Kimmely electric power energy industry ecology full bloom!

On December 3, the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) Shanghai Summit, an industry event on the future of energy development and energy transformation, was launched, with a year-on-year increase of 36% compared with 5.9GW in 2017. Around 11GW of solar power was installed across Europe, an increase of around 20% year-on-year.

Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, said: "It is great to see Europe fully embracing solar power again. Solar energy is the most popular energy source among EU citizens, being both versatile and the lowest cost source of power. As costs continue to fall, solar's long-term upward trend in Europe has only just begun."

Aurelie Beauvais, head of policy at SolarPower Europe, commented: "We can see very strong demand for solar energy in Europe over the next two years. One of the main reasons for this is the upcoming EU 2020 target, with many EU member states opting for low-cost solar to meet their obligations. Beauvais added: "By removing trade measures for solar panels and developing a clean energy legislation package, the EU has established a positive solar institutional framework that sets the stage for significant growth in solar energy. It is now up to EU member states to implement the right national climate and energy plans to keep this solar boom going."

The largest solar market in Europe in 2018 was Germany, with 2.96GW of new grid-connected capacity, up 68% from 1.76GW installed in 2017. This was followed by Turkey, which installed 1.64GW in 2018, down 37% from the previous year, due to a drop in demand caused by the country's financial crisis. A rising solar star, the Netherlands was ranked as the third largest solar market in 2018, with the country adding about 1.4GW compared to 0.77 GW in 2017 and now entering the GW-class ranks for the first time.

Michael Schmela, Executive Consultant and Head of Market Information at SolarPower Europe, said: "While the EU28 solar market's 36 percent growth in 2018 was impressive, the surge in demand from China late last year led to a shortage of high-quality modules in Europe, forcing some developers to postpone the completion of projects until 2019. However, the good news is that 2019 will be a good year for solar power in Europe."