The European Union launched two new investigations on foreign subsidies in the solar sector, the bloc announced on Wednesday.
“The investigations relate to the potentially market-distorting role of foreign subsidies given to bidders in a public procurement procedure,” the bloc’s executive body said in a statement.
The commission will investigate whether bidding companies received unfair advantages in securing public contracts.
Wednesday’s probes follow notifications submitted by, on the one hand, the ENEVO Group, including LONGi Solar Technologie GmbH, and, on the other hand, Shanghai Electric UK Co. Ltd. and Shanghai Electric Hong Kong International Engineering Co. Ltd., the statement added.
While the consortium leader, ENEVO Group, is a Romanian-based provider of engineering and consulting services, LONGi Solar Technologie GmbH is a newly established, fully owned, and fully controlled German subsidiary of LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd., which is a major supplier of solar photovoltaic solutions listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the statement said.
The second investigated consortium is composed of Shanghai Electric UK Co. Ltd. and Shanghai Electric Hong Kong International Engineering Co. Ltd., and both companies are fully owned and controlled by Shanghai Electric Group Co. Ltd., owned by China.
The Romanian contracting authority, Societatea PARC FOTOVOLTAIC ROVINARI EST S.A., initiated bidding for a 110-megawatt EU-backed solar park project for its design, construction and operation.
The EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation, effective since July last year, requires companies bidding on EU public contracts worth over €250 million to disclose if they have been in receipt of foreign financial aid of at least €4 million in the past three years.
Commenting on the probe, the EU Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, said: “Solar panels have become strategically important for Europe: for our clean energy production, jobs in Europe, and security of supply.”
“The two new in-depth investigations on foreign subsidies in the solar panel sector aim to preserve Europe’s economic security and competitiveness by ensuring that companies in our single market are truly competitive and play fair,” Breton added.
By Handan Kazanci
energy@aa.com.tr
Anadolu Agency