as an example the substitution of fossil fuels by renewables and the corresponding global market for renewable power equipment offer opportunities but also risks for national or regional trade balances in the case of the european union eu for instance there is a trade deficit with china in solar components china being the largest producer of solar panels with of the global production of exports of which serve the eu market counting the trade benefit coming from export of solar equipment to noneu countries such as japan and the united states the resulting trade deficit for the eu has been eur billion in falling to billion in unlike trade in solar components the eu has a sustained trade surplus in components for wind power amounting to eur billion in one could therefore look more closely for one country where renewable energy innovation policy was particularly strong