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Interview with

Matthias Ermer

Managing Director
Renewable Energy Corporation (REC)

70MWp of installed and financed solar power plants. REC Systems is
covering the entire value chain from development, turn-key enginee-
ring, procurement and construction (EPC) and operations-and-main-
tenance (O&M) services globally. In addition REC Systems is suppor-
ting and structuring project financing in selected cases.

Q: Among the world's produ- to meet the demand. And the best still of the world. In that region the off-
cers of photovoltaic panels, you was, is and will be: the fuel is free and grid and consumer applications will
have received several awards unlikely to increase in cost! be the most interesting ones for the
and have been ranked number near future.
one. What makes your product Q: As climate change creates
unique? greater pressure to reduce the Q: Do you provide solutions on
use of hydrocarbons, how do you a lesser scale and, if so, what do
REC did and will continue to invest see the future of PV panels? you consider as the minimum?
significant amounts into research
and development and into ongoing We should not lie to ourselves. PV can Certainly, especially when it comes
optimization of our production pro- contribute to hydrocarbon savings, to roof-top installations and off-grid
cesses. This is combined with a far- but is only one of many factors in re- applications. The latter ones can be
above-average quality-control pro- ducing emissions. Energy-saving acti- solar pumping systems, mini-grid
cess and organization. We do not vities and measures, like renewed and systems or any other kind of stand-
accept any compromises on quality efficient heating systems and conven- alone electricity supply which is to-
nor in the way problems are dealt with. tional power plants, can contribute day provided by diesel, gas or battery
Becoming the winner in the globally much more and much faster to this, generator-sets. We can also combine
recognized Photon Module Test in especially in developed countries. PV with existing equipment under a
2011 is evidence that we mean, live And if you consider the fact that there so-called fuel-saver model. There is
and deliver quality. are still no speed-limits on German a natural minimum set by the econo-
highways, it seems to me that there is mics of cost/income and this depends,
Q: In the past, the products of some kind of a strange double mora- of course, on each specific case. But
your industry were known for lity existing in these discussions. it does certainly not make much eco-
being expensive and not really nomic sense to install a system (or
competitive in comparison to Q: You have carried out some a number of small systems) below
"normal" electricity production huge projects in Europe. What iookW.
methods. What is the situation was your biggest project and
today? what were the main challenges? Q: If you had a message for the
international community, what
Compared to the situation some years REC Systems successfully completed would it be?
ago, we now see a completely different about 70MWp of projects in 2011. The
picture. Module costs have come down majority of that work was carried out My message is to consider solar PV
by more than 50% over the last three in Europe. The largest installation is a panels seriously as one of the most
years and, in parallel, the efficiency 23MWp single-axis tracking system in suitable solutions for sustainable
of solar-cells has seen significant im- Italy, which took only four months to electricity supply. The time when PV
provements. In combination with install and start operation. was exotic and expensive is definitely
cost reductions with the other com- over. In most sunny regions of this
ponents, electricity generated from a Q: Will there come a day when world PV is a competitive solution to
PV solar system today can compete PV panels can be used in places provide electricity. This is specifically
easily with conventional electricity like Scandinavia where there is valid in cases where distributed elec-
generation costs in regions with a lot little winter sunlight? tricity supply is required, as in remote
of sunshine. In addition, a PV system villages or where expensive diesel
does not require a lot of infrastructure This will probably still take a while generator-sets are run today. And
to provide electricity to people, espe- given the existing low cost of hydro- there are also solutions available to
cially in remote areas or where infra- power generation and the lower hours bridge the night-time gap on the basis
structure would have to be strengthened of sunshine compared to other regions of hybrid-systems.

International 1 9]