SolarPower Europe

Despite recent developments in China, the European solar association believes global newly installed PV capacity this year will reach 102 GW, only 5 GW lower than its previous guidance.

Annual growth of 28% on 2016’s performance points to promising future as Turkey’s 1.79 GW saw the nation overtake Germany as Europe’s most dynamic solar market. Former shining star, the U.K. slinks away from top table after shrinking 54%.

Distributed solar can arrive in many forms, from the typical small array installed on a family home, to vast, multi-megawatt installations atop large warehouses and factories. Each market sector faces its own challenges and opportunities, and pv magazine has identified five key questions that could well shape these various rooftop sectors throughout 2018 and beyond.

SolarPower Europe and SAFE see a resulting contraction in the market, while EU ProSun is calling for the preferential treatment of EU solar manufacturers in the U.S. BNEF says a general window for negotiation of individual country agreements may be possible in the next few weeks.

Re-Source Platform, which is administered by SolarPower Europe and WindEurope, sees more than 50 multinational corporations including Facebook, Google and Amazon sign letter to European Energy Ministers calling for removal of regulatory barriers on corporate renewable PPAs.

At the event “Digital Solar & Storage” organized by Solar Power Europe and Ibesa and held today in Munich, Germany, the opportunities offered by the digitization of the solar industry were discussed. A dispute arose over the role hardware development will play.

New Solar PV Jobs & Value Added in Europe report by SolarPower Europe and EY posits encouraging future for the continent’s solar industry. Positive political engagement by leading EU Member States will aid such growth, writes SolarPower Europe President Christian Westermeier exclusively for pv magazine.

The latest market analysis from industry body SolarPower Europe predicts that global PV demand will reach the 100-gigawatt mark for the first time in 2017.

Milan Nitzschke, president of solar manufacturing trade body EU Prosun, believes that the new proposals for MIP by the European Commission’s DG Trade offer a more accurate means of imposing necessary trade tariffs on imported solar cells and modules.

Intended update for MIP by the European Commission’s DG Trade will set a pricing schedule for panels and cells on the European market that does not reflect market realities, trade body argues.