– Experts, scholars, and business leaders discuss development of PV industry after COVID-19 pandemic
– TÜV Rheinland PV Module Supply Chain Whitepaper 2020 officially launched
– 16 companies win “All Quality Matters” award
PVTIME – On June 30, the 2020 “All Quality Matters” Solar Congress and “All Quality Matters” award ceremony hosted by TÜV Rheinland Group (“TÜV Rheinland”) was held in Suzhou. Focusing on the photovoltaic industry’s development after the COVID-19 pandemic, this event brought together more than 200 industry-related enterprise representatives, experts, and scholars to discuss trending hotspots and solutions to crises through online and offline interactions, providing suggestions for the healthy and sustainable development of the PV industry.
Experts, Scholars, and Business Leaders Discuss Development of the PV Industry after the COVID-19 Pandemic
Wang Bohua, Vice President and Secretary General at China Photovoltaic Industry Association, said in his speech that the global demand for renewable energy is expected to increase by about 1% in 2020, which may be one of the few energy sources to experience demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, accounting for about 30% of global power supply. He pointed out that the pandemic brings not only challenges but also opportunities for the PV industry. On the one hand, the world will increase investment in renewable energy to boost economic growth; the price drop in each link of the industrial chain is expected to promote the rise of new incremental markets around the world; and the overall market will become more mature and stable with increase in the concentration of each link. However, the industry will also face many problems, including the impact of recovery pace after the pandemic in overseas markets on the aftermarket demand, the increased pressure on the cost of backward production capacity, and unclear and delayed domestic policies. To deal with these problems requires the joint efforts of the entire industry.
Specially invited to the event were Watson Wu, Vice President of Product and Technology at AISWEI New Energy Technology (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd., Kevin Chen, Technical Director Business Strategy of Coveme Engineered Films Zhangjiagang Co., Ltd., Monsoon Wang, Product Director of LONGi Solar Co., Ltd., Dr. Liu Zhifeng, Vice General Manager of Jolywood (Taizhou) Solar Technology Co.,Ltd, Tony Liu, Product Director of SolaX Power Network Technology (Zhejiang) Co.,Ltd., Bu Yanhui, General Manager of Investment and Financing Department at EDF Renewables (China), Jonathan Luan, Senior Analyst of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, etc., to deliver keynote speeches and share their in-depth thinking from different perspectives on such topics as the quality of PV products, technology, investment and mergers, global markets, and so on.
In addition, more than a dozen business leaders from the upstream and downstream sectors of the industry chain participated in two round-table dialogues to discuss and propose insights on related topics including “Seize the Opportunity to Rebuild Commercial Value in Energy Storage” and “Photovoltaics in the 2020s.”
TÜV Rheinland PV Module Supply Chain Whitepaper 2020 Officially Launched
At this event, the TÜV Rheinland PV Module Supply Chain Whitepaper 2020, after a preparation and writing process that spanned nearly half a year, was officially released. In order to better understand the views of the PV industry and related supply chain practitioners, TÜV Rheinland surveyed the major domestic manufacturers of PV modules and components.
In the whitepaper, TÜV Rheinland deeply analyses practitioners’ views on the current PV module market environment, exports, and the current status of companies’ operations and their prospects for the future.
At the launch conference, Chris Zou, Vice President of TÜV Rheinland Greater China Solar Products, pointed out that China’s PV industry already possesses a full industry chain from the production of high-purity crystalline silicon in the upstream sector and high-efficiency solar cells in the midstream, continuing to the construction and operation of PV power plants in the downstream sector. Moreover, China’s PV industry has complete independent intellectual property rights. The PV industry is about to enter a new era marked by technology leadership, cross-sectoral cooperation, coordinated development, and value innovation instead of price competition. High requirements such as photoelectric-conversion efficiency, attenuation rate, and comprehensive energy consumption of PV modules will accelerate industrial transformation and upgrading. Various PV module and component producers are constantly innovating in technology, improving product quality, reducing production costs, and increasing efficiency.
In addition, in the whitepaper, technical experts from TÜV Rheinland provided in-depth analysis of the impact of PV components on the output power of modules from the perspective of an independent third party, including solar cells, encapsulation materials, backsheets, junction boxes, PV connectors, etc., and elaborated on the market status, technical issues, and future technological development trends for PV components, as well as on the corresponding test requirements and standards evolution for products domestically and overseas, providing guidance for companies to ensure product quality and safety and facilitating their entry into target markets more rapidly and efficiently.
16 Companies Win the “All Quality Matters” Award
On the evening of the congress, the TÜV Rheinland “All Quality Matters” award ceremony was held. This year, the award set up selections of several categories, including PV modules, PV components, PV inverter, energy storage, and PV power plants operation and maintenance service providers. It is worth mentioning that testing and selection for the PV Module Energy Yield Simulation Award was based on TÜV Rheinland’s world-leading “Energy Yield Rating Label” to more accurately identify the energy yield capacity of PV modules. In the end, 16 companies involved in PV modules, inverters, energy storage systems, components, and power plant operation and maintenance stood out and won awards for their excellent product and service quality.
As an authoritative platform established by TÜV Rheinland for communication with the entire PV industry, the “All Quality Matters” Solar Congress has become a bellwether of the PV industry. Over the years, the “All Quality Matters” Solar Congress has been focused on the photovoltaic revolution in the Asia-Pacific region and in the global economy, and has witnessed the development and progress of the industry. However, the market is constantly changing. The opportunities and challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic make transformation and upgrading of the industry urgent. TÜV Rheinland will continue to rely on its over 35 years of professional experience in the global PV field, guarding quality and safety and paying attention to new trends in the global market, to help PV companies seize opportunities and welcome challenges.
