New Inverters for Solar Power Plants: SolarMax 300TS and SolarMax 330TS-SV Sunshine in : Solar power plants in France pay off in spite of reduced remuneration Higher, Larger, Wider: Sonel operates its numerous special plants in Slovenia only using SolarMax inverters Thinking and Acting Beyond Borders: Sputnik Engineering founds a new branch office for international sales, service and consulting Sputnik expands in France: Didier Jeannelle develops Sputnik’s French branch office SolarSolarMax GlobeGlobe The Customer Magazine of Sputnik Engineering AG Second Issue 2010

Chasing the Sun: Sputnik’s new MT series finds the maximum power point on the most differing of roof areas, pitches and directions Chasing the Sun New Inverters for Solar Higher, Larger, Wider Sputnik’s new MT series finds the Power Plants The Slovenian company Sonel operates maximum power point on the most SolarMax 300TS and SolarMax 330TS-SV its numerous special plants only using differing of roof areas, pitches and SolarMax inverters directions

technology 04 technology 06 market & trends 09

Thinking and Acting Beyond Sunshine in France Sputnik expands in France Borders Solar power plants in France pay off in Didier Jeannelle develops Sputnik’s Sputnik Engineering founds a new branch spite of reduced remuneration French branch office office for international sales, service and consulting market & trends 10 market & trends 12 internal 14

02 contents Further Topics solutions page 08: SolarMax inverters deliver high yields even under difficult conditions service page 15: Sputnik offers individual training seminars, the most modern service tools and perfect all-around care

In the hallway on the At this year’s Intersolar fair, we are pre- In all the branch offices of Sputnik Engi- fourth floor, I meet senting many brand new products. With neering AG, designated solar experts René Hechtl and the MT series, we are launching three are at work, who advise their customers Fabian Uhl. They are string inverters which can feed their competently. Besides the development, wearing white shirts current into the grid in three phases, production and sales of high quality and sun-yellow ties. which constantly find the maximum Swiss inverters, service is close to our For today, the two power point thanks to several MPP heart. With the SolarMax Training support engineers trackers, and which – on account of this Center, we have developed a modular from Austria and – reach an efficiency of up to 98 per- training concept that can be adapted are train- cent. In addition, we are presenting a to individual customer wishes at any ing two Belgians and five Slovenians at complete solution for the direct feed-in time. In our SolarMax Service Center in the Swiss company headquarters. into the medium-voltage grid and a new Biel, we have invested in the newest central inverter which has an output of software applications so that our cus- In my favourite hotel in Biel, , 330 kilowatts. tomer hotline, which operates in five the Villa Lindenegg, all the adapters for languages, can optimally evaluate Swiss sockets have been passed out for Shortly, all of our innovative products incoming calls. the first time. “The Sputnik employees will be available everywhere in Europe. from and French have all of them”, I For the countries where we still do not Read here for yourself, what our devel- am told at the hotel reception. have a sales office, we founded the new opers, managing directors and support branch office Sputnik Engineering Inter- engineers have done in the past few Sputnik has expanded all over Europe in national AG in April. At the same time, months. the past few years. When I first came to our new managing director Didier Jean- Biel in 2004, the company employed nelle has moved from Paris to Saint I wish you interesting and enjoyable around 40 people in Germany and Priest near Lyon, where he will continue reading Switzerland. Now that number has risen to expand our branch office there, Sput- to more than 330 in seven European nik Engineering France S.A.R.L. countries.

Press Relations Officer of Sputnik Christoph von Bergen, Engineering AG Managing Director of Sputnik Engineering AG

editorial 03 Chasing the Sun

Sputnik’s new SolarMax MT series finds the maximum power point on the most varying of roof areas, pitches and directions

With the new SolarMax MT series (MT generator field constantly works in the Compact and flexible stands for multitracking), Sputnik Engi- maximum power point. Moreover, neering bridges a gap in its product thanks to this concept, output losses The maximum input voltage of the MT range. Currently, the Swiss manufactur- can be minimised which can occur due inverters is at 900 volts. Thanks to the er has string inverters with outputs up to temporary shading. lower currents resulting from the high to 4.6 kilowatts and central inverters input voltage, Sputnik was able to use from 20 kilowatts upwards in its pro- Thanks to the real three-phase feed-in, smaller components and thus save gramme. The new devices have outputs and not three single-phase inverters in weight, space and costs. At 39 or 42 kil- of 10, 13 and 15 kilowatts and are suita- one housing, the inverter constantly ograms, the new MT series devices are ble for installations in medium-sized feed in their current symmetrically even among the lightest in their power range. plants as well as in large commercial during partial interference of the solar Thanks to the high input voltage, more projects. generator. A very low distortion factor modules can be connected in series minimises the disturbing influences than previously possible. This reduces The development of a new kind of multi- upon the public grid. the cabling effort and the conduction string concept makes it possible to losses and has a positive effect upon install plants on roofs having different Sputnik completely removed electrolyte the yield of the PV plants. areas, directions and pitches, using capacitors in the MT series and re- only one inverter. The inverters are placed them with foil capacitors. This The MPP voltage range of the new available with two (SolarMax 10MT) or has a positive effect upon the reliability SolarMax MT series is between 250 and three (SolarMax 13MT & 15MT) inde- and lifetime of the inverters. Thanks to a 750 volts. This increases the flexibility pendent MPP trackers. Up to two mod- new inverter topology, the inverters of for the plant constructors, who can bet- ule strings can be connected directly to the SolarMax MT series attain a Euro- ter utilise their roof surfaces. every MPP tracker, and thus each solar pean efficiency rating of up to 97.5 %.

04 technology Sputnik presents the MT series An integrated data logger stores the at Intersolar Europe energy yield, the peak power and the operating duration. Daily, monthly and annual values can be easily and com- Thanks to an optimised cooling design, fortably read on the graphic display of the heat is conducted even better out of the inverter. the housing. The new inverters can there- fore be operated in ambient tempera- The SolarMax MT series has been certi- tures from –20 to +60 degrees Celsius. fied by the VDE and bears the approval The devices work at their full nominal for “Certified safety”. The five-year power at ambient temperatures up to standard guarantee can be extended to 50 degrees Celsius. ten or twelve years as an option.

The low weight as well as the mounting Sputnik Engineering is presenting the plate, included in the delivery, simplify new inverter for the first time at the the installation. All connections are Intersolar trade fair, which takes place For the first time at Intersolar: Sputnik displays the pluggable and easily accessible. DC from 9 to 11 June in Munich, Germany. new MT series at its stand in Munich. circuit breakers, a status signalling con- The new SolarMax MT series will be tact for the connection of acoustic or available from the fourth quarter of this Please come visit us at Intersolar and optical signals as well as the standard year all over Europe. take a look at our new products at our communication interfaces RS485 and trade fair stand! Ethernet are also part of the package. You can find us in Hall B4, Stand Number 110.

Technical Data of the SolarMax MT Series

10MT 13MT 15MT AC nominal power 10 kW 13 kW 15 kW MPP range 250 to 750 V 250 to 750 V 250 to 750 V Max. Input Voltage 900 V 900 V 900 V Max. Efficiency 98 % 98 % 98 % European Efficiency 97.5 % 97.5 % 97.5 % Dimensions in mm (L x H x W) 550 x 200 x 750 550 x 200 x 750 550 x 200 x 750 Weight 39 kg 42 kg 42 kg Protection Class IP54 IP54 IP54 Ambient Temperature -20 °C…60 °C -20 °C…60 °C -20 °C…60 °C

All information is provisional as of April 2010.

SolarMax MT: The power pack for maximum yields.

technik 05 Both of the new central inverters of the TS series – here the SolarMax 300TS – fulfil all the requirements of the BDEW medium-voltage guideline.

06 technology New inverters for Solar Power Plants

Sputnik expands the SolarMax TS series by two central inverters

SolarMax 300TS for connected on the rear side, without reduces the power losses, which occur the low-voltage grid any problems. during temporary shadowing, by selec- tively partitioning the solar generator. In The new SolarMax 300TS has a nominal Both of the new inverters have been this way, high yields can also be guar- power of 300 kilowatts and works in the prepared for all the requirements of the anteed with different directions, pitches MPP range from 430 to 800 volts. With BDEW [the German Federal Association and module types. this device, Sputnik’s developers were of Energy and Water Management] able to increase the European efficiency medium-voltage grid guideline – even Sputnik Engineering will present the from 94.8 to 95.5 percent in comparison those that are valid first from 2011. The new devices at the Intersolar trade fair to its predecessor SolarMax 300 C. inverters are able to feed in reactive for the first time, from 9 to 11 June in power, remain connected to the grid Munich, Germany. The devices will be during short grid malfunctions and sup- available in Germany from July and SolarMax Power Station: port the grid actively (see also SolarMax introduced in Europe in the following the complete solution for Globe 1/2010). months. They are certified by TÜV the medium-voltage grid Rheinland. The two-year standard guar- The optional data logger MaxWeb xp antee can be extended to up to 20 The SolarMax 330TS-SV doesn’t use a monitors all the connected devices. If a years with the service contract low-voltage transformer, in contrast to plant, grid or inverter error is recog- MaxControl. All inverters of the TS the SolarMax 300TS. Through this, the nised, MaxWeb xp automatically sends series are equipped with RS485 and European Efficiency increases to 97 failure reports to the central SolarMax Ethernet interfaces as a standard. DC percent. Up to four of the new 330-kilo- Web portal and – via e-mail or text mes- and AC circuit breakers are integrated watt inverters, mounted together in a sage – to MaxControl customers. When and accessible from outside the device. SolarMax Power Station, can directly MaxWeb xp is used, the inverters can feed their power into the medium- also receive remote control commands voltage grid over a medium-voltage from the utilities companies and reduce transformer. The station can be easily their power accordingly. operated with a central control unit. On its display, one can clearly read the energy yields, peak powers and operat- MPP operation optimises ing hours as well as all the device’s partial load and shadowing settings. A DC fuse unit and the inter- behaviour net-based data logger MaxWeb xp are also available if desired. When searching for the maximum pow- er point (MPP), Sputnik’s customers Together with its partners, Sputnik is have a choice: single MPP operation able to deliver a package which has an optimises the plant yield in the partial output power of up to 1.32 megawatts, load range via the power-dependent preassembled for the direct connection switching of individual power stacks to the grid. Thanks to the modular and creates, moreover, redundancy. The design, installers can set up all the multi-MPP operation with three MPP components – up to four inverters, an trackers gives installers more flexibility optional DC fuse unit, a medium- when dimensioning the plant and also voltage transformer and the controlling unit – in a concrete station as well as in an existing machine room. Technical Data SolarMax 300TS SolarMax 330TS-SV Reliable and durable AC nominal power 300 kW 330 kW As with the other inverters in the Solar- MPP range 430 to 800 V 450 to 800 V Max TS series, a processor monitors Max. DC voltage 900 V 900 V the IGBT switches of both new central inverters on the power unit, increas- Europ. efficiency 95.5 % 97 % ing their operational safety and relia- Max. efficiency 96.3 % 98 % bility. In addition, Sputnik has Dimensions in cm 2x (120 x 80 x 197) 120 x 80 x 197 increased the lifetime of the inverters (L x H x W) even further by replacing electrolytic capacitors by foil capacitors. With the Weight, approx. 2,700 kg 1,200 kg optionally available potential equaliza- Protection class IP20 IP20 tion set, the inverters also work in combination with thin-film or modules Ambient temperature -20 °C…50 °C -20 °C…50 °C

technology 07 The Saviours of Yields

SolarMax inverters deliver high yields even under difficult conditions

Neumair & Grieser GmbH from Sielen- mum power points of the individual bach, near Augsburg, Germany, has module strings can, thus, be different. A installed 428 solar modules on com- further argument for string inverters of pletely differently inclined roofs in the Sputnik Engineering AG is their high Upper-Bavarian city of Altomünster. As protection class. “When an operating an additional challenge, the overhead room is not available, but rather just a line tower on the house roof creates free wall or one would like to install the shadows for a part of the module sur- devices outside – this too can be done face of the 90-kilowatt plant. Nonethe- Pin-point precise: The MPP trackers of 16 SolarMax with our SolarMax string inverters”, less, company boss Richard Grieser string inverters find the maximum power point for adds Holland-Cunz. expects a yield of 1,000 kilowatt hours every module string of this PV plant in Altomünster. per kilowatt installed. “The solar plant Weatherproof and high will have paid for itself in less than ten performance years”, says Grieser, who decided to however, to divide the solar plant into use 16 string inverters from Sputnik smaller units which have nearly the same For eight years, Neumair & Grieser Engineering AG for this installation. irradiation conditions and to connect the GmbH has been installing roof-top solar module strings to string inverters”, plants with power ratings of up to 500 For solar plants from approximately 20 explains Martin Holland-Cunz, support kilowatts. While the company built kilowatts power and upwards, central leader at Sputnik’s German branch plants with a total power of five mega- inverters – for example the transformer- office Sputnik Engineering GmbH. watts last year, this year that should less SolarMax 20S – are normally the jump up to ten megawatts. more economical solution. This is true, In this case, the individual MPP (Maxi- however, only if the solar modules are mum Power Point) trackers of each From the very beginning, both company mounted on uniform roof surfaces. device adapt the current of the respec- bosses Richard Grieser and Rudolf “When there are differing roof inclina- tive inverter to the maximum power Neumair decided to rely on SolarMax tions and pitches, it can make sense, point of the solar generator. The maxi- inverters. “The SolarMax inverters work without a hitch with the most varying Plant Data module types. In addition, they have a high efficiency, are very compact and Power 89.88 kW can be installed very easily. Every kind Modules 428 polycrystalline solar modules from Kyocera of equipment one needs – be that the DC circuit breaker or the data storage Inverters SolarMax 6000 S (14x), SolarMax 4200 S (2x) unit– has already been integrated”. This Expected Annual Yield 1,000 kWh/kW is how Grieser explains his preference Commissioning May 2009 for SolarMax products.

08 solutions Plant Data, PV Plant in Gornji Petrovci Power 81.06 kW Modules 386 polycrystalline solar modules from Kyocera Inverters SolarMax 20S (2x), SolarMax 35S (1x) Commissioning December 2009

Higher, Larger, Wider

The Slovenian company Sonel operates its numerous special plants only using SolarMax inverters

As one of the first Slovenian farmers to Convinced of Swiss quality do so, Andrej Kresnik built his solar pow- er plant on the roofs of his farm. In Sep- All three projects, built by the Slovenian tember 2008, the 36-kilowatt system company Sonel d.o.o., work with invert- went into operation in Smartno pri Slo- ers from Sputnik Engineering AG. The evnj Gradcu, and Kresnik invited visitors company, which is among the first of its from the entire country to an Open Door kind on the Slovenian photovoltaic mar- Day. It was a premiere in Slovenia: no ket, was founded by Miran Močilnik, photovoltaic system before had ever Iztok Jelen and Andreja Knez in 2006. been equipped with a central inverter. Sonel sells turn-key solar power plants, planning services and photovoltaic A few months later, the highest solar studies. Convinced of the Swiss quality, Weatherproof: The inverters of the SolarMax S series plant in Slovenia began generating the company has relied exclusively can be installed inside and out – even for this free- electricity. The 24.66 kilowatt system, upon SolarMax inverters from Sputnik standing system in Gornji Petrovci. financially supported by the Slovenian Engineering AG in its photovoltaic government and the European Union, is plants since 2008. boss, Andreja Knez, assumes that the found in the north-western Slovenian solar plant will produce around 82,000 village Javorje, at 1,160 meters above The largest photovoltaic plant in Slove- kilowatt hours of environmentally friend- sea level. nia using SolarMax inverters counts ly solar electricity every year. Three among Sonel’s current projects. In the SolarMax central inverters with nominal In the summer of 2009, three farmers in north-western city of Gornji Petrovci, powers of 35 and 20 kilowatts transform Podgorje pri Slovenj Gradcu built solar this plant should be officially inaugurat- the direct current from 386 polycrystal- plants on eight roofs with a total power of ed in this year. With a power of 81 kilo- line solar modules into grid-compliant 129 kilowatts. The location became known watts, the freestanding system is the as the first solar village of Slovenia. largest in the Prekmurje region. Sonel’s Continued on page 13 

Feed-in Tariffs in Slovenia from 1 January 2010

Fixed Price in eurocents per kWh Operational Support in eurocents per kWh Roof-top Integrated Freestanding Roof-top Integrated Freestanding < 50 kW 38.64 44.43 36.31 33.94 39.73 31.61 from 50 kW to 1 MW 35.34 40.64 33.45 30.64 35.94 28.75 < 5 MW 29.33 33.73 26.97 24.47 28.87 22.11 up to 125 MW – – – 20.77 24.68 19.70

market & trends 09 Thinking and Acting beyond Borders

Sputnik Engineering founds a new branch office for international sales, service and consulting

The photovoltaic market in the Czech New local offices in Republic is booming. Sputnik partner and Prague Nobility Solar Projects alone plans to build 40 megawatts by the end of 2010, “With Sputnik Engineering International more than doubling its previously AG we are increasing our flexibility and installed photovoltaic power (please creating closer proximity to our cus- also see SolarMax Globe 1/2010). The tomers”, explains Freudiger. The new photovoltaic market is growing in Bel- branch office gives Sputnik Engineer- gium similarly. Here, too, increased ing the ability to give those countries feed-in tariffs were recently introduced where a branch office does not yet for solar plant operators, tariffs which The appropriate products at the right time and right exist the sales, service and consulting are oriented toward the German Renew- location: With Sputnik Engineering International AG, appropriate to their markets. Among able Energies Law and guarantee their Daniel Freudiger and his team create a flexible plat- Freudiger’s team count, in addition to operators high returns. form to expand sales. the inner sales service and the techni- cal sales support, which also operate “In the past few years, many European Freudiger will act as its managing direc- from Biel, key account managers in countries have created attractive condi- tor; he will remain Head of Sales & Mar- offices on location. tions for the construction of solar plants, keting of Sputnik Engineering AG. and others will follow”, says Daniel Freu- Sputnik Engineering International AG For the sales and customer service in diger, Head of Sales & Marketing at the will be responsible for the sales, service the Benelux countries, Sputnik has Swiss company head-quarters in Biel. and customer consultation in all of the already opened a new office in Brus- “As a photovoltaic manufacturer, we countries where Sputnik does not yet sels, which is managed by the key have to understand the changes in the have its own branch office. account manager Paul van der Goten. new photovoltaic markets quickly and Marcel Hoffmann is taking care of the offer the appropriate products at the Nothing will change regarding the busi- Czech and Slovakian customers of the right place and time. Therefore, we need ness of the already existing branch Swiss inverter manufacturer from the a flexible platform to expand our sales offices in Germany, France, Italy and new local office in Prague. Further local activities”. . To the markets belonging to sales offices are planned. “Like the Sputnik Engineering International AG radiation from the sun, we also do not That is why, on 1 April of this year, the count, next to the Czech Republic and know fixed borders when it is a matter Swiss inverter manufacturer founded Benelux, also , , Great of expanding our market presence and Sputnik Engineering International AG as Britain, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, improving the spatial proximity to our a new branch office of Sputnik Engi- Slovenia and Turkey. customers”, says Freudiger. neering AG at the headquarters in Biel.

10 market & trends Sputnik’s man in Prague Interview with Marcel Hoffmann, Key I wanted to be a part of a reputable Account Manager in Sputnik’s new company with great opportunities for local office growth. Therefore, I applied for a job at Sputnik. Marcel Hoffmann will be taking care of Sputnik’s customers in the Czech What do you like best about your new Republic and Slovakia. The 39-year old job? brings along professional experience as a sales manager for a beverage dealer At Sputnik, by communicating and in the USA as well as a country manag- interacting with my customers, I can er and key account manager for Czech contribute to pushing the growth of tool and screw manufacturers. in the Czech Republic. Sputnik offers me the chance of being Before you began working at Sputnik, a part of an industry that is developing you were employed at an internation- at a quick pace in my country. ally active screw manufacturer. What motivated you to work for Sputnik?

Thinking and Acting beyond Borders Contact data of Sputnik Engineering International AG

Sputnik Engineering International AG Local Office, Benelux Avenue Louise 65, box 11 1050 Brussels, Tel. + 32 (0) 2 535 77 29 Fax + 32 (0) 2 535 77 30 Sputnik Engineering International AG Hotline + 32 (0) 2 535 77 32 Local Office, Czech Republic [email protected] Praha City Center Klimentska 46 110 02, Prague 1 Czech Republic Tel. + 420 222 191 435 Sputnik Engineering International AG Fax + 420 222 191 320 Hotline + 420 222 191 456 Höheweg 85 [email protected] CH-2502 Biel / Bienne, Switzerland Tel. +41 (0) 32 346 58 00 Fax +41 (0) 32 346 58 29 Hotline +41 (0) 32 346 58 08 [email protected]

market & trends 11 Sunshine in France

Solar power plants in France pay off in spite of lowered remuneration

calculated, of 950 kilowatt hours per kil- In January, the French government also owatt, by 16 percent in the first eight reduced the maximum rate for build- months since the plant went into opera- ing-integrated systems to 58 euro- tion in August 2009. cents. It now only grants this rate to solar plants integrated in hospitals, Tariffs secured until 2012 educational facilities or apartment buildings. Roof-top plants are now con- For every kilowatt hour of solar electric- sidered “simplified integration” and are ity fed into the grid, the farmer receives remunerated at a rate of 42 eurocents 60.2 eurocents for 20 years. If he had per kilowatt hour. The government sank connected his solar plant this year, the the basic tariff from 32.8 to 31.4 euro- A second job: The French farmer Jean-Paul Martin tariff would have been 50 eurocents. cents. There are surcharges dependent harvests corn, wheat, peas and solar electricity. Since the beginning of this year, opera- upon the global irradiation for solar tors only receive this latter amount for plants in the north of France with more each kilowatt hour for roof-integrated than 250 kilowatts power. Plants in On a surface of 92 hectares, Jean-Paul systems in agriculture or the industry. Corsica and the overseas departments Martin plants corn, wheat, peas and Nonetheless, the tariff is still attractive receive 40 eurocents. beans. In his chicken coops, 47,000 especially because the module prices, hens lay eggs. Last year, the French which make up about 80 percent of the In comparison to the tariffs that are paid farmer from Saint-Gilles near Nîmes material costs, sank by about 25 per- in Germany, the French remunerations equipped their stall and a storage shed cent in 2009. are still very high in spite of the cuts. for manure with 500 solar modules. The roof-integrated system has an output of 112 kilowatts in total. Feed-in Tariffs in France from 12 January 2010

Martin, who expects returns from eight Basic tariff (up to 250 kW) 31.4 eurocents per kWh to ten percent, wants to supplement his Basic tariff (over 250 kW) 31.4 to 37.7 eurocents per kWh (dependent upon retirement income with the solar plant. the global irradiation in the respective department) When choosing his inverters, he relied Simplified integration in buildings 42 eurocents per kWh on the advice of his installer, Armorgreen (modules are parallel to the mounting surface) from La Mézière, Brittany, and the good Building-integrated systems 58 eurocents per kWh reputation of SolarMax products. Armor- (hospitals, educational facilities, apartment green installed five transformerless cen- buildings) tral inverters, SolarMax 20S. The devices Building-integrated systems 50 eurocents per kWh work at an efficiency of up to 97 percent. (other buildings) Martin has already exceeded the yield he Corsica and overseas departments 40 eurocents per kWh

12 market & trends Interview with Didier Jeannelle, Managing Director of Sputnik Engineering France S.A.R.L.

What moved you to work for Sputnik? What goals do you have for Sputnik’s I wanted to work for an international French branch office? manufacturer who develops high-tech The expansion of our French branch products for the renewable energies office and the move to Lyon come at branch. It is a very dynamic market, exactly the right time. The French solar which also fits well with my own values. market is booming and we can expect stable growth until at least 2012. The What role does environmental pro- future development is dependent upon tection play in your life? legislation. I want to make the Solar- As a child I lived in Chamonix, sur- Max brand better known, as well as rounded by nature, then in Annecy on a our high quality products, sales and very clean lake in natural surroundings. services. Moreover, I will continue to After I later lived in a filthy city with expand the partner network in the sec- 22-million inhabitants in Asia, it became tor of medium-sized and large plants very important for me to work for a as well as sales in the French overseas company that contributes to protecting departments. our environment.

Indeed, solar plant operators can con- Plant Data, Saint-Gilles tinue to expect high returns. Additional- Power 111.78 kW ly, the tariffs in France are secure until Modules 496 polycrystalline solar modules from Solon Inverters SolarMax 20S (5x) Commissioning August 2009

2012 and will not be readjusted to the to ten percent. For private solar plants, degression every year as they are in Sputnik is already the number two in Germany. France; the market share for medium- sized and large installations will grow The SolarMax products have estab- short-term (please also see page 14). lished themselves on the French main- Jean-Paul Martin is very pleased with land as well as in the French overseas his SolarMax installation. He is already departments for many years. While planning the construction of another Sputnik Engineering exported four per- photovoltaic plant. cent of its inverters to France in 2008, one year later this number had jumped

 Continued from page 9 alternating current. The operator will Sonel wants to continue expanding its receive the increased feed-in tariff – sales and install solar plants with a total 35.97 eurocents for each kilowatt hour power of a megawatt this year. “Our he produces – for 15 years. company is growing and we are pleased that we can grow with such an excellent New remuneration rates are partner as Sputnik Engineering AG”, valid for 15 years says Andreja Knez. Last year Slovenia introduced new feed- in tariffs for renewable energies. Now, plant operators are paid the remunera- tion rates for 15 years in full. Before they had to expect cuts after five and ten The largest freestanding system in the region: This years. The amount of the tariff is based solar plant in north-slovenian Gornji Petrovci has a on plant size and type of installation. power output of 81 kilowatts. Building-integrated photovoltaic plants with up to 50 kilowatts of power receive al support. The fixed price is received by the highest rate, large freestanding those who sell their electricity to the plants the lowest remuneration. state utility. The operational support, in contrast, is conceived for electricity pro- Plant operators can decide between ducers who either use their electricity fixed prices and the so-called operation- themselves or sell it on the free market.

market & trends 13 Sputnik expands in France

The new managing director, Didier Jeannelle, develops Sputnik’s French branch office

Didier Jeannelle heads Sputnik’s well as from two sales employees at the sales and service of SolarMax French branch office Sputnik Engi- the new location in Saint Priest. products in France, create a closer neering France S.A.R.L. At the end of contact to customers and expand the 2009, he took over this responsibility From Paris to Lyon training program. from Daniel Freudiger, who will con- centrate upon the further development In April, Sputnik Engineering France His new company building, equipped of new markets as the managing direc- S.A.R.L. moved from Paris to Saint with a heat pump and soon with a tor of the new branch office Sputnik Priest near Lyon. “In south-eastern solar plant, in Technoland Parc is only Engineering International AG and as France, one finds the largest amount 20 minutes from the inner city of Lyon Head of Sales & Marketing at the of solar plants, especially in the region and the Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport. “I Swiss headquarters (please also see of Rhône-Alpes. Lyon, too, has assume that the French solar market page 10). become a centre of attraction for the will continue its boom”, says Jean- solar industry. About half of all French nelle. “For plants in the private sector, Jeannelle strengthens Sputnik’s pres- PV installers have their company Sputnik is already the number two in ence in France. The 43-year-old French- headquarters in this region. They build France. In the future we will continue man brings along 15 years of experience a large part of the French solar parks”, to expand our market share for medi- with technologically advanced prod- explains Jeannelle, who wants to push um-sized and large plants with central ucts. Before he began at Sputnik, he inverters”. worked as a key account manager, managing director and sales manager at a manufacturer in the semiconductor industry. “With its high-tech products, New Address from April 2010 Sputnik Engineering contributes to Sputnik Engineering France protecting the environment, which, for me personally, is tremendously impor- Parc Technoland Bât. A tant. It is an exciting challenge for me 1 allée de Lazio to further expand the French branch ZI de Champ Dolin office”, is how Jeannelle describes his 69800 Saint Priest, France motivation. The boss in France wants to quickly increase the number of his Telefon: +33 (0) 4 72 79 17 90 employees to six. Currently he is sup- Telefax: +33 (0) 4 72 79 74 25 ported by the Key Account Managers Equipped for further growth: The new company Hotline: +33 (0) 4 72 79 17 97 Denis Ferra and Jocelyn Rogron, who headquarters of Sputnik’s French branch office in Email: [email protected] work from Grenoble and Nantes, as Saint Priest near Lyon.

14 internal Service at a Top Level

Sputnik offers individual customer training seminars, the most modern service tools and perfect all-round care

Thursday, 8 April, 9:00 a.m. in the Solar- differing customer’s needs, individually. Europe – no matter if in German, Eng- Max Training Center in Biel. René Hechtl From the foundations of photovoltaics lish, French, Italian or Spanish. and Fabian Uhl are training seven to the programming of the data commu- SolarMax dealers from Belgium and nication and the technical details of new A new software application records all Slovenia. The supporting engineers products all the way to plant dimension- the telephone calls, faxes and e-mails explain the way the SolarMax inverters ing and commissioning, they assemble centrally. According to their capacity, and the data communication function, the fitting modules for end customers, competency and language skills, the as well as the service and monitoring dealers, installers, planners and system appropriate hot-line employees answer package MaxControl. integrators from all over Europe. customers’ questions. Every call is recorded to enable a targeted error In addition to the training rooms at the Strong on the market thanks to analysis. Swiss company headquarters, Sputnik proximity to customers has equipped other SolarMax Training “We do not only want to manufacture Centers at the branch offices in Lyon, The SolarMax Service Center creates high quality products, but we also want Neuhausen, and Milan. The even closer proximity to customers with to convince our customer of our serv- respective branch office announces its its customer hotline, which Sputnik has ice”, explains Sputnik managing direc- programme and the dates for the free integrated in the Swiss headquarters. tor Christoph von Bergen. “Many of our training sessions on the internet page The investments in the most modern customers thank us by working with us www.solarmax.com. service tools and qualified employees for many years.” ensure perfect all-round care all over Everywhere where a SolarMax support- er can be found, SolarMax training The SolarMax Service Center seminars take place – even in the new markets covered by Sputnik Engineer- Accessibility of the Service Center Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ing International AG (please also see Telephone Numbers Calls from: page 10). Furthermore, Sputnik Engi- Germany +49 (0) 180 276 5 276 neering offers its customers in-house Switzerland +41 (0) 32 346 56 06 training seminars. “This way dealers France +33 (0) 4 72 79 17 97 can invite, for example, installers to Italy +39 (0) 362 312 279 their headquarters, and we train them Spain +34 (0) 902 16 06 26 Belgium +32 (0) 2 535 77 32 there”, explains Hechtl. Czech Republic +420 222 191 456 The program of the SolarMax Training Other countries +41 (0) 32 346 56 06 Fax +41 (0) 32 346 56 26 Center consists of eleven modules that E-mail [email protected] Sputnik’s trainers can adapt to the most

service 15 Contact

Headquarter

Sputnik Engineering AG Höheweg 85 CH-2502 Biel/Bienne Tel. + 41 / (0) 32 346 56 00 Fax + 41 / (0) 32 346 56 09 [email protected]

Subsidiaries

Sputnik Engineering GmbH Neuhausen, Germany Tel. +49 / (0) 7158 986 19 0 [email protected]

Sputnik Engineering Ibérica S.L.U. Madrid, Spain Tel. +34 / 91 710 04 27 [email protected] www.solarmax.com Sputnik Engineering Italia S.r.l. Giussano (MI), Italy Imprint Tel. +39 / 0362 311 625 [email protected] SolarMax Globe is published three times a year and is available free-of- charge from Sputnik Engineering AG. Sputnik Engineering France S.A.R.L. Saint Priest, France Publisher: Tel. +33 / (0) 4 72 79 17 90 Sputnik Engineering AG [email protected] www.solarmax.com Sputnik Engineering International AG Editorial: Biel/Bienne, Switzerland Press Office Krampitz, www.pr-krampitz.com Tel. +41 / (0) 32 346 58 00 Layout: [email protected] weiss communication + design ag, www.wcd.ch Sputnik Engineering International AG Photo Credits: All photos are the property of Sputnik Engineering AG, Branch Office Benelux, Brussels, Belgium apart from Neumair & Grieser (P. 8, 2x), Sonel (P. 9, 2x, P. 13), Armorgreen Tel. + 32 / (0) 2 535 77 29 (P. 12, 2x, P. 13). [email protected]

All trademarks are recognised even without expressed identification. Subject Sputnik Engineering International AG to technical modifications. We assume no liability for incorrect information. Branch Office Czech Republic, Prague Tel. +420 / 222 191 435 Copyright 2010 for all contributions rests with Sputnik Engineering AG. All [email protected] rights reserved. Reprints only with the written approval of the publisher.

Subscription I would like to receive the Magazine “SolarMax Globe” regularly. Please send me the next issues free-of-charge until further notice.

Family Name Country

First Name Telephone

Company Fax

Street E-mail

Postcode / City Date, Signature by fax to: + 41 32 346 56 09 or by mail to: Sputnik Engineering AG, Höheweg 85, CH-2502 Biel/Bienne