Solar Quality Summit Europe 2023

Solar will drive the energy transition

2 February 2023

The Solar Quality Summit Europe 2023 took place in Barcelona 23-24 January. The conference, organised by SolarPower Europe and Intersolar, brought together over 200 stakeholders in solar quality management, including investors, service providers and technology providers.

Solar will be the backbone of the energy transition. However, to get there, quality assurance must underpin all aspects of a solar project.

 

This was the message from SolarPower Europe CEO Walburga Hemetsberger in her opening speech, and was echoed further in panel discussions throughout the two-day conference. EPC and O&M service providers, as well as asset managers, emphasised the need to apply a holistic approach to quality management at each stage of the solar value chain.

 

During the event, our Executive Advisor and Director of Market Intelligence, Michael Schmela, presented our latest EU Market Outlook figures. The EU solar market grew by almost 50% in 2022: Germany remained the EU country installing the most solar annually (7.9 GW added in 2022), followed by Spain (7.5 GW).

“With 41.4 GW of solar installed in the EU in 2022, this marks the best solar year in history so far”

Michael Schmela

Executive Advisor and Director of Market Intelligence, SolarPower Europe

SolarPower Europe also launched our Solar Best Practices Platform. The new digital platform brings all the products of the Lifecycle Quality Workstream under one roof and is designed as the definitive one-stop-shop for solar quality assurance in Europe. SolarPower Europe’s industry-leading suite of Best Practice Guidelines are now more flexible and accessible than ever before, with PV professionals having the combined experience of over 30 experts at their fingertips.

Two TRUST-PV sessions took place during the summit. Our members PVcase moderated a workshop on leveraging digital twin technology and developing a streamlined approach to solar PV Plant Lifecycle Data Exchange. Our 2nd TRUST-PV session outlined relevant innovations and R&D work in progress.

 
The European Technology & Innovation Platform for Photovoltaics (ETIP PV) led a session on 'Innovation in Quality Management, O&M and Reliability of PV Systems', looking at the role of ETIP PV in shaping PV innovation, and prioritising research and industrialisation.

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We enjoyed connecting with our members and the wider solar sector, with breakout sessions throughout the event and a networking reception on the Wednesday evening. The energy and enthusiasm was there; the solar community is witnessing a shift in gears as we accelerate towards Europe’s solar future.

 

We will build on these discussions at the SolarPower Summit in Brussels on 8-9 March, when we Get Ready for Solar!

Join us next at the SolarPower Summit in Brussels

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