Quantifying the Flexibility Needs of Solar and Its Impacts on European Market Growth Until 2040

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Recording of Tuesday, June 18, 2024 | The smarter E Europe | Conference Program | Language: English | Duration: 21:01 .

Iberdrola Executive Discusses Massive Growth in European Solar Installations and Future Energy Goals at Industry Conference

The speaker, representing Iberdrola, elaborates on the company's commitment to renewable energy and its increasing presence in Europe. He highlights that Iberdrola has significantly invested in renewables since 2000 and is approaching full decarbonization of its energy mix. Emphasizing the exponential growth of solar installations in Europe as projected by Solar Power Europe, he notes ambitious targets: 750 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and potentially up to 2.4 terawatts (TW) by 2040. Specific national goals include Spain's plan for an additional 86 GW of photovoltaic (PV) capacity and Germany's target of adding around 215 GW PV by 2030. However, these expansions face challenges such as matching generation with peak demand times; notably much lower at night compared to midday peaks when solar output is highest. Lastly, a snapshot from the Spanish market operator’s website illustrates current electricity spot prices influenced heavily by gas costs and CO2 emissions pricing, underscoring economic pressures within the transition towards renewables.

Automated summarization by AI Conver

Dr. Juan Rivier
Head of Global Regulation
Iberdrola
Spain

As solar energy continues its strong global growth trajectory, exceeding all expectations, more and more obstacles are appearing on the long way towards completing the energy transition. The question is: what is needed to unleash solar's full potential in Europe and globally, and what can realistically be achieved?´This session will discuss:

  • Global Market Outlook for Solar Power 2024–2028 (report launch)
  • Solar power's role in European and global decarbonization strategies
  • Solutions for unlocking the vast potential of solar

Further Talks of this session:

Speaker

Michael Schmela
Executive Advisor
SolarPower Europe
Belgium

To Talk

Speaker

Bruce Douglas
CEO
Global Renewables Alliance
Belgium

To Talk

Speaker

Vegard Vollset
VP- Head of EMEA Renewable
Rystad Energy
Norway

To Talk

Speaker

Sonia Dunlop
CEO
Global Solar Council
United Kingdom

Dr. Rodrigo Lopes Sauaia
CEO
ABSOLAR - Associação Brasileira de Energia Solar Fotovoltaica
Brazil

Walburga Hemetsberger
CEO
SolarPower Europe
Belgium

To Talk

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Off-grid solar systems are often the least expensive option for rural electrification. Solar home systems can power individual households, while mini-grids can supply entire villages. Each comes with its own advantages, disadvantages, and challenges. The aim of this session is to explore challenges as well as success stories. It takes well-functioning components such as battery systems, charge management and inverters to make projects successful. Proper system sizing, maintenance and repair management, as well as a robust financial concept are also necessary. If one of these elements is missing, the electrification will not be sustainable. This session will focus on the aspects mentioned above. The speakers will present successful and unsuccessful approaches and discuss what can be learned from them.

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