EU Net Zero Industry Bill Passed! Requires 40% of Photovoltaic Modules To Be Manufactured Locally

EU Net Zero Industry Bill passed! Requires 40% of photovoltaic modules to be manufactured locally

On May 27, local time, the European Union passed the Net Zero Industry Act. The bill aims to accelerate the EU's transition to climate neutrality while enhancing the EU's industrial competitiveness.

It is reported that on March 16, 2023, the European Commission released proposals for the "Net Zero Industry Act" and the "Critical Raw Materials Act", aiming to ensure that the EU takes a leading position in global green industrial technology.

The Net Zero Industry Bill is a key part of the EU Green Deal industrial plan, aiming to ensure that by 2030 at least 40% of the EU’s clean technology needs, including wind turbines, batteries, heat pumps, solar panels, renewable hydrogen, etc., are in Made in Europe. The Net Zero Industries Bill will improve the conditions for investment in net zero technologies by enhancing information, easing the administrative burden of establishing projects and simplifying the licensing process. To promote the diversification of the supply of net zero emission technologies, the bill requires public authorities to consider sustainability and resilience criteria for net zero emission technologies in public procurement or auctions.

In fact, data shows that currently the EU's domestically produced solar modules account for only 3% of the market, and the EU's photovoltaic installed capacity relies heavily on Chinese imports. The latest customs data shows that in March this year, China exported a total of about 24.5GW of photovoltaic modules. The top three importing Chinese photovoltaic module markets in the world are Europe, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The total monthly imports of the three account for about 60% of the global market. , among which the European market imported approximately 9.7GW of photovoltaic modules from China, an increase of 21% month-on-month compared with 8GW in February.