France’s EnerGaïa, Italy’s Key Energy to be held in fall, Australia’s All-Energy 2020 canceled

Two main European solar events will take place in the fall due to the Covid-19 crisis: France's EnerGaïa Forum in Montpellier and Italy's Key Energy event in Rimini.

EnerGaïa

The next edition of the EnerGaïa Forum will be held Dec. 9 to Dec. 10, 2020, at the Parc des Expositions in Montpellier. The event is expected to host more than 8,500 professionals and 250 exhibitors, in compliance with health measures guaranteeing the safety of all, the organizers said.

In December 2019, 215 professionals came to present their innovations at the event, and more than 7,500 visitors attended. “A mixture of optimism and realism marked the event in 2019”, said the organizers. “The exhibiting companies indeed underline a very qualitative business climate. The feelings of the exhibitors give hope that this impetus will be a solid and inspiring basis for responding to the current climate emergency. ”

Key Energy

The Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) has announced that the Key Energy event, which also includes a sub-section for PV, will take place in Rimini, Italy, from Nov. 3 to Nov. 6.

“In addition to the safety measures taken inside the Expo Centre, seating areas will also be set up to access all the programmed events in live streaming and meetings with companies will be organized in total safety through Ecomondo’s new app, specifically designed to facilitate supply and demand,” the organizers said.

Last year's edition saw the presence of inverter makers, with Growatt, Sungrow, Ingeteam, Fimer, Huawei, SolarEdge, Zucchetti and Fronius all demonstrating residential and commercial products. Module manufacturers were more difficult to find. The sole Chinese big beast was JA Solar, which was surrounded by small Italian residential PV manufacturers such as Trienergia and Futura Sun, as well as a module maker from neighboring Albania, Soltech Energy.

All-Energy Australia

All-Energy Australia will not take place in 2020. The cancellation of the Melbourne event was announced this week, in a move the organizers have described as being the “best option,” despite previous optimism that the event would go ahead. The event was scheduled to take place on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 at the Melbourne Exhibition Center.

Solar industry events around the world have had to face the difficult decision as to whether to reschedule, cancel or go ahead with trade shows and conferences in 2020. While the vast SNEC event in Shanghai will open this week, after been postponed in April date, others canceled all in-person events completely, like Intersolar Europe. There are plans for the major U.S. solar show, Solar Power International, to take place in an outdoor setting in Las Vegas – although some industry insiders believe that even that may prove impossible.

Reed Exhibitions and the Clean Energy Council, which are the organizers of All-Energy Australia, noted that the “recent escalation” in Covid-19 cases in Australia had dashed earlier hopes that the event could take place.