EU wants European PV sector to make 40% of required components by 2030

The European Union is working on a draft proposal that establishes measures to strengthen the European ecosystem for the production of clean energy technologies, to which pv magazine has had access.

“The path toward zero net energy translates into great opportunities for the expansion of the union’s net zero industry, which includes in particular solar energy, onshore and marine wind, heat pumps, electrolyzers, batteries and their supply chains,” said the document, which pv magazine has seen.

For the solar technologies, the EU said it will continue to depend on imports from China, which exceed 90% of products in certain earlier segments of the value chain, including ingots and wafers.

The draft document proposes that, by 2030, the solar module production capacity of the European Union will be sufficient to cater to at least 40% of the annual expected demand under the REPowerEU and Green Pact initiatives, which involve the planned installation of 600 GW of solar capacity.

It also requires that 85% of wind energy components of the EU are manufactured in Europe. The percentage for heat pumps is 60%, 85% for batteries, and 50% for electrolyzers.

The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) believes that at least 75% of solar demand in Europe should be covered by local production, which implies manufacturing 35 GW in Europe by 2025, 60 GW by 2026, and 100 GW in 2030.