8 key takeaways from The Smarter E 2018
This year, The Smarter E made its debut this June 20 to 22 in Munich, Germany, bringing together existing exhibitions, Intersolar Europe and ees Europe, with two new events, Power2Drive Europe and EM-Power. This change reflects both the strong shift towards storage, and the rapidly changing face of the overall energy industry. pv magazine hit the floors, attended the conferences and held two roundtables to discover the latest trends. Read on to discover our eight key takeaways (and one new buzzword).
Global PV module prices collapse
The predicted fall in global PV module prices appears to have already begun, with PVInsights and EnergyTrend reporting average prices in the $0.27-$0.37/W range.
Falling battery costs to push solar, wind to 50% electricity generation by 2050, but electricity still failing CO₂ reduction targets – BNEF
Solar PV capacity is set to grow 17-fold, and wind six-fold, by 2050, to account for nearly half of global electricity generation, predicts BNEF, while investments will reach US$11.5 trillion. Cost reductions will drive this charge, particularly in the battery market, which will benefit from the EV manufacturing ramp up. Despite this, the electricity sector is still failing to bring CO₂ emissions down to the required levels, with its continued dependence on gas.
Momentum builds for perovskite tandems, 25%+ efficiency achieved
Researchers from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and Oxford PV have presented a new record perovskite tandem solar cell, with a 25.2% conversion efficiency, independently verified by Fraunhofer ISE. Bernd Stannowski, from HZB presented the results this week at the World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC-7) in Hawaii.
Landis+Gyr and PEP buy smart meter business from Origin Energy
The newly founded joint venture raised $500 million in capital investments realize a large scale smart meter roll out in Australia. Origin Energy previously contracted Acumen for this sector. The Acumen brand will be retained and managed together with intelliHUB
A cautionary tale: Sourcing modules in a tight market
German EPC Goldbeck Solar shares the unfortunate details of a botched module supply deal with China Sunergy. To date, Goldbeck Solar claims it is yet to receive a single module and has been let badly out of pocket.
18 MW Tesla battery ‘backbone’ of new Belgium VPP
The installation of an 18 MW battery storage system shows the Belgium region of Flanders’ pioneering work in integrating innovative storage systems to its electricity grid.
EU startups focus on software for solar integration and operation
The 2018 Ecosummit Berlin, a EU cleantech startup platform, focussed on smart green energy and mobility. Of the 99 speakers, 69 were startups presenting innovative solutions to a changing energy economy, catering to the needs of end-customers, developers and utilities alike.
SMA confirms guidance for 2018
In the first quarter of 2018 SMA saw its sales increase slightly, while EBITDA improved compared to the same period of the previous year. Net profit, however, was significantly below the level of the first quarter of 2017.
Iconic Mercedes-Benz star to disappear from residential market
The German car maker entered the solar PV home storage business in mid-2016. In the future, its parent company, Daimler will align the stationary storage segment with its grid business.
