a solar panel factory will be set up in Lorraine

by time news

2023-05-15 06:13:11

After the announcements of the creation of mega-battery factories in France, it is now time for the installation of solar panel factories, which are currently massively concentrated in China. The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, is due to announce on Monday May 15 the establishment of a manufacturer of photovoltaic panels in Hambach, near Sarreguemines (Moselle), during the 6th edition of the Choose France summit, which is held in Versailles.

Replace the project of the Indian Rec Solar

The project is carried by Holosolis, a Grenoble company created last year around the CEA, several European funds as well as industrialists such as the German Siemens. It replaces that of the Indian Rec Solar, announced with great fanfare at the end of 2020 and abandoned last year, the group obviously preferring to settle in the United States, where public subsidies are more generous.

Photovoltaic: French industry wants to see bigger in the face of China

Holosolis provides 700 million investment and the creation of 1,700 jobs. The plant should enter into service in 2025 and will gradually increase in power to eventually reach 5 GW, i.e. double what is currently needed to cover French needs.

The Carbon project in Fos-sur-Mer

This mega-factory of panels should be the second in France, after the much larger one carried by Carbon. It is also supposed to open in 2025, in Fos-sur-Mer (Bouches-du-Rhône). Created by Pierre-Emmanuel Martin, the company is counting on a production of 5 GW at the start, increased to 20 GW in 2030, which would make it the largest in Europe.

“When I started this project in 2019, people thought I was crazy. But since then there has been the health crisis, the energy crisis, the recognition of solar energy as the essential building block of the energy system and the realization by Europeans that they had to control supplies,” says the boss of Carbon.

The company must mobilize some 4 billion euros and will carry out a first fundraising this summer. “The most difficult thing is not to find money, but to convince investors that Europe will protect its industry a little more”, explains Pierre-Emmanuel Martin.

The risks of Chinese dependence

On the subject, the discourse is finally moving. In December 2022, the European Commission announced the creation of a European solar industry alliance, and an action plan must be presented by the summer. It’s urgent. France, for example, is aiming for 100 GW of solar energy in 2050, compared to around 16 GW today.

However, the panels come almost entirely from China, which in a few years has become the dominant player by multiplying the giant factories, which have made it possible to divide the costs by ten in ten years. As a result, the Chinese produce 80% of photovoltaic cells and 95% of silicon wafers, which are the key element.

For several months, European manufacturers have been sounding the alarm about the risks of this dependence and several projects have been announced, such as that of the Italian Enel, which will multiply by 15 the capacities of its factory in Sicily. In France, the Alsatian Voltec and the Nantes Systovi have decided to expand their factories.

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