European Commission

The new Clean Industrial Deal provides a “specific boost” for European solar manufacturing, but a lack of financing and storage to support grids will continue to hold back deployment unless addressed.

The European Commission has launched the Clean Industrial Deal, a plan to boost industrial competitiveness and accelerate decarbonization. The initiative aims to lower energy costs, support clean technology, and streamline regulations amid high energy prices and global competition.

Solar energy has been essential for survival in Ukraine during nearly three years of war since the Russian invasion in 2022. As citizens hope for peace, PV will be instrumental in supporting post-war recovery, whenever it comes.

The European Commission is inviting the public to comment on how non-price criteria are specified in future renewable energy auctions. The call for feedback is open until Feb. 21, 2025.

The European Commission will publish guidance on agrivoltaics as part of a wider document covering innovative technologies, attendees at pv magazine Roundtables Europe 2024 heard. More than 1,300 guests joined pv magazine’s live event on Dec. 5, which covered topics ranging from quality and European manufacturing to energy storage and solar cell technology.

The European Commission is offering 85 net-zero projects a share of €4.8 billion ($5.2 billion) in grants from the latest round of the EU Innovation Fund. Some of the projects will contribute to 3 GW of new solar manufacturing capacity.

The European Commission says only one member state, Denmark, has transposed provisions covering permissions for renewable energy projects into national law. It has launched infringement procedures on 26 other countries and has given a two-month deadline.

The European Commission has given the green light to a €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) state aid program in Poland that provides direct grants to companies producing solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, and other renewable equipment components.

The European Union has drawn up new regulations to boost the domestic mining of raw materials and support production of renewable energy products and materials at home. Will it be enough to incentivize investment, or will Europe trail other major economies, such as the United States and China?

Consortia featuring subsidiaries of Chinese solar module maker Longi and Chinese industrial conglomerate Shanghai Electric have withdrawn from a public procurement tender for a solar park in Romania. The European Commission opened two anti-subsidy investigations into their involvement, which have now been closed.