Manufacturing
Towards an overarching strategy for the solar power sector
Solar power is the backbone of the future electricity system, guaranteeing EU citizens and businesses an affordable, secure, and clean electricity supply. The EU reached 338 GW of installed solar PV capacity at the end of 2024 and the market could reach 816 GW by 2030, despite slower growth.
This important market growth offers a unique opportunity to redevelop the solar PV manufacturing industry in Europe and entrench strong green growth at the heart of our continent. This is critical to ensure a diversification of supply for the EU project development industry and their resilience to shocks, such as module shortages, as well as the increasing international competition for investments in solar PV supply chains. Strengthening solar manufacturing along the whole value chain will also increase the sustainability of the technology and support the green transition.
Europe has unique strengths to count on when reinvesting into a solar industry. Our highly-performing research and development ecosystem has particular advantage in the advanced technologies soon to dominate the market, such as heterojunction or perovskite. Europe also has an enduring industrial ecosystem.
For that purpose, the European Commission in coordination with SolarPower Europe, EIT and ESMC, leads the Solar PV Industry Alliance, to reach the 30 GW of European manufacturing capacity by 2025 across all the value chain segments. SolarPower Europe is representing the solar PV sector as Steering Committee member and aligning on positions on demand side policies such as input to the Net-Zero Industry Act Implementing Act (NZIA), financing for European solar PV manufacturing projects, ensuring a sustainable level playing field, swift implementation of Ecodesign requirements for PV systems and products and setting up the European Solar PV Industry Alliance Academy.
The EU is in the top-3 region filling high-value patents on solar PV technologies, together with Japan and South-Korea.
A solar PV integrated polysilicon to module factory can be globally competitive in Europe (Germany or Poland) if it reaches 5 GW capacity.
The EU industry set itself the objective of reaching a 30 GW manufacturing capacity by 2025, such target will require around €30 billion investment.
The Manufacturing workstream
The Manufacturing workstream
SolarPower Europe’s Manufacturing workstream works to foster the right conditions to redevelop solar PV manufacturing in the EU, through a decisive European industrial policy. It monitors and inputs the different critical EU legislative files expected in the coming years that support the solar PV industry. It also supports EU industrial projects in accessing different support mechanisms, from State Aid frameworks to European funds, green public procurement rules and the EU Net-Zero Industry Act.
Our major accomplishments
• Comprehensive input to the Net Zero Industry Act legislative process
• The signing of the European Solar Charter in April 2024
• Cooperation with the European Solar PV Industry Alliance: Organising the ESIA PV Annual Forum at Intersolar and supporting the European Solar PV Industry Alliance as Steering Committee member on positions of the alliance
• The launch of the International Solar Manufacturing Initiative in March 2025
The International Solar Manufacturing Initiative
The global market for clean energy technologies is set to be worth $2 trillion USD by 2035, generating significant commercial possibilities for European solar products at home and abroad. To facilitate exchanges between the European Commission, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), Export Credit Agencies (ECAs), and European solar manufacturers SolarPower Europe has launched the International Solar Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI).
Discover the work of ISMI
Manufacturing workstream Chair
Manufacturing workstream Vice Chair
Members of the Manufacturing workstream
