The Global Solar Council (GSC) held its general assembly at last week’s Solar Power International (SPI) in California, where it announced new board members and said it will work towards crafting a unified message for the solar industry. All five working committees of the council are expected to contribute to this new task.
The newly appointed board at SPI in Anaheim.
Image: Global Solar Council
The GSC announced the development of a new communication and strategy plan, looking at 2019 as the year of verification of the Kyoto protocol results.
The council, representing key regional and national solar associations, aims to support theInternational Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the International Solar Aliance (ISA), theInternational Energy Agency (IEA), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as well as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and multilateral financial institutions in reinforcing a unified message across the sector.
To this end, the council held a meeting SPI 2018, which took place in Anaheim, the United States, between September 24 and 27, assigning strategic tasks to its five working committees.
These are the Strategy Committee, chaired by Gongshan Zhu of the Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association (APVIA), the Solar and Trade Policy Committee, chaired by J?rg Ebel of German Solar Association (BSW), the Technical Committee chaired by David Renne of International Solar Energy Society (ISES), the Finance and Auditing Committee chaired by Steve Blume of Smart Energy Council Australia, and the Programme & Communication Committee chaired by Gianni Chianetta of Italian Solar PV Association (ItaliaSolare).
In a statement released this week, the council says the tasks assigned to the aforementioned working committees include the drafting of a comprehensive communication and strategy plan for the industry. This undertaking will commence this month, and will continue throughout the rest of the year, it said.
The reigning GSC chair, Gongshan Zhu, will lead the project in 2018, supported by the incoming chairman for 2019, Pranav Mehta, and the new chairman-elect for 2020, Gianni Chianetta.
At the margins of SPI, the council also held its general assembly meeting to confirm its board for the next two years. Resulting from this meeting, new members are Jose Donoso of Union Espanola Fotovoltaica (UNEF), who will take the role as co-chairman; and Steve Blume of Smart Energy Council Australia, who will take the role of treasurer.
Furthermore, Jan Clyncke from PV Cycle, Niveshen Govender from the South African Photovoltaic Industries Association (SAPVIA), Yue Mi from the New Energy Industry Association for Asia and the Pacific (NEIAPP) will also join the board.
Representing the Corporate Member Category, Eric Luo from GCL Poly was elected to the board, while Colin Yang from Trina Solar has been co-opted by the board, citing his experience and contribution to GSC. Yang will have no voting rights, however.