The smarter E / Intersolar Europe 2025 kicked off in Munich, Germany, on May 6, 2025, with a sense of optimism, despite the geopolitical instability and conflicts that have shaped the global solar PV landscape since the beginning of the year.
Speakers at the event touched upon diverse topics, ranging from the critical role of system flexibility to the expanding scope of solar PV applications, in various sessions.
Flexibility will be the key going forward to support renewable energy integration in the ecosystem to help balance demand and supply. Speakers at the Flexibility Drives Change panel stressed the need to support flexibility to achieve grid stability, which will be critical for energy security in Europe, while reflecting on the learnings from the recent blackouts in Spain and Portugal.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made its way prominently into the solar circles this year, especially as distributed energy resources (DER) take a leading role across European markets. Its use will also boost revenues for companies while saving energy costs for consumers as they learn intelligent control over their power generation.
Corporate offtake, a leading contributor to solar’s growth, is now slowly moving towards a hybrid configuration with various technologies. Investors want to diversify their power generation, rather than risking investments in a single technology. Storage is also carving out a role for itself in the mix.
In terms of solar PV applications, there is a growing interest in the sector. Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) pegs the global floating solar capacity to have grown to a cumulative 9.2 GW by the end of 2024, led by Asia. CapEx for floating PV has dropped from €500/kW in 2013 to €250/kW in 2024, according to Ciel & Terre.
However, BayWa r.e. sees full-scale commercialization of this technology when supported by stable, unified policies across the spectrum. Similar policy and industrial clarity is required for agri-PV or agrivoltaics, according to speakers in a dedicated agri-PV session.
Take a look at the TaiyangNews Intersolar Europe 2025 live blog for more action from the event.
The next 3 days at the event will see the solar sector coming together to display its latest products and technological advancements.
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