SolarPower Europe

According to new figures released by SolarPower Europe, last year saw 1.4 GW more new solar generation capacity than trade body had expected. Lower demand in China was compensated for by stronger developments in emerging markets.

Solarpower Europe has released its estimates for Europe’s installation figures in 2018. A reduction in system prices and a policy push boosted solar across the continent. And if the trade association’s CEO is to be believed, the newfound growth has just begun.

The opportunities for power-to-gas have long interested the solar community, but large-scale projects have been exceptionally rare. The outgoing CEO of SolarPower Europe, James Watson, has presided over a transformative period at the organization, and departed in January to head up Eurogas – right at the point the region’s solar sector is set for revival. Advancing a power-to-gas agenda, Watson tells pv magazine editor in chief Jonathan Gifford, will be a big part of his new challenge.

Homeowners and businesses with small-scale solar arrays have fought off a threat to priority treatment for excess energy they want fed back into national grids. The EU has refused to heed a call to treat such generators on the same terms as giant utilities.

It was EPIA when he joined, and the European and global solar industry was a very different place. Outgoing CEO of what is now SolarPower Europe, James Watson has presided over a transformative period at the organisation, and departs to head up Eurogas right at the point the region’s solar sector is set for revival. Advancing a power-to-gas agenda, Watson says, will be a big part of his new challenge.

The European solar association has called on Europe to set up 5 GW of solar PV module manufacturing capacity to cater to the expected around 15 GW of annual demand.

In an open letter to the European Council, energy industry representatives have criticized EU legislation, which only considers cookies from websites and apps, but neglects the energy industry. Smart energy management businesses could run into serious complications if the EU prevents them from processing data from EV, gensets, and batteries, they argue.

A snapshot of how politicians, scientists, institutions, industry, and civil servants have reacted to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released yesterday.

The EU PVSEC conference and exhibition in Brussels began this morning with presentations from key figures in PV development, who celebrated the technology’s achievements so far and predicted even bigger things in the coming years. pv magazine‘s Mark Hutchins was on hand to hear all about it.

Head of SolarPower Europe welcomes news of imminent Solarworld sale whilst predicting removal of EU trade barriers on Chinese-made panels will bring dormant market back to life.