The 33rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC 2017) opened its doors on Monday, 25 September 2017.
The political opening ceremony of the EU PVSEC 2017 was chaired by Arno Smets, Professor of Solar Energy at Delft University of Technology and EU PVSEC General Chairman. Arno Smets commented, “As a chair of the conference I have chosen as general theme “The PV revolution is only getting started!” This theme perfectly reflects my good feeling. These recent advances are mind blowing. The wide variety of companies involved in the sector of photovoltaic solar energy already facilitate ~2.8 million jobs worldwide. The first tenders were won for solar farms in the Middle East at prices well below 0.03 €/kWh. At these prices level solar is starting to really disrupt the energy markets.”
Arno Smets continues: “The unprecedented drop of the cost of batteries will make the dream of cost-effective storage of solar electricity in autonomous PV systems a reality in the next decade. It will accelerate the process of giving 1.2 billion people around the world access to electricity as well.
Nigel Taylor, European Commission Joint Research Centre, and Technical Programme Chair: “EU PVSEC ticks a lot of boxes for moving forward with Europe's industrial policy strategy, announced by President Juncker in the 2017 State of the Union address. This week over 1,100 presentations will highlight new research results on topics from high efficiency photovoltaic devices, to new and sustainable manufacturing processes and to how we can use big data for optimizing system operation and integration. Exploiting these developments can boost the EU's clean energy transition and create new jobs.”
Mark Van Stiphout, European Commission Directorate General Energy: “Solar PV is an essential part of the energy transition that the EU is going through: the transition cannot be realized without it and it creates a wealth of opportunities to realise growth and jobs in the EU, but the global competition is fierce.”
Ed Nijpels, Crown Member: Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands. Responsible for the Energy Agreement: “The share of solar energy in the Netherlands is still small, but growing tremendously. The National Agreement on Energy for Sustainable Growth provides a stable, energy policy for long-term investments and sustainability. Innovation is the key to reach the ‘Paris‘ objectives. A new national agreement is therefore necessary to keep up the speed.”
