SolarPower Europe Updates O&M Best Practice Guidelines to Support Sustainable Solar Growth

SolarPower Europe’s new report offers recommendations on how to maintain standards in the solar PV sector, while supporting its sustainable growth. As solar deployment continues to grow and digital technologies evolve, harmonising best practices is crucial for scaling up solar operations efficiently.

The latest revision of SolarPower Europe’s Operation & Maintenance (O&M) Best Practice Guidelines includes updated chapters on solar power plant maintenance, innovation and trends, and data management; new chapters on electrical safety, and common tests and inspections; and recommendations on how to sustainably handle end-of-life (EoL) solar panels after a revamping/repowering project.

Walburga Hemetsberger, CEO of SolarPower Europe, emphasized that a thriving solar industry with high-quality installations is essential for a successful energy transition. She stated that the new guidelines will help the sector install solar systems that promote growth, build trust, and accelerate the solar revolution across Europe.

The new chapter focusing on electrical safety practices includes a skills matrix template designed to help solar workers track their skills and identify gaps. The innovation and trends chapter has been updated to highlight emerging technology solutions, some nearing mainstream adoption and others still in early development. One example is a “drone in a box” system for solar PV, which features an autonomous drone stored in a secure, weatherproof docking station. This innovative box enables frequent programmed flights that optimize operations and maintenance efficiency on large solar farms and can even monitor plant growth around the panels. Another trend is the rise of virtual reality smart glasses, which allow engineers at solar power plants to connect with a desktop supervisor for real-time guidance using audio, video, and holograms for maintenance instructions.

Stelios Antellis, Chair of the SolarPower Europe Lifecycle Quality workstream and Head of Global Strategic Operations at Astronergy, emphasized that the future of solar power depends on lasting quality and well-maintained systems. He highlighted that the updated guidelines reinforce the importance of proper O&M to ensure solar PV power plants deliver long-term value for investors and communities.

All best practices mentioned in these Guidelines are beneficial and relevant for solar PV systems of all sizes. These Guidelines are a key tool for O&M service providers, as well as investors, financiers, asset owners, asset managers, monitoring tool providers, technical consultants, and all interested stakeholders in Europe and beyond.

The latest update of SolarPower Europe’s O&M Best Practice Guidelines arrives at a time when the topic of quality is gaining unprecedented importance across the solar PV value chain. This report is the sixth edition of the O&M Best Practices Guidelines. The first version of the O&M Best Practices Guidelines was published in 2016, with the report being regularly updated since then.

Within this report, over 30 experts of SolarPower Europe’s Lifecycle Quality Workstream, have illustrated their knowledge and experience from across the solar sector, coming from Operation & Maintenance (O&M), recycling and circularity, waste management, utility-scale solar, and manufacturing backgrounds.

The ‘Operation & Maintenance: Best Practice Guidelines Version 6.0,’ was launched during the first day of the annual Solar Quality Summit Europe event, co-organised with Intersolar. Solar Quality Summit Europe brings together leading members of the O&M, Asset Management, and Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) communities, to advance the long-term quality of Europe’s solar projects.

The report is available on the Solar Best Practices Platform, which gather all the products of SolarPower Europe’s Lifecycle Quality Workstream under one roof.