Quality Assurance for Solar EPCs (Engineering, Procurement, Construction)

The smarter E Podcast Episode 128 | March 23, 2023 | Language: English

The solar industry is on its way into a new era: Technological advances and a mature and experienced industry are paving the way for a new age of quality in photovoltaics. At the same time, the solar industry finds itself under tremendous pressure: solar expansion is now to happen at a record pace and challenges and bottlenecks are to be efficiently resolved virtually overnight. The focus here is on reconciling quality and quantity - what approaches are major project developers taking to solve this Gretchen question? That's what we're talking about with Alden Lee, Head of Solar Procurement/Logistics/Quality at ABO Wind.

Timeline:

  • 1:25 PV Industry: How can there be a sustainable development of talent without it just being pulled from one company to the next?
  • 4:52 How can quality be ensured in the training of installers at a time when they are desperately needed?
  • 8:34 EPC best practice guidelines: How does integrative quality management work with the various project entities?
  • 12:10 Supply chains: ABO Wind relies on supplier diversification and early supply contracts for components. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different strategies currently in procurement for solar projects?

The smarter E podcast is all about the current trends and developments in a renewable, decentralized and digital energy industry. Our moderators Tobias Bücklein and Zackes Brustik welcome and interview personalities who shape our industry and drive developments forward. A new episode is published every Thursday.

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ABO Wind has been planning and constructing wind and solar parks, battery and hydrogen projects worldwide since 1996 and has already implemented project capacities of 5 GW in Europe, Africa and South America.

Alden Lee is Head of Solar Procurement/Logistics/Quality at ABO Wind and as Vice-Chair of the Lifecycle Quality Workstream of the European solar association SolarPower Europe he is active in supra-regional expert committees on the topic of solar quality management.

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