The World Conference on Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conversion comes again to Europe

 It took only a few decades that Photovoltaic Solar Energy developed into a mainstream energy technology. More than 150 nations have now chosen to use conversion of sunlight as an electricity source, and in more than 80 countries research is pursued on all facets of this young outcome of semiconductor optoelectronics.

It is due to the dedication of a few individuals when in 1994 the very first of this conference series has been established, based on the vision that photovoltaic solar energy will be a global clean energy source and that it would be beneficial for all researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs to meet every four years in order to exchange and share knowledge across continents.

This vision is valid today, when we witness 1000 times more PV capacity installed. As the series of the World Conferences travelled around in the last 24 years, alternating the United States with Japan and Europe, also the global landscape has changed. The majority of PV modules are now produced in Asia and significant PV deployment is undertaken in South America, Middle East, India and South-East Asia. Moreover, PV energy is now delivering its promise to give electricity to those in need, it has become cost-competitive with conventional electricity sources and is everywhere considered as the most important cornerstone to combat climate change.

After 12 years the “WCPEC” makes again a stopover in Europe, where the PV Landscape meanwhile has changed as well. As PV connects people more than ever, with its global supply chain, its shared knowledge and its ability to provide a sustainable future for next generations, also the WCPEC will transform and embrace nations and people.

It is our wish to prepare the 8th WCPEC for a changing PV community, for a new generation of researchers and professionals, attracting younger and more diverse specialists and enthusiasts as well as attracting nations which haven’t been present before on this truly global event.

Heinz Ossenbrink		Masafumi Yamaguchi		Steven Ringel

On behalf of the International Advisory Committee to the World Conference on Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conversion

Photovoltaics: An energy source for all cultures

 Message from the Conference General Chair of the WCPEC-8
Dr. Alessandra Scognamiglio

Italy is one of the countries in Europe with ambitious renewable energy targets regarding photovoltaics, but also the one with the highest density of UNESCO heritage sites. Along with increasing area requirements of ever larger photovoltaic power plants, we witness often that this new and clean energy technology is in contraposition to landscape preservation and cultural heritage. I would very much like this conference to offer a unique occasion for also showing how photovoltaic technology and landscape preservation can go hand in hand, if trans-disciplinary visions are shared and appropriate solutions are selected for capturing the beauty and the adaptability of photovoltaic technology and enabling a landscape transformation which is sustainable if we manage it by means of appropriate design strategies.

Learning from the success of using buildings as an “energy generator” we are now entering in the next challenge of embedding an energy infrastructure in our cultural landscape, when photovoltaic systems are growing larger and more visible, and the demand for even more systems can result in exceeding readily available areas. Photovoltaics has made tremendous progress all over the world, but I also see the challenge to offer new visions for making photovoltaics a matter of culture, very much different from all other energy technologies. The landscape is the medium through which a society represents itself. Indeed, thanks to new integration options and new visions, photovoltaics can enhance landscape democracy.

Concerned about their future, the great majority of countries on this planet are applying photovoltaic technologies. I cannot imagine any better occasion than this 8th World Conference on Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conversion to embrace all the different cultures. And as it will take place in Italy I am confident that the long cultural history of this country can give enthusiasm and spirit to the PV communities in the world.

I feel honored and grateful to serve as General Chair for this event.

Dr. Alessandra Scognamiglio
Senior researcher with many years of experience in the use of photovoltaics and buildings, coordinator of the task force “Sustainable Agrivoltaics” at ENEA

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