{"id":313051,"date":"2024-03-26T08:05:59","date_gmt":"2024-03-26T07:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=313051"},"modified":"2024-03-26T08:06:01","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T07:06:01","slug":"how-china-captured-the-sun-and-cast-a-shadow-over-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=313051","title":{"rendered":"How China captured the sun \u2013 and cast a shadow over Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An influx of cheap Chinese solar panels is forcing local manufacturers out of the market.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Europe\u2019s ambitious plans to expand green energy generation with \u201cMade in EU\u201d solar panels face a distinctly cloudy future as the continent faces a massive glut of the devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Millions of solar panels are piling up in warehouses across the Continent because of\u00a0a manufacturing battle in China<\/a>, where cut-throat competition has driven the world\u2019s biggest panel-makers to expand production far faster than they can be installed. The Telegraph<\/a> has the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The supply glut has caused solar panel prices to halve. This sounds like great news for the EU, which recently pledged to triple its solar power capacity to 672 gigawatts by 2030. That\u2019s roughly equivalent to 200 large nuclear power stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, though, it has caused a crisis. Under the EU\u2019s \u201cGreen Deal Industrial Plan\u201d, 40pc of the panels to be spread across European fields and roofs were meant to be made by European manufacturers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the influx of cheap Chinese alternatives means that instead of tooling up, manufacturers are pulling out of the market or becoming insolvent. Last year 97pc of the solar panels installed across Europe came from China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) has warned of a looming \u201cwave of bankruptcies\u201d including Dutch panel producer Exasun and Austrian module manufacturer Energetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ESMC secretary general Johan Lindahl has appealed for \u201curgent\u201d measures to safeguard the sector, calling for the EU to buy up all those unwanted solar panels to keep his members in business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best estimates suggest that about 90 gigawatts worth of solar panels are stashed around Europe. That solar power capacity roughly equates to 25 large nuclear power stations the size of Hinkley Point C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crisis is extending back to China too, where Longi, the world\u2019s largest solar panel manufacturer, is set to slash its workforce by almost a third<\/a> as the industry struggles with oversupply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sheer scale of the problem was revealed in a recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It warned that although the world was installing at record rates of around 400 gigawatts a year, manufacturing capacity was growing far faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of this year solar panel factories, mostly in China, will be capable of churning out 1,100 gigawatts a year \u2013 nearly three times more than the world is ready for. For comparison, that\u2019s about 11 times the UK\u2019s entire generating capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some solar power installers, it\u2019s a dream come true. Sagar Adani is building solar farms across India\u2019s deserts, with 54 in operation and another 12 being built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Europe\u2019s ambitious plans to expand green energy generation with \u201cMade in EU\u201d solar panels face a distinctly cloudy future as the continent faces a massive glut of the devices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":313055,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818341,691818583,691822128,691827850,691818412,691827851],"class_list":["post-313051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-china","tag-europe","tag-green-deal-industrial-plan","tag-made-in-eu","tag-solar-panels","tag-wave-of-bankruptcies","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/00solar-panels-europe-a03.jpg?fit=1920%2C1048&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1jrd","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":300598,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=300598","url_meta":{"origin":313051,"position":0},"title":"Europe Wanted Cheap Solar Panels. Now China Is About To Totally Take Over The Industry","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/07\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Europe has set aside billions of euros to massively increase its reliance on\u00a0solar panels\u00a0to generate power, and the continent\u2019s rush to go green has resulted in increased dependency on cheaper Chinese products that benefit from Chinese subsidies,\u00a0according\u00a0to Politico.","rel":"","context":"In \"China\"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=china"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/00German-Solar-Panels.jpeg?fit=1200%2C563&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/00German-Solar-Panels.jpeg?fit=1200%2C563&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/00German-Solar-Panels.jpeg?fit=1200%2C563&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/00German-Solar-Panels.jpeg?fit=1200%2C563&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/00German-Solar-Panels.jpeg?fit=1200%2C563&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":293764,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=293764","url_meta":{"origin":313051,"position":1},"title":"\u201cLack of Commitment\u201d Threatens Europe\u2019s Net Zero Progress","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/04\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"What a surprise \u2013 European climate zealot politicians are not practicing what they are preaching.","rel":"","context":"In \"climate-neutrality\"","block_context":{"text":"climate-neutrality","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-neutrality"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-84.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-84.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-84.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-84.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":237482,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=237482","url_meta":{"origin":313051,"position":2},"title":"Solar Power In Spain","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/03\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Europe discovered a new reality this winter: energy rationing.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-69.png?fit=1024%2C695&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-69.png?fit=1024%2C695&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-69.png?fit=1024%2C695&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-69.png?fit=1024%2C695&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":237438,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=237438","url_meta":{"origin":313051,"position":3},"title":"Elon Musk: Use Spanish Solar Panels to Solve Europe\u2019s Energy Crisis","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/03\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The biggest problem though, Musk\u2019s idea isn\u2019t original. Spain already tried solar energy.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-55.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-55.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-55.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-55.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-55.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":305703,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=305703","url_meta":{"origin":313051,"position":4},"title":"Don\u2019t Let the Sun Go Down on\u00a0EU","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/04\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"EU solar firms are worried about an imminent collapse of their industry. In part this is said to be due to \u201cheavily subsidised\u201d Chinese competition.","rel":"","context":"In \"EU Commission\"","block_context":{"text":"EU Commission","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=eu-commission"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0-solar-maduls-China.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0-solar-maduls-China.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0-solar-maduls-China.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0-solar-maduls-China.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/0-solar-maduls-China.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":253596,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=253596","url_meta":{"origin":313051,"position":5},"title":"Biden\u2019s \u2018Green\u2019 policies following Europe straight into the dark","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"04\/18\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"So maybe \u201cyes,\u201d we should look to Europe for good, practical lessons on Going Green. 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