Status of Photovoltaic Electricity in Europe – Challenges and Opportunities
Dr Arnulf Jager Waldau
European Commission, Joint Research Centre; Energy Efficiency & Renewables Unit, Italy
By Dr. Arnulf Jäger-Waldau, European Commission, Joint Research Centre; Energy Efficiency & Renewables Unit, Italy.
(Under Approval)
The climate agreement at COP21 in Paris sets the world a goal of limiting global warming to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels. However, how to reach this goal is not clear yet, as various analyses have shown that the pledges made by individual countries via the so-called intended nationally determined contributions are still insufficient and will lead to warming of around 2.7ºC.
The accelerated use of renewable energy sources and within those, photovoltaics is a key pillar for a decarbonised energy supply necessary to achieve the ambitious 1.5ºC goal. Since more than a decade photovoltaics is one of the fastest growing industries and according to the latest IRENA study published in June 2016 has the potential to provide up to 13% of the worldwide electricity needs by 2030.
What role can and will Europe play in this development. Market conditions for photovoltaics differ substantially in the 28 Member States. This is due to different energy policies and taxation as well as the varying grades of liberalisation of domestic electricity markets. The legal framework for the overall increase of renewable energy sources is Directive 2009/28/EC, and in their National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs), the Member States have set specific photovoltaic solar energy targets, adding up to 84.5 GW in 2020. This target was already exceeded in 2014 but no new targets for solar energy have been set yet.
During the European Council meeting on 23/24 October 2014 the Council adopted an EU target of at least 27% for the share of renewable energy consumed in the EU in 2030. A new “post 2020” directive is under preparation and will influence the future framework conditions under which renewable electricity including PV power will be able to participate in the electricity markets.
Biography
Dr. Arnulf Jäger–Waldau is a Scientific Officer and Senior Scientist at the Renewables and Energy Efficiency Unit, Institute for Energy and Transport of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre since 2001. He works on the assessment of renewable energy technologies, the effectiveness of their implementation, their integration into energy infrastructures and the role of renewable energy for climate change mitigation. Since 1987 he works in the field of material research for solar cells and holds patents on semiconductor material deposition for thin film solar cells and solar module design. He has more than 200 publications in peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings ranging from materials research for PV and solar cell development to market studies and policy evaluations for Renewable Energies. He is the author of the European Commission’s annual “Photovoltaic Status Report”, which is published annually since 2002. From 2011 to 2014 he was the Technical Chairman of the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (EUPVSEC) and served as European Co-Chair of the 6th World Conference on Photovoltaic Power Conversion in Kyoto, November 2014 as well as Conference Chairperson of the E-MRS Spring Meeting in 2009 and 2013. Dr. Jäger-Waldau was a Lead Author for Solar Energy of the Special Report of the IPCC on Renewable Energy and Climate Change Mitigation. He served as a reviewer of the Global Energy Assessment Report (GEA) published in 2012 and as a reviewer of the 5th Assessment Report (AR5) of IPCC published 2014. He serves as a member of the Academic Advisory Board of the Chinese Trina State Key Laboratory for Photovoltaics, Academic Committee Vice Chairman member of the Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association (APVIA), member of the International Advisory Board of the Warsaw University Photovoltaic Centre and member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Solar Research Centre of the Bulgarian Academy of Science. From 2005 to 2013 he was a member of the Executive Committee of the European Materials Research society (E-MRS).