Highlights
- The EU imported €11.2 billion worth of solar panels
- The union also bought €3.4 billion worth of liquid biofuels and €0.6 billion worth of wind turbines from countries outside the EU.
Brussels: In 2021, the EU spent €15.2 billion ($15.74 billion) on imports of green energy products (including wind turbines, solar panels and liquid biofuels) from countries outside the EU.
Meanwhile, the EU exported green energy products worth more than half this amount (€6.5 billion) to countries outside the EU, according to figures published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Specifically, the EU imported €11.2 billion worth of solar panels,€3.4 billion worth of liquid biofuels and €0.6 billion worth of wind turbines from countries outside the EU.
The value of imports of solar panels and liquid biofuels was much greater than the corresponding value of EU exports of these goods to countries outside the EU (exports amounted to €2.0 billion and €1.3 billion, respectively).
In contrast, the value of exports of wind turbines to non-EU countries was far greater than the value of imports (€3.3 billion).
Exports of liquid biofuels only totalled €0.5 billion in 2012 and grew to €1.7 billion in 2019. However, in the last two years these exports decreased, falling to €1.3 billion in 2021.
In terms of value, imports of wind turbines, liquid biofuels and solar panels into the EU in 2021 were higher than they were in 2012, showing an overall increase in imports of green energy products (+416 per cent, +7 per cent and +2 per cent, respectively). Exports of all three products were also higher than in 2012 (+13 per cent, +173 per cent and +4 per cent, respectively).
However, while the last three years saw an increase in the exports of wind turbines and solar panels, there was a decrease in the export of liquid biofuels.
