BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 2. Solar power capacity stored at warehouses in Europe is expected to grow further in 2023 - up to 100 GWdc by year-end, Rystad Energy, an independent energy research and business intelligence company from Norway, expects, Trend reports.
"European warehouses are increasingly filling up with Chinese-made solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, with around 40 GWdc of capacity currently stored, equivalent to the amount installed throughout Europe in 2022. These stored solar panels have a total value of approximately 7 billion euros and possess the potential to provide electricity for 20 million homes each year," the research said.
According to the company, over the last five years, Europe's spending on solar imports has nearly quadrupled, surging from 5.5 billion euros in 2018 to over 20 euros billion last year. The majority of this spending, 18.5 billion euros, or 91 percent, was allocated to Chinese products due to fluctuating panel prices.
"A shortage of solar-grade polysilicon in 2021 and 2022, coupled with increased demand for solar PV, drove up panel prices globally. Since China dominates polysilicon production and processing into PV modules, Chinese manufacturers could undercut their competition, with panels made in China often costing just two-thirds of European-manufactured panels," the company said.
As Rystad Energy pointed out, it is expected that imports of solar panels will still persist.
"While some may speculate that the substantial inventory levels indicate a forthcoming slowdown in imports, the early months of 2023 tell a different story. Import levels in January were 17 percent higher than in 2022, followed by a 22-percent increase in February, a 51-percent surge in March, a 16-percent rise in April, and a 6-percent growth in May compared to the previous year. If these import trends persist, 2023 is poised to set a record for imports and inventory, with annual imports projected to reach 120 GWdc, far surpassing the expected capacity installations of 63 GWdc," the company added.