Latest Updates of Solar Energy (PV) Insdustry in Europe

Start-up in France HoloSolis works with the German scientific organization Fraunhofer ISE

French startup HoloSolis has entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with German research group Fraunhofer ISE to support the installation of its solar production line in France.

Holosolis was founded by EIT InnoEnergy, IDEC Group (a real estate firm specializing in the rooftop market), and TSE, a French solar supplier.

Holosolis plans to build a solar cell and module production facility with a 5 GW annual capacity. The collaboration seeks to produce low-cost photovoltaic modules across Europe using TOPCon solar cells.

The project, which is located in Sarreguemines near the German-French border, is expected to be operational by 2025. The plant's capacity will gradually expand to 10 million PV modules per year for the residential and commercial markets.

The two companies will also work together on research and development for the sustainable manufacture of solar cells and modules in the European market.

In the first half of 2023, Tongwei was the largest winner among A-share PV businesses in terms of revenue and net profit! It not only surpassed the 14 firms with gross operating revenues over 1.3 billion euros, but it also surpassed the ten companies with net profits above 380 million euros.

In terms of gross revenue, Tongwei has consistently risen to new heights, with 9.41 billion euros, nearly 1.3 billion euros more than the next-place LONGi Green Energy and more than 2.54 billion euros more than the third-place JinkoSolar, implying that it holds the absolute revenue lead.

Tongwei shares are also among the top in terms of net profit, with a net profit of up to 1.69 billion euros, easily above LONGi Green Energy's 1.17 billion euros and TBEA's 950 million euros. Of course, Tongwei must also be aware of JA Technology, Sun Power, JinkoSolar, and Trina Solar's growth rates of more than 100%, which is significantly quicker than Tongwei's 8.5608%, implying that Tongwei's "leading position" may be challenged in the future.

According to public sources, Tongwei's success is the result of the successful integration of the strengths of many business areas, rather than the success of a single business. Its operations encompass not only silicon modules, but also the design and operation of solar power plants, among other things. A diversified company model allows it to fully capitalize on synergies between business areas, endure market risks, and achieve stable and sustained growth.

Several European states have recently filed amendments to their National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs), and the EU wants to add 90GW of installed solar power capacity by 2030.

According to a recent SolarPower Europe report, the EU will have 208GW of installed solar capacity by 2022. According to the 2019 NECP report, the EU aims to have 335GW of installed solar power by 2030.

Following the submission of amended NECPs by 12 nations, the EU increased its target for installed solar capacity by 90GW to 425GW by 2030. Eight countries will fulfill the new 2030 target at least three years earlier.

Lithuania drastically increased its target to 5.1 GW by 2030 in its updated NECP, a more than 500% increase. Finland (133.3%), Portugal (126.7%), Slovenia (1059.%), and Sweden (117.9%) increased their targets by more than 100% as well.

Spain's National Energy Policy (NECP) was recently revised, increasing its 2030 solar PV target to 76 GW (94%).

Estonia (0.4GW), Ireland (0.4GW), Latvia (0GW), and Poland (7.3GW) have all already met their 2030 solar targets. 19 countries are likely to meet their targets over the next five years, with Malta (0.3GW) and Belgium (8GW) on pace to do so this year.

Italy (79GW), Lithuania (5.1GW), Portugal (20.4GW), and Slovenia (3.5GW) are likely to meet the new targets between 2027 and 2030.

Germany has committed to constructing 10GW of household solar capacity per year. According to the German government, at least 2GW of this is expected to come from the production of solar modules.

Previously, the European Commission set an ambitious target of installing 750GW of solar power by 2030. Nations, on the other hand, are upping their targets. Based on current trends, the EU will have more than 900GW of installed solar capacity by 2030, according to SolarPower Europe.

The PV industry's levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) is decreasing.

The International Renewable electricity Agency (IRENA) conducted a research on the cost of producing electricity in 2022. According to the data, the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry has reduced by 89% between 2010 and 2022, and by 3% in 2022.

The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for the photovoltaic (PV) industry reduced by 76-89% in various nations, according to the paper, The Cost of Renewable Electricity in 2022.

The LCOE for solar PV falls from $0.445/kWh in 2020 to $0.049/kWh in 2022, around half that of offshore wind.

The price of fossil fuels has increased the competitiveness of renewable energy.

Solar energy generation is becoming more economical, yet module merit is not being recognized.

The falling costs of solar module manufacturing and installation are a major factor in this decline. According to the paper, the cost of crystalline silicon solar modules sold in Europe declined by 91% between 2009 and 2022, and the average cost of installed projects was 4% cheaper in 2022 than in 2021 and 83% lower than in 2010.

This most current data reverses the pattern of somewhat higher crystalline module costs from the previous year, indicating that prices across the sector are returning to their long-established trend of dropping over time, with average prices increasing by 4-6% between 2020 and 2021. The price of these modules rose by 6% between 2020 and 2021, but fell by 1% the following year, making many sectors more affordable. Simultaneously, "high-efficiency" module prices have risen, but at a far slower rate than in previous years.

This tendency is also reflected in the costs of operation and maintenance for solar modules. According to the paper, O&M costs for 3.9 GW plants in the United States fell by 58% between 2011 and 2021, to as little as $13/kW yearly. This is equivalent to the $10/kW O&M expenses in Europe, which were reported to be as low as $9/kW in Germany in 2017. As more solar projects become economically viable as O&M costs fall, this trend may lead to increasing industry investment.

The authors of the research offer Germany as an example, noting that maintenance costs for solar installations in that nation reduce by 15.7-18.2% with every doubling of PV generating output. This indicates that if there are more active projects, the cost of managing each project reduces, thus encouraging greater investment.

Reference:

A-share photovoltaic company half-yearly analysis of 14 revenue of more than 10 billion, 10 net profit of more than 3 billion!

https://solar.ofweek.com/2023-09/ART-260009-8420-30609290.html

5GW! France to "add" another photovoltaic module factory

https://solar.in-en.com/html/solar-2427946.shtml

European multinationals revise energy and climate plans! Solar share rises again

https://solar.in-en.com/html/solar-2427923.shtml