Interview with Raolo Maria ROCCO VISCONTINI at Intersolar Europe 2022

Jun 20, 2022

INTERVIEW WITH PAOLO MARIA ROCCO VISCONTINI AT INTERSOLAR EUROPE 2022

Series of interviews with Tetiana Odnoroh, CEO of Unisolar.

We had the opportunity to meet with colleagues at the exhibition and discuss the development of solar energy globally and specifically in Europe.

Interview with Raolo Maria ROCCO VISCONTINI at Intersolar Europe 2022

Tetiana:

I am very pleased to meet with Paolo today in Munich, during the exhibition day at Intersolar, an expert in solar energy, a member of the Global Solar Association, and president of the Solar Association of Italy. I would like to ask a few questions to understand your point of view, your attitude towards the changes that are currently happening in the solar business and solar energy, as I believe that in the coming two years we will feel their significant impact.

Paolo:

Tetiana, hello, thank you for the invitation. Yes, I think this is a very important time for renewable energy sources, and primarily for solar energy, because solar power is now the simplest source of electricity and, in fact, the most profitable for several years now. Evidence of this is the incredible number of tenders around the world. Unfortunately, this terrible crisis, which we know about, has given a boost to our sector, which was already growing in various countries. In my expectations, the current crisis will serve as a booster for countries to reduce dependence on fossil energy resources not only from Russia but globally. This is a dependency we need to get rid of as quickly as possible. And alongside it, of course, is the issue of climate change. Frankly, this issue was not convincing enough for governments to actively promote solar energy earlier, compared to today’s challenges. Only now, after the invasion, we are seeing more efforts and understanding of the necessity of the transition, and that is a fact. However, climate change is a very important global problem that also has a significant impact on humanity. In this context, the market for photovoltaics in Europe is expected to grow; last year 20-25 GW were installed, currently, the average annual plan for the next 3-4 years is 50 GW per year, which indicates very strong growth in Europe, in every country, people need solar energy. But there will also be significant global growth everywhere. As I said, solar energy was profitable before, so just imagine how it is now. The price is now 4-5 times less than the price of electricity, overall energy carriers, so we can only be optimistic, for our sector this is a great opportunity, and also a great responsibility because we can make a significant contribution to the well-being of the world, that’s true.

Tetiana:

Paolo, thank you for the optimistic outlook, I would like to ask you to say a few words to our Ukrainian investors who have already invested in solar energy and are trying to continue doing so, even though it is a very difficult time for investments in Ukraine. Many investors have suffered from the invasion, many are looking for new opportunities, particularly in western Ukraine, which has not been hit as hard, we are receiving many requests from clients for self-consumption, which has become a new direction and vision for us, since previously most projects were implemented under the “green” tariff. So please say a few words about how it has been for you.

Paolo:

I repeat, the sun was profitable before, and now it is even more profitable. Regarding your situation, of course, you are seeking independence, before this I must say that what is happening in Ukraine is very important for other countries to consider, how dangerous centralized energy can be, because we have large power plants, including nuclear ones in Ukraine, and gas power plants in Italy, and if a similar crisis occurs here or in other countries, we cannot even imagine what is happening in Ukraine right now, so centralized energy is a weak point, and therefore distributed generation is a must, it is a necessity for every country, it seems to me, especially for you right now. Of course, while there is uncertainty, I would recommend investing in energy independence as much as you can right now, it is very important. For example, storage systems are great, but sometimes not so easy, so I believe, based on our experience in Italy, that a new energy model might work through the creation of energy communities, territorially united, that share solar electricity with each other, i.e., solar stations on the roofs of businesses, buildings, as well as ground-mounted ones that are interconnected and with certain storage for self-consumption, where electricity can be produced by one enterprise and consumed by another, and balance management is handled by digitalization technologies, i.e., smart digital management, and everyone benefits from this, distributing investments in one area. This can be done by one investor, financing several solar rooftop or ground-mounted projects, as well as creating local storage systems. This is the best way to optimize energy use, without limiting its supply to the grid, but optimizing local consumption. There is indeed a lot of work here, but I am confident that expert companies like Unisolar can provide fantastic service to Ukrainian investors.

Paolo, thank you for this meeting and interview, and for your optimistic forecast, and you know, I always enjoy seeing and feeling such support from you. Thank you once again!