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- Monday to Thursday, 26 - 29 September 2022 -

Parallel Events & Industry Summit Programme

The Parallel Events offer a deep insight into specific topics along the most recent PV technology, PV application and market trends and address global decision makers from industry, research, financing and politics. The Parallel Events are open to all registered conference participants.

Industry Summit: A stage for industry players to present their businesses, but also to share and discuss new developments in the industrial sector with fellow experts.

Weekly Outline

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Detailed Overview

  • PV as an Ancillary Service Provider – Laboratory and Field Experiences from IEA PVPS Countries (IEA PVPS Task 14)

    13:30 – 15:00
    Auditorium Yellow 2

    The PV penetration in many countries is continuously growing and PV is becoming a major energy source in the future electricity grid worldwide. Therefore, PV systems and PV hybrids need to take over more and more system responsibility by providing ancillary services. This workshop highlights the status and the potential of PV and PV hybrids as an ancillary service provider, by collecting experiences and lessons learned from field experiences and laboratory tests from different IEA PVPS countries.

    From Bankability to Reliability  (IEA PVPS Task 13)

    15:15 – 16:45
    Auditorium Yellow 2
    In future, big data analysis using advanced AI techniques based on the monitoring of a large amount of data will enable the development of extensive benchmarking of key performance indicators (KPIs) for the solar PV industry. This will help PV developers to derive the real-life impact on the system losses and reliability of design choices and configuration during design phase, while O&M operators could optimize their maintenance routines during the operational phase. The presentations in this session will cover the outcomes of the work carried out by IEA PVPS Task 13 experts to provide best practice on how to gain insights from monitored data and extreme diversity of asset types and operational context within a PV plant.

    PV Everywhere: Integrated Photovoltaics in Building and Transport Sectors  (IEA PVPS Task 15 & Task 17)

    17:00 – 18:30
    Auditorium Yellow 2

    IEA PVPS Tasks are working to accelerate the penetration of integrated PV in buildings and transport systems, which are both critical sectors for the global renewable energy market. Task 15 will present recent results on Technological Innovation System for BIPV in different countries and cross sectional analysis based on well-defined multifunctional evaluation of BIPV to facilitate and support the implementation of BIPV in buildings. Task 17 will present recent scientific results on vehicle-integrated PV and PV charging station infrastructure focusing on requirements, barriers, benefits and solutions to increase PV contribution to energy and environmental issues.

    Industry Summit

    PV Production

    13:30 - 15:00
    Auditorium Yellow 3

    What are the real costs of PV? How much local PV production is needed? How fast can we set up xGW of necessary production in the EU? These are of the most important questions asked by European Commission to achieve independence from energy imports in the future. This session will target these important questions, including the stimulations required of the entire value chain starting with poly-Si. In addition, possible funding schemes and additional incentives for PV production will be summarized and discussed.
    Chairs: Peter Fath (RCT solutions) and Radovan Kopecek (ISC Konstanz)
    Jointly organised by the PV Industry Liaison Committee

    PV Deployment

    15:15 - 16:45
    Auditorium Yellow 3

    What are the challenges for multi-TW deployment? Why are energy yields overestimated in the newest PV systems? What are the lessons learned from the last years of installations? The recent, ironically called, “Peter PAN files” are gaining some negative attention, due to being one of the reasons for systems yield overestimations. Additionally, degrading modules and inaccurate bifacial simulations programs are adding to this problem. This session will give a review as to where we are and what will be needed for a smooth PV deployment.
    Chairs: Terry Jester and Michael Woodhouse (NREL)
    Jointly organised by the PV Industry Liaison Committee

    Quality, Testing and Standards

    17:00 - 18:30
    Auditorium Yellow 3

    In order to enter a sustainable TW PV era quality, testing, and standards are key. What to do in order to make sure that we do not end up with 1 TW of modules to recall? And if we have to recall, where are the modules? How much does our scientific knowledge about reliability of PV components have to improve? Better reliability modelling? Do next-tech n-type technologies lead to new degradation mechanisms we need to identify and control? These are all critical questions that we need to tackle today in order to be able to answer them in the coming years.
    Chair: Pierre Verlinden
    Jointly organised by the PV Industry Liaison Committee

  • Towards a Holistic Approach for PV Recycling

    08:30 - 10:00 | 10:30 - 12:00
    Auditorium Yellow 2

    Solar energy plays a major role in the renewable energy mix. Even though the lifetime of PV modules is quite long, they will have to be disposed of at some point and, in the best case, recycled. However, due to the insufficient standardization of recycling processes for PV modules, the full potential of recycling cannot be exploited. The project ReSi-Norm now addresses all factors for standardization along the entire materials cycle. This workshop will give an overview of the current state-of-the-art in PV recycling and present the results of the experiments on different recycling processes done in the project. Furthermore, gaps in current standards and how to address them will be discussed with the audience.

    Jointly organised by DKE

    The Power of Many – Renewable energy communities, cooperatives, crowdfunding and prosumers: best practices for the mitigation of the climate emergency and for fostering energy independency and democracy

    08:30 - 10:00
    Auditorium Yellow 3

    The workshop “Power of Many” will provide best practices to involve citizens in the production of clean electricity through the following applications of the photovoltaic technology:
    - Photovoltaic cooperatives and communities
    - Crowdfunding for photovoltaic projects
    - Aggregation of photovoltaic prosumers

    These applications have in common the denominator of the “Power of Many” to highlight how collectives of citizens can ensure energy independence and democracy, and, at the same time, contribute at the mitigation of global warming towards a clean energy transition. The “Power of Many” workshop is organized in the framework of the European Project SocialRES: www.socialres.eu

    Jointly organised by Citizen Committee

    Industry Summit

    Solar Industry Forum: Logistics and Supply Chain

    08:30 - 10:00
    Exhibition Forum

    Topic: Supply chain and logistic issues affecting PV manufacturing

    The key to the next stage of solar market development is to improve efficiencies and lower costs across the solar supply chain to create a sustainable revenue stream. This Parallel Event promotes greater collaboration in the supply chain amongst the PV manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and installers of Solar modules.

    Solar Mobility Forum

    10:30 - 12:00
    Exhibition Forum

    Solar mobility becomes a reality with the need for EVs to be powered by renewable electricity. But this is only the tip of the iceberg since PV-powered cars are being developed, and solar produced green hydrogen is increasingly announced as a promising energy vector for the decarbonization of transport.

    Roundtable Discussion:
    Hight Quality for Photovoltaics: Test measures and standards for an annual TW production.

    13:30 – 15:00
    Exhibition Forum

    The solar industry will reach 1TW annual production within the next years. Which measures are required to achieve economies of scale in inspection and metrology? Do we need updated standards, will machine learning become a standard method, will we use more machines for inline quality checks?

    Moderator: Torsten Brammer (Wavelabs)

    Company Presentations

    15:15 - 16:45
    Exhibition Forum

    Photovoltaics: Made to Last. The 40 years of TISO PV Plant Looking Back to see the Future

    10:30 - 12:00
    Auditorium Yellow 3

    Taking inspiration from the publication  "Photovoltaics: made to last. The 40 Years of TISO Photovoltaics," which will be presented on this occasion, the event will feature the participation of some of the authors and a discussion on the past, present and future of photovoltaics. We will move from the early industrialization, policies and reliability standards, to the present situation, and answer with the authors to questions about the challenges for the acceleration of a PV future and the importance of the experience from the past. The strategic topic of bringing back in Europe the PV industry will be at the center of discussion.”

    Jointly organised by SUPSI

    Solar Resource and Forecast Data for Planning and Operating PV Plants (IEA PVPS Task 16)

    13:30 – 15:00
    Auditorium Yellow 2

    As the penetration of PV increases, improved accuracy and finer spatial and temporal resolution of solar data sets are needed to optimize the performance of these technologies in the energy system of a region or country. PVPS Task 16 will present the solar resource benchmark as a metric for the quality of solar resources, followed by an update on state of the art forecasting techniques including probabilistic solar forecasts. Finally, the latest work on Firm PV Power will be summarized, which strategically combines solar forecasting with optimally overbuilt PV plants in conjunction with storage systems.

    PV Scenarios: Now and Then  (IEA PVPS Task 1)

    15:15 – 16:45
    Auditorium Yellow 2

    Forecasting the development of PV has always been a balancing act between realism and optimism. From the beginning of its deployment, PV scenarios and forecasts have significantly underestimated PV development, with sound arguments. This event will browse through some past scenarios comparing them with actual PV market trajectories, and build on these past experiences to consider what awaits the sector going forward. With PV having reached 1 TW of total installed capacity this year and being poised to cross the 200 GW mark of annual installations in 2022, it is time to reflect on the mistakes from the past and embrace optimism towards the TW-era.

    Off-Grid Technology for Robust and Resilient Networks  (IEA PVPS Task 18)

    17:00 – 18:30
    Auditorium Yellow 2

    Off-grid and Edge-of-Grid technologies are being employed in developing markets and mature markets alike. With the falling price of solar and storage these technologies are vital in the journey to electrification and to the creation of robust, distributed, secure and resilient energy networks. IEA PVPS Task 18 has produced a blueprint for conducting feasibility studies for hybrid off-grid power systems. This blueprint looks at the organisational, financial and technical stakeholder requirements as they relate to data gathering, modelling and analysis and assessment and recommendations. Task 18 will also present recommendations for PV-Hybrid system data visualisations, looking at data aggregation, data display options and recommendations for optimum visualization of metrics for operation and maintenance purposes.

    Photovoltaics | Forms | Landscapes
    2022 edition, Energy landscapes that connect

    11:00 - 17:30
    Auditorium Orange 1 (Level -1)

    Registration is required, and free.
    www.pv-landscapes.com

    As photovoltaic systems become larger (kilo -> mega -> tera Watt), their impact on landscape becomes of more interest to a larger portion of the general public and governing bodies. As a result, that interest is also widening in scope and now requires economic, ecological, aesthetic and cultural studies of proposed photovoltaic systems, as well as landscape design and planning in order to harmonize all these interests.
    Local authorities and communities often oppose the implementation of photovoltaics because they are not aware of the positive aspects of photovoltaics regarding the local economy and ecology. For example, biodiversity may be maintained and even augmented, water use efficiency increased, and the possibility of combining energy production with food production, all offering consequent benefits to farmers.
    In addition, photovoltaic systems are often perceived by the public as “ugly” and detrimental to their traditional ideas regarding the beauty of the local landscape. This perception can be changed by incorporating into the design the public’s idea of beauty, along with the necessary technical requirements.
    In order to make the large scale photovoltaic systems ecologically efficient and beautiful, a paradigm shift in their design approach is needed; it must

    “Photovoltaics | Forms | Landscapes” is a series of annual conferences, now in 2022, in its 11th year. The aim of each conference is to build a bridge between the large-scale deployment of photovoltaics and landscape design, thus paving the way to the design of both sustainable and beautiful photovoltaic landscapes.
    The 2022 conference is being held in Milan on the occasion of the 8th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC).
    The conference begins with a keynote speech given by Raul Pantaleo, co-founder of TAMassociati, followed by two sessions on the subject of “agrivoltaics”.
    The first session, co-organised with United Nations-Habitat, explores the potential of agrivoltaics to improve access to food in African cities. Its title is, “The Potential of Agrivoltaics in African Cities”.
    The second session explores the social and political barriers to the implementation of photovoltaics and agrivoltaics in Italy, especially with respect to the current landscape preservation related conflicts. Importantly, the session proceeds to discuss new approaches for developing a more inclusive perspective to resolve energy-landscape conflicts. Its title is: “Italy as a Living Lab for Connecting Culture, Landscape, and Renewables”.
    The award ceremony of the international competition, “Agrivoltaics for Noah’s Ark”, for the design of an agrivoltaic garden, which integrates landscape use to provide food, energy and beauty, takes place at the end of the second session.
    The 2022 conference ends with the SolarchitecTOUR, a guided walk through the main photovoltaic architectural landmarks in Milan.

  • Solar Road Mapping: Transition to Action

    13:30 - 15:00 | 15:15 - 16:45
    Auditorium Yellow 3

    As many countries enhance their share of renewable energy, and especially solar photovoltaics, it is necessary to set ambitious yet realistic targets, and more important, to lay out the Roadmap to reach these targets.  This is especially true for ‘emerging solar’ countries which are expanding their energy systems, and will rely increasingly on solar energy.  This Parallel Event, conducted in co-operation with the International Solar Alliance (ISA), will include talks by global PV leaders and policy planners describing the formulation of Solar Roadmaps for a country.  It will also include examples of such roadmapping processes for some selected countries, and a Panel Discussion session.  The focus of the event will be on pragmatic and concrete actions that can help to trigger solar (PV) deployment efforts in specific country contexts. The Event will be conducted as a hybrid event, with many in-person participants, but also allowing remote participants, who are interested in formulating such Roadmaps for their countries, to join.

    Jointly organised with the Roadmapping PV Committee

    Roundtable Discussion:
    Global challenges for PV Manufacturing at an annual Terawatt Level

    13:30 – 15:00
    Exhibition Forum

    What specific hurdles do companies face in the PV production, and how to deal with them? This session will focus on the perspective of important representatives of the PV industry and their needs.

    Moderator: Radovan Kopecek (ISC Konstanz)

    Pathways and Challenges of reliability testing for perovskite based photovoltaic devices

    17:00 - 18:30
    Auditorium Yellow 3

    Perovskite based photovoltaic (PV) devices have demonstrated high efficiencies and scalability potential, but final packaged products have not yet met reliability requirements similar to conventional commercialised technologies. In order for such products to enter the market and for investors to have confidence in them, they have to pass appropriate reliability standards. In this session, a diverse panel of experts from research and test labs, the perovskite industry, and the investment sector will discuss how perovskite reliability testing standards for perovskites can increase confidence in this new PV technology.

    Jointly organised with NPL – NREL

    Company Presentations

    08:45 - 16:45
    Exhibition Forum

  • PV Jobs

    08:30 - 10:00
    Auditorium Yellow 3

    WCPEC-8 wants to help bring qualified PV professionals together with the right companies and jobs.

    Therefore, we present the WCPEC-8 Jobs Fair.

    Women Leading PV Research

    10:30 - 12:00
    Auditorium Yellow 3 & online

    The goal of this event is to create a vibrant debate about the challenges and obstacles, as well as the lessons learnt and, most importantly, the success stories of female leaders in PV research.
    New insights into the development of diversity in the solar PV sector will be provided and discussed.
    This event is free to attend and not linked to any WCPEC-8 registration. We want to encourage women from all fields of solar PV to participate, to exchange and discuss their experience and get inspired.

    This event is organised by WIP Renewable Energies and GWNET in partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

    PV productivity challenges and solutions in desert environments

    13:30 - 15:00 | 15:15 - 16:45 | 17:00 - 18:30
    Auditorium Yellow 3

    Hot desert and semi-desert areas provide the best insolation conditions for the effective use of photovoltaics (PVs) with the lowest LCOE. However, the extreme weather and environmental conditions that characterize these regions (e.g., high temperature, UV, dust, and in some cases humidity), challenge the PV module reliability, O&M, energy production and its integration with the grid that requires tailored energy management processes. This parallel session aims at supporting industry and policy makers to address these challenges with reference to main issues including: (1) meteorological and environmental data and model integration for solar forecasting; (2) Reliability, soiling, robotic cleaning, PV productivity; and (3) Financial and market development, standardization and policy making for hot (semi-)desert environments.

    Jointly organised with QEERI

    Highlighting Successful Solar Research Programs in Emerging Countries

    Jointly organised with the Emerging Countries Committee

    13:30 - 15:00
    Auditorium Yellow 2
     
    A growing number of developing and emerging countries are taking an active interest in solar research.   During this session, advanced solar research projects in the middle east will be discussed and highlighted.

    The topcis include

    1. Research Programs in Solar
    2. Faciltiies and Labs
    3. Key results
    4. Link to Industry
    5. Seseach colloborations

    Results from EU Research and Innovation to Further Drive the Energy Transition World-wide

    Jointly organised by CINEA and DG RTD (European Commission)

    15:15 - 16:45
    Auditorium Yellow 2

    A selection of successful EU-funded Horizon 2020 projects covering different thematic areas, including PV systems and components, new PV technologies and PV products for integration, will present their main achievements and exploitable results. Speakers from R&I and industry will showcase their results for the value chain, showing how they can contribute to implementing the European Union’s Solar Strategy and further drive the energy transition worldwide.

    H2020
    EU Funded Projects Helping to Raise the Competitiveness of the EU PV Industry

    Jointly organised by HighLite, Hiperion, Super PV and Go-PV projects

    17:00 - 18:30
    Auditorium Yellow 2
     
    Today the EU PV manufacturing industry is at an important crossroads given the recent global developments. To thrive in this competitive environment and differentiate itself from foreign competition, the EU PV manufacturing industry needs to: (1) focus on highly performing PV technologies, (2) include sustainability by design and (3) develop differentiated PV module designs and systems for a broad range of PV applications. This is precisely the aim of four large EU funded projects (HighLite, Hiperion, Super PV and Go-PV) which all started in 2018/2019 under the EU’s Horizon 2020 Programme for research, technological development and demonstration for a duration of 3-4 years.

    This event consists of short overviews of the main results obtained for each project, followed by panel discussion with representatives from the European Union and leading PV industry associations on the next steps needed to further raise the EU PV industry competitiveness. This event is free to attend for conference delegates. We encourage participants to ask questions and contribute to the discussions!