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Quality control of solar modules: "Water up to your neck"
Photo: Sebastian Kahnert / dpa
The Federal Ministry of Economics is concerned about Germany's solar industry. Because the prices for modules are falling, domestic manufacturers are at risk. Aid is already being examined, the ministry writes in response to a request from Left Party MP Christian Leye. These include "commercial law and funding policy options".
Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck (Greens) is apparently planning state aid for lighthouse projects. For these, approvals from the EU Commission would have to be obtained on a case-by-case basis. However, such subsidies would probably only be considered in structurally weak areas.
In July, the Brussels-based authority released German state aid worth three billion euros. This is also intended to promote solar modules.
"The solar industry is up to its neck," said Leye, economic policy spokesman for the Left Party in the Bundestag. "The government is aware of this, but it is wasting time." She pretends to be able to rest on a support program that is still in its infancy. "In doing so, it endangers the future of industry and with it thousands of jobs."
Despite high demand, the industry had recently warned of bankruptcies of European solar producers. The reason for this is the rapidly falling prices for solar modules. "One reason for the current price decline is likely to be that modules manufactured in China under forced labor may no longer be sold in the United States," the Ministry of Economics wrote. "India has also sealed off the market for Chinese PV modules." Many modules, which were actually intended for the USA or India, would now be diverted to Europe.
Around 40 percent of the polysilicon required for solar cell production is produced in the Xinjiang region. The oppressed Muslim minority of the Uyghurs lives there. China rejects allegations of forced labor.
ssu/Reuters