Sun Investment Group Poland predicts that Europe’s solar energy will continue to see increased output due to hot summer weather conditions, the company said on Wednesday.
'The continent’s solar energy market enjoyed a 20 percent increase in output as a consequence of the stationary high-pressure weather system that caused one of the hottest summers on modern records,” said Dr. Rafal Rzeszotarski, general manager at Sun Investment Group Poland, part of an investment management and development company focused on solar energy assets.
However, Rzeszotarski cautioned that this weather system has raised concerns about climate change and the likelihood of increased droughts in Europe.
'This kind of heat wave used to happen once every 10 or more years, but now they are more frequent, and this frequency is likely to increase. But we see the advantage of hotter summers for solar energy production and expect higher than predicted outputs here in Poland,' he explained.
According to research from Oxford University, the unprecedented European heatwave of 2018 is a direct result of climate change and a signal of future summers to come across the continent.
'The heatwave caused fires in Sweden, the melting of a glacier in Austria, and some deaths in southern Europe. Meanwhile, farmers are fearing a food supply crisis. The drought has also negatively impacted the continent’s wind-power industry,' the Sun Investment Group stated.
However, solar irradiance data from July 2018 shows a negative correlation between deviations in wind speeds and solar irradiance.
'This means that when wind power dropped below average, solar power was above average,' the Group's statement read.
European renewable energy experts also concur that future summers in Europe will be similarly warm and dry, which will be beneficial for the output of solar energy.
Poland recently committed to meeting the 2020 renewable energy targets laid out by the European Union. The EU’s expects from its member states to source 15 percent of total energy consumption from renewable sources.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
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