In today’s installment of PV Tech’s ‘European solar under the spotlight’ feature, we assess the potential and key drivers behind Europe’s leading markets in Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.
Not only will solar be the dominant source of new power generation in Europe by 2025, cementing its position as the third largest market for solar globally, but the continent has placed the asset class at the very heart of its COVID-19 recovery strategy. As part of a week-long special report on PV Tech Premium, Liam Stoker, Edith Hancock and Jules Scully explore the drivers for solar in Europe, the key markets and the challenges that remain.
Amidst a need to scale up solar this decade, PV Tech Premium speaks to Vassilis Papaeconomou, managing director at renewables service provider Alectris, to learn how the solar industry can scale up efficiently, what asset owners and operators need to be aware of when buzzwords such as ‘digitalisation’ and ‘artificial intelligence’ are mentioned, and what the industry might learn from more mature technologies such as wind.
Boris Farnung and Keith Punzalan of VDE and David Moser of EURAC’s Institute for Renewable Energy take a look at the positive impact comprehensive quality assurance measures can have on the early stage of a project’s lifespan, exploring yield assessments, LCOE projections and the critical need for high quality components.
A reduction in deployment costs combined with technology gains mean solar-plus-storage is an increasingly attractive option for off-grid mining operations looking to cut emissions. Jules Scully looks at successful case studies and the opportunity ahead.
PV Tech Premium breaks down two new reports into the state of countries' climate commitments, exploring what it means for policy and the clean energy industry
Stephan Schindele, head of product management Agri-PV at BayWa r.e. Solar Projects, explores the mutual benefits of ‘Agri-PV’ to both solar farm operators and farmers alike, and reveals what is needed to take the sub-sector forward.
Earlier this week the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) published its 2021 Annual Technology Baseline (ATB) document, detailing the continued reduction in the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) of the country’s core generators. Liam Stoker takes a look at the data and discusses just how cheap solar, and solar-storage, could become.
Reforms in energy policy since the election of Andrés Manuel López Obrador have led to increased uncertainty for solar developers in Mexico, with renewables auctions cancelled and changes to power dispatch priorities proposed. Alice Grundy looks at how the market can move forward once again.
BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy 2021, published late last week, highlights how the world’s energy systems are changing at rapid pace, but equally illustrates how that pace of change must accelerate across the world if established economies are to meet net zero targets. Liam Stoker looks at the key takeaways from the report.
