SolarPower Europe’s former O&M and Asset Management Workstream has become the Lifecycle Quality Workstream to reflect the work that has the ambition to raise service quality across all lifecycle phases of solar power plants.
Europe is the continent with one of the largest and oldest fleet of solar plants at the same time being one of the biggest markets for solar worldwide. We need quality installation and long-term care for these assets to meet performance expectations. Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) and Asset Management are key to the technical and economic performance of solar systems and plants.
EPC, O&M and Asset Management are standalone segments within the solar industry and it is widely acknowledged by all stakeholders that high-quality services mitigate potential risks, decrease the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) and Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) prices, and positively impact the return on investment (ROI).
The most recent initiative in our Lifecycle Quality Workstream to raise the standards of the solar industry is the development of the EPC Best Practice Guidelines, to be launched in November 2020. This will be done building on the vast knowledge accumulated in the past years during the development of the O&M Best Practice Guidelines and the Asset Management Best Practice Guidelines, creating a dialogue among the different lifecycle phases.
The workstream was initially created in 2015, in order to address the discrepancies between the quality of services provided by different O&M contractors. SolarPower Europe therefore developed the O&M Best Practices Guidelines to contribute to the improvement of the quality and standardisation of solar O&M. Version 4.0 of the O&M Best Practice Guidelines was launched in December 2019.
Asset management was included in the scope of the workstream in 2019, in light of the rapid professionalisation of solar investors and the globalization of solar investment portfolios, which puts increasing requirements on asset managers. As opposed to O&M service providers, asset managers deal with the commercial and financial management of a solar investment. To address the issue of quality in solar asset management, SolarPower Europe launched the first version of the Solar Asset Management Best Practices Guidelines, in December 2019.
Join SolarPower Europe’s Lifecycle Quality Workstream
SolarPower Europe brings together world class experts on solar EPC, O&M and Asset Management to drive the discussion and work on standards and practices that the industry, the financial community and all the relevant stakeholders can benefit from.
If you are interested in joining this Workstream, contact Máté Heisz.
“We often hear that, as long as the sun is shining, a solar PV power plant will require minimal management and operational effort. Today we can finally call this statement out for what it is: just a myth. The work of this workstream is testament to the discipline and highly skilled professionalism required to realise the technical and financial potential of solar photovoltaic plants.”
Chair of the Lifecycle Quality Workstream
The SolarPower Europe O&M Best Practices Guidelines make it possible for all to benefit from the experience of leading experts in the sector and increase the level of quality and consistency in O&M.
The first version of the O&M Guidelines was published in 2016 to address service quality issues in solar O&M. By 2019, the guidelines have become a living document powered by an active community of experts. Version 4.0 provides updates which are considered important to keep pace with the fast development of the industry.
The SolarPower Europe Asset Management Best Practice Guidelines Version 1.0 is inspired by SolarPower Europe’s O&M Best Practice Guidelines and defines minimum requirements, best practices and recommendations for high-quality Asset Management service provision.
The Solar Best Practices Mark is a suite of self-certification-based labels following the recommendations of the O&M Best Practice Guidelines and quality evaluation checklists for O&M, monitoring and aerial thermography services. The Mark’s purpose is to create more transparency in solar services and incentivise excellence by providing visibility to complying companies.
Visit solarbestpractices.com to apply for the Solar Best Practices Mark and to view best practice service providers in the Companies Directory.
SolarPower Europe’s annual award-winning Global Market Outlook for Solar Power is the most authoritative market analysis report for the global solar power sector. With comprehensive historical market
After a productive year of activity, including publishing the industry-first Asset Management Best Practice Guidelines, SolarPower Europe’s O&M and Asset Management Task Force elected Adele Ara
At the O&M and Asset Management conference, SolarPower Europe presented a new Asset Management Best Practice Guidelines, version 4.0 of its industry-leading O&M Best Practice
© 2020 SolarPower Europe
