Eclipsed by China

From Climate Scepticism

BY MARK HODGSON

I have already asked if the sun is setting on wind energy and now it seems we have to ask the same question about the European solar industry. A recent Politico article headline suggests (in a rather strange choice of words) that a “drowning” solar industry needs to be rescued (the body of the article says that it is “dying” rather than “drowning”). Whichever word is more apt, it seems clear that the European solar industry is in deep trouble.

So much so that we are told that the EU is urging its members to sign a joint declaration pledging to revive it. The article is quite an eye-opener, given that the mainstream media is so keen to have us believe that renewable energy is cheap and the way forward. The main points can be summarised shortly as follows:

EU solar firms are worried about an imminent collapse of their industry. In part this is said to be due to “heavily subsidised” Chinese competition. Of course, while such subsidies might be playing a role (as might the Chinese use of Uighur slave labour), no doubt the fact that Chinese energy is cheap (because they use a lot of coal) and energy within Europe is expensive (because they use a lot of renewable energy) is also highly relevant. The other issue, we are told, is a supply glut within the EU. I take that to mean that the supply of solar is significantly more than the demand for it. After years of propaganda, in other words, solar panels aren’t all that popular.

Reference is made to Meyer Burger’s recent announcement that it intends to cease module production in Germany. The text, according to pv magazine is as follows:

With a deteriorating market environment in Europe, continuing with full-scale European solar manufacturing is not sustainable for the time being. Part of the plan would unfortunately be the closure of one of Europe’s largest operational solar module production sites in Freiberg, Germany, as early as beginning of April 2024, affecting approximately 500 people.

The letter sent by the EU Commission to the energy ministers of member states talks of “the current worsening of the situation” and seeks “the signature of a declaration committing to take concrete actions to support the EU solar production.”

The Politico article suggests that the situation is so bad that this won’t placate solar manufacturers within the EU:

For months, the industry has been urging the Commission to spearhead an emergency buyout of inventories and further relax EU subsidy rules.

The EU seems to be talking about measures which are fairly obviously aimed at China, such as setting up state-led project auctions to promote the production of solar panels with “high environmental, innovation and labour standards.”

The conclusion, however, is that the situation is so dire that:

To keep the sector alive, argued Dries Acke, policy director at the SolarPower Europe lobby, the Commission “needs to become more concrete very soon” with plans to unlock EU cash.

Money. It’s always about money. Weren’t we assured that net zero would make us all better off?