TTE International Trade Consulting Service Lda Shareholders visited GENERA in Madrid 21-23 Feb.2023

WHAT IS GENERA?

GENERA (Energy and Environment International Trade Fair) is aimed at a broad group of consulting, engineering, construction, and trade professionals; Industrial energy users; Equipment manufacturers and distributors; Installers and maintenance companies; Promoters of energy projects; Universities and research centres; Prescribers and real estate developers; Public Administrations and in general, all professionals related to the world of energy efficiency and renewable energies in the commitment towards climate neutrality.

TTE visited important Manufactures, EPC, O&M, Engineering, and Construction companies.

The result over the period of three days was excellent and have scheduled follow up meetings that will consist of demo presentations of products also the signing of corporation agreements that will expand TTE’s customers portfolio.

WHY DID WE VISIT GENERA?

• To obtain all the information of the existing specialized commercial offer in the market.
• To obtain an overview of all the specialized commercial offer in the market. National and international trends.
• To initiate, continue or close agreements and order processes with different companies.
• Build a working network.
• Schedule meetings with current and potential clients.
• Strengthen business relationships with current clients.
• Analyse and directly verify the characteristics of the product/services of possible new suppliers.
• Expand the knowledge and application of technologies and services.
• Directly compare the characteristics of all the specialized products.
• Obtain the necessary information to evaluate the possibilities of future participation as an exhibitor.

PHOTOVOLTAIC COMPANIES BELIEVE THAT THEY CAN REACH 65 GW INSTALLED BY 2030

Photovoltaic energy could reach 65 gigawatts (GW) installed in 2030 in Spain, compared to the almost 40 GW that is targeted in the current National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), according to the president of the Spanish Photovoltaic Union ( Unef), Rafael Benjumea. in the framework of the GENERA International Energy and Environment Fair, we also heard that in the upcoming revision of the PNIEC, photovoltaic energy could reach up to 65 GW of installed power by 2030 only with plants on the ground, to which 15 GW of solar self-consumption could be added.

In the PNIEC the goal for photovoltaics was 40 GW, but environmental impact statements for more than that amount have been approved in recent months. The sector is prepared to broadly meet the PNIEC objective, and it is time to propose an increase in those objectives due to the situation of high electricity prices has boosted photovoltaics, “especially self-consumption ” In this sense, it has been indicated that in 2022 2.5 GW of self-consumption photovoltaic energy were installed, doubling the 1.2 GW of 2021, achieved after 596 MW were installed in 2020.

THE REINDUSTRIALIZATION OF PHOTOVOLTAIC

It was pointed out that the important development that photovoltaic energy is having in Spain is already being noticed in reindustrialization. New companies are arriving in photovoltaic energy sector and its believed that there is a long way to go. Some point out that Spain is returning to a component industry, in general, in the photovoltaic sector, with the manufactures of trackers, plates, inverters etc. Also, many international companies are considering coming to Spain to manufacture, because “there is a very strong demand.”

Regarding the environmental impact statements issued for parks with an access connection since before 2020, whose term expired on January 25, it is indicated that the photovoltaic contracted power is standing at more than 40 GW already approved.

THE ELECTRICITY MARKET REFORM PROPOSAL

Regarding the proposal to reform the electricity market that the Ministry for the Ecological Transition has presented, it was stated that there are things in which all agree and that, in general, they are aligned with it. The approach is that photovoltaics must be supported, above all, with long-term contracts that serve as coverage when prices rise a lot and also as protection when they drop a lot, and also through auctions. When energy does not have variable costs, as is the case with photovoltaics, it “works badly” in a marginalist market (in which the latest technology that matches the price in one hour on the market sets the price charged to that hour all the others).

If all the photovoltaic projects sell to the market during the hours with the most renewable production, the prices will be zero and, therefore, the projects will be unfeasible because nobody is going to finance them, it is necessary to “look for adequate price alternatives that allow to undertake the investments”.

LACK OF PROFESSIONALS TO MEET THE DEMAND

The photovoltaic boom is facing a shortage of labour to meet the strong demand, according to many companies, who explain that they have “a problem finding people to cover all the needs we have.” For this reason, they believe that a plan must be made to recycle employment from other sectors for photovoltaic and they are working for this with organizations, in addition to figuring out the deficit of professionals that exists.