The event attracted nearly 100 elites from the photovoltaic industry, who engaged in exchanges and discussions with experts from TUV Rheinland on trends and hotspots in the industry's development.

On September 6, hosted by TUV Rheinland Group (hereinafter referred to as "TUV Rheinland") and co-hosted by the China Photovoltaic Society (CPVS), the "All Quality Matters" Solar Congress 2020 press conference was held in Shanghai, officially announcing that the Solar Congress will be held in Suzhou next year on March 12-13, and also launching the "All Quality Matters Award" selection. The event attracted nearly 100 elites from the photovoltaic industry, who engaged in exchanges and discussions with experts from TUV Rheinland on trends and hotspots in the industry's development.

Shen Hui, Director of the Solar Energy System Research Institute at Sun Yat-sen University and Dean of the Solar Energy Research Institute at Sun Yat-sen University in Shunde, Lv Fang, Secretary General of the CPVS, Shen Wenzhong, Chairman of the Shanghai Solar Energy Society, and leaders of TUV Rheinland Greater China Solar attended the launch ceremony.

"We are very pleased to co-host the 'All Quality Matters' Solar Congress 2020 once again. For many years, the CPVS has marched ahead hand in hand with TUV Rheinland, upholding the mission to build a cooperation and exchange platform for the PV industry," said Lv Fang in her address. "China's PV industry has successfully completed its upgrade from 'quantity' to 'quality,' and in the time of fair prices and even lower prices to come, we will still hold high the flag of quality and pursue the concept of 'Quality' as always. Each of us will employ our respective advantages and contribute our wisdom and expertise to help the industry resolve handicaps, promote the innovation and advancement of PV technologies in China hand in hand, and propel steady growth of the PV sector."

The "All Quality Matters" Solar Congress Now a Weather Vane for Industry Development

Boasting an authoritative platform built by TUV Rheinland for PV industry-wide exchanges, the "All Quality Matters" Solar Congress has been held annually since 2015, and has become a weather vane leading the industry's development. Over the past years, with its continuous focus on the PV revolution in regard to the economic situation in the Asia Pacific Region and the world, the Congress has been a witness to the PV industry's development and progress and has made great contributions to boosting the healthy development of the PV industry in China.

At previous editions of the "All Quality Matters" Solar Congress, government leaders, industry experts, and business representatives gathered together to explore the industry's frontier development trends, and to share thoughts and ideas during in-depth communications and discussions organized around such topics as technology progress, quality control, PV industry testing and certification, as well as the operation and maintenance of PV power plants, including related investment, financing, and insurance. Covering the results of a series of extensive surveys on developments in the PV module industry, continuous operation of PV power plants, application of energy-storage systems, transaction of PV power plant assets, etc., the White Paper released during each congress has provided the industry with a forward-looking perspective and professional information.

At the press conference, Chris Zou, Vice President of TUV Rheinland Greater China Solar, said that TUV Rheinland is working on the PV Module Supply Chain White Paper 2020 to be officially released at the next Congress. The White Paper will, based on the analysis of current developments and the outlook on future trends, discuss the topics of most concern for PV module manufacturers, such as decreasing subsidies, grid parity, and how to continuously reduce costs and improve efficiency through effective supply-chain management. In addition to dissecting the supply-chain management and requirements of the PV industry from the perspective of the global market, the White Paper will also focus on analyzing how the quality of key PV module components, including cells, backplates, glasses, sealing films, cables, connectors, solder strips, sizing agents, and so on, will influence module efficiency, and will incorporate the insights of TUV Rheinland technical experts on the latest technology developments and market trends for PV modules. This will provide valuable support for PV module manufacturers, component manufacturers, power-plant operators and investment dealers, as well as other researchers and practitioners in the PV industry.

Unceasing Efforts -- "All Quality Matters Award" Resets the Industry Benchmark

One of the highlights at the annual Solar Congress, the TUV Rheinland "All Quality Matters Award," elaborately developed over the years, has always had as goal the standardizing of product quality and setting of quality benchmarks. It has blossomed into a competition and display stage for China's PV enterprises producing PV modules, inverters, energy storage systems, components, etc., receiving wide recognition from the industry by means of its objective and credible evaluation processes as well as its authoritative and neutral evaluation mechanism.

At the press conference, TUV Rheinland also announced "All Quality Matters Award" will continue to be carried out in four groups, namely, PV modules, PV components, PV electronics, and operation & maintenance service providers for PV power plants. Among these, the world's first "Energy Yield Rating Label," developed by TUV Rheinland, will be introduced with the selection of a PV Module Energy Yield Simulation Award winner, so as to identify the power-generation capacity of PV modules more accurately. It's worth mentioning that the "All Quality Matters" Award 2020 will be opened for all PV enterprises from around the world.

Forward-looking Perspective, Forging Ahead with Industry Partners

After the press conference, the industry experts, business representatives, and experts from TUV Rheinland present at the conference engaged in in-depth exchanges and discussions on the hot topics of the industry.

On May 22, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and National Energy Administration jointly issued the Notice on the First Batch of 2019 of Non-subsidized Wind and PV Power Generation Projects (Grid-parity Projects), heightening the popularity of the keyword "grid parity" in the development of the PV industry in 2019. Participants at the press conference exchanged ideas on the tremendous growth of PV grid parity, engaged in discussions on high-quality and sustainable PV assets as well as the operation and maintenance of PV power plants, including investment and financing, insurance, and other topics, and explored development trends in the PV industry and market opportunities ahead from the global market perspective.

"The international landscape is experiencing profound changes," said Chris Zou, "making it an urgent need for transformation and upgrading of the PV industry. To respond to constant changes in market and products, TUV Rheinland will continue to stick to quality and safety as foci, stay informed on new tendencies in the global PV industry, and help Chinese enterprises grasp new opportunities and meet new challenges by leveraging its professional experience accumulated for over 35 years in the global PV field."