Sunified is proud to announce that we have joined Europe's leading solar industry organisation, SolarPower Europe. SolarPower Europe's aim is to ensure that more energy is generated by solar than any other source.
With an office in the heart of Brussels’ EU quarter, SolarPower Europe's strong relationships and partnerships with key stakeholders ensure solar’s leading role in the European energy transition and beyond. SolarPower Europe represents over 250 organisations across the entire solar value chain.
Partnerships are key. That’s why SolarPower Europe is a co-founder of the RE-Source Platform, Renewable Hydrogen Coalition, and the European Solar Initiative. They're also currently participating in 2 EU research projects, and 5 international projects and have established partnership agreements with over 40 organisations worldwide.
Currently, wind and solar made up 18% of Europe's energy mix in 2021, but combined with battery storage this could reach 70% by 2035, BloombergNEF's (BNEF) Net Zero Scenario suggests.
Source: weforum.org
Europe to spend €1 trillion on energy transition
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has outlined her ambition to spend at least €1 trillion on the next stage of Europe's energy transition, and SolarPower Europe has repeated its call for an industrial strategy for PV.
Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, recently offered fulsome praise of the commission's plan to generate the cash from a mix of its 2021-27 budget and member state and private sector contributions and said solar should be at the centre of the commission's vision.
Solar is booming in the EU, and projections are indicating "record-breaking installations in the coming years. This is a golden opportunity to adopt an industrial strategy for the solar industry that can ensure the security of [energy] supply, the creation of highly-skilled and local jobs and to maintain Europe's world-leading R&D in solar", said Hemetsberger.
An industrial solar strategy needed to accelerate investment
SolarPower Europe has long called for favourable treatment for solar in terms of taxation, reducing red tape, accessing finance and easing land acquisition for project development, arguing the EU needs to do more to help the industry. A solar industrial strategy drawn up by SolarPower Europe was presented to the EU in March.
Hemetsberger has said Europe should aim for 30 million more PV rooftops by 2030 and could play a key role in decarbonizing polluting industries such as steel and chemical manufacturing. SolarPower Europe has also highlighted solar opportunities in the mobility and space heating sectors and has called for its own version of China's Top Runner program to help technical innovations into commercial production.
True green energy verification — the end of electricity greenwashing
As the world transitions to renewable energy, it's more important than ever to have a single source of truth for energy data. Only with accurate and real-time information can we make confident decisions about where to invest in new solar parks and other renewable energy projects.
Currently, there is no one-stop-shop for reliable information on solar park performance. Data is collected at different points throughout the park, making it difficult to get a clear picture of how things are running overall. This can lead to problems like 'greenwashing' – when companies falsely claim that their products or services are environmentally friendly.
Sunified's technology provides real-time visibility into every panel in a solar park, so stakeholders can see exactly how much electricity is being generated at any given moment. With this level of transparency, we can all be sure that the green electricity we're buying is actually coming from renewable sources. Not only does this protect consumers from false advertising, but it also helps reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and move us closer to our goal of becoming a carbon-neutral society.
Sunified is delighted to be engaging with the most dynamic and progressive solar companies in the world through SolarPower Europe and looks forward to contributing to their mandate of creating the right regulatory and business environment to take solar to the next level.