Solar industry in Germany and Europe opens up new applications

The solar plant found only on the domestic house roof or the large factory building outside the city gates – that's how it was once. With the increasing competitiveness of photovoltaics in more and more applications, and in some cases even without its own subsidies, new applications are also coming to the attention of investors. The solar industry in Germany and Europe has new solutions ready for this. One trend is so-called "floating PV" systems. Here, large, stagnant bodies of water are preferably used, which have little or no ecological value. For example, former gravel pits or industrially used bodies of water. The water surfaces available here, which are usually completely free of shade, are used to install floating solar modules mounted on a self-supporting structure on the surface of the water. The first applications in large-scale projects are now being found in China, as well as the Netherlands and Germany.

So-called "AgriPV" is also a new and increasingly popular field of application. Here, solar systems are integrated into agriculturally used areas or buildings, creating classic win-win situations. For example, high-mounted photovoltaic modules are used here, which, of course, first and foremost produce clean electricity, but at the same time also act as a shelter when it rains and provide shade for livestock on hot sunny days. These systems are also used on stables or other agricultural facilities.

Photovoltaics, in combination with solar power storage systems. are opening a large field of applications in the emerging field of electromobility. In the meantime every tenth newly registered vehicle in Germany is an electric car. The switch to e-vehicles makes sense above all when renewable electricity is charged directly. Solar carports in conjunction with storage systems for "interim storage" of solar power can represent an attractive overall product for the automotive industry here. The German Solar Industry Association recently produced a guide explaining the electrification of commercial fleets with solar concepts. In Germany and Europe, the electrification of the transport sector is still progressing rather hesitantly. However, a positive trend  can also be seen here.