An undoubtedly innovative and technically-brilliant company that is well known throughout the industry, meteocontrol GmbH is nevertheless perhaps less well known for its commitment to corporate responsibility and customer care. Dr. Daniel Faltermeier, Head of Quality Services PV, spoke to us about what makes the company tick.
PES: Welcome to PES. Would you like to bring us up to speed with the history of the company and outline your involvement in the solar/PV industry?
Dr. Daniel Faltermeier: meteocontrol GmbH is located in Augsburg, with subsidiaries in Lyon, Madrid, Mailand and Moers, and offers a wide variety of energy and weather services, yield reports, quality audits, technical due diligence as well as supervision and technical Operation Management of photovoltaic systems of all sizes.
With more than 30 years of expertise in the field of regenerative energy systems, meteocontrol-supported projects have a total investment volume of more than 12bn Euros.
Currently, the company supports about 500 MWp with Technical Operations Management. Furthermore, meteocontrol is market leader in the professional remote monitoring of PV systems with a global monitoring volume of about 35,000 PV systems and a total operating volume of over 8.8 GWp.
PES: The company has been around for over 30 years. How have you managed to stay one step ahead of your competitors for all this time?
DF: It’s primarily a combination of three crucial factors: the high grade of flexibility of our employees; our ability to quickly adjust to current market requirements; and the high level of quality of our products.
PES: Where is your prime geographic area of focus right now? Can you see the company exploring new territories in the coming years?
DF: We are mainly focussed on the UK, USA and China right now, but as mentioned earlier we have subsidiaries in other countries.
China and the US are target markets which will increase in importance in the coming years and are currently in the process of being built-up. Even today meteocontrol has existing offices in Hong Kong as well as San Francisco as local contacts and specialist teams for the respective growing market needs.
PES: We note that you’re involved with module testing. Do you have to adapt your equipment to accommodate the technological advances being made in our growing industry?
DF: Our measurement instruments as well as our processes are constantly updated to current market conditions. meteocontrol is and has always been at the vanguard of establishing new technologies and therefore is able to get a clear view at future market requirements very early in the process. This enables us to offer solutions early on years before they become customary in the market.
In years gone by, the technical requirements have only changed in small areas due to the high technological quality of the measurement products available. In this sector no technological advances were made. Possibly the most substantial change during the last years is the modification of the level of standardisation for process cycles.
PES: Weather monitoring is obviously one of your key areas of focus. To what extent does climate change impact upon your operation?
DF: Climate requirements were always prone to short- to medium-term fluctuations. A climate change with influence on our forecasting models and with focus on yield reports is currently non-provable from a scientific point of view.
Furthermore, insolation data currently in use for our products dates back to a period of 10 to 25 years. This means they include possible changes in the recent past.
PES: Can you tell us a little about a recent project that you’ve been involved with?
DF: meteocontrol is involved in a vast variety of projects all around the world. The usual process includes several services from the field of quality assurance starting at site specific yield reports and risk analyses for the respective project within the scope of our Technical Due Diligence.
It continues with services specialised for the construction process and on through Technical Acceptance for the Investor or the financing bank. Next to the remote monitoring of the systems implementing our in-house monitoring hardware we offer our Technical Operation Management for PV systems as well.
PES: CSR is of massive importance to today’s operators. How does this impact on your business?
DF: It has always been meteocontrol’s point of view to use our products and services to make the world a better place. Therefore corporate responsibility and sustainability rank first in all our decisions.
PES: Meteocontrol’s quality management system has been certified in accordance with ISO 9001 for some time. What does this accreditation add to your offering?
DF: Being certified in accordance with ISO 9001 can be seen more as a basis to our market specific requirements on our services than as a standard. meteocontrol is the first company to be accredited as an independent test laboratory in accordance with DIN 1720 for the Rating of PV Systems. Naturally those certifications also act as a basis to provide the highest degree of transparency to our customers. This is an essential benefit to our customers and sustains their business confidence in our products and services.
PES: With a number of consultants currently in place across the world, what is your on-the-ground assessment of the industry and its ambitions?
DF: meteocontrol has the unique advantage of being immersed in this fast growing market for the last 30 years. We have been able to watch this young industry from the time it took its first steps in Europe through the fast paced years of growth until now, where it keeps becoming a more important market player in the energy sector every year.
The solar industry always had high ambitions, their status in the renewable energy sector sometimes bumpy, and basis for discussions all around the world through several layers of the industry, but keeping up the growth process through it all.
During our time on several projects all around the world we could watch and supported the steady rise in quality standards which only will make the yields go up and help strengthen this industry, which has, as we believe, now proven its worth and necessity to this industry and beyond.
PES: How difficult is it to recruit and retain the specialists you need to drive the company forward?
DF: Only our exemplary staff makes meteocontrol the front-line service provider it is today. Therefore we set a very high value on the selection process but also the continuing qualification and personal advancements of our employees. Our selection processes from job posting to employment for each new position is sometimes long and hard, but we place a high value not only on the qualification of each employee but also their compatibility to their future team and the mix of personalities within each team itself.
This makes for a unique work environment for each of our employees, with a high degree of satisfaction with the working atmosphere, as a recent employee survey once more confirmed. Feedback like this proves to us that the path we took is the right one not only for us but for our employees as well.
PES: Finally, what are your thoughts about the coming 12 months? Is 2015 looking as positive for you as 2014?
DF: We expect another clear growth for our business in 2015. On one hand our advances into markets outside Europe are increasingly bearing fruit, on the other hand we expect the solar industry to grow further as well, with a stabilising European market until the end of 2015.
