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Between the EU's Net Zero Act, and the IRA act in the US lay hopes for a revival and protection for the solar sector in the EU and the US respectively. In many cases, EU firms had even hoped to get the benefit of both, by rushing to invest in US manufacturing. As it turns out, most of those plans have failed to reach fruition, with many firms pulling back, or simply abandoning plans. Those that did progress quickly have regretted it, as seen in the case of the erstwhile leader Meyer Burger, which focused on the US market over the EU, only to see plans come undone post the Trump presidency.
Now two of the leading European solar trade bodies, the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) and SolarPower Europe (SPE), have renewed calls for more support to back solar manufacturing in Europe. We believe the odds remain low for a meaningful manufacturing revival in Europe, as costs are simply too high for a sustainable advantage over other markets, inclding India, leave aside China.
In a joint letter to the European Commission and Ministers of the Competitiveness Council ahead of a solar PV ministerial meeting on 30 September 2025, the two solar associations have called for additional measures beyond the EU’sNet Zero Industry Act(NZIA) thatwas passed last year.
Solar Power Europe predicts that 2025 will see the first decline in solar capacity additions in a decade, besides the mortal threat to European manufacturing. Europe had set a target of 30 GW of solar manufacturing by 2025, a target that is nowhere close to being achieved, with the risk instead of more European manufacturers shutting down rising since 2023.
An open, joint letter from SPE and ESMC lays down a five point plan to back manufacturing in Europe. The letter stresses on the need to revive public procurement by law, besides access to financing support both for innovations and working capital support through the EIB and others.
While it remains to be seen if the plea finds takers in the EU, it is a fact that the push back against renewables in the US had had an impact in Europe particularly, including the EU commitment to buy $500 billion of fossil energy supplies in the next few years from the US. Reconciling such a move with a push for clean energy within the EU remains a tightrope no EU leader seems willing to walk.
The fate of REC Group that shut down its polysilicon facility in Norway, or Meyer Burger which shuttered its module assembly plant in Germany in favout of a shift to the US, and still slipping up underlines the huge challenge EU makers face. Even duties as high as 100% on Chinese imports are considered inadequate for manufacturers in the EU. Pushing any higher would mean a huge premium being paid by EU customers, something that has a massive pushback already in Germany and other markets where green energy has become a convenient scapegoat for high power prices that have been blamed for falling competitiveness of industry there.