member states

As solar module prices continue to drop to record lows, amid global oversupply, questions are being asked about how much inventory is sitting in European warehouses and when normal levels will return. With numerous estimates and assumptions swirling, EUPD Research’s Markus A.W. Hoehner and Ali Arfa have looked closely at the numbers in an attempt to provide a transparent view of the issue.

Gerard Reid, co-founder of corporate finance advisory Alexa Capital, considers whether the EU is up to the task of dealing with the twin threats of the energy crisis and the pull of a revitalized US clean power industry.

A preliminary ruling by the European Court of Justice states panel makers should not be responsible for electrical waste management costs in a seven-year period as the rules in place before the EU’s WEEE directive entered force, in 2012, permitted member states to place the obligation on panel users instead. The resulting change in law, in some states, cannot be applied retroactively, under EU legal rules.

Since summer 2018, a 25% charge has been levied by the EU on steel-product import volumes in excess of historical norms. European manufacturers say there is still a global steelmaking glut and the U.S. is showing no signs of lifting its restrictions.

Italy is in line for €11.4 billion if member states sign off an emergency funding package which will distribute funds based on the GDP and unemployment figures of their economies in June, July and August.

Solarpower Europe has called on member states to put solar and battery storage front and center when it comes to drawing up the Recovery and Resilience plans needed to secure a slice of the bloc’s proposed €672.5 billion post-Covid stimulus package.