Renewable Energy Installer February 2014 | Page 24

Knowledge: PV
Power of endurance
Markus Schaefer, Voltec Solar’s senior vice president, sheds light on the PV
manufacturer’s decision to increase its presence in the UK market despite a tough
economic climate
or the PV industry, on a glob al scale but especially in
Europe, the year 2013 has again been a very diffi cult
year. Many well known PV manufacturing companies
gave up or ended up in bankruptcy. When I think back, I
remember many potential customers who used to say: “I
prefer going with the big names, as I can be sure they will still be there
tomorrow.” Well, reality turned out to be exactly the opposite. Many
of the big names have disappeared and some will still go down. The
consolidation is not over yet, it has rather reached more downstream
players like EPCs and installers. Meanwhile some of the smaller players
– like Voltec Solar – managed to come through. Another interesting
observation is that most of those who came through these diffi cult
times are not solely dependent on the solar industry but have other
activities. Again, this is true for Voltec Solar where on a group level
there is a 20 year history in the furniture and fl ooring business.
Unfortunately, it takes time for the industry to understand the
importance of diversifi cation and many players have had a strong
tendency to stick to what they’re used to. So it does take very strong
perseverance and a tough fi ghting spirit to live through this.
At the same time, the markets developed a thinking that prices
which are under the cost of the products sold should be the normal
market price. Few seem to understand the simple truth that such a
situation will mean a company needs new money at some point - and
if that new money does not come it means death. Some others simply
don’t understand that this is not healthy and is only of a temporary
nature until all companies are gone that sold at loss making prices for
too long.
F
Total system costs still need to come down
further in order to address the fi nancial
needs of those ready to invest into PV
It is also reality that total system costs still need to come down
further in order to address the fi nancial needs of those ready to invest
into PV under the respective circumstances of each country. So there
needs to be a continued strong effort to do everything possible to bring
costs down further.
In Europe, PV markets have already changed dramatically.
Installation rates in Italy are near to non existent (down from 9 GW in
2011) and Germany, which had 7.5 GW installed each year for three
years in a row, will end up at around 3.5 GW per annum and a further
24 | www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk
Pole position: Markus Schaefer, Voltec Solar, predicts the UK will overtake
Germany and Italy as Europe’s strongest PV market
drop is likely. That makes the PV market in the UK at about 2.4 GW
per year a likely candidate to become one of the strongest, if not the
strongest, PV market in Europe. That is one of the reasons why Voltec
Solar decided to move into this market and we are very glad to have
Wagner Solar UK as our distribution partner in the UK.
The UK market is also showing an increasing appreciation of
strong values in a manufacturing company. For example Voltec Solar
offers a 20 year product warranty and is backed by re-assurance
company Munich RE. Voltec Solar is in the strongest position it has
ever been in since its foundation in 2009. The factory is well stocked
and production capacity is due to be increased so that Voltec Solar is
here to stay and to serve its customers in the years to come.