BRUSSELS, Belgium (Thursday 18th April 2024): Yesterday, the leadership of the solar sector in Europe was reinforced at SolarPower Europe’s annual assembly in Brussels, with the re-appointment or new election of 10 of the Association’s Board positions and the restructuring of Board governance.

Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe (she/her) said, “With our newly reinforced Board, the SolarPower Europe Secretariat is looking forward to continuing our work together, acting as one voice for the solar sector in Europe, and paving the way toward our solar-led future.”

Following elections, the SolarPower Europe Board is as follows: 

Except where otherwise specified, the positions held by Board Members are Director of the Board of SolarPower Europe.

SolarPower Europe’s members also voted to fortify the governance structure of the Board, with the total number of Board Seats growing from 15 to 20.  This recognises the growth of the sector and SolarPower Europe, which has grown from 120 members in 2015, to over 300 today. 

Building on the diverse landscape of the sector, the new Board structure introduces a ‘minimum seat’ structure, ensuring that at least four seats are reserved for representatives from solar manufacturing companies. Three of these Director roles are reserved for companies headquartered in Europe. 

Similarly, four seats are held for ‘small’ companies (defined as less than € 1 billion turnover), with three of these roles reserved for representatives of companies headquartered in Europe. 

Within the new Board structure, the valuable contribution of National solar associations is further formalised, with the Chair and Vice-Chair of SolarPower Europe National Association Committee holding reserved seats. These seats are voted on within the National Association Committee, affirmed by the General Assembly, and currently filled by José Donoso of the Spanish Solar PV Association (UNEF) and Nikola Gazdov of the Bulgarian Association for production, storage and trading of electricity (APSTE).

In reflection of the European nature and commitment of the Association, SolarPower Europe members voted to ensure that 80% of SolarPower Europe’s membership remains drawn from companies headquartered in Europe. This ratio must also be held at Board level.

SolarPower Europe Board in attendance at the General Assembly (L-R): Nikola Gazdov, Bulgarian Association for Production, Storage and Trading of Electricity (APSTE); Pia Alina Lange, Trina Solar; Alexander Zahariev, Sunotec; Ozer Ergul, Aquila Capital; Christian Pho Duc, Smartenergy; Katharina Eickelberg, SMA Solar Technology AG; Aristotelis Chantavas, Enel Green Power and President of SolarPower Europe; Christian Westermeier, Wacker Chemie AG; Juan Rivier Abbad, Iberdrola; Martin Hackl, Fronius International; and Jose Donoso, UNEF (Spanish National Photovoltaic Association)