interview

Interview with Timo Franz, Astronergy – Chair of the Lifecycle Quality Workstream

by Daria Szczurek - 26 November 2025
Timo Franz, Head of Project Business Europe at Astronergy is the Chair of SolarPower Europe's Lifecycle Quality Workstream. Lifecycle quality assurance of solar power plants comprises Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC); Operation and Maintenance (O&M); asset management, and End-of-Life management. EPC and O&M are key to the technical and economic performance of Solar PV plants.

What is the Lifecycle Quality Workstream, and why is it important? 
 

The Lifecycle Quality Workstream brings together experts from EPC, O&M and Asset Management, to foster discussion and work on standards and best practices to the benefit of the industry, the financial community, and all relevant stakeholders. 

 

Our Workstream plays a key role thanks to SolarPower Europe’s Lifecycle Quality Guidelines which aim to ensure the highest standards of quality and sustainability across the entire lifecycle of solar PV systems from design and installation to operation, maintenance, and end-of-life management. 

Solar Best Practices

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What will the future of the Lifecycle Quality Workstream look like? 
 

Current initiatives within the Lifecycle Quality Workstream are focused on 2 major areas: 
 

  • Updating the EPC Best Practice Guidelines to reflect the latest market developments, ensuring consistent quality and safety standards, and collaborating with industry experts to refine technical and contractual recommendations. 
  • Developing the Technical Due Diligence Framework to establish a unified reference and provide investors, developers, and operators with reliable, transparent evaluation criteria.  

 

Alongside the two key tasks for our upcoming alignments, we also organise the annual Solar Quality Summit, which aims to advance the long-term quality and reliability of solar projects by fostering collaboration among all key stakeholders in the solar value chain. If you are interested in exploring dedicated topics on quality, reliability, and sustainability in solar PV, make sure to join us. 

Why should companies join the Workstream? 
 

Joining our Workstream gives you access to a broad network of industry experts and key focus areas, including quality assurance across all lifecycle stages, harmonisation of industry standards, promotion of long-term performance and safety, and knowledge-sharing among solar stakeholders. 

 

By joining our Workstream, you will gain access to our guidelines and resources on the Solar Best Practices Platform, which hosts a comprehensive suite of best practice guides and tools designed to support solar companies and professionals worldwide. 

Lifecycle Quality Workstream

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