German PV companies have their own "double standards"

The European Commission officially launched an anti-dumping investigation on China's photovoltaic products. This trade protectionism has been met with opposition from many German industry. In fact, German PV companies have their own “double standards”, accusing China's PV companies of receiving government subsidies and leading the Chinese companies’ photovoltaic giant “Solar World” companies themselves as beneficiaries of their own government subsidies.

Obsessed with the fact that in July this year, "Solar World" company together with Italy, Spain and other EU countries will submit a petition to the European Commission, accusing China's competitors of dumping products at below-cost prices.

According to EU law, the value of the company’s complaints must exceed 25% of the EU’s output value in the industry, and the EU will accept it. For this reason, the "Solar World" company draws "Allies" everywhere and finally got a share in July this year.

This case can be described as the largest trade dispute in the history of the European Union. In 2011, China exported 21 billion euros of photovoltaic products to Europe.

The "Solar World" and other companies sued Chinese companies for dumping, incurring many German industry opposition. In an interview with the Xinhua News Agency on the 7th, German photovoltaic project developer Wirsol Solar founder Stefan Lear said that he strongly opposed trade protectionism and that judging the dumping of Chinese companies may cause German companies to lose competition, leading to higher energy prices in Germany. Unemployment increased.

The German “Payable Solar Energy Association (AFASE)” also uttered a voice after the European Union announced its anti-dumping investigations and demanded that investigation be stopped. The organization stated that many German companies benefit from China's low-cost photovoltaic products, and free trade is crucial to the development of the industry.

Hans-Joseph Fel, a member of the German Green Party’s energy policy and a member of the Federal Parliament, previously stated frankly that in the context of the European debt crisis, accusing Chinese companies of export-oriented European economies is tantamount to quenching their thirst. Moreover, this move is not conducive to the transformation of energy in Germany, solar panel prices will stop the development of the German solar market.

As a result of a desperate attempt to sue Chinese companies for their own disadvantages, why are companies such as "Solar World" still enjoying their efforts?

On the one hand, under the background of falling prices of global photovoltaic products, German companies face huge debt pressure after years of large-scale investment, and financing difficulties. Since December 2011, industry giants led by German Hybrid Solar Energy, Solar Millennium, Solon and Q-CELLS have filed for bankruptcy protection one after another. On the other hand, China's PV companies have always been very prosperous to the EU, especially Germany. In recent years, they have also expanded sales by expanding marketing teams and setting up sales companies.

Some German companies believe that the main reason for the "strong earthquake" in Germany's photovoltaic industry is low-price competition from China. Although the "trade war" is not the result of the happiness enjoyed by the two companies, some German business owners do not look at it. When the "child" died, it was only a fight.

Today, the world ranking of Solar Energy World, the leading manufacturer of solar cell and module production in Germany, has dropped from seventh in 2007 to 20th today. Although the company's turnover in 2011 in Bonn reached 1.05 billion euros, its annual report still shows losses of nearly 300 million euros.

Double Standards Shortly after the European Union launched an anti-dumping investigation on September 6, media revealed that Solar World Company accused Chinese companies of violating the rules of the game while accepting huge subsidies from their governments.

The United States "Wall Street Journal" quoted data reported by the German Solar Market Research Center, "Solar World" company is also relying on state support to gradually occupy the market, from 2003 to 2011, the company received a total of more than 137 million euros in government subsidies.

Leonard Helbigy, an analyst at the German Solar Energy Market Research Center, said that one of the important factors for the successful development of Solar World is a large amount of subsidies from the government. In addition, photovoltaic companies such as “Solar World” have also made a lot of money from the government’s exemption from the “cost-sharing” of electricity use by enterprises.

Germany's "Renewable Energy Law" stipulates that power operators must give priority to the acquisition of electricity generated from renewable energy at a relatively high fixed price. Many companies and individuals have found it profitable to install solar panels and rely on selling electricity to make money. This can be described as government orders for photovoltaic product manufacturers.

However, high purchase prices ultimately require consumers to pay the bills, and they must turn in “assessment fees” to fill the gap. Turning in the "amount sharing" is no more than a few dollars more per month for the average consumer, but it is a significant amount for companies that consume more energy. In order to keep high-power-consumption companies competitive in global competition, the German government introduced a policy to exempt some companies from "assessment fees." "Solar World" also benefits from high-power factories.

In fact, as early as a few months ago, Wolfgang Hummel, an expert at the German Solar Energy Market Research Center, stated that German PV companies will also receive state support, and their actual production costs will also fail to reflect market prices. He believes that even if the EU introduces punitive tariffs, German companies, including Solar World, may not be able to regain their original market share.