Intersolar Europe 2017: Industry offers defiant response to Trump’s Paris snub

June 2, 2017
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Image credit: © Solar Promotion GmbH

Solar and energy storage will continue their impressive momentum regardless of the US’ involvement or lack of in the global climate agreement and the country now faces the risk of missing out on the rewards of a switch to a low carbon economy, industry figures have said. 

The Paris deal, which Trump has confirmed the US will leave, offered a strong global signal to investors offering an intangible but significant boost to the industry.

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News of the US plans broke during the Intersolar Europe exhibition in Munich and were met with a frosty but defiant response.

One California-based company director, who preferred not to be named, said: “It will take three years for the US to leave the Paris agreement. The Trump presidency won’t last that long.”

California approved plans to increase its renewable energy goal to 100% and mandate solar on new buildings on the same day as Trump’s announcement.

SolarPower Europe CEO James Watson was scathing of the move.

“Trump withdrawing from the Paris Agreement is one of the most irresponsible decisions from a major country in modern history,” he told PV Tech in a statement. “The US needs to be stepping up to lead on tackling climate change, not stepping out. The rest of the world will keep calm and carry on addressing climate change, while the US will simply miss out on the rewards that go with transitioning an economy away from fossil fuels.”

Jef Poortmans, programme director for PV at imec suggested the move could backfire. “The biggest victim will be the United States itself. His decision means the progress that US companies could profit from in this growing sector are now reduced. It won’t have too much influence, the rest of the world has indicated its intention to go on, even the Russians. And inside the US, individual states and cities have also said they will continue to invest in this green track,” he said.

The response from the energy storage industry is similar with some hope that in the end, the maths will win out.

“In Germany the energy transition was motivated politically. In the US there was always discussion about climate change, but really the main driver was the economics,” said Philip Hiersemenzel communications director at Younicos. “That’s why you see the largest wind farms in Texas, [which is] not the most eco-aggressive state, let’s put it that way.”

With that pragmatism, Younicos believes the economic argument for clean energy will win out.

Wider response

In a strong statement of disapproval, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that he would be stepping down as an advisor to the White House. Musk had been serving on two Presidential advisory councils.

US-based sustainability think tank, the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), issued a statement responding to the president’s decision.

“We are greatly disappointed in President Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement.

“The US solar industry employed 260,077 workers last year, a nearly 25 percent increase in the number of jobs since 2015. Betting on energy technologies of the past is bad for business and bad for jobs,” the RMI statement continued.

Additional reporting by Andy Colthorpe

7 April 2026
Dubai World Trade Centre, UAE
Intersolar Middle East and Middle East Energy are coming together to present the mega energy event for the MENA region. From April 7–9, 2026, Dubai World Trade Centre will host Intersolar Middle East Exhibition and Conference alongside the 50th Middle East Energy. Intersolar Middle East focusses on the areas of photovoltaics, PV production technologies, and energy storage systems. The combined event expects to attract more than 45,000 trade visitors from around the world and feature 1,900+ exhibitors.
16 June 2026
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PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

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