Since TOPCon modules were introduced to the industry a few years ago, product performance and reliability has been improving rapidly and going into 2024, this technology is set to dominate new European utility-scale projects. This session will include a deep dive into state-of-the-art TOPCon modules specifically for 2024 deployment and how these sites can benefit from learnings on site build and reliability accumulated from the first ‘wave’ of n-type utility-scale solar farms built across Europe and elsewhere during 2022 and 2023.

Utility solar farm design and optimization is now more complex and challenging, with larger module formats, bifaciality, n-type technology and energy storage systems. This panel discussion will hear from a range of developers, EPCs, O&Ms and asset owners on how to best adapt to changing component specifications, and how site capex and cost-of-capital is playing a key role today in site build-out and expected return-on-investment.

The European market has routinely been one of the first globally to implement the latest module technologies at the utility-scale level and this trend has continued rapidly in 2023. This session will examine how module technologies are expected to evolve over the next 3 years, the suppliers that will be first-to-market, what impact this will have on site development, and how the new technologies can be evaluated and de-risked prior to site build and operations.

De-risking supplier, product, design and operation of large-scale solar farms in Europe using the latest n-type module designs has become one of the most closely-examined features of large-scale globally in the past few years, now being increasingly impacted by extreme weather conditions and one-off incidents.

During the past decade, European utility-scale solar farms have relied almost exclusively on module supply from China and Southeast Asia. Changes however regarding new policies and directives being implemented by the EU and from institutional ESG buying criteria are now accelerating the use of domestic EU-produced modules. This session will examine where this new domestic module supply will come from, the materials supply-chains being used to decouple from China, and how these new products are being tested and qualified prior to site delivery and installation.

Establishing meaningful bankability metrics to allow accurate benchmarking of module suppliers is currently top of the agenda for buyers and independent engineers in Europe. With a changing political landscape impacting corporate buying and a range of new suppliers entering the European stage, knowing how to compare companies and products going forward will be key to purchasing departments and suppliers alike. This session will explore the leading criteria that will guide European module supply bankability in coming years, creating a framework for all key stakeholders to conform to.