The PV market progressed remarkably in 2013, reaching a new record-level of nearly 40 GW. While EPIA foresees continued growth for PV globally in the next years, bigger focus needs to be put on financing and securitisation and their impact on future PV development.
Financing can greatly contribute to bring down the cost of PV and thus enable further PV deployment. As PV financing practices vary significantly from one region to another, the EPIA-Sunspec Alliance Forum gave participants the opportunity to exchange on best practices and experience on optimising PV financing.
"Standardisation in communication interfaces, in Operation & Maintenance practices, and in PV financing, is becoming a global trend that will unlock the next phase of growth for the PV industry," highlighted Tom Tansy, Chairman of the Sunspec Alliance. "Innovative financing standards and risk management strategies should be developed to facilitate the development of PV," he added.
PV does not currently benefit from the same financing conditions as other energy sources and its cost is maintained artificially high. Indeed, PV is often considered a risky investment, while it is normally not thanks to its fuel independency and technical reliability.
"Financing, which has become an important part of the cost of PV technology, can be significantly reduced. Framework conditions and policies should better take into account the financing environment, providing investors enough predictability and visibility and thus facilitating a larger access to financing for the PV industry globally," concluded Oliver Schäfer, President of EPIA.
The joint EPIA-Sunspec Alliance Forum on "Solar Systems Finance and Securitisation," which gathered over 80 participants, featured speakers from different regions of the world, including Matthias Heinze, TUV Rheinland Group; Stephan Padlewski, Dupont Photovoltaic Solutions; and Thomas Götz, SMA Solar Technologies AG.
