photovoltaic industry, otherwise there will be a situation similar to relying on Russian energy. Therefore, Chinese photovoltaic companies also need to be prepared for the influence of geopolitics. In terms of technology, China also needs to avoid being "stuck" by Europe and America. Most importantly, China's photovoltaic industry needs to reduce carbon emissions throughout the entire industry chain to avoid being "encircled" by potential European "carbon footprint" regulations in the future. As a global leader in the photovoltaic industry, China should cooperate with international partners to jointly initiate and formulate relevant regulations, providing strong support for China's photovoltaic exports to the world.