Thanks to the kindness of our colleagues from BSW Solar, SolarPV.TV attended the PV LEGAL conference ?Deploying PV in Germany and Europe: Market perspectives and barriers? held few months ago in Berlin.

Today we present an interview with Thomas Chrometzka, Head of International Affairs German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar)who speaks about the legal and administrative barriers in Germany during the panning procedures of Solar PV systems.

Who is Thomas Chrometzka?

Head of International Affairs German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar)

Education
Born 1980 in Du?sseldorf, Germany, Thomas Chrometzka studied Political Science and Communications in Germany and Australia. In 2006 he graduated and holds a Master in Political Sciences.

Professional Career
After his graduation he was Programme Manager of the ?European Master in Renewable Energy?, a study programme administered by the ?European Renewable Energy Research Centres Agency? (EUREC) in Brussels in 2007.
Later that year he changed to the German Solar Industry Association in Berlin where he took up this job as International Affairs Officer. At BSW-Solar, Thomas worked on European projects, solar policy analysis and global PV market development. He has given numerous presentations within the Federal Government?s renewable energy export initiative at international fairs, congresses, and other events.
In 2009, Thomas became Head of International Affairs at BSW-Solar, responsible for promoting the German Solar Industry abroad and contributing to creating favorable framework conditions for solar globally. Thomas is the coordinator of a European project ?PV LEGAL? aiming at removing bureaucratic barriers for PV system installations in Europe

More about the conference

The event provided practical insights into legal-administrative framework conditions regarding the deployment of PV in Germany and other selected European countries. International experts from national PV associations and the PV industry, grid operators, the European Commission, national and regional authorities and other specialists spoke about market perspectives and barriers to the development of PV in Germany and Europe. Concrete recommendations on how to overcome such barriers were discussed with the audience. With a view to current and future challenges to the deployment of PV the conference put focus on the practical experiences of the PV sector and the invited experts. Bureaucratic hurdles in Germany were discussed and put in relation with experiences from other relevant PV markets in Europe.

The conference organized by the German Solar Industry Association (BSW-Solar) offered an ideal platform for exchanging information and networking with high level decision makers and experts from the PV sector. High quality presentations, discussions and face-to-face contacts allowed PV project developers, sales managers, export and marketing specialists, public affairs and public relations professionals as well as decision makers to get informed about present and future legal-administrative framework conditions and barriers for PV system installations.

Conference programme (Download)

Presentations 

Session 1:

• Aufbau von Niederspannungsverteilnetzen und Auswirkungen der Einspeisung durch PV-Anlagen, Dr. Georg Kerber, EnBW Regional AG
• Netzanschlussbedingungen für PV-Anlagen in Deutschland, Dr.Ing. Bernd Engel, SMA Solar Technology;
• Erfahrungsbericht eines Projektierers: Schwierigkeiten beim Anschluss von PV-Anlagen ans Netz, Dr. Karsten Glöser, Juwi;
• Herausforderungen des PVA-Zubaus ? Die Sicht des Netzbetreibers, Marc Behnke, E. on Edis.

Session 2:

• Zwischen zwei EEG-Novellen: Rechtliche Unklarheiten bei der Vergütungsfähigkeit von Freiflächen, Margarete von Oppen, Geiser & von Oppen Rechtsanwälte;
• Erfordernisse der Bauleitplanung und Anpassung an die Ziele der Raumordnung Die Sicht der Obersten Baubehörde in Bayern, Stefan Kraus, Bayerisches Innenministerium;
• Akzeptanz von Freiflächenanlagenbei den Kommunen, Dr. Franz Dirnberger, Bayerischer Gemeindetag;
• Bauleitpläne und Genehmigungsverfahren: Hindernisse für Projektentwickler und Lösungsansätze, Tim Meyer, Gehrlicher Solar.

Session 3:

• Quo Vadis Spain? Market barriers after the Spanish Boom, Javier Anta, Spanish PV Industry Association (ASIF);
• Regional differences and complicated permission procedures: A challenge for PV project developers in Italy, Angelo Nogara, Italian PV Industry Association (ASSOSOLARE);
• Perspectives in Greece.When bureaucracy is hampering the development of the PV sector, Stelios Psomas, Hellenic Association of Photovoltaic Companies (HELAPCO).
• The role of the gridoperators after the boom of the marketin 2009, Martin Müller, Czech Renewable Energy Agency (CZREA)

The overall goal of the PV LEGAL Project is to overcome legal-administrative barriers during planning and installation processes (including grid connection) of photovoltaic (PV) systems. The project consortium aims at improving the framework conditions for PV in Europe and to allow for faster and more efficient market development in the various countries.

Legal-administrative barriers are among the main obstacles in several European countries impeding a quicker PV technology deployment. Although many countries have already implemented favourable PV support policies, when it comes to constructing PV projects, bureaucracy and highly complex procedures and requirements (i.e. notification, registration, licensing, environmental impact assessment, etc.) hamper installation processes significantly. As a result, the development and the sustainable establishment of solar markets in many European countries is unnecessarily delayed.

The PV LEGAL project will analyse these bureaucratic processes and their barriers and subsequently work actively with the major sector actors to remove and simplify them.

This will lead to:

• more transparency with regards to administrative roadblocks in the participating countries
• significant improvements by streamlining the procedures for PV system planning, constructing and operating
• a considerable cost reduction potential for PV investors during the planning procedure of a PV system.
• an expansion of PV markets

The removal of legal-administrative barriers is considered key by both the industry as well as the European Commission, which supports the endeavour under the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme.