"This document is an important first step towards establishing an industry-wide standard and must serve as an authoritative point of reference for stakeholders looking for reliability and performance of their long-term asset, and anyone procuring and retaining a solar O&M service provider," said Stefan Degener, Task Force leader and Senior Director of O&M for First Solar in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "The fact is that these guidelines incorporate the collective experience of the some of the largest players in the industry - with several Gigawatts of expertise between them - and offers unparalleled guidance on professional O&M."
Necessary implementation
"The published guidelines are not the end of the process; the key now is successful implementation of the recommendations. This will ensure the long term performance and durability of solar power in Europe and beyond. Work will continue on updating and refining the guidelines, and we encourage all O&M providers to join our efforts," said Ioannis Thomas Theologitis, Senior Technology Advisor at SolarPower Europe and O&M Task Force coordinator.
Ensuring technical and economic performance
"Operations & Maintenance services are increasingly vital as solar continues to grow into a mainstream energy source in Europe. These guidelines can be of great benefit to our sector, ensuring the technical and economic performance of solar PV systems in years to come" said James Watson, CEO of SolarPower Europe. SolarPower Europe's.
Leading solar companies participating
O&M Task Force is led by First Solar, including several leading solar companies: 3E, 7C Solarparken, ABB, Adler Solar, Alectris, British Solar Renewables Group, Conergy, DuPont, Enphase Energy, Enel Green Power, Fortum, Gari EcoPower, Iris Hellas, Jinko Solar, Kenergia Sviluppo, Lark Energy, Martifer Solar, Messaritis, meteocontrol, PowerHub, Primrose solar, Solarcentury, tco-solar, Trina Solar and UL. (HCN)
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