Finlay Colville
I cannot think of a better way to hit the ground running on 7 July 2025 – the day the Terawatt PV Research web platform goes live – than to be joining the Global Solar Council (GSC) as a Senior Advisor.
It seems such good timing and I’m so excited about contributing to GSC’s mission and vision. I’ve included the official announcement on the appointment below.
I have been engaging with trade bodies and associations connected with the solar PV industry for 20 years and have always enjoyed the excitement and passion that comes with these interactions.
In the early days of solar, the role of trade bodies and associations was often divided into lobbying for policies to be set up (to create an attractive landscape for deployment) or the promotion of domestic manufacturing. Sometimes – most notably in India – the two schemes would be interlinked, where the use of domestic product would allow for greater incentives to be claimed.
There is no shortage of success stories in respect of incentives for deployment, but the manufacturing side has been more challenging, and remains a work-in-progress, most notably in the U.S. today.
Indeed, setting up a domestic manufacturing policy framework is more difficult than ever today, largely due to the success of Chinese PV manufacturing.
Even in countries and regions that are not seeking to create a domestic manufacturing base, other issues exist; in particular, the focus on ESG (environmental, sustainability and governance) and company-specific supply-chain traceability metrics.
These are some of the factors that made the role with the Global Solar Council so interesting for me. I look forward now to my first assignment!
Here is the full release that went live today (Monday 7 July 2025).
Global Solar Council is delighted to announce that Finlay Colville is joining the team as a Senior Advisor to help the global solar industry association on strategy, market insights and growth.
Finlay has been actively engaged with the solar industry for more than 20 years and is recognised as a leading analyst in the sector. For 15 years, Finlay managed market research business units at Solarbuzz and PV-Tech. He established Terawatt PV Research in 2025 as the working platform for his activities going forward. He has a BSc. in Physics from the University of Glasgow and a Ph.D from the University of St. Andrews. In 2023, he was the recipient of the Solar & Storage Live ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’.
Sonia Dunlop, CEO of Global Solar Council, said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming Finlay to our team. His deep expertise and experience in the PV sector, knowledge of the supply chain and understanding of market dynamics are second to none. He is ideally placed to support efforts to maximise our impact and build out our knowledge product portfolio.”
Finlay Colville, a new Senior Advisor to Global Solar Council said: “The opportunity to join the Global Solar Council – and to contribute towards its goals to unite the global solar industry and promote the deployment of solar power to create a more sustainable future – comes at an excellent time. The industry is rapidly moving towards terawatt annual deployment levels which will increase the need for global best practices and collaboration from a wide range of stakeholders.”
More information about the Global Solar Council can be found here: https://www.globalsolarcouncil.org/
