Combined with intelligently managed battery-storage systems, photovoltaics provides a reliable supply of electricity around the clock exactly where it is needed. At the same time, it is helping support grids. With the costs of solar energy and batteries decreasing, nothing stands in the way of their increased expansion.
No company alone can master the complexity resulting from the decentralization and digitalization of the energy supply. Close cooperation among specialists from different fields is vital for creating a sustainable, reliable, low-cost and highly convenient energy supply.
A political consensus at the international level is still a long time coming despite the great urgency for effective climate protection. We should therefore now assume more national responsibility and quickly introduce a carbon tax. Other countries such as Great Britain, Sweden and Switzerland have long since done so.
The European elections once again made it clear that climate protection is becoming a central issue for more and more people Even after the elections, effective countermeasures by politicians are not yet in sight. This means that it is all the more important that companies take the initiative.
With Yammer, we have launched an enterprise social network (ESN) at SMA. This means that we use not only e-mail, chat functions and the telephone but also communities to discuss job-related issues within the company. A workshop with our Yammer admins and community manager Katharina Krentz from Bosch identified additional potential for lively communities.
Year in, year out, Intersolar Europe is one of my top events. Last week, the international PV industry descended on Munich again, and the atmosphere was the best it has been in a long time.
Last summer, we basked in unprecedented levels of sunshine — and PV systems have never produced so much energy. The costs for solar technology are falling, investments and new installations are increasing, while new business models are encouraging substantial growth. If you’re not already using solar power, now is the time to reconsider. At Intersolar Europe 2019, SMA will be showing how easy it is to install and expand PV and storage solutions for a diverse array of applications. Below is a sneak preview of what’s coming up.
The U.S. is one of SMA's most important sales markets and, in the estimation of the Managing Board, will make a significant contribution to the expected increase in sales and earnings in the second half of the year. This assessment was reinforced by my visit to the U.S. in mid-April.
The implementation of measures to reduce costs and increase sales is proceeding according to plan, and order intake is developing positively. The Managing Board believes that SMA is well on the way to achieving its revenue and earnings targets for 2019.
Today we published SMA’s results in 2018. It was a very challenging year that we had originally started with a...