The 12% goal was set by EPIA in its recent SET For 2020 study, and the target was confirmed by 260 participants at EPIA’s 2nd International Thin Film Conference in Munich this November.

The SET For 2020 study demonstrates how solar PV could become a mainstream power source in Europe by 2020.

The most progressive scenario, Paradigm Shift Scenario, sets the target of 12% of EU’s electricity demand to be supplied by solar PV electricity by 2020. In this context, the conference looked at how the different stakeholders within the thin-film sector will approach future challenges and opportunities in order to match the high expected demand.

“By 2020 thin-film technology is expected to represent about one third of the total PV market; this constitutes a challenge but at the same time represents a great opportunity for the whole PV industry and related sectors,” says Adel El Gammal, EPIA Secretary General.

In the current financial context , securing finances is absolutely critical as investments need to be made now in order to increase competitiveness, EPIA says.

Bringing down the costs, increasing both the efficiency and the lifetime of PV systems and up-scaling towards mass production are essential elements to reduce the cost of solar PV generated electricity and bring solar PV technology to full competitiveness with conventional energy sources, the association adds.