Adele Ara (Lightsource BP) and Ralph Gottschalg (Fraunhofer CSP) elected to lead SolarPower Europe’s O&M and Asset Management Task Force

After a productive year of activity, including publishing the industry-first Asset Management Best Practice Guidelines, SolarPower Europe's O&M and Asset Management Task Force elected Adele Ara from Lightsource BP as Chair, and Ralph Gottschalg from Fraunhofer CSP as Vice-Chair. The Task Force’s annual meeting took place on Friday 6 December, after the O&M event in London, with more than 20 participants. The session focused on the achievements of 2019 and discussed 2020's planned activities. Among other things, the Task Force has decided to further enhance the Asset Management Best Practice Guidelines and deliver a Version 2.0 in 2020, and venture further upstream by looking at best practices for Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) of solar power plants.

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Adele Ara, Director of Asset Management at Lightsource BP and Task Force Chair, said: “I am thrilled and honoured to be appointed as Chair of the O&M and Asset Management Task Force. Over the past year, it has been a great pleasure for myself, alongside my colleagues at Lightsource BP, to collaborate with the Task Force, share our knowledge, and contribute to the Asset Management Best Practice Guidelines. The Task Force comprises some of the most active players in our industry and I am looking forward to chairing the group and driving its agenda over the coming year.”

Ralph Gottschalg, Director of Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics and Task Force Vice-Chair, said: “I am thrilled and honoured to be able to contribute to the O&M and Asset Management Task Force as a Vice-Chair. O&M and Asset Management is a rapidly growing market that is critical to achieving the overall energy transition required by society. I hope to continue the excellent efforts of the outgoing team and contribute in my own way to an accelerated uptake of PV systems in the power network.”

Máté Heisz, Head of International Cooperation at SolarPower Europe and Task Force Coordinator, said: “We welcome Adele Ara as Chair and Ralph Gottschalg as Vice-Chair of the O&M and Asset Management Task Force. We are convinced that the Task Force will strive under their leadership and we look forward to working with them to further enhance quality in solar. I take the opportunity to thank outgoing Chair Paolo V. Chiantore (BayWa r.e.) and Vice-Chairs Constantinos Peonides (Alectris) and Ypatios Moysiadis (Greensolver) for their leadership, commitment, and personal investment over the past years, which allowed the Task Force to become as successful as it is today.”