
Solar energy
Europe’s solar energy industry has been shaken by strong competition from China. EUobserver examines whether it has got what it takes to survive.
Saturday
21st Apr 2018
Europe’s solar energy industry has been shaken by strong competition from China. EUobserver examines whether it has got what it takes to survive.
The European Commission will present proposals to protect whistleblowers, combat fake news and organise the digital single market. The international community will gather in Brussels to discuss how to help Syrians in the current war and after.
France and Germany have pledged to forge a joint position on euro reform by June, despite German reluctance on deeper monetary union.
The solar industry is in disarray. But, experts say, this is nothing out of the ordinary. It is just going through a painful but necessary process.
When the Slovak government in 2009 allocated permits to build solar power plants, there was "widespread suspicion that it was rigged to benefit certain individuals," according to the US embassy in Bratislava. Prime Minister Fico denies the allegations.
When it comes to solar energy, according to one US entrepreneur, Europe can be proud of itself. Others say more needs to be done.
Europe is the undisputed sun king of the world, with close to 75 percent of globally installed solar panels. But there are big differences between countries, and Germany leads the pack.
The long list of California cool making its way into European homes got a little longer this year, when a solar company from Amsterdam acquired the license to a new technology to calculate a building’s propensity to generate solar power.
Apart from those spearheading the complaint, people in the European solar sector have expressed little enthusiasm for an EU investigation into possible dumping of solar panels from China.