Review inteRnational newS Gujarat inks deals for International 215 MW solar power Recently the State Government of Gujarat, Western India, announced NEWS their “Solar Power Policy 2009” to achieve a capacity of 500 MW in the state. The government guarantees a feed-in-tariff of 0.27 US$/kWh for a period of 12 years. The maximum size per project is 5 MW to en- able more customers to participate. The state has already received proposals worth 2,000 MW. Reacting to this policy, Astonfield Renewable Resources Ltd. signed a deal for 200 MW and is already in talks with global majors from Europe and USA for technology tie-ups. TATA Power has announced setting up a 5 MW project. Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd. said, its fully owned subsi- diary IDFC Projects Ltd. inked two memo- randums of understanding with Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Ltd. and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. to establish a Giving great pleasure: The electricity of the new solar power system in a western Chinese village will be 10 MW solar plant. used for lighting and for the operation of radios and television. Photo: SolarWorld AG Modules for Mexico’s Solar power for Chinese villages largest rooftop project The German SolarWorld AG has been promoting the solar electrification of more The German aleo solar AG delivered than one hundred villages in the West of China that had previously been cut off around 450 kW of solar modules to from the power supply. As a result 29,000 people in a total of 142 villages in the thinly a Mexican project developer. The modules populated provinces of Xinjiang, Qinghai and Yunnan will be given access to electricity have been partly installed on a roof in for the first time. Within the framework of a co-operation project between theFederal Re- Aguascalientes owned by a supermarket public of Germany and the People’s Republic of China, SolarWorld has equipped each of chain. The plant consists of about 1,060 these villages with a solar power generating plant. All in all, the solar power output of the aleo S_16 165-W modules. aleo also sup- plants adds up to 1.2 MW. The power plants produce about 1.1 million kWh current per plied the inverters. year. The solar power is mainly used for lighting and for the operation of smaller electri- “We see a lot of future potential in cal appli ances, radios and television sets in a total of 7,300 households. Mexico, especially in the area of industrial rooftop use”, comments Robert Schwarzinger, Director of Business Development North America. Although Econcern to install Kaneka expands thin- there is no solar electricity subsidy pro- gramme in Mexico, photovoltaics is becom- 42 MW in Italy film capacity to 150 MW ing a lucrative business, because recently The Dutch sustainable energy com- The Japanese Kaneka Corporation ex- electricity prices have risen dramatically. pany Econcern plans to invest € 200 pands its thin-film solar cell produc- million in a 42 MW Italian solar project. tion capacity from 80 MW to 150 MW by “Project Trullo” will start with the construc- 2010. Kaneka’s thin-film solar cells are tion of seven 1 MW solar parks in Puglia, based on hybrid technology. According to southern Italy, in early 2009. The parks are the company, the conversion efficiency is expected to be in operation by 2010. Once 12 % being the world’s highest level of con- completed, Project Trullo will add 15 % to version efficiency for thin-film solar cells. Italy’s 280 MW solar power generation ca- The new production equipment will be in- pacity currently installed. Econcern plans to stalled at the company’s subsidiary Kaneka increase its Italian solar assets portfolio to Solartech Corporation. The amount of the at least 50 MW and is currently reviewing capital investment is expected to come to other potential projects. Econcern will hold more than ¥ 10 billion (€ 85 million). With 51 % of shares in the holding company of respect to manufacturing costs, Kaneka’s Project Trullo. The Ampere Equity Fund, an goal is to bring about significant cost reduc- investor in renewable energy projects, has tions so that a cost of 100 ¥/W (0.85 €/W) The 450 kW solar plant is the largest rooftop acquired the remaining 49 %. can be achieved at an early point of time. project in Mexico. Photo: aleo solar AG 6 Sun & Wind Energy 2/2009 You cannot take trust for granted – you have to work at it. We care! When it comes to renewable energy sources more and more people are opting for Kyocera’s high-quality solar systems. We have been developing and producing every component of our photovoltaic modules in-house for more than 30 years now – without buying in semi-finished products. That creates certainty. And certainty creates trust – the best basis for a good partnership. You can enquire about your local Kyocera partner here: [email protected] Solar Power for Everyone. www.kyocerasolar.de © sol-E Suisse AG/BKW FMB Energie AG AZ_210x297_englisch_OHNE.indd 1 20.06.2008 17:07:16 Uhr Review inteRnational newS World’s biggest PV The 46 MW solar power plant in Amarelaja, Portugal: the world’s plant put into service biggest PV plant up to now. The Spanish Acciona Energy has put Photo: Acciona Energy into service its solar power plant in South-Western Portugal – according to the company, the largest solar park in the world. The 46 MW plant is located in Amarelaja and is capable of producing 93 million kWh per year, equivalent to the electrical consumption of 30,000 Portu- guese homes. The 250 hectare plant con- sists of 2,520 solar trackers supporting more than 262,000 polycristalline silicon modules with a capacity of 170 and 180 W. The plant is owned by Acciona, which in- vested about € 261 million in this project. 250 companies pushed overall peak power output of around 27 MW. The construction of these plants World record in solar out of the PV market has been scheduled for 2009 and 2010. By According to the online platform now, this is Phoenix Solar Group’s largest energy conversion ChannelPartner, there were about combined project package in the Italian Researchers at the German Fraun- 350 Chinese photovoltaics manufacturers market. hofer Institute for Solar Energy in mid-2008. Of these, 250 or around 70 % Systems ISE have achieved a record effi- were pushed out of the market by the end ciency of 41.1 % for the conversion of sun- of the year due to declining prices and a re- SolarWorld opens light into electricity. Sunlight is concentrat- duced demand. Analysts had already ed by a factor of 454 and focused onto a warned in mid-2008 that a large percent- factory in South Korea small 5 mm2 multi-junction solar cell made age of the Chinese manufacturers had too The German manufacturer out of GaInP/GaINAs/Ge (gallium indium little equity capital and thus had a limited SolarWorld has commissioned its phosphide, gallium indium arsenide on a ability to survive. The remaining producers first manufacturing facility for solar power germanium substrate). Thus, the ISE out- have a strong vertical integration or are modules in Asia together with its Korean reaches the record held by the US National provided with public funds. joint venture partner SolarPark Engineering Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The largest PV and solar module manu- Co. Ltd. The module factory in the South Since 1999, Fraunhofer ISE has been de- facturer in China is Suntech Power with a Korean city of Jeonju has a capacity of veloping metamorphic multi-junction solar capacity of 1 GW. Other Chinese sector gi- 150 MW and can be expanded to 1 GW at cells, which are a special using III-V semi- ants are Yingli Green Energy with a capacity its present location. With the new manufac- conductor compounds. By choosing the of 800 MW to 1 GW, Trina Solar with 700 to turing facility the SolarWorld Group is tak- metamorphic material combination, a solar 800 MW and Solarfun Power with a capaci- ing account of the market growth for solar cell structure could be used for the first time ty of 600 MW. The world market leader is power technology in Asia. In Korea and that is completely current matched under the German company Q-Cells AG with an Japan SolarWorld is expecting an increase the terrestrial solar spectrum. According to annual production of 570 MW. For 2009, in the market volume of at least 800 MW Fraunhofer, this is what makes the structure the company currently expects production each by the year 2012. The investment vol- so efficient for solar energy conversion and of between 800 MW and 1 GW. ume amounts to € 30 million. is an important reason for the achievement of the high efficiencies. Even at a higher sunlight concentration of 880, an efficiency Phoenix Solar Energy of 40.4 % was measured. The multi-junction solar cells are used in acquires Scarlatti concentrating PV systems for solar power Phoenix Solar Energy Investments stations in countries with a high percentage AG – wholly-owned subsidiary of the of direct solar radiation. Fraunhofer ISE is German Phoenix Solar AG – has acquired working together with the German compa- all the shares in Scarlatti Srl, an Italian nies Azur Space and Concentrix Solar to company headquartered in Eppan, South make this technology competitive as soon Tyrol. Scarlatti holds the shares in 4 project as possible. companies under the condition precedent of achieving a status where construction can begin without delay. These companies Electricity from sunlight: picture of the solar will develop a total of 5 projects for the cell with a record efficiency of 41.1 % construction of PV systems in Sicily with an Photo: Fraunhofer ISE 8 Sun & Wind Energy 2/2009 Probably, the Best Solar Collectors in The World.