Athens, Berlin, Bratislava, Brussels, The Hague, Lisbon, Madrid, Paris,
Prague, Rome, Sofia, Stockholm, Vienna, Warsaw, 15 November 2012 - More than 20
partners have launched a Europe-wide effort to identify solutions to the wider
integration of solar PV in Europe, particularly at the distribution level.
Their new two-year project, entitled PV GRID, is funded by the European Commission's Intelligent
Energy for Europe programme and will run until October 2014. PV GRID's aim is
to contribute to overcoming regulatory and normative challenges linked to the
integration of high shares of PV electricity in the distribution system across
Europe.
The grid integration of PV systems was previously highlighted by the PV
LEGAL consortium as one of the main barriers to the further development of PV
in Europe. In recent years, a completely new situation has emerged in several
European countries where distribution grids have to deal with very high shares
of PV generation, leading to new technical, economical and administrative challenges.
This is an important issue for Europe's energy future. As PV becomes a
mature and mainstream technology, it will need to integrate seamlessly into the
electricity grid. This will require some changes from grid operators, from
policymakers and from the PV industry itself. But the challenges are not
insurmountable. As shown in a new report from EPIA, "Connecting the Sun: Solar photovoltaics on the road to large-scale grid
integration", solutions to enable a high penetration of PV are
achievable.
PV GRID follows the PV LEGAL project, which was completed in February
2012. PV LEGAL, a flagship project of the Intelligent Energy Programme,
succeeded in removing many administrative burdens for PV system installations
in Europe. PV GRID, created by the same project consortium, builds on the PV
LEGAL cooperation to focus on removing grid-related barriers that have emerged
as a result of the fast deployment of PV technology in Europe.
The PV GRID consortium also includes other actors from the wider
electricity distribution sector, in order to address specific issues of distribution
grid operation and regulation. Coordinated by the German Solar Industry
Association (BSW-Solar) the consortium consists of 13 other National PV
industry associations, the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA),
three Distribution System Operators (DSOs), eclareon Management Consultants,
European Distributed Energy Resources Laboratories e. V. and COMILLAS
Pontifical University.
The work of the PV GRID consortium will be accessible from now on under: www.pvgrid.eu
The PV GRID project is a joint effort of the following project partners:
- Coordinator: The German Solar Industry Association
(BSW-Solar)
- European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA)
- eclareon Management Consultants
- 13 national PV industry associations: UNEF, APESF,
Assosolare, BPVA, CZEPHO, Enerplan, Helapco,
Holland Solar, PTPV, PV Austria, EDORA, SVENSK SOLENERGI, SAPI
- DERlab (European Distributed Energy Resources Laboratories e.
V.)
- Distribution System Operators: ENEL Distribuzione (Italy),
RWE Deutschland AG (Germany) and Lumen International (Czech Republic)