l'Actualité du Solaire

Norwegian solar ingot and wafer manufacturer NorSun has announced its decision to temporarily halt production and lay off employees due to the influx of "exceptionally low-priced" Chinese solar panels. NorSun said

that import restrictions in the US had caused Chinese panels to be diverted to Europe, leading to a significant build-up of inventories in Europe, as there is more than a year's worth of uninstalled capacity in stock.

Canadian solar manufacturer Silfab Solar and NorSun signed an agreement last week to expand ingot and wafer production facilities in the US.

Previously, PV Tech had reported that several European cell and panel manufacturers, start-ups and suppliers of solar photovoltaic components had published an open letter via the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC).en Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC), urging the EU to take action to protect the European PV manufacturing industry threatened by "unsustainable low-cost PV panels" from Chinese panel manufacturers.

SolarPower Europe warned EU leaders of the "profoundly precarious" impacts of the cost collapse in the global solar sector. The group said it was concerned by the dramatic fall in the price of solar manufacturing and production, which has fallen by 25% in recent months.

https://www.pv-tech.org/norsun-announces-temporary-layoffs-and-production-halt/

PV Tech of 13 September 2023

Editor's note The difficulties for European companies have only just begun. You can't fight an invader without taking safeguards and protective measures. But the European Commission has long neglected the photovoltaic production sector. Even now, it seems unwilling to reopen the issue of safeguard measures or the introduction of customs duties.

European companies have only one option: to protect themselves in the United States, which also offers tax breaks to newcomers, or to disappear. NorSun has played its cards right by signing an agreement with a North American company.