International Activities | German Solar Association

With the goal of advancing the creation of solar markets worldwide, the German Solar Association shares its expertise and over 40 years of experience in shaping the framework conditions, financing and skilled labor demands for solar and storage markets. The German Solar Association’s consulting and advisory services are in high demand in the context of international and development cooperation. Our services include the following:

Analyses and policy consultancy for decision-makers and other stakeholders on market conditions, policy instruments, incentive mechanisms, the challenges surrounding the transformation of the energy system, the removal of administrative, technical and economic barriers to the expansion of solar power and grid integration, as well as the development of standards and norms
Consultancy on market development, business models and on strategies for boosting the demand for solar energy products with a German share of value creation
Leadership and support in shaping policy dialogues on the challenges of the Energiewende, Germany’s energy transition
Support of local solar industry associations and other institutions and organizations on strategies

In our international activities we work closely together with numerous international solar associations.

In the past years the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD) has become a leading international forum for key stakeholders of the energy sector. High-level policymakers, industry, science and civil society are given the opportunity to share their experiences and ideas on a safe, affordable and environmentally responsible global energy transition. Over 2,000 participants from more than 90 countries, 50 foreign and energy ministers and state secretaries, and over 100 high-level speakers gather in the German capital every spring to be part of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue.

The Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue is hosted and supported by the German Federal Government and is a joint initiative of the German Renewable Energy Federation (BEE), the German Solar Association (BSW), the German Energy Agency (dena) and eclareon.

In 2024, the conference was held 19 – 20 March, 2024 at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin.

The official website of the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue provides regular updates and notifications regarding the upcoming event in spring 2025.

As part of a project supported by GIZ, we support our member companies in initiating cooperation with the growing Indian solar industry. The focus here is on innovative applications and production methods along the solar value chain. Co-operations between research institutes are also possible within the framework of this project.

Further information can be found on our project information page.

Solar process heat technologies offer great potential to reduce the dependence of manufacturing companies on conventional energy sources and improve the CO2 footprint of companies in the textile, food, beverage, paper and chemical industries, among others. More than 500 industrial investors worldwide already rely on process heat from solar thermal energy.

The project “Solar Payback” presents fields of application of solar technologies and potentials of solar process heat in the target countries Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa. The project is implemented by the German Solar Association in the target countries and is supported by the BMUB within the framework of the International Climate Protection Initiative. It aims to raise awareness of the technologies among industrial users, smooth the market for future investments and demonstrate business and financing models for project developers, energy service providers (ESCOs) and financial institutions. To this end, numerous measures such as training, policy advice and the installation of demonstration plants are being implemented.

Official project website in three languages: www.solar-payback.com

Brochure Solar Heat for Industry

The various projects in this segment include market analyses and applied business model descriptions in interesting target markets such as Brazil, Tunisia, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Nigeria and Russia, which have been developed since 2014. Further reports are planned or in progress.

Study “Enabling PV in Georgia” (Update!)

Study “Enabling PV in Kyrgyzstan”

Study “Enabling PV in Azerbaijan”

Study “Enabling PV in Uzbekistan” (Update!)

Study “Enabling PV in Kazakhstan” (Update!)

Study “Enabling PV in Angola”

Study “Enabling PV Russia” (Updated version January 2020)

Study “Enabling PV Russia” (In Russian, updated version January 2020)

Study “Enabling PV Nigeria”

Study “Enabling PV Afghanistan”

Study “Value Chain Analysis of the Solar PV Market in Pakistan”

Study “Enabling PV Iran”

Study “Enabling PV Argentina”

Study “Framework Assessment for the Photovoltaic Business Opportunities in Brazil”

Study “Enabling PV in the MENA region – The Emerging PV Market in Jordan”

Study “Enabling PV in the MENA region – The Emerging PV Market in Tunisia”

PVP4Grid is an EU-funded project with partners from various European countries that started in October 2017 and ended in March 2020. The main goal of the project was to increase the market share and market value of PV by enabling consumers to become prosumers in a system friendly manner, i.e. to actively become energy producers in a renewable energy system by consuming solar power themselves.

New management and business models to combine PV, storage, flexible demand, and other technologies into a commercially viable product were assessed, improved, implemented, and evaluated. To achieve this, detailed Guidelines for Prosumers and Distributed System Operators (DSO´s), as well as policy recommendations for national and European policy makers on how to achieve the suitable regulatory framework for presumption were developed.

Additionally, easily accesible information for prosumers in form of videos and an online tool were developed to help prosumers to get an economic assessment of PV prosumer projects.

The German Solar Association served as project coordinator. PVP4Grid has received funding from the Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 764786.

Pakistan has a huge photovoltaic potential and all the necessary conditions for its implementation: high irradiation, a basic regulatory framework and financing mechanisms that support its development. However, the level of awareness about the benefits of quality PV is very low and customers lack technical knowledge that allows them to assess the quality of PV. These were the main conclusions of the project “Pakistan Solar Quality Potential” implemented by the German Solar Association in 2016, where the potential of PV quality products (including inverters, batteries, testing & monitoring equipment and EPC services) was identified.

The follow-up project that started in October 2017 and ended in November 2019, aimed to establish a sustainable development of PV through dissemination, standardization and training activities through the following activities:

Standardization of procedures of PV installation through certification and the creation of a “Solar Quality Passport” for PV systems;
Qualification of the banking sector about the evaluation of PV projects;
Dissemination of targeted information about quality companies, certified installers and products to the different segments and consumers in Pakistan through dissemination activities (see quality brochure of product in Pakistan);
Stimulation of the trade exchange between Pakistan and Germany through B2B and matchmaking activities.
The Pakistan project was funded by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.