INDUSTRYPOLICY C 36
an the PV manufacturing industry in Europe continue to compete? The answer is yes according to SEMI Europe’s PV Group with European leadership in the world solar energy industry is rock solid. With over 70 percent of the world’s installed solar PV energy capacity, Europe is the global centre of the high-growth solar industry, projected to contribute as much 14 percent of the world’s energy supply by 2030.
Europe is home to the entire supply chain and maintains a competitive manufacturing environment for the production of PV panels. Leading PV equipment and materials companies such as Centrotherm, Q-Cells, Roth and Rau, Solarworld, and other manufacturers are proof that manufacturing can be competitive. In fact, Sharp (Japan) is opening a factory in Catanya, Italy, and Kyocera announced a new fab in the Czech Republic, and a new agreement between TSMC and CENTROSOLAR adds capacity which equals more jobs at CENTROSOLAR’s plant in Wismar, Germany. The leading academic and research institutions in solar energy are based in Europe and many of the leaders that provide the essential
Global impact
As the mass production of photovoltaic devices increases capacity there is a subsequent drop in price. Much of the industry has been built upon government subsidies but there have been recent subsidy cuts in Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Carlos Lee, Director General of SEMI Europe/PVGroup asks if the PV manufacturing industry in Europe continues to compete globally and suggests there is a need for European renewable energy policy changes required to compete in the geopolitical arena.
equipment, materials, and technologies that enable cost effective solar power also call Europe home. The Fraunhofer ISE leads the way working with ten other Fraunhofer Institutes to create a single network for research and development in the areas of energy technologies and energy research.
While Europe has provided leadership in the solar PV industry, the marketplace has entered a global era with markets, energy providers and key suppliers arising from every corner of the world. Today, Europe represents the majority of the world’s demand for solar power, but companies based in EU member states contribute only 25-30 percent of the world’s supply. In Germany, the world’s largest demand market for solar PV, over 50 percent of the PV cells and modules are now coming from China.
According to industry analysts EuPD Research, future German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) revisions due in mid-2011 could lead to a market cap of only 3 GW in 2012 in a “worst case scenario”, reducing world demand by a whopping 6.8 GWp, or 37% off anticipated 2011 levels. Such
www.solar-pv-management.com Issue III 2011
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