Bulgaria is cited like European leader

Two reports examine Europe's solar PV market in 2011. They indicate slowing growth in the flagship countries and promise in some smaller regions for 2012 and beyond.

New grid-connected PV capacity worldwide in 2011 rose by 67 percent to nearly 28 gigawatts (GW), nearly 21GW of that in Europe (up 57 percent from 2010's 13.3GW), says the European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA). Bulgaria ranks 9th place with 80MW and it is poined a a country with small but growing PV capacity.

Solarbuzz, a leading global market research and consulting firm, expects 10% growth in energy demand from PV in the first quarter of 2012, mainly in Belgium, France, Spain and Greece. The study found the strongest growth is expected in Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Romania. Growth for all countries will be triggered by two factors: reduced incentive tariffs means less public funding needed to build out individual markets, and as solar PV approaches "grid parity" with retail electricity prices in some markets, investors will become less dependent on public funding.

In view of the global changes the South-East European b2b Forum will present latest renewable energy technologies. It is organized by Via Expo and includes in its format the SEE Solar Exhibition and EE & RES Congress & Exhibition. The event is one of the prominent events in the Region and will gather key decision-makers in the period 28-30 March 2012 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

50 % of the exhibition area is covered by leading companies from Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, China, Czech Republic, Greece, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden and UK. They will put on display a wide variety of solar-, wind-, hydro, bio energy systems and energy efficiency solutions. For the first time a model of a solar airplane Solar Impulse will be showcased by Solvay Bulgaria. This is the first aircraft in the world that can fly during day and night without fuel and emissions released.

High-level speakers from 18 countries will share good practices related to EE & Renewables financing, energy efficiency, biomass resources, bioenergy and waste-to-energy.

A new accent in the program is the Forum ‘Photovoltaics - an Industry at the Crossroads’, organized by pvXchange. It will explore the European market, opportunities and risks in the sector.