Today marks the launch of the first ever-global business and technology association for the solar industry.
In
an extraordinary meeting in Amsterdam during the 29th EU PVSEC, members
of the International Photovoltaic Equipment Association (IPVEA)
unanimously approved the association's new vision, expansion plans and
associated re-branding.
"The concept behind IPVEA’s new name
expansion is that we want to unite the whole solar industry value chain
as well as associated industries, such as energy storage, utilities and
grid operators, through a collaborative approach,” says "SOLARUNITED” President Eric Ast, who also serves as Senior Manager of Global Business Development at Multi-Contact.
"This
organization unifies leaders across the solar industry and
associations, and our company is proud to contribute to this important
first ever global initiative,” notes CSUN’s EMEA General Manager Engin
Yaman, one of the newest members of the organization.
"SOLARUNITED”
Board Member Richard Moreth, Head of PV Sales at Vitronic adds that
this is an important move for the organization. "The association remains
focused strongly on technology but now with the involvement of key
stakeholders we can provide more opportunity to improve quality and
reliability,” explains Moreth.
This move also allows the integration of more players. "The primary benefit of the new SOLARUNITED
is that it provides a non-competitive environment for all national and
regional organizations that have not collaborated yet in an official
way,” says SOLARUNITED Managing Director Bryan Ekus.
As a next step, SOLARUNITED
will assemble strategy committees to focus on the most important issues
for the industry with leaders and experts throughout the solar value
chain. The organization welcomes the participation of additional solar
companies, which can join through the recommendation of current members.
Caption: Background SOLARUNITED – Global Solar Business and Technology Association (Former IPVEA)
IPVEA
was established in May 2008 and is an independent, non-profit
organization. The members of IPVEA promote a path of cooperation and
mutual support in achieving proactive solutions between all sectors
within the Solar Power Generation and Energy Storage Technology value
chain.
As of 25 September 2014, IPVEA has expanded into SOLARUNITED – Global Solar Business and Technology Association.
For more information please refer to: www.ipvea.org