Europe rushes to buy solar panels

Will European countries help Europe's ailing solar panel manufacturers?

REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights BRUSSELS, April 15 (Reuters) - Most European Union countries are set to commit more support to help Europe's ailing solar panel manufacturers on Monday, but steer clear of restrictions on cheap panel imports from China, a draft document showed.

Should the EU support European solar panels?

She is part of the teams whose reporting on Europe’s energy crisis won two Reuters journalist of the year awards in 2022. The European Union should support struggling European manufacturers of solar panels, but cannot close its borders to imports of such products, EU energy policy chief Kadri Simson said on Monday.

Where do solar panels come from in Europe?

Most solar panels and parts deployed in Europe are imported from China. "There are different proposals how we can support our industry, but clearly we cannot close our borders because we need solar panels," Simson told reporters on her arrival to a meeting of EU countries' energy ministers.

Will European solar panels be able to trade with China?

European solar panel manufacturers have previously asked the EU to consider trade safeguards on Chinese imports, but Brussels and governments including Germany have warned broad curbs on Chinese supply could stunt Europe's fast expansion of clean energy.

Are European solar panels teetering on the brink of failure?

Companies that make solar panels in Europe are teetering on the brink of failure; the outlook for them is not so much cloudy as apocalyptic. For the European solar boom is in truth a repackaged Chinese one: 95% of modules installed in the EU are imported from the world’s dominant producer, which can churn them out at unbeatable prices.

Are European solar panels in a crisis?

European local solar panel manufacturers have reached a crisis in that they say they can’t compete with cheap imports and oversupply. Businesses are shutting down, while a “glut” of Chinese panels are sitting in warehouses around Europe, according to an earlier report from Reuters last year.