Paris, 17 March 2011

Gathered in Paris, France, on the occasion of EPIA’s Annual General Meeting, the Members of the world’s largest association devoted to the solar photovoltaic electricity market have elected Dr. Martin Heming as new Director to the Board of the association. Heming, born in Germany in 1956, is CEO of SCHOTT Solar AG and responsible for strategy and business development, research & development, public relations, human resources, auditing, sales and marketing.

Heming declared, “I am honoured to have been elected to the Board of EPIA. In 2010, solar photovoltaic power was the leading renewable energy technology in terms of capacity growth in Europe, and I am willing to join the efforts of EPIA and strengthen the momentum”.

EPIA presented today the first results of a study on the competitiveness of PV in the energy sector. The compelling downward trend of the PV installation cost translates into ever more competitive PV generated electricity, and this was shown for different market segments in major European countries.”This study reveals once more the continuous price decrease of PV in the most prominent European markets, and the competitiveness of PV will be reached well before 2020 in all major market segments”, stated Ingmar Wilhelm, President of EPIA.

In addition, the study addresses the potential of the existing distributed electricity network to absorb more PV generated energy, and starting from the status quo; works out the technical requirements to host additional PV power. “Already today, many major grid operators recognize the importance of PV as a decentralized means of power generation in the low and medium voltage grid area”, concluded Dr. Winfried Hoffmann, Vice-President of EPIA.
 
Note to editors:
With over 240 Members drawn from across the entire solar photovoltaic (PV) sector, the European Photovoltaic Industry Association is the world’s largest photovoltaic industry association. EPIA Members are present throughout the whole value-chain: from silicon, cells and module production to systems development and PV electricity generation as well as marketing and sales. EPIA’s mission is to deliver a distinct and valuable service driven from the strength of a single photovoltaic voice.

For more information:
Sophie Lenoir, Media Relations Tel.: +32 2 400 10 54 - E-mail: s.lenoir@epia.org