——Developing the photovoltaic industry to promote energy transformation

June 29, 2024 at 04:15 | Source: People's Daily Online - Overseas Edition of People's Daily

The 2024 European Smart Energy Exhibition was recently held in Munich, Germany. This exhibition attracted over 3000 companies from 55 countries and regions, including nearly 1000 Chinese exhibitors. This is the first time that China has become the largest participating country in the exhibition. Chinese companies have showcased their innovative products and technologies in the fields of photovoltaics and energy storage to global customers. Representatives of Chinese and foreign enterprises and industry experts attending the exhibition believe that China's photovoltaic industry has significant advantages in technological innovation, cost control, and value chain integration, and has made contributions to promoting global energy transformation.

Only through joint efforts from all parties can the goal of decarbonization be achieved

At the Munich Exhibition Center, slogans such as "Building a green, environmentally friendly, and sustainable home", "Zero carbon emissions, starting from me", and "For future generations, make good use of solar energy" can be seen everywhere. Many booths are mainly in green and blue colors, and some exhibitors directly use natural wood to build booths to highlight the theme of environmental protection.

Markus Erzesel, one of the organizers of the exhibition and founder and CEO of the German Solar Energy Promotion Company, said that the global energy transition is unstoppable, and the new energy industry is full of vitality: "Exhibitors use this platform to share the latest technology and information, which will contribute to the energy transformation of various countries." Hannah Boehm, CEO of Freiburg Economic, Tourism and Trade Exhibition Company, who participated in organizing the exhibition, said: "Only through joint efforts can we achieve the goal of decarbonization. The European Smart Energy Exhibition will bring together innovative and professional enterprises and talents from all over the world, and the inspiration generated will drive us towards the new world

In recent years, with the increasing demand for new energy, governments around the world have introduced policies to support the development of green energy industries such as photovoltaics and wind energy. According to data from the International Energy Agency, global investment in clean energy has maintained strong growth in recent years, with the investment ratio of clean energy to fossil energy reaching 1.7:1. Investment in the photovoltaic sector will surpass investment in oil production for the first time in 2023. The report "Global Solar Market Outlook for 2024-2028" released by the European Photovoltaic Industry Association shows that the newly installed photovoltaic capacity in Europe will reach 70.1 GW in 2023, more than doubling from 2021; In the same year, the number of European households using solar energy increased by nearly 21 million. The photovoltaic industry has vast development potential, "said Voorberg Hemsberg, CEO of the European Photovoltaic Industry Association

According to the latest "2024 Global Renewable Energy Status Report" released by the 21st Century Renewable Energy Policy Network, the global installed capacity of renewable energy will reach 536 gigawatts in 2023. Energy infrastructure must continue to expand, achieve digital transformation, and become more resilient in order to meet the development needs of renewable energy. Rana Adib, Executive Director of the 21st Century Renewable Energy Policy Network, said, "This requires cross departmental and stakeholder participation and long-term cooperation to invest in grid infrastructure and energy storage

Provide more zero carbon solutions for the European market

At this year's exhibition, innovative products and technologies of Chinese enterprises in the field of photovoltaic power generation have become the focus of attention from all parties. In front of the booth of Aixu New Energy Company, staff are conducting a comparative experiment on shadow shading power generation. Under the illumination of high-energy light bulbs, the electrical energy generated by two photovoltaic panels helps the water columns of two small fountains continuously gush out. When the two people on the left and right each hold a nearly 30 centimeter wide photovoltaic panel and push horizontally to block it, the water flow of the fountain on the right slowly stops gushing, while the one on the left continues to gush unaffected. Han Chu, Deputy General Manager of the Zero Carbon Business Unit of the enterprise, introduced that the photovoltaic panel on the left has unique anti shadow blocking performance, which can effectively solve the pain point of significantly reducing power generation of components under shading, dust, snow and other conditions.

At the Daheng Energy exhibition booth, the company's flagship product - full screen photovoltaic modules are undergoing on-site demonstrations: there is a fine water flow pouring down from the top of the left and right photovoltaic panels, and the bottom of the left photovoltaic panel is smooth without boundaries. The water flow and debris quickly drip into the water tank below; The bottom of the photovoltaic panel on the right has a metal frame a few millimeters wide, which causes water and debris to accumulate. Wang Ruifeng, the sales manager of the company in Central Europe, introduced that photovoltaic products need to have the ability to withstand extreme weather and harsh environments, providing reliable support for large-scale power plants in special areas such as deserts, Gobi, mountains, and oceans. The comprehensive screen photovoltaic modules developed by the company can effectively resist rain and snow invasion, ensure stable operation, and achieve a power generation gain of 6% -15%.

Under the zero carbon goal, the global market has put forward higher requirements for the reliability and applicability of new energy applications. Energy storage, as an important foundation and key technology for building new energy systems, is an important part of the implementation process of the zero carbon goal. At this exhibition, Chinese companies presented a series of energy storage solutions aimed at improving energy efficiency and solving photovoltaic deployment challenges such as grid congestion.

On the booth of Xinwangda Power Technology Company, the neatly arranged white energy storage cabinets are simple, elegant, beautiful and practical. Lv Jinlin, Deputy General Manager of the International Marketing Department of the company, introduced that Xinwangda Power unveiled its 2024 new product "Xinyue" 625Ah ultra large energy storage battery at the European Smart Energy Exhibition. This type of energy storage battery has the advantages of high energy density, long service life, and low long-term use cost. Xinwangda Power is one of the earliest manufacturers to develop and mass produce high-capacity energy storage batteries, which are widely used in fields such as power, industry and commerce, and household energy storage. The company will continue to uphold innovation driven approach and provide more zero carbon solutions for the European market, "said Lv Jinlin.

Continue to promote the development of the global photovoltaic industry

At this exhibition, Aixu New Energy Company and German HDG Technology Company officially signed a procurement contract to provide double-sided high-efficiency ABC modules with an efficiency of over 23.9% for the latter's 120 MW large-scale ground photovoltaic power plant project in Bavaria, Germany. This is one of the largest ground-based photovoltaic power stations under construction in Germany in 2024. The photovoltaic modules are expected to be installed in September this year and connected to the grid for power generation in the first half of next year. TCL Photovoltaic Technology and the Personal Finance Department of BNP Paribas held a signing ceremony to develop innovative consumer finance products that support sustainable projects to meet the diverse needs of different households, enabling more households to access clean energy and participate in the green energy revolution.

China's achievements in the development of new energy such as photovoltaics have also received widespread praise from the industry. Erzesel said that innovative achievements from Chinese photovoltaic companies can be seen at the exhibition every year. For example, Chinese photovoltaic manufacturers use fewer materials to produce photovoltaic panels with higher photoelectric conversion efficiency, thereby using less installation space under the same installed capacity. The Chinese photovoltaic industry has established a complete industrial chain from raw materials to end products, and China's advanced manufacturers have provided innovative impetus for the European photovoltaic industry. This is crucial for the European industry to achieve 'decarbonization', "said Erzesel.

The "2024 Global Electricity Review" released by the British energy think tank EMBER pointed out that in 2023, thanks to the growth of photovoltaic and wind power generation, the proportion of renewable energy generation in the world exceeded 30% for the first time, and China contributed 51% of the world's new photovoltaic power generation and 60% of the world's new wind power generation. The record breaking growth in global photovoltaic power generation is largely driven by China. "The European Photovoltaic Industry Association pointed out in its report" Global Solar Market Outlook 2024-2028 "that China's new energy market is full of vitality and injects strong momentum into the development of the global photovoltaic industry. If it weren't for China's strong investment in the photovoltaic industry, the growth rate of the industry would have significantly slowed down.

Sonia Dunlop, CEO of the Global Solar Council, said, "China will continue to promote the development of the global photovoltaic industry." She called on the international community to work together to provide funding and policy support for the development of the photovoltaic industry, in order to promote energy transformation and achieve global climate goals.