In a new bid to achieve net-zero emissions, the European Union plans to rely heavily on renewable energy — but the bloc's solar industry is struggling to compete with heavily subsidized rivals from China and the US.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Tony Niekesch used to work as a baker.
00:04 After intensive training, he switched and now installs solar panels.
00:08 The money is good and there are always orders.
00:15 People want renewable energy because electricity prices are skyrocketing.
00:19 They want renewable energies and solar.
00:22 That's a booming business.
00:26 Never before have so many solar panels been installed in Germany as last year.
00:31 Around 12 percent of the country's electricity needs are met by the sun.
00:36 And yet Europe's solar industry is struggling.
00:40 China's state-subsidized companies supply more than 80 percent of the world's solar
00:44 panels.
00:45 And at low prices.
00:47 European firms are having a hard time competing.
00:53 The subsidies artificially distort the market.
00:56 This means that the investments cannot be implemented as economically by us.
01:02 Swiss solar firm Meier-Burge is considering closing its production site in Germany.
01:07 A new solar cell production plant is under construction in the United States, with government
01:12 subsidies of 30 percent.
01:15 It's a blow for Europe.
01:17 Energy prices have been high after the war in Ukraine forced a move away from cheap Russian
01:21 oil.
01:22 But Europe's leaders are calling for more energy independence.
01:26 Experts worry that without a robust domestic solar industry, Europe could rely too heavily
01:31 on solar panels from China to help meet its carbon reduction targets.
01:37 We need to have the technological sovereignty.
01:41 So we need to know how to build PV modules.
01:46 And it seems easy for some people not involved in that technology, but to build up such an
01:53 environment takes three, four, five, six years maybe.
01:58 And if you start from the scratch, nothing is available.
02:02 Without tax money from the EU or Berlin, the solar industry in Europe faces an uncertain
02:07 future.
02:08 As do plans to reduce the bloc's reliance on fossil fuels.
02:11 (eerie music)