Lifecycle Quality Best Practice Guidelines

Welcome to the first version of SolarPower Europe’s Lifecycle Quality Guidelines, produced by SolarPower Europe’s Lifecycle Quality Workstream, which is chaired by Lightsource bp. Since its launch in 2015, the Workstream has been raising the bar for quality assurance, firstly for Operation & Maintenance (O&M), and subsequently for Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) and Asset Management. As the European solar PV industry develops, so too do the links between the phases of a solar project’s lifecycle, resulting in substantial overlaps between the roles of EPC and O&M service providers, and Asset Managers. This new document seeks to draw together the shared elements of these roles and of quality assurance in general. It can be seen as providing the core concepts that underpin SolarPower Europe’s other Best Practice Guidelines and should be used as an accompaniment to them.

Quality management is crucial at all stages of a project. Europe currently has one of the largest and oldest fleet of solar power plants in the world. According to SolarPower Europe’s estimates, based on the 100% Renewable Europe study, the EU’s ambition for a 55% reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2030, requires a 45% renewable energy share in the final energy demand. In other words, Europe needs an additional 870 GW of solar capacity by 2030 to meet the continent’s climate commitments. Quality installation and long-term care will be key to guaranteeing the continued technical and economic performance of solar systems and power plants. This is the first version of the Lifecycle Quality guidelines, and it aims to act as an umbrella document for the EPC, O&M and Asset Management Best Practice guidelines. This is a living document, powered by an active community of experts.

This document focuses on quality assurance throughout an asset’s lifecycle, and the importance of due diligence and risk management at all stages of a project. It also seeks to standardise definitions of common key terms and stakeholders that appear across SolarPower Europe’s suite of Best Practice Guidelines. We thank our members for their extraordinary level of engagement, which reflects the importance of quality management for our sector. We will continue the work in 2022 and invite interested stakeholders to join our Workstream activities and help us further improve our contribution to higher performing lifecycle quality services.

Members of the Lifecycle Quality workstream

SolarPower Europe would like to thank the members of its Lifecycle Quality Workstream that contributed to this report including:

Legal information

Chair of the SolarPower Europe Lifecycle Quality Workstream: Adele Ara, Lightsource bp.

Vice-Chairs of the SolarPower Europe Lifecycle Quality Workstream: Alden Lee, ABO Wind; Ralph Gottschalg, Fraunhofer CSP.

Coordinator of the SolarPower Europe Lifecycle Quality Workstream: Benjamin Clarke, SolarPower Europe.

Contact: info@solarpowereurope.org.

Contributions and co-authors: AdeleAra, Lightsource bp; Alden Lee, ABO Wind; Benjamin Clarke, SolarPower Europe; Federica Rappoli, Lightsource bp; Jan Gershoj Jensen, Gershoj Energia; Maria Sabella, Relight Energy Services; Máté Heisz, SolarPower Europe; Paolo Chiantore, BayWa r.e.

Acknowledgements: SolarPower Europe would like to extend special thanks to all the Workstream members that contributed to this report with their knowledge and experience. This work would never have been realised without their continuous support.

Project Information: The SolarPower Europe Lifecycle Quality Workstream officially started its work in April 2015 and continues with frequent exchanges and meetings. The first version its Best Practices Guidelines for O&M was published in June 2016 and since then, the Workstream has regularly updated the Guidelines and produced new ones on EPC and Asset Management. The SolarPower Europe Lifecycle Quality Guidelines reflect the experience and views of a considerable share of the European PV service provision industry today. There has been no external funding or sponsoring for this project.

Disclaimer: Adherence to the SolarPower Europe Lifecycle Quality Best Practice Guidelines report and its by-products is voluntary. This report has been prepared by SolarPower Europe. It is being provided to the recipients for general information purposes only. Nothing in it should be interpreted as an offer or recommendation of any products, services or financial products. This report does not constitute technical, investment, legal, tax or any other advice. Recipients should consult with their own technical, financial, legal, tax or other advisors as needed. This report is based on sources believed to be accurate. However, SolarPower Europe does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in this report. SolarPower Europe assumes no obligation to update any information contained herein. SolarPower Europe will not be held liable for any direct or indirect damage incurred by the use of the information provided and will not provide any indemnities.

Please note that this Version 1.0 may be subject to future changes, updates, and improvements.

Design: Onehemisphere, Sweden. Email: contact@onehemisphere.se.

ISBN: 9789464444254.

Published: December 2021.