In his welcome speech, Gonzalo de la Viña, President of Trina Solar EMEA, called on the renewable energy sector to work together to achieve the ambitious green energy targets in Europe and beyond. He elaborated on five areas: sustainability across the solar industry; making renewable energy affordable for everyone; PV’s role as part of a holistic new energy system; the need for significant grid and infrastructure development at a national level; and long-term collaboration and partnerships.
“We must work together and scale up green energy deployment to achieve a net-zero future for the coming generations” Mr de la Viña said, speaking at the event.
A panel discussion, hosted by Tim Day, Investment Fund Manager at Trina Solar, offered opportunity for industry leaders to explore ways the industry can ‘get moving’ to build partnerships and establish shared goals to meet the global demand of achieving a net-zero future. The panel included representatives from Aquila Capital, Eni Plenitude, Next Energy Capital and Iberdrola.
The importance of trust, collaboration and innovation were at the heart of the discussion. According to Rossano Francia, Head of Global Procurement at Plenitude, supplier transparency will enable a level playing field for businesses in the renewables sector, while new regulations on sustainability will better support the industry to move forward together.
Kevin Mclelland, Global Construction & Procurement Director at Next Energy Capital added that localised manufacturing and accountability are important areas for the entire solar industry to focus on in order to drive sustainability, while Fernando Torrico, Electrical Engineer at Iberdrola, believes that businesses should partner to review existing and historical energy systems as part of the switch to net-zero energy.
Following the panel discussion, Özer Ergül, Supply Chain Sustainability and Operational Excellence Executive at Aquila Capital, commented that the exchange was “truly insightful”. According to Ergül, transparency is the foundation of sustainable collaboration, helping eliminate frictions that block the acceleration of solar, while “clearing the fog” in the years to come.
Going forward, Trina Solar will work together with its sustainable partners to accelerate the solar value chain for a net-zero future, said Derrick Kowalski, Head of Utility Sales Europe, in his presentation titled United for a bigger goal: Driving the energy transition in EMEA.
“For the past 26 years, Trina Solar has stayed true to its mission of ‘Solar Energy for All’. And we are committed to leading the way in smart solar energy solutions for a net-zero future with integrated green manufacturing, sustainable financials and sustainable production design” Mr Kowalski said.
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