Photovoltaics under the microscope. There is a serious warning from the industry. Customs duties and China in the background

Beijing is increasingly censored in Europe. The trade deficit between them and the European Union is gigantic, already amounting to USD 400 billion. This is one of the reasons why it may result in the imposition of tariffs on cheap electric cars from China. This is to protect European producers. “World markets are currently flooded with cheaper electric cars. And their price is artificially low thanks to huge state subsidies,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her annual speech to parliament. But that’s not the end. Now it’s time for photovoltaic panels.

Flood of “Chinese food”

Germany is currently exploring another option regarding tariffs. This is about trade protection, which would aim to defend European producers of photovoltaic panels against falling prices on world markets – this is according to a government document obtained by

European solar panel producers complain about the flood of Chinese modules offered at prices below production costs, which forces companies from our continent to lower their own prices. According to the European Commission, over 90 percent tiles for photovoltaic panels come from China.

But the industry is also afraid that possible tariffs and restrictions on Chinese supplies would result in a repeat of the situation from 2013-2018, when investments in photovoltaics dropped. Then it coincided with the EU introducing limits on duty-free imports of Chinese solar panels and cells.

‘Tariffs are not the right answer’

According to Gunter Erfurt, head of the SolarPower Europe group, whose members include manufacturers, large customers and installation companies, “customs are not a good answer to the current challenges in the European solar industry.”

“Instead, we must encourage solar installations from the European solar industry. In this way, the development of solar energy production can continue without disruption,” he added.

Photovoltaic panels in Poland

According to the website rybelektryczny.pl, in July we had 1,300,511 photovoltaic prosumers in Poland, and the total installation capacity was 9,939.49 MW. In total, compared to July 2022, the number of solar installations in Poland increased by over 38%. The largest photovoltaic farm is located in Zwartów in Pomerania. It was put into operation in September last year, and its installation capacity is 204 MW.