Europe’s push to transition toward absolute renewable energy while weaning away from depending on Russian energy supplies could make the bloc end up being too dependent on China instead, warns the Institute for Energy Research (IER).
The European Union (EU) already relies on China for much of its solar panels. Between January and August 2022, solar panel sales from China to the EU rose to $16 billion, which is more than double the $7.2 billion during the year-ago period. In 2021, China accounted for 75 percent of worldwide solar panel production, while Europe stood at a measly 2.8 percent.
China’s silicon production capacity is calculated to double, from 1.2 million tons in 2022 to 2.4 million tons, this year. “Now that Europe has moved away from buying energy from one authoritarian government, Russia, it is turning to another, China, who dominates the solar market and its components,” said the article….