European Council votes in favor of Net Zero Industry Bill

Other policies under NZIA include the creation of a ‘Zero Net Industry Academy’ to train 100,000 workers in the renewable energy generation sector over three years, and the creation of what the European Commission has described as ‘regulatory sandboxes’ aimed at encouraging greater investment in the European the manufacturing sector through a flexible regulatory framework that encourages the development and testing of new technologies.

“The Act creates the best conditions for those sectors that are key for us to achieve net zero by 2050.” – said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. “Demand is growing in Europe and around the world, and we are now able to meet this demand to a greater extent with supplies from Europe.”

The law was first proposed by von der Leyen in February 2023, and the European Parliament approved the regulations last month. The new program aims to address the increasingly dramatic imbalance in Europe’s renewable energy production sector, which has a significant impact on the photovoltaic industry in particular.

Data from the EUPD study suggest that Europe imported 87 GW of solar modules from China in 2023, with EU member states purchasing 8.3 million units for $612.4 million in December, making European production almost financially unprofitable, and the Swiss company Meyer Burger announcing plans to close its module factory in Germany due to unfavorable economic conditions for locating upstream production on the continent.

Not to mention rising tensions between China and the United States over the import of solar products, which have put Europe literally and figuratively between the two leaders in the solar energy production sector.

Industry reaction

Earlier this year, Johan Lindahl, Secretary General of the European Solar Council (ESMC), warned Premium photovoltaic technology that “we are about to lose the entire European photovoltaic manufacturing industry”, and those operating in the European photovoltaic panel manufacturing sector welcomed the EC’s vote as a way to address this decline in the industry.

“ESMC and our member companies expect rapid action as the EU solar manufacturing industry urgently needs first orders and auctions with applicable non-price criteria and NZIA pre-qualification,” ESMC said in a statement, referring to the requirement agreed by the European Parliament and the EU Council that 30% of clean energy capacity auctioned each year in the EU will take into account eligibility criteria that go beyond the availability of financial capital.

“The subsequent NZIA implementing act must ensure consistent and reasonable application of these new ‘non-price criteria’ across the EU,” added Anett Ludwig, head of supply chains at trade body SolarPower Europe.

“This means they must be technology-specific, introduced gradually and used as award criteria rather than pre-qualifications. This is important to avoid delays or insufficient public auctions that would have a negative impact on the EU’s energy transition.”

ESMC and SolarPower Europe have already collaborated on measures to improve Europe’s solar energy sector, including the signing of the European Solar Energy Charter in April. Members from 23 EU countries have signed the charter, which includes a recommendation by the ESMC to set quantitative targets for new solar deployments and to note the percentage of new solar projects that will be facilitated by products made in Europe, to help ensure a “sustainable supply of high-quality products photovoltaics in Europe.

Despite these efforts, Ludwig noted that the EU solar sector still needs “emergency support” and an “EU structural fund” to scale up European solar production in the short term.

“Some producers have weeks left to survive. This emergency situation requires urgent action from EU and national authorities,” Ludwig said. “SolarPower Europe requests the creation of an additional EU financial tool, such as a solar production facility, under the Innovation Fund.”