The European solar industry is growing despite the pandemic. New players are entering the market and innovative business models are being developed. The Intersolar Europe Conference 2021, which will take place as part of Intersolar Europe Restart 2021 on October 6 and 7 at the Munich Exhibition Center, will provide an opportunity to share experiences and network.
Intersolar Europe is the world's leading trade fair for the solar industry. ees Europe, Europe's largest trade fair for batteries and energy storage systems, takes place parallel to Intersolar Europe. Both are complemented by Power2Drive Europe and EM-Power Europe: Power2Drive Europe deals with charging infrastructure and electromobility, EM-Power Europe with energy management and networked energy solutions.
In 2020, 138.2 gigawatts of PV power were newly installed worldwide, which corresponds to growth of 18% compared to 2019. This brings the installed PV capacity to 773.2 GW. SolarPower Europe's Global Market Outlook 2021-2025 forecasts an 18% increase in newly installed capacity to 163.2 GW for 2021 and almost 1.9 TW of global installed capacity for 2025. This growth is due not least to the EU's Clean Energy Package. "But cost improvements, power purchase agreements, innovations and new applications have also contributed to this," says Markus Elsässer, Managing Director of Solar Promotion GmbH - organizer of Intersolar Europe together with Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. Machine learning, artificial intelligence and big data are creating new opportunities for system design, system configuration, predictive maintenance, monitoring and yield and weather forecasts.
Innovations are also advancing former niche technologies such as floating PV and agrivoltaics. They make it possible to avoid land use conflicts with agriculture. A lot is happening with floating solar parks. Installation on reservoirs for the use of hydropower is considered a promising business model. The first pilot applications are also being launched in the maritime sector and off-shore. "As a result of the solar boom and the Green Recovery Plan, European PV production is also receiving a tailwind," says Elsässer. The Swiss company Meyer Burger has opened a new plant for solar cells in the "Solar Valley" near Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt. The solar company Q-Cells, which belongs to the South Korean Hanwha Group, is also expanding its site in Bitterfeld.
