ESMC publishes recommendation paper for Net Zero Industry Act - pv magazine International
ESMC publishes recommendation paper for Net Zero Industry Act - pv magazine International
The ESMC has published a recommendation paper on the implementation of the European Union’s Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), which the European Parliament approved in April.
In the paper, “ Implementation of the NZIA Proposition for Sustainability, Social, and Resilience Criteria,” the ESMC welcomed the inclusion of non-price criteria in auctions for solar modules outlined in the act.
The council said Europe’s solar energy dependency on one single country “makes us very vulnerable and jeopardizes both energy security and the whole green transition.” It added that the entire supply chain and manufacturing ecosystem for solar PV products “needs to be shored to Europe to the greatest extent possible.”
To strengthen the European sustainable solar supply chain, the EMSC’s paper proposes a carbon footprint mechanism to be used as an award or eligibility criteria, as well as an exclusion of countries with more than 50% of the market share from some public procurements and tenders and a ban on products from countries and regions with exposure to forced labor.
“With adequate criteria for resilience, sustainability and worker’s rights, auctions have the potential to serve as a crucial instrument in reshoring of solar manufacturing to Europe,” said ESMC’s Vincent Delporte, also head of public affairs at Holosolis. “We hope this paper can serve as a valuable resource for anyone interested in criteria for auctions of sustainably European made solar modules in accordance with the objectives of the NZIA.”
Popular content
The ESMC said the NZIA should be adopted “as fast as possible”, ahead of the deadline of October 2025 given by the European Commission, to give the industry “a more predictable future and vision, and increasing the chances of opportunities for businesses.” The council also calls for regular dialogue between manufacturers, policy makers and member states – in line with the agreement in the European Solar Charter– to ensure that regulation and investment move forward together.
Elsewhere in the paper, the ESMC recommended that PV modules be given unique barcodes, displayed either in whole EU or separate EU countries databases, and backs the implementation of a PV Passport. The council also says it foresees that “more work needs to be done on the issue of cyber and data security.”
Noting that around 80% of all new inverters currently installed in the EU are now made in China, the paper said that “the Chinese state, in a polarized situation, could force Chinese inverter manufacturers to provide the data about European PV systems.” It added that as a worst-case scenario, a conflict with China could see Chinese inverter manufacturers orchestrate blackouts in Europe, requiring a total restart of the entire power grid that could take up to a week.
ESMC said the problem could be mitigated by procuring European-made inverters instead. In August 2023, the council’s survey of 15 European PV manufacturers found that solar module production dropped from 9 GW to 1 GW in a year.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”