As of: February 6, 2024, 5:19 a.m
By: Lars-Eric Nievelstein
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Germany's solar industry is suffering from cheap products from China.
Two large module producers, Meyer Burger and Solarwatt, have already issued clear warnings.
Heckert Solar is now also cutting back on production.
Düsseldorf – The Chemnitz photovoltaic manufacturer Heckert Solar is one of the largest and oldest producers in the country.
The company boss Benjamin Trinkerl now warned the
Handelsblatt
that the solar industry was on the verge of collapse.
It is clear that “production in Germany can only exist as long as it is profitable in the long term.” The fact that these conditions are no longer met is primarily due to China.
Solar industry on the brink of collapse – third manufacturer cuts production
As Heckert Solar announced, the manufacturer's production is currently being throttled and investments in production have also been paused.
“If there are positive signals, we will invest again,” explained Trinkerl.
Heckert Solar is thus following the same path as the manufacturers Meyer Burger and Solarwatt, which had each reduced their production.
The end of the solar industry – third manufacturer sounds the alarm © IMAGO / Sven Simon
Both companies had placed the future of their production on the condition that the political framework conditions improved significantly.
The trigger for this crisis in the solar industry is the cheap photovoltaic modules in China.
This flood of cheap modules has not only brought German manufacturers to the brink, but also other European manufacturers and those in the USA.
Only eight weeks time – ESMC calls for immediate measures
This went so far that European manufacturers of solar modules have already contacted the EU to demand emergency measures.
Otherwise, local companies would have to close under the price pressure of Chinese imports.
“Over the next four to eight weeks, the main EU PV module manufacturers and their European suppliers will shut down their production lines unless substantial emergency measures are taken immediately,” says a letter from the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC), an industry association. addressed to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Without quick help, the EU would quickly lose half of its production capacity for photovoltaic modules.
Solar manufacturers have been warning about the end of their industry for weeks.
Companies are increasingly finding themselves in financial distress.
Germany's dependence on Chinese PV systems is high - which makes finding a solution difficult.
China dominates the solar market
The big problem is that China has built up a production chain for photovoltaics that is hard to beat over the years.
Currently around 87 percent of all solar systems imported into Germany come from China.
Its value was around 3.1 billion euros.
China accounts for 80 percent of photovoltaic production worldwide.
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The reason for China's enormous strength in photovoltaics is not yet fully understood.
According to
Forbes,
China has advantages mainly because of cheap coal, which is ironically used in the production of solar systems, massive government financial aid and forced labor.
The Time
network 's attempts at explanation go in a similar direction
, according to which a large part of Chinese photovoltaic production can be traced back to areas inhabited by Uighurs.
Beijing has often denied such allegations.
Punitive tariffs on solar modules?
The big question facing governments now is how to solve the problem.
India has already responded with high punitive tariffs because China has also put massive pressure on the market there (40 percent on solar modules).
The ESMC, on the other hand, is calling for a program for the government to buy up surplus solar module stocks in Europe.
Chinese products are estimated to account for about half of the solar panels in warehouses.
In addition, there should be higher feed-in tariffs, so-called resilience bonuses, for photovoltaic systems with a certain proportion of European added value.
Grants for building up production capacities are also being discussed.
However, the amount of funds to be spent is unclear.
Finally, “protective measures”, for example certain quotas or punitive tariffs, would also be possible means that the EU can use to protect the solar industry.
The responsible BMWK had not yet responded to a request for solutions from the federal government.
With material from Reuters