The annual Intersolar Europe Conference & Expo was held in Munich in June 2023 and is one of the four conferences making up ‘The smarter E Europe,’ featuring over 2,400 exhibitors from 57 countries and more than 106,000 visitors from 166 countries.
In packed exhibition halls, the expo showcased leading suppliers in the solar sector from the domestic level up to utility scale and offered the opportunity to network with suppliers. PSC established new contacts with the central inverter manufacturer present at the expo.
The conference provided European context and discussions on how solar generation as well as battery energy storage systems (BESS) is becoming a more prominent part of the energy transition conversation. Indeed, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), by 2027, photovoltaics alone will have replaced natural gas and coal as the main source of electricity.
Some key takeaways from the conference that sparked interest:
- Installation of BESS are becoming key to enabling the green transition by allowing excess renewable generation to be stored and used when it is needed. Co-location of solar and BESS are seen as complementary.
- Increased installed solar generation can cause low or negative energy prices. How can markets adapt to ensure renewables are attractive for investment?
- Grid forming technology is key to removing synchronous plant from grids.
- Hourly matching and tracking green electrons, new technology/systems/metrics that can allow hourly matching of renewable generation to corporate demand and accurately track green electrons.
- Resourcing, attracting and retaining talent is essential for the green transition.
Recognizing the importance of solar energy for a net zero future, it was exciting to see the scale of solar and BESS projects that were being discussed at Intersolar. We’ll continue tracking how market changes and developments, and new trends and technologies can accelerate the green transition.