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Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

European Solar Photovoltaic Industry Alliance

The European Solar Photovoltaic Industry Alliance aims to build resilience and strategic autonomy for Europe's solar photovoltaic (PV) value chain. It will identify barriers, opportunities and investment possibilities in the solar PV value chain while also addressing circularity and sustainability and the impact on skills.

What the alliance does

To accelerate solar photovoltaic (solar PV) deployment in the EU, the European Solar PV Industry Alliance was launched in 2022 to develop an EU solar PV industrial ecosystem to help secure and diversify supplies of solar PVs. Doing so by scaling up EU manufacturing of competitive, innovative, and sustainable solar PV products as well as diversifying international PV value chain components and supply raw materials. 

The alliance will elaborate and implement a strategic action plan based by

  • identifying manufacturing scale-up bottlenecks and providing recommendations
  • facilitating access to finance, including by establishing commercialisation pathways for solar PV manufacturing
  • providing a framework for cooperation on the development and uptake
  • maintaining international partnerships and resilient global supply chains
  • supporting solar PV research and innovation
  • facilitating and increasing communication on circularity and sustainability
  • exploring and developing a skilled workforce for the PV manufacturing sector

Who can join and how

The alliance brings together businesses and stakeholders interested in supporting European solutions to increase EU PV panel and component production capacity and in diversifying supply sources for products, components and raw materials. The alliance is open to all public and private entities with relevant activities in the area of solar PV, including companies and associations, social partners, education and training providers, research and technology organisations, investors, civil society organisations, and representatives of EU countries, regional and public authorities. 

Any organisation with relevant activity in the European Economic Area can join the alliance at any time by filling out the membership application form. Provided that it meets the eligibility criteria described in the alliance’s terms of reference.

Launch event

On 9 December 2022, we formally launched the European Solar PV Industry Alliance at a high-level conference in Brussels. EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton hosted the conference and formally presented the alliance, followed by opportunities to discuss the main issues the alliance will address. 

Please visit the event page for more information and the video stream.

Background

The European Green Deal and the Fit for 55 Package set out ambitious EU objectives to deploy large amounts of renewable energy in the immediate future. Following Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the Commission approved the REPowerEU plan on 18 May 2022. The EU initiative aims to put an end to its dependency on Russian fossil fuels that proposes to raise the EU renewable energy target to 45% by 2030. Massive, rapid deployment of renewable energy is at the core of the REPowerEU plan. Published as part of the plan, the EU solar energy strategy aims to deploy over 320 GW of solar PV by 2025, more than doubling the 2020 output, and almost 600 GW by 2030. 

To meet these objectives, the strategy 

  • suggested EU industrial solar value chain expansion via the European Solar PV Industry Alliance
  • promotes quick and massive PV deployment via the European solar rooftops initiative
  • introduces measures to simplify and accelerate permitting
  • aims to ensure a skilled workforce and job creation potential for EU solar energy production and deployment 

Timeline

  1. 1 December 2023
    Commissioner Breton hosts meeting on Solar PV
  2. 9 December 2022
    High-level launch conference hosted by Commissioner Breton
  3. November 2022
    Launch of open call for membership and website
  4. October 2022
    Commission kicks off work on a European Solar PV Industry Alliance
  5. May 2022
    EU Solar Energy Strategy is adopted