Roundtables Europe video: Financial, contractual, and technical PV industry perspectives

Following the Cornerstone on Maintaining PV Quality, our second session at this year’s virtual Roundtables Europe event featured discussions on the financial, contractual, and technical perspectives of an evolving PV industry. It was moderated by pv magazine’s Head of Editorial Michael Fuhs and Editor Marian Willuhn.

Roundtable video content

• 6:34 min: Presentation on Europe's new rulebook on sustainability by Carsten Auel, Senior Manager, Deloitte.
• 13:01 min: Panel discussion – ESG norms in the solar industry with Carsten Auel; Giulia Guidi Head of ESG, NextEnergy Capital; and Tanja Van den Wouwer Head of Sustainability & Communications, Encavis.
• 28:58 min: Presentation – A promise on the back – Europe's largest bifacial array and its performance guarantee by Roberto Murgioni, Head of Technical Service & Product Management, JinkoSolar EU
• 43:23 min: Fireside Chat – Due diligence in technical commissioning – Keeping risk at bay from the start with Alex Roedel, Senior Director of Design and Engineering, Nextracker; Markus Balz, Managing Director, sbp sonne; and Gerhard Weinrebe, Director, sbp sonne gmbh
• 1:00:53 min: Case Study – Due diligence reporting on an old asset with Steven Xuereb, Director of Sales and Project Delivery, PI Berlin
• 1:05:22 min: Case Study – Damaged beyond repair? New assessments of backsheet failures by Lucie Garreau, EMEA technical Program Manager, DuPont
• 1:11:06 min: Panel Discussion – Risk free revamping and repowering with Steven Xuereb and Lucie Garreau
• 1:34:20 min: Case Study – Inverter replacement – a financial analysis with George Schulz, Vice President, Clean Energy, Ariel Re
• 1:42:02 min: Presentation – Never change a running system – Lessons learned from inverter revamping by Michael Heidenreich, Senior Sales Manager Projects, GoodWe
• 1:47:13 min: Panel Discussion – Europe's aging PV-fleet – weathering the technical and financial challenges with Jörn Hackbarth, Global Head Engineering & Construction, Sonnedix; Michael Heidenreich; and Rouven Lenhart, Executive Vice President Sales & Marketing, meteocontrol

Novel approaches

The discussion included existing arrays, best practices, and standards for technical assessments of solar sites before assets are sold. Representatives from testing laboratories, asset managers, and solar fleet owners joined our lineup of experts to discuss the unique challenges to each stakeholder and what they need from one another to improve the seamless transitioning of assets and the reduction of costs.

The session also focused on O&M services and how they can benefit from novel approaches such as automated drones and the analysis of big data. In addition, EPCs, IPPs, and financial consultants considered the impacts of novel ESG regulations within the European Union.

Thank you!

Overall, more than 1,500 attendees from all corners of the world tuned in to hear our expert speakers discuss a number of key solar issues, from quality, asset management, sustainability and innovation. In addition to the videos, make sure you check out our live coverage and photo gallery too.

In addition to our attendees and experts, we would also like to thank our sponsors who helped make this event a (virtual) reality! Watch out for the remaining two Roundtables Europe videos in the coming days. The first one from our quality session is already available.