The European Commission recently adopted a Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF) to provide support opportunities for Net-Zero industries. With confirmation from the European Commission, the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) clarifies the time limit of this aid framework, which appears to have been widely misinterpreted. On...
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Press release: ESMC requests EU Member States to allocate REPowerEU financing to PV manufacturing
The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) is urgently requesting the EU Member States to allocate financial support to PV manufacturing using the REPowerEU grants financing in the ongoing revision of the national Recovery and Resilience Plans. As it is pointed out in the Net-Zero Industry Act, adopted by the European Commission on 16th...
New global certification of low-carbon PV modules
A brand new global certification of low-carbon embedded modules has been launched. This significant achievement was made possible by the non-profit organization Global Electronics Council, with funding from the Ultra Low-Carbon Solar Alliance (ULCSA). Working in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, including ESMC, the Council has developed a...
Press release: ESMC welcomes State aid flexibilities for accelerated investments in strategic sectors
This press release of the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) is in response to the proposals of the European Commission adopted yesterday (9 March) amending the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), and the proposed Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF). While ESMC welcomes the European Commission’s actions for quickly...
ESMC appoints a Sustainability Policy Director
The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) happily announces that Jens Holm, former Swedish MP, joins the ESMC executive team as Sustainability Policy Director. Jens Holm has 15 years’ experience as a full-time politician, with three years in the European Parliament and 12 years in the Swedish Parliament. Holm has worked with Swedish and...
New McKinsey Report: Building a competitive solar-PV supply chain in Europe
The analysis firm McKinsey & Company published a well-executed and relevant analysis yesterday, focusing on the operational conditions of the European PV industry. By comparing the existing policy structure, global market share, and industrial pipeline, the opportunity for European companies to strengthen their position and become competitive...
Press release: ESMC delivers backbone proposals for the European Solar PV Industry Alliance before its launch
The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) has sent a letter to the European Commission, indicating 8 key proposals to create a competitive European PV manufacturing ecosystem as soon as possible. The key takeaways from the backbone proposals are that speed is of the essence in this fast-moving market and that a holistic support approach is...
New report: 5% of new capacity from “Innovative” Renewable Energy
In the context of our collaboration with and support of EUREC (The Association of European Renewable Energy Research Centres) we want to highlight a newly released report: 5% of new capacity from “Innovative” Renewable Energy: A necessary and do-able enhancement to the Renewable Energy Directive. In a consortium of several renewable energy...
ESMC expects European Solar PV Industry Alliance to scale up PV manufacturing capacities
Kicking off the work of the European Solar PV Industry Alliance by the European Commission marks an important step in creating scaled and long-term competitive PV manufacturing capacities in Europe, as now from the strategic acknowledgement of the need of a viable PV manufacturing sector in Europe the turn to concrete actions has been made. The...
Press release: ESMC strongly supports the EU Solar PV Industry Alliance – bold actions are necessary
The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) expresses strong support for the EU Solar PV Industry Alliance proposed in the recently adopted EU Solar Energy Strategy and requests to start the work of the Alliance and establish a concrete support program for PV manufacturing industry as soon as possible, preferably so that the implementation...
Press release: IPCEI for PV launched in Brussels – EU Member States are invited to join the framework
On May 20th, an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) for PV was officially launched by the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) in association with the partners of the European Solar Initiative, at an event in Brussels. The target of the IPCEI for PV is to mobilise the appropriate EU Member States support for innovative...
Press Release: ESMC Welcomes the Inclusion of PV Manufacturing into the EU Solar Strategy – Concrete Actions Should be Taken Without Delay
The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) congratulates the European Commission on adopting the EU Solar Energy Strategy earlier than expected. We note that most of the ESMC proposals have been included into the Strategy; However, more concrete targeted actions are necessary to be launched without delay in order to re-establish solar PV...
Press release: EU Member States are mobilizing efforts on a PV-IPCEI
This week will be of the key importance for the future of solar developments in the EU and the whole European PV manufacturing industry. The strategic agenda for the European PV deployment and the PV manufacturing industry will be set in the REPowerEU Plan and EU Strategy for Solar Energy, which will be launched on Wednesday. These framing...
Press release: ESMC releases the policy proposals for the EU strategy for solar energy
The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) welcomes the forthcoming EU strategy for solar energy as the framework for building long-term competitiveness and critical mass of PV manufacturing capacities in Europe. This is crucial for reducing strategic dependencies, ensuring energy security and boosting the economic growth of the EU. ESMC...
Press release: ESMC releases a review summary of the RRF support for PV manufacturing
The Recovery and Resilience Facility makes €723.8 billion available to support measures undertaken by European Union (EU) Member States as a response to the coronavirus pandemic. To benefit from the support of the RRF, EU Member States must submit Recovery and Resilience plans (RRPs), with the reforms and investments to be implemented by the end...
Press release: ESMC alerts the EU Member States not to lose the PV manufacturing opportunities in Europe
The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) along with the national Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRP) are timely instrument to push the European Green Deal objectives forward. However, the RRPs presented by the Member States to the European Commission do not reflect the European Union’s latest Industry Strategy which identifies PV manufacturing...
ESMC calls the European Commission for the comprehensive solar strategy
European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) recently requested the European Commission for the comprehensive EU solar strategy to be prepared and stronger Photovoltaics (PV) manufacturing reflection in Recovery and Resilience Facility. This request has been made as a follow-up of the Policy Statement prepared by ESMC and targeted for the PV...
Press Release: Solar manufacturing renaissance in Europe — appeal for RRF commitment
The European Photovoltaic (PV) Industry is suffering from a lack of strategic policy priorities. With an import dependency and thus large economic values being lost, the whole region would benefit from a renaissance of the European PV industry. By vigorously reversing the situation and creating an opportunity for the PV industry to supply the...
Press release – Žygimantas Vaičiūnas, former energy minister of Lithuania, joins ESMC
ESMC is happy to announce that Žygimantas Vaičiūnas is joining the executive team as Executive Policy Advisor. Mr Vaičiūnas until recently (from December 2016 to December 2020) served as the Minister of Energy of Lithuania and before that as an EU Energy Attaché in Brussels. Mr Vaičiūnas will contribute with significant knowledge about energy...
Press Release – AGC Solar joins the European Solar Manufacturing Council
AGC Glass Europe float glass technology provides a sustainable solution for a European solar value chain and enables the domestic manufacturing industry to meet the growing demand for solar energy power capacity.