Jochen Fritsche: At the moment the market is hugely distorted as a result of a number of factors. One of these is that large stockpiles of solar modules have built up because the USA no longer allows Chinese products unrestricted access to the country. This is due to the fact that the origins of the products and the production conditions are not traceable. Another factor, it must be said, is China’s industrial strategy. The Chinese state is providing massive subsidies to the solar industry, which means that manufacturers of solar modules can sell their products on the world market at below the cost of production. We do not want to ban Chinese modules from our market or impose punitive tariffs. What we in Europe need is traceable criteria for the manufacturing conditions so that the modules can be sold here. In addition, the solar industry in Germany and the rest of Europe needs support along its entire production chain. This is the only way that we can avoid dependencies and allow for fair competition in this growth area.

Echtzeit - Online Magazin - The future is sunny