Publications

Solar photovoltaic (solar PV) electricity has recently become the lowest cost source of electricity in most parts of the world. Solar PV supports a socially just and acceptable energy transition and integrated applications, as well as new business opportunities. This report is focusing on one of these new business opportunities. It aims at describing the added value of Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) for a successful energy transition in European cities, as well as the related opportunities for EU businesses. It describes the regulatory and market framework needed for sustainable business models for BIPV, that are adapted to city planning constraints and specificities.

This publication is a joint report of ETIP PV and SolarPower Europe.

All in all, ETIP PV is highly supportive of the EU’s interest in following a pathway that leads to a max-1.5°C warmer world and encourages it to put in place the policies that will achieve this as cost-effectively as possible. This means acting soon. Zero net-carbon emissions are required by 2050. They will be achieved with a fully decarbonised and expanded power sector that provides services in heating and cooling, transport and possibly chemical feedstocks. The deployment of carbon-negative technologies including in the years leading up to that date may also be needed. Electricity will be needed for this, too.

The paper provides the evidence base to support our paper “Photovoltaic Solar Energy: Big and Beyond – vision and claims of the European Technology and Innovation Platform for Photovoltaics (ETIP PV)” released for the COP24 intergovernmental climate conference in Katowice, and now available in several languages. It also expands on the points mentioned.

The report uses the notion of defossilisation. This term builds on the more familiar “decarbonisation”, but recognises that it is not carbon atoms per se that must be prevented from reaching the atmosphere, but those carbon atoms that come from a fossil source.

The strong growth of the PV sector is accompanied by high cost pressure, accelerated innovation cycles and dynamic deployment, clearly indicating that the quality of PV products and the holistic economy of PV electricity deserve special attention. PV is expected to deliver electricity at low LCOE, Energy Pay-Back Time (EPBT) and Product Environmental Footprint (PEF). This report defines quality as the ability of a product to meet demanding customer expectations while focusing on the impact of quality parameters on monetary, energy and environmental cost.

ETIP PV held its annual conference on 19 May 2017 on the topic ‘PV manufacturing in Europe’. The conference was preceded on 18 May by an invitation-only meeting for associations and public officials. This report is compiled from statements made at both events. It captures the key themes that were raised and, where possible, feels its way towards conclusions.

This report shows that the position of the European PV Industry will be strengthened by focusing on quality at all levels, resulting in new jobs and a long-term sustainable future for all interested parties, including society at large.

This report compares the levelised cost of PV electricity (PV LCOE) with retail electricity prices in different European countries and market segments. The report shows that PV electricity is already cheaper than retail electricity in all market segments and with all realistic interest rates in many European countries like Italy, Germany, the UK, Spain, Portugal and Greece. Even in countries with moderate solar irradiation and low retail electricity price like Finland and Sweden, PV will become competitive in 5-10 years.

In its review of the challenges and opportunities associated with massive deployment of solar PV generation, the Grid integration working group of the ETIP PV identified forecasting and observability as critical technologies for the planning and operation of the power system with large PV penetration. In this white paper ETIP PV set out to spell out in more details what features are needed from these technologies and what is the state of the art.