Technology and economies of scale have caused prices to drop rapidly. With solar energy continuing to expand gobally, the industry is faced with a number of questions, such as how technological innovations can be used to optimize on-site consumption, how grids can be designed to accommodate for the growing share of solar energy and how energy can be stored efficiently and economically.
These questions and many more will be answered by international experts from research, industry and associations at this year’s Intersolar Europe Conference to be held atthe ICM – Internationales Congress Center München in Munich on 9 – 10 of June 2015 in Munich, Germany. There, roughly 200 speakers from all over the world will meet at the Intersolar Europe Conference and its accompanying conferences and workshops. The event will run alongside Intersolar Europe, the world’s largest exhibition for the solar industry.
With events spanning four continents, Intersolar is billed by show organizers as the world’s leading exhibition series for the solar industry and its partners. It unites people and companies from around the world with the aim of increasing the share of solar power in our energy supply. The event’s exhibition and conference both focus on the areas of photovoltaics, PV production technologies, energy storage systems and renewable heating.
Following is a sneak peek of some of the programme highlights:
Global market developments
For businesses to be successful, they require knowledge of the various international photovoltaics markets and their different political, economic and legal conditions. Currently, more than half of the world’s photovoltaics capacity is installed in Europe, where a steady annual growth of 10 gigawatts (GW) is expected over the next few years. Growth rates are considerably higher in markets like China, the USA and Japan, however. During several sessions at the Intersolar Europe Conference, experts will take a detailed look at the markets in Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Middle East and Africa, as well as their political, legal and financial conditions.
Focus on innovations
Technological innovations form a further area of interest at the events, where speakers will showcase the latest developments from solar cell and module manufacturers, and highlight advances in current inverter technologies taking into account the increasingly complex nature of PV installations, for example. Other topics include global trends in PV power plants and matters surrounding PV installations, particularly hybrid systems created from combined solar and diesel installations.
Financing trends
In Europe, the era of feed-in tariffs is drawing to a close, making new financing models more important than ever and an essential component of new business models. Several presentations shed light on current trends in financing and managing solar installations, focusing in particular on new forms of financial cooperation between local energy suppliers, project developers and financial
service providers.
Smart future
To accommodate for the continuously growing share of solar energy in the energy mix, intelligent solutions for both the energy supply infrastructure and the consumer are required. Energy management systems can be used to control the flow and consumption of electricity in households while keeping costs to a minimum and conserving as much energy as possible. During presentations, speakers will provide information on designing smart grids and decentralized energy storage systems in addition to solutions for smart homes. Representatives of local energy suppliers, grid operators and service providers will also be present to discuss plans to develop city infrastructure to create smart cities.
Energy storage solutions and innovations
Energy storage systems are playing an increasingly important role in the energy transition’s success. To that end, this year’s ees Europe Conference2 is set to take place at the same time as the Intersolar Europe Conference. The ees event is dedicated to energy storage issues, including different storage markets, technologies and production technologies, battery safety and security and recycling. Here, for the first time, experts are to present innovations in the field of energy storage technology at a dedicated conference as part of electrical energy storage (ees) Europe. The conference has been designed to complement the exhibition segments and forum at the international exhibition for batteries, energy storage systems and innovative production.
Without intelligent storage systems, there will be no energy transition. Battery and energy storage technology is the key to exploiting renewable energy. Energy storage is an important element needed to isolate the generation of solar power from immediate consumption and take the load off power grids in the future. This is one of the main reasons why energy storage technology ranks among the most important growth markets today. According to market research company Navigant Research, the capacity of new storage systems installed worldwide in the next decade will total 21.8 gigawatts (GW), including large-scale systems for commercial use as well as battery storage systems for private solar installations.
At the ees Europe Conference, experts from industry, research and associations discuss the latest developments, innovations and trends in the energy storage industry. From June 9–10, 2015, eight sessions focus on the entire value-added chain of energy storage technology.
“The launch of the ees Europe Conference has created a platform for the energy storage industry that covers storage systems for renewable energy, as well as energy management, mobility solutions and uninterruptible power supply (UPS). The international, cross-industry discussions will build synergies which will
drive forward the entire solar industry,” said Dr. Matthias Vetter, Head of Department for Autonomous Power Supplies and Mini-Grids at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg, and Chairman of the ees Europe Conference. The conference therefore consolidates the topics covered at the ees Europe and Intersolar Europe exhibitions. Some 290 of the total 1,000exhibitors showcase the entire range of energy storage solutions, from individual components and production processes to specific examples of use.
Markets across the globe are subject to various legal framework conditions and provide potential for a wide range of applications. All markets face the question of how energy storage systems can be better integrated into existing systems in order to strengthen local grid infrastructure and help renewable sources of energy achieve deep market penetration. Experts are set to discuss these aspects in several presentations across the two days of the conference. Sessions are also being held on the additional potential and the challenges of smaller storage applications, as well as selected large-scale storage system projects.
Energy storage technology comprises a wide range of electrochemical batteries. The question of which technologies are suitable for which scenario is to be answered in full by experts at the conference. Meanwhile, the technical milestones to be reached by the various storage technologies in the coming years and the expected cost developments are also being covered. Another importantconference topic is the highly automated and reliable production of battery storage systems, which plays a crucial role in helping cost-efficient storage solutions to penetrate energy markets on a large scale. The conference program is rounded off with presentations on second-use concepts, recycling models and safety standards for battery systems.
Intersolar ‘Summits’
With more than 20 years of experience, Intersolar has the unique ability to bring together members of the solar industry from across the world’s most influential markets. Intersolar exhibitions and conferences are held in Munich, San Francisco, Mumbai, Beijing and São Paulo. These global events are complemented by the
Intersolar Summits, which take place in emerging and growing markets worldwide.
For more information, please visit www.intersolar.de/en