The global energy crisis caused by Russia's war in Ukraine has highlighted Europe's extreme vulnerability due to the continent's over-dependence on Russian energy products, particularly natural gas. Europe overreacted and managed to stockpile so much gas that it came out of last winter season with enough gas reserves. European gas storage at all-time high: Stanchart reports that despite Europe's current heat wave and increased demand for electricity for cooling, gas supplies are holding up. According to Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), EU gas reserves stood at 94.52 billion cubic meters (bcm) as of July 16, up 21.73 billion cubic meters year-on-year and 18,460 million above the five-year average. cubic meter . Average construction output last week was 330 million cubic meters per day (mm3/day), nearly 100% above the five-year average for the corresponding period. If the current rate of gas injection is maintained, reserves at the end of the injection season will be 120 billion cubic meters, 10 billion cubic meters more than the record level.
Now it looks like Europe is following the same pattern when it comes to solar energy.
New search for Rystad Energy announced that approximately €7 billion ($7.8 billion) worth of solar panels, or 40 gigawatts of direct current (GWdc) capacity, are currently sitting idle in European storage. Inventory is expected to continue to grow this year, reaching 100 GWdc of storage by the end of 2023.
Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of these modules come from China, highlighting the serious risk of over-reliance on Russia for gas for Europe's solar energy needs.
Origin: Quartz
China dominates the global solar industry
While China is currently the world leader in clean energy investment, with nearly half of the $1.1 trillion invested in the sector last year, the Asian giant is the undisputed world leader in the field, accounting for four out of every five solar panels sold. World solar production. in the country.
China has invested more than $50 billion in solar panel production lines, 10 times more than Europe, and controls about 95% of the world's polysilicon and wafers. Last year, the International Energy Agency warned of the dangers of the world relying so heavily on the Middle Kingdom for its solar energy needs:
“By 2025, the world will be almost entirely dependent on China for the supply of key components for the production of solar panels. This level of concentration would represent a significant vulnerability in any global supply chain," the agency wrote in a special report.
Now Beijing is trying to protect its huge investment in solar energy, which is likely to be detrimental to the US solar industry.
China plans to ban the export of several key technologies used to manufacture solar panels. Under the proposed rule, advanced technologies used in wafer and ingot manufacturing would be placed on the export control list following a public consultation process. If the plan goes ahead, Chinese solar manufacturers would have to obtain licenses from state trade authorities to export the technology.
Polysilicon is used in ingot molds to make solar wafers. The wafers are then assembled into photovoltaic (PV) cells. While the proposed ban would not limit the supply of whole wafers for solar modules, it could adversely affect US solar companies as photovoltaic power generation components in the US rely heavily on Chinese technology.
The Wall Street Journal has warned that restricting exports of key solar generation technologies would hurt US solar ambitions. According to Taipei-based market research firm TrendForce, only Chinese companies can produce 182- and 210-millimeter wafers. This is an exciting finding, as larger wafers, which enable cheaper and more efficient solar panels, are predicted to account for 96% of the global market by 2023.
Expanding US solar production
Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Industry Association, a US trade lobby , told the WSJ that "China's proposed export bans are evidence of the need to rapidly expand solar energy production in the US." Solar powered post-Biden IRA leadership. was called, held. As a game changer for the solar industry.
Over the past two years, solar panel manufacturers have suffered from supply chain disruptions, including rising prices for polysilicon material. In fact, Rystad Energy estimated last year that rising equipment and transportation costs caused the postponement or cancellation of 56% of large-scale solar projects planned for 2022 worldwide.
Fortunately, these difficulties quickly subsided and energy prices returned to pre-war levels. A similar scenario is playing out in the solar sector, where polysilicon prices continue to fall.
Source: PV Magazine
per head A new report from the Rocky Mountain Institute predicts that wind and solar power will produce more than 33% of the world's total energy by 2030, up from just 12% today.
"The exponential growth of clean energy is an unstoppable force. The benefits of rapid deployment of renewable energy are greater energy security and independence, as well as long-term inflation in energy prices, since it is a commodity technology: the more installed, the cheaper. Dr. RMI.
The report concludes that the COP28 renewable energy target of tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 can be achieved if adequate grid investment, streamlined permitting and storage investment become more important.
By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com
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