The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) has published a paper outlining five key amendments to the proposed Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), backed by more than 60 European solar PV producers and research organisations.
According to the Brussels-based organisation, the proposed IAA framework needs to be strengthened to make the legislation an effective tool for building resilient clean energy supply chains.
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The IAA, put forward by the European Commission, is intended to accelerate domestic cleantech deployment. However, the ESMC argued the proposal is “too limited in scope, too slow to implement, and too ineffective” to scale Europe’s PV industry.
At the centre of the council’s recommendations is a push to give “Made in Europe” criteria greater weight in public procurement. The current proposal applies such requirements only to solar cells and inverters, two components within the broader PV value chain.
The ESMC said this should be expanded to cover at least three components and apply to at least 50% of publicly tendered PV capacity.
The group also warned against extending eligibility to non-European countries through free trade agreements (FTAs), arguing the IAA should remain focused on strengthening manufacturing within Europe.
Furthermore, the ESMC said Europe currently relies on China for between 80% and 100% of key PV components and called for the country to be classified as a “high-risk supplier” in the context of public funding and procurement.
To address this, the association proposed stricter rules governing foreign investment. It recommended that non-European companies investing more than €100 million (US$107 million) in the EU solar sector should be required to form joint ventures with European partners, while local sourcing requirements should increase from 30% to 50%.
In addition, firms with a track record of intellectual property infringement against European entities should be excluded from accessing the EU market, the group said.
The ESMC also called for stronger provisions ensuring that public funding benefits European equipment manufacturers. Linking the share of EU-made equipment to the level of public support would help create skilled jobs, strengthen domestic supply chains and support innovation among European research institutions, it added.
Timing remains a critical issue, according to the association, which said prolonged global overcapacity and pricing pressure, particularly from Chinese manufacturers, have already weakened Europe’s PV manufacturing sector. In a move reflecting growing concern over Chinese dominance in the EU solar sector, the European Commission reportedly banned last week the use of EU funds for energy projects using Chinese-made inverters.
The council urged that an enhanced solar component of the IAA be implemented by the first half of 2027.
Despite concerns that stronger local content rules could raise costs, the Commission’s own impact assessment indicates that tougher measures would have minimal impact on consumer electricity prices, while offering significant economic and geopolitical benefits, the ESMC said.
