The letter welcomes the recent REPowerEU and EU Solar Strategy, while pointing to international measures that are accelerating the global competition for solar PV value chains outside of Europe. The US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) benefits for Operating Expenditure (OpEx) and Capital Expenditures is resonating with investors, while in India, innovative auction design is providing similar clarity to the industry. Signatories highlight the recent IEA Special Report on supply chains, raising concern about the dominant concentration of supply chains in a single geography.
To ensure Europe’s competitive participation within a globally diversified solar supply chain, and echoing President von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech last month, signatories call on the Commission to replicate the EU Chips Act’s success for critical solar PV technology, and promote solar PV production in the National Resilience and Recovery Plans. This translates to accelerated financial support for large-scale manufacturing projects, and competitive OpEx support, particularly for energy-intensive polysilicon and ingot/wafer production.
Letter Signatories:
Matthias Taft, Chief Executive Officer, BayWa r.e.
Salvatore Bernabei, Chief Executive Officer, Enel Green Power
Mark Widmar, Chief Executive Officer, FirstSolar
Elisabeth Strauss-Engelbrechtsmüller, Chief Executive Officer, Fronius
Joachim Goldbeck, Chief Executive Officer, Goldbeck Solar
Udo Möhrstedt, Chief Executive Officer, IBC SOLAR
Xabier Viteri, General Manager, Renewable Energy Business Iberdrola Group
Dr. Gunter Erfurt, PMP, Chief Executive Officer, Meyer Burger
Gøran Bye, Chief Executive Officer, Norwegian Crystals
Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Reinert, Chief Executive Officer, SMA Solar Technology
Walburga Hemetsberger, Chief Executive Officer, SolarPower Europe
Dr. Armin Froitzheim, Chief Technology Officer and Managing Director, Solarwatt
Dr. Christian Hartel, Chief Executive Officer, Wacker Chemie AG
