PVTIME – The European Commission has imposed formal restrictions on photovoltaic and battery energy storage inverters from China and other countries, causing major disruption to Europe’s renewable energy industry. Chinese inverter manufacturers currently dominate European markets, accounting for over 80% of all shipments to the bloc in 2025. This policy is a key initiative designed to alter this established market structure.
Wood Mackenzie’s latest assessment reveals varying levels of exposure to the new rules across different regions. Those most at risk are central and eastern European nations that rely on EU financial support, including Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, the Baltic states and Greece. From 2026 to 2030, approximately 14% of planned EU solar capacity will be affected, equating to over 28GW of impacted inverter demand. All high-risk clean energy projects backed by EU funding fall within the scope of the regulation. Around 12% of scheduled energy storage deployments will also be affected, with utility-scale facilities bearing the greatest strain. The Commission is encouraging member states to adopt matching restrictions for renewable schemes financed through national public funds. If all national governments adhered to this, policy coverage would expand well beyond current forecasts.
Chinese firms remain dominant in the global inverter sector, controlling 16 of the world’s 23 leading manufacturing entities. Meanwhile, European, US and Japanese suppliers maintain competitive positions through differentiated technology offerings, mature service infrastructure and long-established regional market resources.
Industry consensus indicates that the overall cost impact remains manageable. Although locally manufactured European inverters carry substantial price markups, total project capital expenditure is projected to increase by between 2% and 8%, depending on the specific conditions of each project. The regulatory scope extends beyond EU territory to include utility-scale solar developments in North Africa, the Middle East, and the Caspian region that receive EU institutional financing. Revisions to the EU Cyber Security Act are ongoing and are expected to expand these controls, potentially introducing universal requirements for all solar and storage inverters, regardless of the project’s funding source.
Stakeholders emphasise that higher costs represent only a minor consequence of the policy. Wood Mackenzie analyst Joe Shangraw highlights emerging operational challenges, including lengthier procurement cycles, mandatory system redesigns, and the enforced separation of integrated battery-inverter hardware. These complications will be most keenly felt in price-sensitive Eastern European markets.
Juan Monge, Wood Mackenzie’s Chief Analyst, remarks that the regulation will reshape European inverter procurement patterns, diverting annual demand of between 4 and 5GW to non-Chinese suppliers by 2030. However, fundamental market dynamics will not undergo a full transformation, as approximately 80% of European solar and storage projects currently rely on private investment or standalone national funding streams, and are therefore likely to continue using Chinese inverters in the short term. Two pivotal factors will determine the ultimate scale of market disruption. Firstly, whether amendments to the Cyber Security Act will classify solar inverters as critical infrastructure. Secondly, the degree to which member states will extend import curbs to domestically financed renewable developments.
Scan the QR code to follow PVTIME official account on Wechat for latest news on PV+ES
