The president of Europe’s leading solar industry group has called for the removal of anti-dumping taxes imposed on imports of solar products made in China, saying the countervailing duties have led to job losses and negative growth in the European solar market.
European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) president Oliver Schaefer made the comments this week at an international conference in Shanghai.
“EPIA is a strong supporter of free and fair trade and we would like to see trade relations between Europe and China, on solar modules and cells, return to normal undistorted, fair trade as soon as possible, when the duties and respective price undertaking expire in 2015.”
In December 2013, Europe applied countervailing duties in the form of a Minimum Import Price (MIP) and strict quotas on crystalline silicon solar panels and cells originating in or consigned from China. With the restrictions due to expire in December 2015, the EPIA is urging regulators to abandon the measures, which it believes is responsible for a slowdown in solar installations across the continent.
According to International Energy Agency figures released in March, Europe’s solar market fell by 30 per cent in 2014, achieving just seven gigawatts of around 40 GW installed worldwide. The EPIA estimates a solar workforce of 265,000 – the majority in the installation sector – has been halved since 2011.
The EPIA says a free market for solar would reflect the true cost of global solar products, increase innovation and development of technology and allow for much greater economies of scale in the European market, resulting in cheaper solar power for customers.
“The Board has agreed this position, as we believe that a return to a level playing field will help solar power in Europe to grow, and support the European electricity market in achieving its challenging emission reduction goals. Consumers will also be able to buy quality products manufactured at scale, at the best possible prices,” said Schaefer.
In addition to having a mission of shaping the regulatory environment to promote the growing market opportunity for solar in Europe, EPIA was also a founding Member of PV CYCLE; which offers dedicated compliance and waste management services for solar products.
