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European Solar Initiative: here’s how solar photovoltaic production will make its way back to Europe
With the European Solar Initiative solar photovoltaic production will make its way back to Europe
To bring back and boost solar photovoltaic production in Europe to create jobs, generate economic advantages and accelerate the energy transition.
This is the intention behind Eit InnoEnergy and SolarPower Europe, which have launched the initiative European Solar Initiative (ESI) to re-develop the entire PV industry value chain – from raw materials to recycling.
Funded by the European Commission in partnership with the most important European industries operating in the sector, the project is set in an economic context characterised by a constantly growing demand for PV energy in Europe that is showing no signs of easing – not even with the Covid-19 crisis. Actually, it has been estimated that if this market trend continues, there will be an additional demand of 20 GW of PV energy per year for the entire decade ahead.
ESI’s impact on the European economy will be particularly positive as it will add €40 billion a year to the continent’s GDP and create 400,000 new jobs, both direct and indirect.
In addition to contributing to the economic recovery of countries across the EU, the European solar photovoltaic initiative will bring benefits for the climate, as well, accelerating the achievement of European Green Deal objectives.
This was also underscored by Diego Pavia, CEO of EIT InnoEnergy: “The mix of National Energy and Climate plan demand, low cost of capital, notable successes in European technology development and a return of investment into the sector has created fertile ground for a rebirth of European PV. Europe has learnt from its previous experiences and with the Green Deal’s powerful, unambiguous political and business framework in place, scale and speed are going to be the key to unlocking PV’s potential."
The outlook for the development of a solar PV production project in Europe looks rosy: the European companies’ technological leadership and the world-recognised excellence of the research centres have led to the development of advanced cell and module technologies and innovative applications on different supports (on buildings, water and farmland).
Defining strategic actions that involve the entire value chain will be a decisive factor for achieving the objectives of the European Solar Initiative, the purpose being that of maximising expansion of Europe’s solar PV industrial ecosystem.
The Business Investment Platform has already been created to this end: this ESI platform aims to close the gap between project developers and investors so that the greatest number of photovoltaic projects can be completed.
Thierry Breton, the EU’s Internal Market Commissioner, has in fact emphasised that agreements and partnerships between stakeholders are needed to arrive at a successful industrial transformation. "I welcome and support the European Solar Initiative, and I hope it will soon enjoy the investors’ attention because there is a real business case behind it. Initiatives like the European Solar Initiative are very welcome to strengthen the resilience of our industrial ecosystems, avoid critical dependencies, and of course create quality jobs”.
This is the intention behind Eit InnoEnergy and SolarPower Europe, which have launched the initiative European Solar Initiative (ESI) to re-develop the entire PV industry value chain – from raw materials to recycling.
Funded by the European Commission in partnership with the most important European industries operating in the sector, the project is set in an economic context characterised by a constantly growing demand for PV energy in Europe that is showing no signs of easing – not even with the Covid-19 crisis. Actually, it has been estimated that if this market trend continues, there will be an additional demand of 20 GW of PV energy per year for the entire decade ahead.
ESI’s impact on the European economy will be particularly positive as it will add €40 billion a year to the continent’s GDP and create 400,000 new jobs, both direct and indirect.
In addition to contributing to the economic recovery of countries across the EU, the European solar photovoltaic initiative will bring benefits for the climate, as well, accelerating the achievement of European Green Deal objectives.
This was also underscored by Diego Pavia, CEO of EIT InnoEnergy: “The mix of National Energy and Climate plan demand, low cost of capital, notable successes in European technology development and a return of investment into the sector has created fertile ground for a rebirth of European PV. Europe has learnt from its previous experiences and with the Green Deal’s powerful, unambiguous political and business framework in place, scale and speed are going to be the key to unlocking PV’s potential."
The outlook for the development of a solar PV production project in Europe looks rosy: the European companies’ technological leadership and the world-recognised excellence of the research centres have led to the development of advanced cell and module technologies and innovative applications on different supports (on buildings, water and farmland).
Defining strategic actions that involve the entire value chain will be a decisive factor for achieving the objectives of the European Solar Initiative, the purpose being that of maximising expansion of Europe’s solar PV industrial ecosystem.
The Business Investment Platform has already been created to this end: this ESI platform aims to close the gap between project developers and investors so that the greatest number of photovoltaic projects can be completed.
Thierry Breton, the EU’s Internal Market Commissioner, has in fact emphasised that agreements and partnerships between stakeholders are needed to arrive at a successful industrial transformation. "I welcome and support the European Solar Initiative, and I hope it will soon enjoy the investors’ attention because there is a real business case behind it. Initiatives like the European Solar Initiative are very welcome to strengthen the resilience of our industrial ecosystems, avoid critical dependencies, and of course create quality jobs”.
