Solar PV formatted - EIP台綜院eip.tri.org.tw/file/2/Solar_Photovoltaic_Market_Guide_2012.pdf · Polysilicon Market Statistics ... Global Solar PV Capacity ... Solar PV Market Potential

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Executive Summary ....................... 7 Introduction ..................................... 8 Energy from the Sun ....................... 8 Advantages & Disadvantages of Solar Power ............................................... 10 Availability of Solar Power ............. 11 Applications of Solar Technology ... 12 Solar Thermal Energy .................... 34 Solar Updraft Tower ....................... 34 Storing Solar Energy ...................... 38 Solar Thermal Technologies ........... 39

Introduction to Solar Photovoltaics ............................................................. 40

Overview .......................................... 40 History of Solar Cells ...................... 42 Three Generations of PV Cells ....... 44 Applications ..................................... 47 Sunlight Conditions for Using Solar PV Cells ................................................. 47 Impact of Weather Conditions on PV Cells ................................................. 50 PV Technology in Isolated Generation.......................................................... 50 Impact of Photovoltaic Cells on the Environment ................................... 51

Applications of Solar PV .............. 54 Stand Alone PV Systems ............... 54 Photovoltaic Power Station ............ 55 PV in Buildings .............................. 56 Photovoltaics with Battery Storage ......................................................... 57 The Concept of PV Storage ............ 57 Rural Electrification ...................... 58 Connecting Generators with PV .... 58 Utilities with a Grid-Connected PV System ............................................ 59 Hybrid Power Systems ................... 60 Distributed Generation & PV ........ 60 Small Scale DIY Solar Systems ..... 63

Solar PV System Performance.... 65

Photovoltaic Industry Value Chain Analysis ............................................ 67

Feedstock Component .................... 67 Profiling Solar Cells and Module Manufacturing ................................ 70 Balance of System .......................... 71

Silicon Feedstock Market Analysis ............................................................ 74

Shortage of Silicon ......................... 74

Table of Contents

Solar PV Market Potential © EnergyBusinessReports.com

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Polysilicon Market Statistics ......... 75 Cost Analysis .................................. 77 Manufacturers of Electronic Grade Silicon .............................................. 79 Manufacturers of PV Grade Silicon ......................................................... 80 Dealing with Silicon Recycling ...... 81 Major Silicon Recyclers .................. 83 Outlook: Silicon Recycling .............. 89

Film Photovoltaics Analysis ........ 90 Major Players .................................. 92

Global Solar Photovoltaic Market Overview .......................................... 111

Present Market Size ....................... 112 Solar PV Manufacturers ................ 114 Market Growth ............................... 118 Production Market Overview ......... 122 Country-wise Analysis ................... 123 Outlook – Global Solar PV Capacity ......................................................... 165

Production Statistics for Solar Photovoltaic Cells .......................... 169

Regulatory Framework ................ 172 Renewable Energy Targets ............ 172 US Federal & State Incentives ...... 182 International Policies ..................... 187

Economics of Solar PV .................. 217

Major Players in the Global Solar PV Industry ............................................ 220

Aixin Silicon Sci-Tech Industrial Park ......................................................... 220 Akeena Solar, Inc ........................... 221 Amonix Incorporated ...................... 222

ArcticSolar AB ................................ 224 Asia Silicon Co., Qinghai ................ 225 ASE Americas Inc ........................... 226 AstroPower Inc ............................... 227 Atlantis Energy Inc ........................ 228 Baodiang Tianwei Yingli Green Energy Solar Company ................................ 229 Big Sun Energy ............................... 230 BP Solar International ................... 231 Canadian Solar Inc. ........................ 233 Canon .............................................. 234 Central Electronics Ltd. ................. 235 China Solar Power (Holdings) Ltd. 236 China Sunergy ................................ 237 China Xianjiang SunOasis Ltd. ..... 238 CSG Holding ................................... 239 Deutsche Solar AG .......................... 240 Ebara Solar ..................................... 241 Elkem .............................................. 242 Entech Inc ....................................... 243 EPV Energy Photovoltaics Inc ....... 244 ErSol ................................................ 245 Ertex Solar ...................................... 246 Evergreen Solar .............................. 247 Ever-Q ............................................. 249 First Solar ....................................... 250 Free Energy Europe S.A. ................ 251 GT Solar .......................................... 252 Kyocera ............................................ 255 Mitsubishi Electric Corporation .... 257 Photowatt International ................. 258 PowerLight Corporation ................. 259 Sanyo Electric ................................. 261 Sharp Electronics ............................ 262 Shell Solar ....................................... 263 Siemens Solar ................................. 265


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Spire Corporation ............................ 266 SunPower Corporation.................... 268 TerraSolar, Inc. ............................... 270 United Solar Ovonic ........................ 272

Appendix ........................................... 273

Glossary ............................................ 281

About the Publisher ....................... 305


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List of Figures and Tables

Figures

Figure 1: Breakdown of Incoming Solar Energy .......................................... 9 Figure 2: A Solar Cell Made from a Monocrystalline Silicon Wafer .............. 42 Figure 3: Worldwide Solar Insolation Levels ..................................................... 49 Figure 4: Hybrid Power Systems .......... 60 Figure 5: Conventional Distribution Network .................................................. 62 Figure 6: A Distribution Network with Distributed Generation ......................... 63 Figure 7: Production of Electronic Polysilicon in MT ................................... 76 Figure 8: Development of Cumulative Installed Global & EU PV Capacity ..... 112 Figure 9: Annual Market (MW) and Annual Growth Rate (%) ....................... 113 Figure 10: Production of Solar Cells by Country, MW ......................................... 116 Figure 11: Growth of Capacity by Manufacturers, 2005 to 2007 ................ 117 Figure 12: Global PV Capacity Growth & Forecast .............................................. 118 Figure 13: Regional Breakdown of Global PV Markets ................................ 119 Figure 14: Installed Global Solar PV Generating Capacity 1990 to 2006 by Application ............................................. 120 Figure 15: Global Installed Solar PV Capacity ................................................. 121

Figure 16: Installed Solar PV Generating Capacity of Austria 1990-2006 by Application ............................... 123 Figure 17: Installed Solar PV Capacity in Australia (1995-2006) ....................... 126 Figure 18: Installed Solar PV Capacity in Canada (1995-2006) .......................... 134 Figure 19: Installed Solar PV Capacity in France (1995-2006) ........................... 141 Figure 20: Installed Solar PV Capacity in Germany (1995-2006) ....................... 145 Figure 21: Development of Grid Connected PV Capacity in Germany .... 149 Figure 22: Installed Solar PV Capacity in Japan (1995-2006) ............................. 153 Figure 23: Installed Solar PV Capacity in United States (1995-2006) ................ 162 Figure 24: Installed Solar PV Capacity, MW, 1990-2010 ..................... 167 Figure 25: Installed Capacity in the Low Forecast by Region, MW, 1990 to 2010 ........................................................ 168 Figure 26: Solar PV Cells Production, MW ......................................................... 169 Figure 27: Prices Compared with Shipments 1975-2006 $/Watt ............... 218 Figure 28: Parabolic Trough ................. 273 Figure 29: Central Receiver or Solar Tower ..................................................... 273 Figure 30: Parabolic Dish ..................... 274 Figure 31: Photovoltaic Roof System .... 274 Figure 32: Cost of PV to Consumers & Manufacturing Shipments .................... 275


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Figure 33: A Schematic Arrangement of a PV Cell ............................................ 275 Figure 34: Solar Parabolic Trough System Combined with Fossil Fuel Firing to Generate Electrical Power .... 276 Figure 35: Arrangement of a Central Receiver Solar Thermal System ........... 277 Figure 36: A Solar Pond Arrangement 277 Figure 37: Integrated Solar/Combined Cycle System (ISCC) ............................. 280

Tables

Table 1: Companies Producing Electronic Polysilicon in MT ................. 77 Table 2: Grades of Recycled Silicon ...... 82 Table 3: Development of Cumulative Installed Global & EU PV Capacity…113 Table 4: Annual Market (MW) and Annual Growth Rate (%)……………...114 Table 5: Comprehensive Industry Forecast for Major Worldwide Yearly

PV Markets in MW…………………………119 Table 6: Production Capacities Forecast by End of 2010…………………………..122 Table 7: Solar PV Production Capacity, MW………………………………………..171 Table 8: Renewables Targets and Support Mechanisms of European Countries………………………………...173 Table 9: Non-European Countries with Renewable Energy Targets & Plans....178 Table 10: Early Solar Thermal Power Plants……………………………………..278 Table 11: Comparison of Solar Thermal Power Technologies…………………....279 Table 12: Cost Reductions in Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plants..280


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Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report provides a comprehensive understanding of solar photovoltaic technologies, applications, regulatory framework, and economics. It examines the potential of the photovoltaic market and includes an analysis of the major players as well as regional and country analyses of the global PV market.

There is no shortage of solar-derived energy on Earth. Indeed the storages and flows of energy on the planet are very large relative to human needs. Since ancient times, solar energy has been harnessed for human use through a range of technologies. Solar radiation along with secondary solar resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, accounts for most of the available flow of renewable energy on Earth.

Photovoltaics (PV) is the field of technology and research related to the application of solar cells for energy by converting sunlight directly into electricity. Due to the growing demand for clean sources of energy, the manufacture of solar cells and photovoltaic arrays has expanded dramatically in recent years.

The Earth receives 174 petawatts (PW) of incoming solar radiation (insolation) at the upper atmosphere. Approximately 30% is reflected back to space while the rest is absorbed by clouds, oceans and land masses. The spectrum of solar light at the Earth's surface is mostly spread across the visible and near-infrared ranges with a small part in the near-ultraviolet.

Solar energy is the light and radiant heat from the Sun that influences Earth's climate and weather and sustains life. Solar power is sometimes used as a synonym for solar energy or to refer to electricity generated from solar radiation.


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Executive Summary

What is Solar Energy?

Introduction

Solar energy is the light and radiant heat from the Sun that influences Earth's climate and weather and sustains life. Solar power is sometimes used as a synonym for solar energy or more specifically to refer to electricity generated from solar radiation. Since ancient times, solar energy has been harnessed for human use through a range of technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, accounts for most of the available flow of renewable energy on Earth.

Solar energy technologies can provide electrical generation by heat engine or photovoltaic means, space heating and cooling in active and passive solar buildings; potable water via distillation and disinfection, daylighting, hot water, thermal energy for cooking, and high temperature process heat for industrial purposes.

Energy from the Sun

The Earth receives 174 petawatts (PW) of incoming solar radiation (insolation) at the upper atmosphere. Approximately 30% is reflected back to space while the rest is absorbed by clouds, oceans and land masses. The spectrum of solar light at the Earth's surface is mostly spread across the visible and near-infrared ranges with a small part in the near-ultraviolet.

The absorbed solar light heats the land surface, oceans and atmosphere. The warm air containing evaporated water from the oceans rises, driving atmospheric circulation or convection. When this air reaches a high altitude, where the temperature is low, water vapor condenses into clouds, which rain onto the earth's surface, completing the water cycle. The latent heat of water condensation amplifies convection, producing atmospheric phenomena such as cyclones and anti-cyclones. Wind is a manifestation of the atmospheric circulation driven by solar energy. Sunlight absorbed by the oceans and land masses keeps the surface at an average temperature of 14 °C. The conversion of solar energy into chemical energy via photosynthesis produces food, wood and the biomass from which fossil fuels are derived.

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Executive Summary

From the table of resources it would appear that solar, wind or biomass would be sufficient to supply all of our energy needs, however, the increased use of biomass has had a negative effect on global warming and dramatically increased food prices by diverting forests and crops into biofuel production. As intermittent resources, solar and wind raise other issues.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Solar Power

Advantages

• The 122 petawatts of sunlight reaching the earth's surface is plentiful compared to the 13 terawatts of average power consumed by humans. Additionally, solar electric generation has the highest power density (global mean of 170 W/m2) among renewable energies.

• Solar power is pollution-free during use. Production end wastes and emissions are manageable using existing pollution controls. End-of-use recycling technologies are under development.

• Facilities can operate with little maintenance or intervention after initial setup.

• Solar electric generation is economically competitive where grid connection or fuel transport is difficult, costly or impossible. Examples include satellites, island communities, remote locations and ocean vessels.

• When grid-connected, solar electric generation can displace the highest cost electricity during times of peak demand (in most climatic regions), can reduce grid loading, and can eliminate the need for local battery power for use in times of darkness and high local demand; such application is encouraged by net metering. Time-of-use net metering can be highly favorable to small photovoltaic systems.

• Grid-connected solar electricity can be used locally thus minimizing transmission/distribution losses (approximately 7.2%).


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Executive Summary

• Once the initial capital cost of building a solar power plant has been spent, operating costs are low when compared to existing power technologies.

Disadvantages

• Solar cells are costly, requiring a large initial capital investment.

• Limited power density: Average daily insolation in the contiguous U.S. is 3-9 kWh/m2 usable by 7-17.7% efficient solar panels.

• To get enough energy for larger applications, a large number of photovoltaic cells is needed. This increases the cost of the technology and requires a large plot of land.

• Like electricity from nuclear or fossil fuel plants, it can only realistically be used to power transport vehicles by converting light energy into another form of stored energy (e.g. battery stored electricity or by electrolyzing water to produce hydrogen) suitable for transport.

• Solar cells produce DC which must be converted to AC when used in currently existing distribution grids. This incurs an energy loss of 4-12%.

Availability of Solar Power

There is no shortage of solar-derived energy on Earth. Indeed the storages and flows of energy on the planet are very large relative to human needs. Consider the following:

• The amount of solar energy intercepted by the Earth every minute is greater than the amount of energy the world uses in fossil fuels each year.

• Tropical oceans absorb 560 trillion gigajoules (GJ) of solar energy each year, equivalent to 1,600 times the world’s annual energy use.


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Executive Summary

• The energy in the winds that blow across the United States each year could produce more than 16 billion GJ of electricity - more than one and one-half times the electricity consumed in the United States in 2000.

• Annual photosynthesis by the vegetation in the United States is 50 billion GJ, equivalent to nearly 60% of the nation’s annual fossil fuel use.

Plants, on average, capture 0.1% of the solar energy reaching the Earth. The land area of the lower 48 United States intercepts 50 trillion GJ per year, equivalent to 500 times of the nation’s annual energy use. This energy is spread over 8 million square kilometers of land area, so that the energy absorbed per unit area is 6.1 million GJ per square kilometer per year. This results in potential biomass production of 6,100 GJ per square kilometer per year. Compared to the 0.1% efficiency of vegetation, roof installable amorphous silicon solar panels capture 8%-14% of the solar energy, while more expensive crystalline panels capture 14%-20%, and large scale desert mirror-concentrator heat engine based setups may capture up to 30-50%.

Applications of Solar Technology

Daylighting

Solar lighting or daylighting is the use of natural light to provide illumination. Daylighting offsets energy use in electric lighting systems and reduces the cooling load on HVAC systems (this assumes that daylighting is replacing incandescent lighting, which produces more heat than light). The use of natural light also offers physiological and psychological benefits, although this is difficult to quantify.

Daylighting features include building orientation, window orientation, exterior shading, sawtooth roofs, clerestory windows, light shelves, skylights and light tubes. These features may be incorporated in existing structures but are most effective when integrated in a solar design package which accounts for factors such as glare, heat gain, heat loss and time-of-use. Architectural trends increasingly recognize daylighting as a cornerstone of sustainable design.


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Executive Summary

Daylight saving time (DST) can be seen as a method of utilizing solar energy by matching available sunlight to the hours of the day in which it is most useful. DST energy savings have been estimated to reduce total electricity use in California by 0.5% (3400 MWh) and peak electricity use by three percent (1000 MW).

Heliostat Power Plans

The solar power tower (also known as 'Central Tower' power plants or 'Heliostat' power plants or power towers) is a type of solar furnace using a tower to receive the focused sunlight. It uses an array of flat, moveable mirrors (called heliostats) to focus the sun's rays upon a collector tower (the target). The high energy at this point of concentrated sunlight is transferred to a substance that can store the heat for later use. The most recent heat transfer material that has been successfully demonstrated is liquid sodium. Sodium is a metal with a high heat capacity, allowing that energy to be stored and drawn off throughout the evening. That energy can, in turn, be used to boil water for use in steam turbines. Water had originally been used as a heat transfer medium in earlier power tower versions (where the resultant steam was used to power a turbine). This system did not allow for power generation during the evening. Examples of heliostat based power plants are the 10 MWe Solar One, Solar Two, and the 15 MW Solar Tres plants. Neither of these are currently used for active energy generation. In South Africa, a solar power plant is planned with 4000 to 5000 heliostat mirrors, each having an area of 140 m².

Passive Solar Building Design

Passive solar building design involves the modeling, selection and use of appropriate passive solar technologies to maintain the building environment at a comfortable temperature through the sun's daily and annual cycles. As a result it also minimizes the use of active solar, renewable energy and especially fossil fuel technologies.

Passive solar building design is only one part of thermally efficient building design, which in turn is only one part of sustainable design, although the terms are often used erroneously as synonyms (passive solar design does not relate to factors such as ventilation, evaporative cooling, or life cycle analysis unless these operate solely by the sun).


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Executive Summary

The available technologies can be categorized into various categories from which design choices can be made. These include three basic ways for harnessing the sun's energy, and several other techniques:

Direct solar gain: Direct gain involves using the positioning of windows, skylights and shutters to control the amount of direct solar radiation reaching the interior spaces themselves, and to warm the air and surfaces within the building. The use of sun-facing windows and a high-mass floor is a short-cycle example of this. Direct solar gain systems suffer because historically there were no reasonably priced transparent thermally insulating materials with R-values comparable to standard wall insulation. This is now changing in Europe, where super insulated windows have been developed and are widely used to help meet the German Passive House standard.

Indirect solar gain: Indirect gain, in which solar radiation is captured by a part of the building envelope designed with an appropriate thermal mass (such as a water tank or a solid concrete or masonry wall behind glass). The heat is then transmitted indirectly to the building through conduction and convection. Examples of this are Trombe walls, water walls and roof ponds. The Australian deep-cover earthed-roof, innovated by the Baggs family of architects, is an annualized example of this path. In practice indirect solar gain systems have suffered from being difficult to control, and from the lack of reasonably priced transparent thermally insulating materials.

Isolated solar gain: Isolated gain, involves passively capturing solar heat and then moving it passively into or out of the building using a liquid (for example using a thermosiphon solar space heating system) or air (perhaps using a solar chimney), either directly or using a thermal store. Sun-spaces, greenhouses, and "solar closets" are alternative ways of capturing isolated heat gain from which warmed air can be taken. In practice it has been found that some owners use these structures as living spaces, heating them with conventional fuels and therefore significantly increasing, rather than reducing, the environmental impact of the building.


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Executive Summary

Other passive solar design techniques:

• Building position - Based on the local climate and the sun's positioning (determined using a heliodon), the entire building can be positioned and angled to be oriented towards or away from the sun (according whether heating or cooling is the primary concern), overshadowing from other structures or natural features can be avoided or used, and the building can be set into the ground using earth sheltering techniques.

• Building properties - The shape (and consequently the surface area) of the building can be controlled to reduce the heating or cooling requirement, and the use of materials properties to reflect, absorb, or transmit energy (for example using visible color) is also a consideration.

• External environment - Energy-efficient landscaping materials, including the use of trees and plants can be selected to reflect or absorb heat, create summer shading (particularly in the case of deciduous plants), and create shelter from the wind.

Although not classified as a passive solar technology, the use of thermal insulation or super insulation is invariably employed to reduce heat loss or unwanted heat gain.

Levels of Usage

1. Pragmatic: A house can easily achieve 30% or better cost reductions in heating expense without obvious changes to its appearance, comfort or usability. This is done using good siting and window positioning, small amounts of thermal mass, with good but conventional insulation and occasional supplementary heat from a central radiator connected to a water heater. Sunrays may fall onto a wall during the daytime, which will radiate heat in the evening.

2. Annualized: Historically, most "passive solar" approaches have depended on near-daily solar capture and storage, only expected to maintain temperatures through a few days and nights. These are now termed "short-cycle passive solar". More recent research has developed techniques to capture warm-season solar heat, convey it to a seasonal thermal store for use months later during the cool or cold season. This is referred to as "annualized passive solar."


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Executive Summary

This requires large amounts of thermal mass. One technique buries water-proof insulation in seven-meter skirts around the foundation, and buries loops of plastic pipe or ducts under the foundations and slab. The "skirts" of insulation prevent heat leaks from weather or water.

3. Minimum machinery: A "purely passive" solar-heated house would have no mechanical furnace unit, relying instead on energy captured from sunshine, only supplemented by "incidental" heat energy given off by lights, candles, other task-specific appliances (such as those for cooking, entertainment, etc.), showering, people and pets. The use of natural air currents (rather than mechanical devices such as fans) to circulate air is related, though not strictly solar design.

4. Systems sometimes use limited electrical and mechanical controls to operate dampers, insulating shutters, shades or reflectors. Some systems enlist small fans or solar-heated chimneys to start or improve convective air-flow. A reasonable way to analyze these systems is by measuring their coefficient of performance. A heat pump might use 1 J for every 4 J it delivers giving a COP of 4, a system that only uses a 30W ceiling fan to heat an entire house with 10 kW of solar heat would have a COP of 300.

Solar Cookers

A solar box cooker traps the sun's energy in an insulated box; such boxes have been successfully used for cooking, pasteurization and fruit canning. Solar cooking is helping many developing countries, both reducing the demands for local firewood and maintaining a cleaner breathing environment for the cooks.

The first known western solar oven is attributed to Horace de Saussure in 1767, which impressed Sir John Herschel enough to build one for cooking meals on his astronomical expedition to the Cape of Good Hope in Africa in 1830. Today, there are many different designs in use around the world.

Solar ovens are just one part of the alternative energy picture, but one that is accessible to a great majority of people. A reliable solar oven can be built from everyday materials in just a few hours or purchased readymade.


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Executive Summary

Solar ovens can be used to prepare anything that can be made in a conventional oven or stove - from baked bread to steamed vegetables to roasted meat. Solar ovens allow you to do it all, without contributing to global warming or heating up the kitchen and placing additional demands on cooling systems. Nearly 75% of U.S. households prepare at least one hot meal per day; one-third prepare two or more. Some of those meals could be made in an environmentally responsible way, using a solar oven.

The World Health Organization reports that cooking with fuel wood is the equivalent of smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. Inhalation of smoke from cooking fires causes respiratory diseases and death. One of the solutions advocated to address this problem is solar cooking which makes no smoke at all. It just uses free and abundant solar energy.

Solar Electric Vehicles

A solar car is an electric vehicle powered by solar energy obtained from solar panels on the surface of the car. Photovoltaic (PV) cells convert the sun's energy directly into electrical energy. However, solar cars are not currently a practical form of transportation. Although they can operate for limited distances without the sun, the solar cells are generally very fragile. Also, development teams have focused their efforts toward optimizing the efficiency of the vehicle, with little concern for passenger comfort. Most solar cars have only enough room for one or two people.

Solar cars compete in races (often called rayces) such as the World Solar Challenge and the American Solar Challenge. These events are often sponsored by government agencies, such as the United States Department of Energy, who are keen to promote the development of alternative energy technology (such as solar cells). Such challenges are often entered by universities to develop their students' engineering and technological skills, but many professional teams have entered competitions as well, including teams from GM and Honda.

Design of Solar Cars

Solar cars combine technology typically used in the aerospace, bicycle, alternative energy and automotive industries. Unlike typical race cars, solar cars are designed with severe energy


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Executive Summary

constraints imposed by the race regulations. These rules limit the energy to only that collected from solar radiation and as a result optimizing the design to account for aerodynamic drag, vehicle weight, rolling resistance and electrical efficiency are paramount. Conventional thinking has to be challenged, for example, rather than a conventional automobile seat which would weigh tens of pounds, one solar car designed by the University of Michigan employed a nylon mesh seat combined with a five-point harness that weighed less than three pounds.

The design of a solar car is governed by the power equation:

Briefly, the left hand side represents the energy input into the car (batteries and power from the sun) and the right hand side is the energy needed to drive the car along the race route (overcoming rolling resistance, aerodynamic drag, going uphill and accelerating). Everything in this equation can be estimated except v. The parameters include:

η = Motor, controller and drive train efficiency (decimal)

ηb = Watt-hour battery efficiency (decimal)

E = Energy available in the batteries (joules)

P = Estimated average power from the array (watts)

x = Daily race route distance (meters)

W = Weight of the vehicle (newtons)

= First coefficient of rolling resistance (non-dimensional)

= Second coefficient of rolling resistance (newton-seconds per meter)


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Executive Summary

N = Number of wheels on the vehicle (integer)

ρ = Air density (kilograms per cubic meter)

Cd = Coefficient of drag (non-dimensional)

A = Frontal area (meters squared)

h = Total height that the vehicle will climb (meters)

Na = Number of times the vehicle will accelerate in a race day (integer)

g = Gravity constant (meters per second squared)

v = Average velocity over the route

Solving the equation for velocity results in a large equation (approximately 100 terms). Using the power equation as the arbiter, vehicle designers can compare various car designs and evaluate the comparative performance over a given route. Combined with CAD and systems modeling, the power equation is a useful tool in solar car design.

The driver's cockpit usually only contains a single seat, although a few cars do contain room for a second passenger. They contain some of the features available to drivers of traditional vehicles such as brakes, accelerator, turn signals, rear view mirrors (or camera), ventilation, and sometimes cruise control. A radio for communication with their support crews is almost always included.

Solar cars are fitted with some gauges seen in conventional cars. Aside from keeping the car on the road, the driver's main priority is to keep an eye on these gauges to spot possible problems. Drivers also have a safety harness, and optionally (depending on the race) a helmet similar to racing car drivers.


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Executive Summary

Electrical System of the Car

The electrical system is the most important part of the car's systems as it controls all of the power that comes into and leaves the system. The battery pack plays the same role in a solar car that a petrol tank plays in a normal car in storing power for future use. Solar cars use a range of batteries including lead-acid batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries (NiMH), Nickel-Cadmium batteries (NiCd), Lithium ion batteries and Lithium polymer batteries. Lead-acid batteries are less expensive and easier to work with but have less power to weight ratio. Typically, solar cars use voltages between 84 and 170 volts.

Power electronics monitor and regulate the car's electricity. Components of the power electronics include the peak power trackers, the motor controller and the data acquisition system.

The peak power trackers manage the power coming from the solar array to maximize the power and deliver it to be stored in the motor. They also protect the batteries from overcharging. The motor controller manages the electricity flowing to the motor according to signals flowing from the accelerator.

Many solar cars have complex data acquisition systems that monitor the whole electrical system while even the most basic cars have systems that provide information on battery voltage and current to the driver. One such system utilizes Controller Area Network (CAN).

Drive Train

The setup of the motor and transmission is unique in solar cars. The electric motor normally drives only one wheel (usually at the back of the car) due to the low amount of power it generates. Solar car motors are normally rated at between 2 and 5 hp (1 and 3 kW); the most common type of motor is a dual-winding DC brushless. The dual-winding motor is sometimes also used as a transmission because multi-geared transmissions are rarely used.


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Executive Summary

There are three basic types of transmissions used in solar cars:

• A single reduction direct drive;

• A variable ratio drive belt;

• A direct drive transmission (hub motor).

There are several varieties of each type. The most common is the direct drive transmission.

Mechanical Systems of the Car

The mechanical systems are designed to keep friction and weight to a minimum while maintaining strength. Designers normally use titanium and composites to ensure a good strength-to-weight ratio.

Solar cars usually have three wheels, but some have four. Three wheelers usually have two front wheels and one rear wheel: the front wheels steer and the rear wheel follows. Four wheel vehicles are set up like normal cars or similarly to three wheeled vehicles with the two rear wheels close together.

Solar cars have a wide range of suspensions because of varying bodies and chassis. The most common front suspension is the double-A-arm suspension found in traditional cars. The rear suspension is often a trailer-arm suspension found in motor cycles.

Solar cars are required to meet rigorous standards for brakes. Disc brakes are the most commonly used due to their good braking ability and ability to adjust. Mechanical and hydraulic brakes are both widely used with the brakes designed to move freely by minimize brake drag.

Steering systems for solar cars also vary. The major design factors for steering systems are efficiency, reliability and precision alignment to minimize tire wear and power loss. The


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Executive Summary

popularity of solar car racing has led to some tire manufacturers designing tires for solar vehicles. This has increased overall safety and performance.

Solar Array of the Car

The solar array consists of hundreds of photovoltaic solar cells converting sunlight into electricity. Cars can use a variety of solar cell technologies; most often polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon, or gallium arsenide. The cells are wired together into strings while strings are often wired together to form a panel. Panels normally have voltages close to the nominal battery voltage. The main aim is to get as many cells in as small a space as possible. Designers encapsulate the cells to protect them from the weather and breakage.

Designing a solar array isn't as easy as just stringing bunch of cells together. A solar array acts like a lot of very small batteries all hooked together in series. The total voltage produced is the sum of all cell voltages. The problem is that if a single cell is in shadow it acts like a diode, blocking the flow of current for the entire string of cells. To correct against this, array designers use by-pass diodes in parallel with smaller segments of the string of cells, allowing current to flow around the non-functioning cell(s). Another consideration is that the battery itself can force current backwards through the array unless there are blocking diodes put at the end of each panel.

The power produced by the solar array depends on the weather conditions, the position of the sun and the capacity of the array. At noon on a bright day, a good array can produce over two kilowatts (2.6 hp).

Some cars have employed free standing or integrated sails to harness wind energy, which is allowed by the race regulations.

Chassis & Bodies

Solar cars have very distinctive shapes as there are no established standards for design. Designers aim to minimize drag, maximize exposure to the sun, minimize weight and make vehicles as safe as possible.


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In chassis design the aim is to maximize strength and safety while keeping the weight as low as possible. There are three main types of chassis:

• Space frame;

• Semi-monocoque or carbon stream;

• Monocoque.

The space frame uses a welded tubed structure to support the body which is a lightweight composite shell attached to the body. The semi-monocoque chassis uses composite beams and bulkheads to support the weight and is integrated into the belly with the top sections often being attached to the body. A monocoque structure uses the body of the car as an integrated load bearing structure.

Composite materials are widely used in solar cars. Carbon fiber, Kevlar and fiberglass are common composite structural materials while foam and honeycomb are commonly used filler materials. Epoxy resins are used to bond these materials together. Carbon fiber and Kevlar structures can be as strong as steel but with a much lighter weight.

Race Strategy & Solar Cars

Optimizing energy consumption is of prime importance in a solar car race. Therefore it is very important to be able to closely monitor the speed, energy consumption, energy intake from solar panel, among other things in real time. Some teams employ sophisticated telemetry that relays vehicle performance data to a computer in a following support vehicle.

The strategy employed depends upon the race rules and conditions. Most solar car races have set starting and stopping points where the objective is to reach the final point in the least amount of total time. Since aerodynamic drag rises exponentially with speed, the energy the car consumes also rises exponentially. This simple fact means that the optimum strategy is to travel at a single steady speed during all phases of the race. Given the varied conditions in all races and the limited (and continuously changing) supply of energy, most teams have race speed


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optimization programs that continuously update the team on how fast the vehicle should be traveling.

Solar Hot Water Systems

Solar hot water systems use sunlight to heat water. They may be used to heat domestic hot water or for space heating. These systems are basically composed of solar thermal collectors and a storage tank. The three basic classifications of solar water heaters are:

• Active systems which use pumps to circulate water or a heat transfer fluid;

• Passive systems which circulate water or a heat transfer fluid by natural circulation. These are also called thermosiphon systems;

• Batch systems using a tank directly heated by sunlight.

A Trombe wall is a passive solar heating and ventilation system consisting of an air channel sandwiched between a window and a sun-facing wall. Sunlight heats the air space during the day causing natural circulation through vents at the top and bottom of the wall and storing heat in the thermal mass. During the evening the Trombe wall radiates stored heat.

A transpired collector is an active solar heating and ventilation system consisting of a perforated sun-facing wall which acts as a solar thermal collector. The collector pre-heats air as it is drawn into the building's ventilation system through the perforations. These systems are inexpensive and commercial models have achieved efficiencies above 70%. Most systems pay for themselves within four to eight years.

Solar Photovoltaic Technology

Photovoltaics, PV, is a solar power technology that uses solar cells or solar photovoltaic arrays to convert energy from the sun into electricity. Photovoltaics is also the field of study relating to this technology.


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Executive Summary

Solar cells produce direct current electricity from the sun’s rays, which can be used to power equipment or to recharge a battery. Many pocket calculators incorporate a solar cell.

When more power is required than a single cell can deliver, cells are generally grouped together to form “PV modules” that may in turn be arranged in “solar arrays” which are sometimes ambiguously referred to as solar panels. Such solar arrays have been used to power orbiting satellites and other spacecraft and in remote areas as a source of power for applications such as roadside emergency telephones, remote sensing, and cathodic protection of pipelines. The continual decline of manufacturing costs (dropping at three to five percent a year in recent years) is expanding the range of cost-effective uses including road signs, home power generation and even grid-connected electricity generation.

Large-scale incentive programs, offering financial incentives like the ability to sell excess electricity back to the public grid ("feed-in"), have greatly accelerated the pace of solar PV installations in Spain, Germany, Japan, the United States, Australia, South Korea, Italy, Greece, France, China and other countries.

Many corporations and institutions are currently developing ways to increase the practicality of solar power. While private companies conduct much of the research and development on solar energy, colleges and universities also work on solar-powered devices.

The most important issue with solar panels is cost. Because of much increased demand, the price of silicon used for most panels is now experiencing upward pressure. This has caused developers to start using other materials and thinner silicon to keep cost down. Due to economies of scale solar panels get less costly as people use and buy more - as manufacturers increase production, the cost is expected to continue to drop in the years to come. As of early 2006, the average cost per installed watt was about $6.50 to $7.50, including panels, inverters, mounts, and electrical items.

Grid-tied systems represented the largest growth area. In the U.S., with incentives from state governments, power companies and (in 2006 and 2007) from the federal government, growth is expected to climb. Net metering programs are one type of incentive driving growth in solar panel use. Net metering allows electricity customers to get credit for any extra power they send


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Executive Summary

back into the grid. This would cause role reversal, as the utility company would be the buyer, and the solar panel owner would be the seller of electricity. To spur growth of their renewable energy market, Germany has adopted an extreme form of net metering, whereby customers get paid eight times what the power company charges them for any surplus they supply back to the grid. That large premium has made a huge demand in solar panels for that area.

Solar Power Satellites

A solar power satellite, or SPS, is a proposed satellite built in high Earth orbit that uses microwave power transmission to beam solar power to a very large antenna on Earth where it can be used in place of conventional power sources. The advantage of placing the solar collectors in space is the unobstructed view of the Sun, unaffected by the day/night cycle, weather, or seasons. However, the costs of construction are very high, and SPS will not be able to compete with conventional sources unless low launch costs can be achieved, or unless a space-based manufacturing industry develops and they can be built in orbit from off-Earth materials.

History of Solar Power Satellite

The SPS concept has been around since late 1968, but was considered impractical due to the lack of an efficient method of sending the power down to the Earth for use. Things changed in 1974 when Peter Glaser was granted patent number 3,781,647 for his method of transmitting the power to Earth using microwaves from a small antenna on the satellite to a much larger one on the ground, known as a rectenna.

Glaser's work took place at Arthur D. Little, Inc., who employed Glaser as a vice-president. NASA then became interested and granted them a contract to lead four other companies in a broader study in 1972. They found that while the concept had several major problems, chiefly the expense of putting the required materials in orbit and the lack of experience on projects of this scale in space, it showed enough promise to merit further investigation and research.

Most major aerospace companies then became briefly involved in some way, either under NASA grants or on their own money, to preserve a chance at the large contracts that would


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Executive Summary

have been let out had the decision been made to go ahead with this concept. At the time the needs for electricity were booming, and there seemed to be no end in demand. When power use leveled off in the 1970s, the concept was shelved.

More recently the concept has again become interesting, generally due to increased energy demands and costs. At some price point the high construction costs of the SPS become favorable due to their low-cost delivery of power, and the varying costs of electricity sometimes approach (or even exceed) this point. In addition, continued advances in material science and space transport continue to whittle away at the startup cost of the SPS.

Components

The SPS essentially consists of three parts:

1. A huge solar collector, typically made up of solar cells;

2. A microwave antenna on the satellite, aimed at Earth;

3. An antenna occupying a large area on Earth to collect the power.

The SPS concept arose because space has several major advantages over earth for the collection of solar power. There is no air in space, so the satellites would receive somewhat more intense sunlight, unaffected by weather. In a geosynchronous orbit an SPS would be illuminated over 99% of the time. The SPS would be in Earth's shadow on only a few days at the spring and fall equinoxes; and even then for a maximum of an hour and a half late at night when power demands are at their lowest. This allows expensive storage facilities necessary to earth-based system to be avoided.

In many ways, the SPS as a concept is simpler than most power systems here on Earth. This includes the structure needed to hold it together, which in orbit can be considerably lighter due to the lack of weight. Some early studies looked at solar furnaces to drive conventional turbines, but as the efficiency of the solar cell improved, this concept eventually became


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Executive Summary

impractical. In either case, another advantage of the design is that waste heat is re-radiated back into space, instead of warming the biosphere as with conventional sources.

The Earth-based receiver antenna (or rectenna) is also key to the SPS concept. It consists of a series of short dipole antennas, connected with a diode. Microwaves broadcast from the SPS are received in the dipoles with about 85% efficiency. With a conventional microwave antenna the reception is even better, but the cost and complexity is considerably greater. Rectennas would be multiple kilometers across. Crops and farm animals may be raised underneath the rectenna, as the thin wires used only slightly reduce sunlight, so the rectennas are not as expensive in terms of land as might be supposed.

For best efficiency the satellite antenna must be between one and 1.5 kilometers in diameter and the ground rectenna around 14 kilometers by 10 kilometers. For the desired microwave intensity this allows transfer of between 5 and 10 gigawatts of power. To be cost effective it needs to operate at maximum capacity. To collect and convert that much power, the satellite needs between 50 and 100 square kilometers of collector area using standard ~14% efficient monocrystalline silicon solar cells. State of the art and expensive triple junction gallium arsenide solar cells with a maximum efficiency of 28% could reduce the collector area by half. In both cases the solar station's structure would be several kilometers wide, making it much larger than most man-made structures here on Earth. While certainly not beyond current engineering capabilities, building structures of this size in orbit has never been attempted before.

Challenges

Launch Costs

Without a doubt, the most obvious problem for the SPS concept is the currently immense cost of space launches. Current rates on the Space Shuttle run between $3,000 and $5,000 per pound ($6,600/kg and $11,000/kg), depending on whose numbers are used. Calculations show that launch costs of less than about $400-500/kg to LEO seem to be necessary.


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Executive Summary

However, economies of scale on expendable vehicles could give rather large reductions in launch cost for this kind of launched mass. Thousands of rocket launches could very well reduce the costs by ten to twenty times using standard costing models. This puts the economics into the range where this system could be conceivably attempted. Reusable vehicles could quite conceivably attack the launch problem as well; but are not a well developed technology.

To give an idea of the scale of the problem, assuming a typical solar panel mass of 20 kg per kilowatt, and without considering the mass of the support structure, antenna or significant mass reduction of focusing mirrors, a 4 GW power station would weigh about 80,000 metric tons. This is excessive though, as a space solar-panel would not need to support its own weight, and would not be subject to earth's corrosive atmosphere. Very lightweight designs could achieve one kg/kW, or 4000 metric tons for a four GW station. This would be the equivalent of between 40 and 800 HLLV launches to send the material to low earth orbit, where it would be turned into subassembly solar arrays, which then use ion-engine style rockets to move to GEO orbit. With an estimated serial launch cost for shuttle-based HLLVs of $500 million to $800 million, total launch costs would range between $20 billion (low cost HLLV, low weight panel) and $320 billion ('expensive' HLLV, unnecessarily heavy panel). On top of this, the cost of a large assembly area in LEO and GEO (which would be spread over several power satellites) and the costs of the materials and manufacture are added.

So how much money could a SSPS be expected to make? For every one gigawatt rating, a SSPS system will generate 8.75 terawatt-hours of electricity per year, or 175 TW•h over a twenty year lifetime. With current market prices of $0.22 per kW•h (UK, Jan06) and an SSPS's ability to send its energy to places of greatest demand, this would equate to $1.93 billion per year or $38.6 billion over its lifetime. The example four GW 'economy' SSPS above could therefore generate in excess of $154 billion over its lifetime. Assuming that facilities are available, it may turn out to be substantially cheaper to recast on-site steel in GEO, than launch it from Earth. If true then the initial launch cost could be spread over multiple lifespans.

Noting the problem of high launch costs in the early 1970s, organizations came up with the idea of building the SPS's in orbit with materials from the Moon. Launch costs from the Moon are about 100 times lower than from Earth, due to the lower gravity. This 1970s was predicated on the then advertised future launch costs of NASA's space shuttle and only works if the


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Executive Summary

number of satellites to be built is on the order of several hundred; otherwise, the cost of setting up the production lines in space and mining facilities on the Moon are just as huge as launching from Earth in the first place. In 1980, when it became obvious NASA's launch cost estimates for the space shuttle were grossly optimistic, O'Neill et al published another route to manufacturing using lunar materials with much lower startup costs. This 1980s SPS concept relied less on human presence in space and more on partially self-replicating systems on the lunar surface under telepresence control of workers stationed on Earth.

Asteroid mining has also been seriously considered. A NASA design study produced a 10,000 ton mining vehicle to be assembled in orbit that would return a 500,000 ton asteroid 'fragment' to geostationary orbit. Only about 3000 tons of the mining ship would constitute traditional aerospace-grade payload. The rest would be reaction mass for the mass-driver engine; which could easily consist of the spent rocket stages used to launch the payload. Assuming that 100% of the returned asteroid was useful, and that the asteroid miner couldn't be reused, that represents nearly a 95% reduction in launch costs. The true merits of such a method would depend on a thorough mineral survey of the candidate asteroids. Once built, NASA's CEV should be capable of beginning such a survey, Congressional money and imagination permitting.

More recently the SPS concept has been suggested as a use for a space elevator. The elevator would make construction of an SPS considerably less expensive, possibly making them competitive with conventional sources. However it appears unlikely that even recent advances in materials science, namely carbon nanotubes, can reduce the price of construction of the elevator enough in the short term.

Currently, the costs of solar panels are too high to use them to produce bulk domestic electricity. However, the mass production of solar panels necessary to build a SPS system would be likely to reduce the costs sufficiently. As well, any panel design suited to SPS use is likely to be quite different than earth suitable panels. This may benefit as costs may be lower (see cost analysis above), but will not be able to take advantage of maximum economies of scale, and so piggyback on production of Earth based panels.


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Executive Summary

It should be noted, however, that there are also certain developments in the production of solar panels. The production of thin film solar panels (so-called "nanosolar") could reduce production costs as well as weight and therefore reduce the total cost of the project. In addition, private space corporations could gain interest in transporting goods (such as satellites, supplies and parts of commercial space hotels) to LEO, since they already are developing spacecraft to transport space tourists.

Safety

The use of microwave transmission of power has been the most controversial item concerning SPS development, but the incineration of anything which strays into the beam's path is an extreme misconception. The beam's most intense section (the center) is far below the lethal levels of concentration even for an exposure which has been prolonged indefinitely. Furthermore, the possibility of exposure to the intense center of the beam can easily be controlled on the ground and an airplane flying through the beam surrounds its passengers with a protective layer of metal, which will intercept the microwaves. Over 95% of the beam will fall on the rectenna. The remaining microwaves will be dispersed to low concentrations well within standards currently imposed upon microwave emissions around the world.

The intensity of microwaves at ground level that would be used in the center of the beam can be designed into the system, but is likely to be comparable to that used by mobile phones. The microwaves must not be too intense in order to avoid injury to wildlife, particularly birds. Experiments with deliberate irradiation with microwaves at reasonable levels have failed to show any negative effects even over multiple generations.

Some have suggested locating rectennas offshore, but this presents problems of its own.

A commonly proposed approach to ensuring fail-safe beam targeting is to use a retrodirective phased array antenna/rectenna. A "pilot" microwave beam is emitted from the center of the rectenna on the ground to establish a phase front at the transmitting antenna, where circuits in each of the antenna's subarrays compare the pilot beam's phase front with an internal clock phase to use as a reference to control the phase of the outgoing signal. This allows the transmitted beam to be centered precisely on the rectenna and to have a high degree of phase


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Executive Summary

uniformity, but if the pilot beam is lost for any reason (if the transmitting antenna is turned away from the rectenna, for example) the phase control system fails and the microwave power beam is automatically defocused. Such a system would be physically incapable of focusing its power beam anywhere that did not have a pilot beam transmitter.

It is important for the system that as much of the microwave radiation as possible is focused on the rectenna as that increases the transmission efficiency. Outside of the rectenna the microwave levels rapidly decrease, nearby towns or cities should be completely unaffected.

The long-term effects of beaming power through the ionosphere in the form of microwaves has yet to be studied.

Economic Feasibility

Current prices for electricity on the grid fluctuate depending on time of day, but typical household delivery costs about 5 cents per kilowatt hour in North America. If the lifetime of an SPS is 20 years and it delivers 5 gigawatts to the grid, the commercial value of that power is 5,000,000,000 / 1000 = 5,000,000 kilowatt hours, which multiplied by $.05 per kW•h gives $250,000 revenue per hour. $250,000 × 24 hours × 365 days × 20 years = $43,800,000,000. By contrast, in England (Oct 2005) electricity can cost 9–22 cents per kilowatt hour. This would translate to a lifetime output of $77–$193 billion. In addition, in the case of England, the country is further north than even most inhabited parts of Canada, and hence receives little insolation over much of the year, so conventional solar power is not terribly competitive at 2006 per-kilowatt-hour delivered costs. (However, per-kilowatt-hour photovoltaic costs have been in exponential decline [10] for decades, with a 20-fold decrease from 1975 to 2001.)

In order to be competitive, an SPS must cost no more than existing suppliers; this may be difficult, especially if it is deployed to North America. Either it must cost less to deploy, or it must operate for a very long period of time. Many proponents have suggested that the lifetime is effectively infinite, but normal maintenance and replacement of less durable components makes this unlikely. Satellites do not, in our now-extensive experience, last forever.


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Executive Summary

A potentially useful concept to contrast SPS with is the constructing a ground-based solar power system that generates an equivalent amount of power. Such a system would require a large solar array built in a well-sunlit area, the Sahara Desert for instance. However, an SPS also requires a large ground structure; the rectenna on the ground is much larger than the area of the solar panels in space. The ground-only solar array would have the advantages of costing considerably less to construct and requiring no significant technological advances.

However, such a system has disadvantages as well. A terrestrial solar station intercepts only one third of the solar energy that an array of equal size could intercept in space, since no power is generated at night and less light strikes the panels when the Sun is low in the sky. Further, if it is assumed that the array must supply baseline power (not a given), some form of energy storage would be required to provide power at night, such as hydrogen, compressed air, or pumped storage hydroelectricity. With present technology, energy storage on this scale is prohibitively expensive. Weather conditions would also interfere with power collection, and can cause greater wear and tear on the solar collectors than the environment of Earth orbit; a sandstorm could cause devastating damage, for example. Beamed microwave power allows one to send the power near to where it is needed, while a solar generating station in the Sahara would provide power most economically to the surrounding area, where current demand is relatively low. Alternatively, the ground-based power could be used on-site to produce chemical fuels for transportation and storage, as in the proposed hydrogen economy. Moreover, remote tropical location of a vast, centralized photovoltaic generator is a somewhat artificial scenario, and makes less sense every year as photovoltaic costs decline. The assumption that ground-based photovoltaics are most economically deployed in large, centralized arrays rather than distributed to end-use points (e.g., rooftops) should be questioned.

Many advances in construction techniques that make the SPS concept more economical could make a ground-based system more economical as well. For instance, many SPS plans are based on building the framework with automated machinery supplied with raw materials, typically aluminum. Such a system could just as easily be used on Earth, no shipping required. However, Earth-based construction already has access to extremely cheap human labor that would not be available in space, so such construction techniques would have to be extremely competitive.


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Executive Summary

Advantages of SPS

The use of microwave beams to heat the oceans has been studied. Some research has speculated that microwave beams appropriately applied would be capable of deflecting the course of hurricanes.

Solar Thermal Energy

Solar thermal energy refers to the idea of harnessing solar power for practical applications from solar heating to electrical power generation. Solar thermal collectors, such as solar hot water panels, are commonly used to generate solar hot water for domestic and light industrial applications. Solar thermal energy is used in architecture and building design to control heating and ventilation in both active solar and passive solar designs.

Solar Updraft Tower

The solar updraft tower is a proposed type of renewable-energy power plant. Air is heated in a very large circular greenhouse-like structure, and the resulting convection causes the air to rise and escape through a tall tower. The moving air drives turbines, which produce electricity.

There are no solar updraft towers in operation at present. A research prototype operated in Spain in the 1980s, and EnviroMission proposes to construct a full scale power station using this technology in Australia.

Overview

The generating ability of a solar updraft power plant depends primarily on two factors: the size of the collector area and chimney height. With a larger collector area, more volume of air is warmed up to flow up the chimney; collector areas as large as 7 km in diameter have been considered. With a larger chimney height, the pressure difference increases the stack effect; chimneys as tall as 1000 m have been considered. Further, a combined increase of the collector area and the chimney height leads to massively larger productivity of the power plant.


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Executive Summary

Heat can be stored inside the collector area greenhouse, to be used to warm the air later on. Water, with its relatively high specific heat capacity, can be filled in tubes placed under the collector increasing the energy storage as needed.

Turbines can be installed in a ring around the base of the tower, with a horizontal axis, as planned for the Australian project described below and seen in the diagram above; or - as in the prototype in Spain - a single vertical axis turbine can be installed inside the chimney.

Solar towers do not produce carbon dioxide emissions during their operation, but are associated with the manufacture of its construction materials, particularly cement. Net energy payback is estimated to be two to three years. The relatively low-tech approach could allow local resources and labor to be used for its construction and maintenance.

History

In 1903, Spanish Colonel Isidoro Cabanyes first proposed a solar chimney power plant in the magazine "La energía eléctrica". One of the earliest descriptions of a solar chimney power plant was written in 1931 by a German author, Hanns Günther. Beginning in 1975, Robert E. Lucier applied for patents on a solar chimney electric power generator; between 1978 and 1981 these patents, since expired, were granted in Australia, Canada, Israel and the U.S.

In 1982, a medium-scale working model of a solar chimney power plant was built under the direction of German engineer Jörg Schlaich in Manzanares, Ciudad Real, 150 km south of Madrid, Spain; the project was funded by the German government. The chimney had a height of 195 meters and a diameter of 10 meters, with a collection area (greenhouse) of 46,000 m² (about 11 acres, or 244 m diameter) obtaining a maximum power output of about 50 kW. During operation, optimization data was collected on a second-by-second basis. This pilot power plant operated successfully for approximately eight years and was decommissioned in 1989.


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Executive Summary

Economical Feasibility of Solar Updraft Tower

With a very large initial capital outlay, no costs for consumables (i.e. fuel) and relatively constant income (from electricity sales) over the life of the project, a solar updraft tower would be placed in the same asset class as dams, bridges, tunnels, motorways and other similar large infrastructure projects. Financial viability would be assessed on a similar basis.

For example, the solar updraft tower being planned by Enviromission is expected to cost AUD$250 million ($189 million) to construct and will service 50,000 homes.

Unlike a wind farm, a Solar Tower is not expected to create a reliance on standby capacity from traditional energy sources.

Various types of thermal storage mechanisms (such as a heat-absorbing surface material or salt water ponds) could be incorporated to smooth out power yields over the day/night cycle and potentially allow a solar updraft tower to provide something similar to base load power. This is highly desirable, as most renewable power systems (wind, solar-electrical) are variable, and a typical national electrical grid requires a combination of base, variable and on-demand power sources for stability.

There is still a great amount of uncertainty and debate on what the cost of production for electricity would be for a solar updraft tower and thus whether a tower (large or small) can be made profitable.

It was claimed, in 2002, that a Solar Tower in Australia would be an expensive way of generating electricity as compared to a conventional wind farm.

However, a 2006 study claims that a large tower in the southwestern United States could not only outperform wind farms on a cost basis but also compete directly with current conventional gas-fired, and some coal-fired, plants.

No reliable electricity cost figures are expected until such time as engineering models are available for finalized tower designs and construction has begun on a production tower.


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Executive Summary

Given the novelty and enormous scale of any commercial solar updraft tower project, tourism income may become a factor, particular for the first towers to be created. Some promotion videos for the Enviromission tower have even shown a glass observation area at the top of the tower.

Given that towers would likely be built in poorer areas with very low-value land, this may be more of interest to the local government than to the operator itself.

Converting Solar Energy to Electrical Energy

The solar updraft tower does not convert all the incoming solar energy into electrical energy. Many designs in the solar thermal group of collectors have higher conversion rates. The low conversion rate of the Solar Tower is balanced by the low investment cost per square meter of solar collection.

According to model calculations, a simple updraft power plant with an output of 200 MW would need a collector seven kilometers in diameter (total area of about 38 km²) and a 1000-metre-high chimney. The 38 km² collecting area is expected to extract about 0.5%, or 5 W/m² of 1 kW/m², of the solar power that falls upon it. Note that in comparison, biomass photosynthesis is about 0.1% efficient. Because no data is available to test these models on a large-scale updraft tower there remains uncertainty about the reliability of these calculations.

The performance of an updraft tower may be degraded by factors such as atmospheric winds, or by drag induced by bracings used for supporting the chimney. Another inefficiency is that reflection of light off the top of the canopy implies a loss of 7.7% of incoming solar energy, as calculated by the fresnel equations, if the canopy is made of common glass.

Location is also a factor. A Solar updraft power plant located at high latitudes such as in Canada may produce no more than 85% of a similar plant located closer to the equator.

Related Concepts

• The Vortex engine proposal replaces the physical chimney by a vortex of twisting air;


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Executive Summary

• Floating Solar Chimney Technology proposes to keep a lightweight chimney aloft using rings of lifting balloons filled with a lighter-than-air gas;

• The chimney could be constructed up a mountainside, using the terrain for support;

• The inverse of the solar updraft tower is the downdraft-driven energy tower. Evaporation of sprayed water at the top of the tower would cause a downdraft by cooling the air and driving wind turbines at the bottom of the tower. This design does not require a large solar collector but does consume up to 50% of the generated energy operating the water pumps.

Storing Solar Energy

Storage is an important issue in the development of solar energy because modern energy systems usually assume continuous availability of energy. Solar energy is not available at night, and the performance of solar power systems is affected by unpredictable weather patterns; therefore, storage media or back-up power systems must be used.

Thermal mass systems can store solar energy in the form of heat at domestically useful temperatures for daily or seasonal durations. Thermal storage systems generally use readily available materials with high specific heat capacities such as water, earth and stone. Well-designed systems can lower peak demand, shift time-of-use to off-peak hours and reduce overall heating and cooling requirements.

Phase change materials such as paraffin wax and Glauber's salt are another thermal storage media. These materials are inexpensive, readily available, and can deliver domestically useful temperatures (approximately 64 °C). The "Dover House" (in Dover, Massachusetts) was the first to use a Glauber's salt heating system, in 1948.

Solar energy can be stored at high temperatures using molten salts. Salts are an effective storage medium because they are low-cost, have a high specific heat capacity and can deliver heat at temperatures compatible with conventional power systems. The Solar Two used this


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Executive Summary

method of energy storage, allowing it to store 1.44 TJ in its 68 m³ storage tank with an annual storage efficiency of about 99%.

Off-grid PV systems have traditionally used rechargeable batteries to store excess electricity. With grid-tied systems, excess electricity can be sent to the transmission grid. Net metering programs give these systems a credit for the electricity they deliver to the grid. This credit offsets electricity provided from the grid when the system cannot meet demand, effectively using the grid as a storage mechanism.

Pumped-storage hydroelectricity stores energy in the form of water pumped when energy is available from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher elevation one. The energy is recovered when demand is high by releasing the water to run through a hydroelectric power generator.

Solar Thermal Technologies

Solar thermal technologies use the sun’s heat. They include non-grid solar thermal technologies; water heating systems, solar cookers, solar drying applications and solar thermal building designs. These technologies help to conserve energy in heating and cooling applications. Solar thermal devices use direct heat from the sun, concentrating it to produce heat at useful temperatures. As with many other advances in the energy sector, the modern solar thermal industry began with the oil embargo of 1973-1974 and was strengthened with the second embargo in 1979. In the early 1980s, a 354 MW solar power plant was built in the Mojave Desert, in California. The heat contained in solar rays, concentrated by reflecting troughs and raised to 400oC, produces steam that runs a conventional power generator. When the sun is not shining, the plant switches to natural gas. The latest generation of this type of plant incorporates new engineering solutions and new scientific principles such as non-imaging optics, which makes it possible to build much more efficient concentrators at lower costs. Solar thermal technology has many applications both for grid connected power generation, in isolated locations where grid connected electricity is not viable, and in domestic and commercial situations.


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Introduction to Solar Photovoltaics

INTRODUCTION TO SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAICS

Overview

Photovoltaics (PV) is the field of technology and research related to the application of solar cells for energy by converting sunlight directly into electricity. Due to the growing demand for clean sources of energy, the manufacture of solar cells and photovoltaic arrays has expanded dramatically in recent years.

Photovoltaic production has been doubling every two years, increasing by an average of 48 percent each year since 2002, making it the world’s fastest-growing energy technology. At the end of 2007, according to preliminary data, cumulative global production was 12,400 megawatts. Roughly 90% of this generating capacity consists of grid-tied electrical systems. Such installations may be ground-mounted (and sometimes integrated with farming and grazing) or built into the roof or walls of a building, known as Building Integrated Photovoltaic or BIPV for short.

Financial incentives, such as preferential feed-in tariffs for solar-generated electricity, and net metering, have supported solar PV installations in many countries including Germany, Japan, and the United States.

Photovoltaics are best known as a method for generating solar power by using solar cells packaged in photovoltaic modules, often electrically connected in multiples as solar photovoltaic arrays to convert energy from the sun into electricity. To explain the photovoltaic solar panel more simply, photons from sunlight knock electrons into a higher state of energy, creating electricity. The term photovoltaic denotes the unbiased operating mode of a photodiode in which current through the device is entirely due to the transduced light energy. Virtually all photovoltaic devices are some type of photodiode.

Solar cells produce direct current electricity from light, which can be used to power equipment or to recharge a battery. The first practical application of photovoltaics was to power orbiting satellites and other spacecraft, but today the majority of photovoltaic modules are used for grid-


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connected power generation. In this case an inverter is required to convert the DC to AC. There is a smaller market for off grid power for remote dwellings, roadside emergency telephones, remote sensing, and cathodic protection of pipelines.

Cells require protection from the environment and are packaged usually behind a glass sheet. When more power is required than a single cell can deliver, cells are electrically connected together to form photovoltaic modules, or solar panels. A single module is enough to power an emergency telephone, but for a house or a power plant the modules must be arranged in arrays. Although the selling price of modules is still too high to compete with grid electricity in most places, significant financial incentives in Japan and then Germany triggered a huge growth in demand, followed quickly by production.

Perhaps not unexpectedly, a significant market has emerged in urban or grid-proximate locations for solar-power-charged storage-battery based solutions. These are deployed as stand-by systems in energy deficient countries like India and as supplementary systems in developed markets. In a vast majority of situations such solutions make neither economic nor environmental sense, any green credentials being largely offset by the lead-acid storage systems typically deployed.

The EPIA/Greenpeace Advanced Scenario shows that by the year 2030, PV systems could be generating approximately 2,600 TWh of electricity around the world. This means that, assuming a serious commitment is made to energy efficiency, enough solar power would be produced globally in twenty-five years’ time to satisfy the electricity needs of almost 14% of the world’s population.


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Figure 2: A Solar Cell Made from a Monocrystalline Silicon Wafer

Source: US DOE

History of Solar Cells

The term "photovoltaic" comes from the Greek phos meaning "light", and "voltaic", meaning electrical, from the name of the Italian physicist Volta, after whom a unit of electrical potential, the volt, is named. The term "photo-voltaic" has been in use in English since 1849.

The photovoltaic effect was first recognized in 1839 by French physicist A. E. Becquerel. However, it was not until 1883 that the first solar cell was built, by Charles Fritts, who coated the semiconductor selenium with an extremely thin layer of gold to form the junctions. The device was only around 1% efficient. Sven Ason Berglund had a number of patent concerning methods of increasing the capacity of these cells. Russell Ohl patented the modern junction semiconductor solar cell in 1946 (U.S. Patent 2,402,662 , "Light sensitive device"), which was discovered while working on the series of advances that would lead to the transistor.


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The modern age of solar power technology arrived in 1954 when Bell Laboratories, experimenting with semiconductors, accidentally found that silicon doped with certain impurities was very sensitive to light. This resulted in the production of the first practical solar cells with a sunlight energy conversion efficiency of around six percent. The first spacecraft to use solar panels was the US satellite Vanguard 1, launched in March 1958 with solar cells made by Hoffman Electronics. This milestone created interest in producing and launching a geostationary communications satellite, in which solar energy would provide a viable power supply. This was a crucial development which stimulated funding from several governments into research for improved solar cells.

In 1970 the first highly effective GaAs heterostructure solar cells were created by Zhores Alferov and his team in the USSR. Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD, or OMCVD) production equipment was not developed until the early 1980s, limiting the ability of companies to manufacture the GaAs solar cell. In the United States, the first 17% efficient air mass zero (AM0) single-junction GaAs solar cells were manufactured in production quantities in 1988 by Applied Solar Energy Corporation (ASEC). The "dual junction" cell was accidentally produced in quantity by ASEC in 1989 as a result of the change from GaAs on GaAs substrates to GaAs on Germanium (Ge) substrates. The accidental doping of Ge with the GaAs buffer layer created higher open circuit voltages, demonstrating the potential of using the Ge substrate as another cell. As GaAs single-junction cells topped 19% AM0 production efficiency in 1993, ASEC developed the first dual junction cells for spacecraft use in the United States, with a starting efficiency of approximately 20%. These cells did not utilize the Ge as a second cell, but used another GaAs-based cell with different doping. Eventually GaAs dual junction cells reached production efficiencies of about 22%. Triple Junction solar cells began with AM0 efficiencies of approximately 24% in 2000, 26% in 2002, 28% in 2005, and in 2007 have evolved to a 30% AM0 production efficiency, currently in qualification.

In 2007, two companies in the United States, Emcore Photovoltaics and Spectrolab, produce 95% of the world's Triple Junction solar cells which have a commercial efficiency of 38%[citation needed]. In 2006 Spectrolab's cells achieved 40.7% efficiency in lab testing.

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have set a world record in solar cell efficiency with a photovoltaic device that converts 40.8


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percent of the light that hits it into electricity. This is the highest confirmed efficiency of any photovoltaic device to date.

Three Generations of PV Cells

Solar Cells are classified into three generations which indicates the order of which each became prominent. At present there is concurrent research into all three generations while the first generation technologies are most highly presented in commercial production, accounting for 89.6% of 2007 production.

First Generation

First generation cells consist of large-area, high quality and single junction devices. First Generation technologies involve high energy and labor inputs which prevent any significant progress in reducing production costs. Single junction silicon devices are approaching the theoretical limiting efficiency of 33% and achieve cost parity with fossil fuel energy generation after a payback period of five to seven years. They are not likely to get lower than US$1/W.

Second Generation

Second generation materials have been developed to address energy requirements and production costs of solar cells. Alternative manufacturing techniques such as vapor deposition and electroplating are advantageous as they reduce high temperature processing significantly. It is commonly accepted that as manufacturing techniques evolve production costs will be dominated by constituent material requirements, whether this be a silicon substrate, or glass cover. Second generation technologies are expected to gain market share in 2008.

Such processes can bring costs down to a little under US$0.50 but because of the defects inherent in the lower quality processing methods, have much reduced efficiencies compared to First Generation.

The most successful second generation materials have been cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium selenide, amorphous silicon and micromorphous silicon. These materials are


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applied in a thin film to a supporting substrate such as glass or ceramics reducing material mass and therefore costs. These technologies do hold promise of higher conversion efficiencies, particularly CIGS-CIS, DSC and CdTe offers significantly cheaper production costs.

Among major manufacturers there is certainly a trend toward second generation technologies however commercialization of these technologies has proven difficult. In 2007 First Solar produced 200 MW of CdTe solar cells making it the fifth largest producer of solar cells in 2007 and the first ever to reach the top 10 from production of second generation technologies alone. Wurth Solar commercialized its CIS technology in 2007 producing 15 MW. Nanosolar commercialized its CIGS technology in 2007 with a production capacity of 430 MW for 2008 in the USA and Germany.

In 2007 CdTe production represented 4.7% of total market share, thin-film silicon 5.2% and CIGS 0.5%.

Third Generation

The third generation or advanced thin-film photovoltaic cell, are a range of novel alternatives to "first generation" (silicon p-n junction or wafer solar cells) and "second generation" (low-cost, but low-efficiency thin-film cell) devices, even and especially more advanced versions of the thin films.

Several new solar cell, or photovoltaic, technologies have been proposed or discovered in recent years, due to extensive research and development with a focus on finding more efficient alternatives to traditional silicon solar cells. Research and development in this area generally aims to provide higher efficiency and lower cost per watt of electricity generated. The main criterion Martin Green gives is that the technology aims for extremely high efficiency, "double or triple the 15-20% range currently targeted." The third generation is especially concerned with exceeding the theoretical Shockley-Queisser limit of around 31% for single-junction solar photovoltaic efficiency.

The third generation is somewhat ambiguous in the technologies that it encompasses, though generally it tends to include, among others, non-semiconductor technologies (including


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polymer cells and biomimetics), quantum dot technologies, tandem/multi-junction cells, hot-carrier cells, upconversion and downconversion technologies, and solar thermal technologies, such as thermophotonics, which is one technology identified by Green as being third generation.

It also includes:

• Silicon nanostructures

• Modifying incident spectrum (concentration).

• Use of excess thermal generation (caused by UV light) to enhance voltages or carrier collection.

• Use of infrared spectrum to produce electricity at night.

There has been a lot of hype circling around the possibilities of advanced solar technology in recent years. Major companies and investors such as Google, have invested hundreds of millions of dollars towards this new generation of solar power. They are counting on the likely possibility that the new technologies could compete with not only traditional solar cells, but more importantly with foclear energy (to reach and surpass grid parity). This would revolutionize our energy market; as said, in order for this to happen, third generation solar cells will need to be more efficient and cheaper.

A Brief Look at Concentrator Cells

Concentrator cells and modules have a lens which is used to gather and converge sunlight onto the cell or module surface.

Single crystal cells have an efficiency of up to 25%; poly crystal cells 20% and thin film about 16%. 84% of past and present module production has included thick silicon technology. The future plans of many companies include a commitment to thin film technologies but progress is varied and single and polycrystalline production is scheduled to expand over the next few


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years. A small number of solar PV companies have committed themselves exclusively to thin film technology, notably Shell Solar, which has divested its poly silicon interests and is focusing solely on thin film.

Applications

Solar cells are often electrically connected and encapsulated as a module. PV modules often have a sheet of glass on the front (sun up) side, allowing light to pass while protecting the semiconductor wafers from the elements (rain, hail, etc.). Solar cells are also usually connected in series in modules, creating an additive voltage. Connecting cells in parallel will yield a higher current. Modules are then interconnected, in series or parallel, or both, to create an array with the desired peak DC voltage and current.

The power output of a solar array is measured in watts or kilowatts. In order to calculate the typical energy needs of the application, a measurement in watt-hours, kilowatt-hours or kilowatt-hours per day is often used. A common rule of thumb is that average power is equal to 20% of peak power, so that each peak kilowatt of solar array output power corresponds to energy production of 4.8 kWh per day.

To make practical use of the solar-generated energy, the electricity is most often fed into the electricity grid using inverters (grid-connected PV systems); in standalone systems, batteries are used to store the energy that is not needed immediately.

Sunlight Conditions for Using Solar PV Cells

Even though solar photovoltaics are more effective in bright sunlight, some types can be used in diffuse sunlight conditions.

The patterns of distribution of sunlight, or insolation, vary considerably at different times of the year and throughout the world. The three types of solar photovoltaic technologies have optimum applications in different climatic conditions.


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Categories 1 and 2, crystalline silicon and thin-film PV cells, use both direct and indirect diffuse solar radiation and they are suitable in areas with indirect, diffuse solar conditions, such as many north European regions.

Category 3, concentrator cells use sunlight, which is perpendicular to the active materials, i.e. direct normal sunlight or insolation. They have greater efficiency in areas with high levels of direct insolation, e.g. Sunny desert regions.


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Figure 3: Worldwide Solar Insolation Levels

Source: NASA


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Impact of Weather Conditions on PV Cells

Functioning in Cold Weather

Photovoltaics work better in cold weather situations. Contrary to what many people imagine, photovoltaics are capable of generating more power at lower temperatures with other factors being equal. This is because photovoltaics are electronic devices and generate electricity from light, not heat and like most electronic devices, photovoltaics operate more efficiently at cooler temperatures. In temperate climates, photovoltaics generate less energy in the winter than in the summer, but this is due to the shorter days, lower sun angles and greater cloud cover, not the cooler temperatures.

Efficiency in Cloudy Conditions

Photovoltaic solar modules are naturally inefficient in low sun and cloudy conditions. The output of any industrial PV module is reduced to 5-20% of its full sun output when it operates under cloudy conditions. As such, photovoltaics do generate electricity in cloudy weather although their output is diminished.

PV Technology in Isolated Generation

Photovoltaic technology is used in isolated generating locations, to produce electricity in areas inaccessible by power lines, especially in rural areas of developing countries. Solar technology can be included in packages of energy services to improve rural health care, education, communication, agriculture, lighting and water supply.

Indonesia provides a good example of the possibilities of photovoltaics for large scale off-grid generation. The archipelago of Indonesia comprises more than 13,000 islands stretching over 3,000 miles from east to west. Currently, only 20,960 of more than 60,000 rural villages are connected to a public electricity grid, leaving 25 of 36 million rural Indonesian households to rely on kerosene, dry cell batteries, and candles for lighting. The Government of Indonesia, through its national utility company, PLN, plans to connect another 11,600 villages through


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grid extension, but at the current speed, it will take at least another forty years to achieve this goal. Even under this ambitious grid extension program, over half of all Indonesian villages would remain without electricity. As with all developing countries, rural electrification is a priority to retard massive migration of the rural population into urban concentrations, which are already among the largest in the world. In order to increase the speed of rural electrification, the government has started to support solar rural electrification, and has recommended a "Fifty Mega-Watt Peak (50 MWp) Photovoltaic Rural Electrification Project", to install one million solar units over the course of the next ten years.

Impact of Photovoltaic Cells on the Environment

Unlike fossil fuel-based technologies, solar power does not lead to any harmful emissions during operation, but the production of the panels leads to some amount of pollution. This is often referred to as the energy input to output ratio. In some analysis, if the energy input to produce it is higher than the output it produces it can be considered environmentally more harmful than beneficial. Also, placement of photovoltaics affects the environment. If they are located where photosynthesizing plants would normally grow, they simply substitute one potentially renewable resource (biomass) for another. It should be noted, however, that the biomass cycle converts solar radiation energy to electrical energy with significantly less efficiency than photovoltaic cells alone. And if they are placed on the sides of buildings (such as in Manchester) or fences, or rooftops (as long as plants would not normally be placed there), or in the desert they are purely additive to the renewable power base.

Solar photovoltaics are probably the most benign method of power generation. They are silent, produce no emissions and use no fuel other than sunlight. The production of photovoltaics varies among manufacturers but PV technology is based on silicon, the second most common element on the earth's surface. As used in PV modules, silicon is non-toxic. A solar PV module will usually re-generate the energy used in its manufacturing process in one to four years depending on the application and location.


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Greenhouse Gases

Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions are now in the range of 25-32 g/kWh and this could decrease to 15 g/kWh in the future. For comparison, a combined cycle gas-fired power plant emits some 400 g/kWh and a coal-fired power plant 915 g/kWh and with carbon capture and storage some 200 g/kWh. Only nuclear power and wind are better, emitting 6-25 g/kWh and 11 g/kWh on average. Using renewable energy sources in manufacturing and transportation would further drop photovoltaic emissions.

Issue of Cadmium

One issue that has often raised concerns is the use of cadmium in cadmium telluride solar cells (CdTe is only used in a few types of PV panels). Cadmium in its metallic form is a toxic substance that has the tendency to accumulate in ecological food chains. The amount of cadmium used in thin-film PV modules is relatively small (5-10 g/m²) and with proper emission control techniques in place the cadmium emissions from module production can be almost zero. Current PV technologies lead to cadmium emissions of 0.3-0.9 microgram/kWh over the whole life-cycle. Most of these emissions actually arise through the use of coal power for the manufacturing of the modules, and coal and lignite combustion leads to much higher emissions of cadmium. Life-cycle cadmium emissions from coal are 3.1 microgram/kWh, lignite 6.2 and natural gas 0.2 microgram/kWh.

Note that if electricity produced by photovoltaic panels were used to manufacture the modules instead of electricity from burning coal, cadmium emissions from coal power usage in the manufacturing process could be entirely eliminated.

Energy Payback Time

The energy payback time is the time required to produce an amount of energy as great as what was consumed during production. The energy payback time is determined from a life cycle analysis of energy.


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Another key indicator of environmental performance, tightly related to the energy payback time, is the ratio of electricity generated divided by the energy required to build and maintain the equipment. This ratio is called the energy returned on energy invested (EROEI). Of course, little is gained if it takes as much energy to produce the modules as they produce in their lifetimes. This should not be confused with the economic return on investment, which varies according to local energy prices, subsidies available and metering techniques.

Life-cycle analyses show that the energy intensity of typical solar photovoltaic technologies is rapidly evolving. In 2000 the energy payback time was estimated at 8 to 11 years, but more recent studies suggest that technological progress has reduced this to 1.5 to 3.5 years for crystalline silicon PV systems.

Thin film technologies now have energy pay-back times in the range of 1-1.5 years (S. Europe). With lifetimes of such systems of at least 30 years, the EROEI is in the range of 10 to 30. They thus generate enough energy over their lifetimes to reproduce themselves many times (6-31 reproductions, the EROEI is a bit lower) depending on what type of material, balance of system (or BOS), and the geographic location of the system.


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Applications of Solar PV

APPLICATIONS OF SOLAR PV

Solar photovoltaic cells have many uses for consumer products such in as calculators and watches, which are in widespread use. They also have applications, which are multiplying in larger scale electricity generation. These can be grouped into the following categories:

• Simple or ‘stand alone’ PV systems

• The ‘whole building’

• PV with battery storage

• PV with backup generator power

• Grid-connected generation, conventional and distributed

• Hybrid power systems

Stand Alone PV Systems

Solar PV can provide electricity for many applications; for example, to drive water pumps for irrigation and drinking wells, or ventilation fans for air-cooling. The simplest PV systems use the DC electricity as soon as it is generated to power these devices. These basic PV systems have several advantages for the special jobs they do. The energy is produced where and when it is needed, eliminating the need for complex wiring, storage and control systems. Small systems, under 500 watts, weigh less than 68 kilograms, making them easy to transport and install. Most installations can be carried out in a few hours. Although pumps and fans require regular maintenance, the PV modules require only an occasional inspection and cleaning.


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Photovoltaic Power Station

Solar photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electricity and many solar photovoltaic power stations have been built, mainly in Europe. Several large photovoltaic power plants have been completed in Spain in 2008: the Parque Fotovoltaico Olmedilla de Alarcon (60 MW), Parque Solar Merida/Don Alvaro (30 MW), Planta solar Fuente Álamo (26 MW), Planta fotovoltaica de Lucainena de las Torres (23.2 MW), Parque Fotovoltaico Abertura Solar (23.1 MW), Parque Solar Hoya de Los Vincentes (23 MW), the Solarpark Calveron (21 MW), and the Planta Solar La Magascona (20 MW). Another recently completed 14 MW plant is located at Nellis Air Force Base in the USA. Germany has a 12 MW plant in Arnstein, and a 10 MW photovoltaic system in Pocking, with a 40 MW power station planned for Muldentalkreis. Portugal has an 11 MW plant in Serpa and a 62 MW power station is planned for Moura. A photovoltaic power station proposed for Australia will use heliostat concentrator technology, should come into service in 2010, and is expected to have a capacity of 154 MW when it is completed in 2013.

Many of these plants are integrated with agriculture and some use innovative tracking systems that follow the sun's daily path across the sky to generate more electricity than conventional fixed-mounted systems. There are no fuel costs or emissions during operation of the power stations.

The Topaz Solar Farm is a proposed 550 MW solar photovoltaic power plant which is to be built northwest of California Valley in the USA at a cost of over $1 billion. Built on 9.5 square miles (25 km2) of ranchland,[54] the project would utilize thin-film PV panels designed and manufactured by OptiSolar in Hayward and Sacramento. The project would deliver approximately 1,100 gigawatt-hours (GW·h) annually of renewable energy. The project is expected to begin construction in 2010, begin power delivery in 2011, and be fully operational by 2013.

High Plains Ranch is a proposed 250 MW solar photovoltaic power plant which is to be built by SunPower in the Carrizo Plain, northwest of California Valley.


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PV in Buildings

Building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are photovoltaic materials that are used to replace conventional building materials in parts of the building envelope such as the roof, skylights, or facades. They are increasingly being incorporated into the construction of new buildings as a principal or ancillary source of electrical power, although existing buildings may be retrofitted with BIPV modules as well. The advantage of integrated photovoltaics over more common non-integrated systems is that the initial cost can be offset by reducing the amount spent on building materials and labor that would normally be used to construct the part of the building that the BIPV modules replace. In addition, since BIPV are an integral part of the design, they generally blend in better and are more aesthetically appealing than other solar options. These advantages make BIPV one of the fastest growing segments of the photovoltaic industry.

Building Integrated Photovoltaic modules are available in several forms.

• Flat roofs - The most widely installed to date is a thin-film cell integrated to a flexible polymer roofing membrane.

• Pitched roofs - Modules shaped like multiple roof tiles; Solar shingles are modules designed to look and act like regular shingles, while incorporating a flexible thin film cell.

• Facades - Modules mounted on exterior faces of buildings can provide additional weatherproofing or simply be used as a style element.

• Glazing - (Semi)transparent modules can be used to replace a number of architectural elements commonly made with glass or similar materials, such as windows and skylights.

In recent years, the International Energy Agency's programs on "Advanced Low-Energy Solar Buildings" have sponsored a number of products that primarily target energy saving and energy efficiency, but also the introduction of solar technologies to meet the remainder of a building's energy requirements. These experiences have proved that it is possible to construct buildings


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that use, on average, only 44 kWh/m² per year, compared with 172 kWh/m² in other contemporary buildings that do not employ this design technology. The lowest consumption obtained so far, 15 kWh/m², was in a home built in Berlin.

According to new building codes, proposed in some countries of Northern Europe, for future buildings, the amount of energy needed for winter heating can be reduced to practically zero with readily-available technologies (insulation, special glass, heat recovery, passive solar design and energy storage).The remainder can be covered with active solar devices incorporated in the building's skin, devices that are not necessarily invisible, but are aesthetically designed for these buildings of the future.

Photovoltaics with Battery Storage

Storing electrical energy makes PV systems a reliable source of electric power day and night, regardless of weather conditions. PV systems with battery storage are used to power lights, sensors, recording equipment, switches, appliances, telephones, televisions and power tools.

A PV panel can generate electricity during the day and stores it in a battery for use at night. PV systems with batteries can be designed to power DC or AC equipment. People who want to run conventional AC equipment add a power-conditioning device called an "inverter" between the batteries and the load. Although a small amount of energy is lost in converting DC to AC, an inverter makes PV-generated electricity behave like utility power to operate everyday AC appliances, lights, and even computers.

The Concept of PV Storage

In many PV systems, energy will not be used as it is produced. Instead, it may be required at night or on cloudy days. If tapping into the utility grid is not an option, a battery backup system would be necessary. The major drawback to batteries is that they decrease the efficiency of the PV system, because it is possible to reclaim only about 80% of the energy channeled into them. They also add to the expense of the overall system and must be replaced every five to ten years. They take up considerable floor space, jeopardize safety regulations and require periodic maintenance.


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Like PV cells, batteries are direct-current devices and are directly compatible only with DC loads. However, batteries can also serve as a power conditioner for these loads by regulating power. This allows the PV array to operate closer to its optimum power output. Most batteries must be safeguarded from overcharge and excessive discharge, which can cause electrolyte loss or damage the battery plates. A battery is most effectively protected through the use of a charge controller, which also maintains system voltage. Most charge controllers also have a mechanism that prevents current from flowing from the battery back into the array at night.

Rural Electrification

Developing countries where many villages are often more than five kilometers away from grid power have begun using photovoltaics. In remote locations in India a rural lighting program has been providing solar powered LED lighting to replace kerosene lamps. The solar powered lamps were sold at about the cost of a few month's supply of kerosene. Cuba is working to provide solar power for areas that are off grid. These are areas where the social costs and benefits offer an excellent case for going solar though the lack of profitability could relegate such endeavors to humanitarian goals.

Connecting Generators with PV

An electric generator can work effectively with a PV system to supply the load of constant or large-scale power. During the daytime, the PV modules soundlessly supply daytime energy needs and charge batteries. If the batteries run low, the engine generator runs at full power until they are charged. This is the most cost and fuel-efficient mode of operation. In some systems, the generator makes up the difference when electrical demand exceeds the combined output of the PV modules and the batteries.

An example is the portable PV / propane system, which provides electricity for California State University's Desert Research Centre in Southern California. The facility is far from utility power lines, yet it includes a commercial kitchen, machine shop, classrooms, laboratory, and dormitories that accommodate 75 people.


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Utilities with a Grid-Connected PV System

Where utility power is available, a grid-connected PV system can supply some of the energy needed and use the utility in place of batteries. Business and homeowners use PV systems connected to the utility grid. The owner of a grid-connected PV system can both buy and sell electricity. This is because electricity generated by the PV system can be used on site or fed through a meter into the utility grid. When a home or business needs more electricity than the PV array is generating, for example in the evening, the need is automatically met by power from the utility grid. When the home or business needs less electricity than the PV array is generating, the excess is fed or sold back to the utility. Used this way, the utility backs up the PV as batteries do in stand-alone systems. At the end of the month, a credit for electricity sold is taken off the charges for electricity purchased.

The generation for utilities can be supplemented by large-scale photovoltaic power plants, consisting of many PV arrays installed together. PV plants can be built quicker than conventional power plants because the arrays themselves are easily installed and connect electrically. Utilities can construct PV plants where they are most needed in the grid because sitting PV arrays is much easier than sitting a conventional power plant. Unlike conventional power plants, PV plants can be enlarged incrementally as demand increases.

Finally, PV power plants consume no fuel and produce no air or water pollution while they silently generate electricity. Sacramento Municipal Utility District's (SMUD) 2-MW plant produces enough power to serve 660 Sacramento-area homes. The 1600 modules are spread across an 8094 m2 field in this sunny region of California. SMUD opted to close down the nuclear reactors in favor of "cleaner" energy technology.


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Hybrid Power Systems

Figure 4: Hybrid Power Systems

Source: EIA

A hybrid system combines PV with other forms of generation, usually a diesel generator. Biogas is also used. The other form of generation may be a type able to modulate power output as a function of demand. However more than one renewable form of energy may be used e.g. wind. The photovoltaic power generation serves to reduce the consumption of non renewable fuel. Hybrid systems are most often found on islands. Pellworm island in Germany and Kynthos island are notable examples (both are combined with wind). The Kynthos plant has reduced diesel consumption by 11.2%

Distributed Generation & PV

Distributed generation, also called on-site generation, dispersed generation, embedded generation, decentralized generation, decentralized energy or distributed energy, generates electricity from many small energy sources.


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Currently, industrial countries generate most of their electricity in large centralized facilities, such as coal, nuclear, hydropower or gas powered plants. These plants have excellent economies of scale, but usually transmit electricity long distances.

Most plants are built this way due to a number of economic, health & safety, logistical, environmental, geographical and geological factors. For example, coal power plants are built away from cities to prevent their heavy air pollution from affecting the populace, in addition such plants are often built near collieries to minimize the cost of transporting coal. Hydroelectric plants are by their nature limited to operating at sites with sufficient waterflow. Most power plants are often considered to be too far away for their waste heat to be used for heating buildings.

Low pollution is a crucial advantage of combined cycle plants that burn natural gas. The low pollution permits the plants to be near enough to a city to be used for district heating and cooling.

Distributed generation is another approach. It reduces the amount of energy lost in transmitting electricity because the electricity is generated very near where it is used, perhaps even in the same building. This also reduces the size and number of power lines that must be constructed.

Typical distributed power sources in a Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme have low maintenance, low pollution and high efficiencies. In the past, these traits required dedicated operating engineers, and large, complex plants to pay their salaries and reduce pollution. However, modern embedded systems can provide these traits with automated operation and clean fuels, such as sunlight, wind and natural gas. This reduces the size of power plant that can show a profit.

Solar PV technology is suitable for use in distributed generation systems, because power can be generated at any consumption point, be it industrial, commercial or domestic. However, there are problems. Firstly, the cost is high. Secondly, most solar cells have waste disposal issues, since solar cells often contain heavy-metal electronic wastes; although they are otherwise environmentally clean.


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Figure 5: Conventional Distribution Network

Source: Ofgem

Solar PV technology is ideal for use in distributed generation systems, since power can be generated at any consumption point, be it industrial, commercial or domestic.


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Figure 6: A Distribution Network with Distributed Generation

Source: Ofgem

Many issues remain to be resolved in the industrialized countries to give distributed generation its full opportunity. These involve grid codes for the generators supplying excess power into the distribution grid and “net metering”, the metering of electricity in two directions: from the distribution grid and back into it.

Small Scale DIY Solar Systems

With a growing DIY-community and an increasing interest in environmentally friendly "green energy", some hobbyists have endeavored to build their own PV solar systems from kits or partly DIY. Usually, the DIY-community uses inexpensive and/or high efficiency systems (such as those with solar tracking) to generate their own power. As a result, the DIY-systems often end up cheaper than their commercial counterparts. Often, the system is also hooked up unto the regular power grid to repay part of the investment via net metering. These systems usually generate power amount of ~2kW or less. Through the internet, the community is now able to obtain plans to construct the system (at least partly DIY) and there is a growing trend toward building them for domestic requirements. The DIY-PV solar systems are now also


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being used both in developed countries and in developing countries, to power residences and small businesses.


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Solar PV System Performance

SOLAR PV SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

At high noon on a cloudless day at the equator, the power of the sun is about 1 kW/m², on the Earth's surface, to a plane that is perpendicular to the sun's rays. As such, PV arrays can track the sun through each day to greatly enhance energy collection. However, tracking devices add cost, and require maintenance, so it is more common for PV arrays to have fixed mounts that tilt the array and face due South in the Northern Hemisphere (in the Southern Hemisphere, they should point due North). The tilt angle, from horizontal, can be varied for season, but if fixed, should be set to give optimal array output during the peak electrical demand portion of a typical year.

For large systems, the energy gained by using tracking systems outweighs the added complexity (trackers can increase efficiency by 30% or more). PV arrays that approach or exceed one megawatt often use solar trackers. Accounting for clouds, and the fact that most of the world is not on the equator, and that the sun sets in the evening, the correct measure of solar power is insolation – the average number of kilowatt-hours per square meter per day.

For the weather and latitudes of the United States and Europe, typical insolation ranges from 4 kWh/m²/day in northern climes to 6.5 kWh/m²/day in the sunniest regions. Typical solar panels have an average efficiency of 12%, with the best commercially available panels at 20%. Thus, a photovoltaic installation in the southern latitudes of Europe or the United States may expect to produce 1 kWh/m²/day. A typical "150 watt" solar panel is about a square meter in size. Such a panel may be expected to produce 1 kWh every day, on average, after taking into account the weather and the latitude.

In the Sahara desert, with less cloud cover and a better solar angle, one could ideally obtain closer to 8.3 kWh/m²/day provided the nearly ever present wind would not blow sand on the units. The unpopulated area of the Sahara desert is over 9 million km², which if covered with solar panels would provide 630 terawatts total power. The Earth's current energy consumption rate is around 13.5 TW at any given moment (including oil, gas, coal, nuclear, and hydroelectric).


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Solar PV System Performance

Photovoltaic cells' electrical output is extremely sensitive to shading. When even a small portion of a cell, module, or array is shaded while the remainder is in sunlight, the output falls dramatically due to internal 'short-circuiting' (the electrons reversing course through the shaded portion of the p-n junction). Therefore it is extremely important that a PV installation is not shaded at all by trees, architectural features, flag poles, or other obstructions. Sunlight can be absorbed by dust, fallout, or other impurities at the surface of the module. This can cut down the amount of light that actually strikes the cells by as much as half. Maintaining a clean module surface will increase output performance over the life of the module.

Module output and life are also degraded by increased temperature. Allowing ambient air to flow over, and if possible behind, PV modules reduces this problem. However, effective module lives are typically 25 years or more, so replacement costs should be considered as well.


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Photovoltaic Industry Value Chain Analysis

PHOTOVOLTAIC INDUSTRY VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS

The PV industry has three essential components, which constitute the value chain, each dependent on each other. Some companies concentrate on individual segments of the value chain others address all segments as integrated solar PV companies. These components are:

• Feedstock

• Solar PV cells and modules

• Balance of system

Feedstock Component

Raw silicon is by far the most prevalent feedstock for solar cells, currently used for 94% of the cells produced. Bulk silicon is separated into multiple categories according to crystallinity and crystal size in the resulting ingot, ribbon or wafer.

• Monocrystalline silicon (c-Si) is often made using the Czochralski process. Single-crystal wafer cells are expensive because they are cut from cylindrical ingots

• Poly- or multi-crystalline silicon (poly-Si or mc-Si) is made from cast square ingots. They are cheaper because they are less expensive to produce than single crystal cells but they are less efficient

• Ribbon silicon is formed by drawing flat thin films from molten silicon and they have a multi-crystalline structure. These cells have lower efficiencies than poly-Si, but save on production costs due to a great reduction in silicon waste because this approach does not require sawing from ingots

• New Structures: These new compounds are special arrangements of silicon, such as ormosil, that can dramatically improve efficiency


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The alternative, used only for six percent of cells produced at present, involves thin film technology. The various thin-film technologies currently being developed reduce the amount (or mass) of light-absorbing material required in creating a solar cell.

Profiling Polysilicon

There are two sources of solar grade (SoG); silicon feedstock producers of electronic grade (EG) silicon for the Integrated Circuit (IC) industry producing semiconductors, and one dedicated producer of solar grade silicon. It is generally referred to as multi-crystalline silicon, or poly-silicon (poly-Si, or poly). Until recently, SoG came from off-spec and waste silicon, produced either during the poly-silicon purification process or during ingot and wafer production but poly-silicon companies are now producing SoG specifically for solar PV use.

Silicon must be highly purified for use as a semiconductor material and electronic grade silicon requires a higher degree of purification than solar grade. For use in solar photovoltaics the silicon must be 99.9999% pure (often referred to as ‘six nines’ or 6N pure), while electronic grade silicon is typically 9N to 11N. Silicon of either grade must undergo a lot of processing and passes through several stages. The first stage is the extraction of quartz from a silica mine. The quartz is heated in a furnace with a carbon source, such as coal and coke, producing liquid silicon, which is refined and allowed to solidify. It is known as metallurgical silicon (MG-Si), which is 96%-99% pure. MG-Si can be refined by several methods to produce poly-silicon, the most common of which is the Siemens process used for about 90% of reduction now. It involves chemical deposition of trichlorosilane (TCD) gas on heated rods. The final product is a rod of silicon, which is then broken into ‘chunks’ or granules of polysilicon. Other processes are the fluidized bed rator (FBR) and a process developed by Union arbide and now owned by REC.

The chunk or granular poly-silicon is then refined with one of several processes. The Czochralski (CZ) and float zone methods produce mono-crystalline ingots. Directional solidification or casting, ribbon, and sheet techniques produce multi-crystalline structures.


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Thin Film Technology

Thin films are thin material layers ranging from fractions of a nanometer to several micrometers in thickness. Electronic semiconductor devices and optical coatings are the main applications benefiting from thin film construction. Some work is being done with ferromagnetic thin films as well for use as computer memory. It is also being applied to pharmaceuticals, via thin film drug delivery.

Ceramic thin films are also in wide use. The relatively high hardness and inertness of ceramic materials make this type of thin coating of interest for protection of substrate materials against corrosion, oxidation and wear. In particular, the use of such coatings on cutting tools may extend the life of these items by several orders of magnitude.

The engineering of thin films is complicated by the fact that their physics is in some cases not well understood. In particular, the problem of dewetting may be hard to solve, as there is ongoing debate and research into some processes by which this may occur.

Various thin film technologies are being developed to reduce the amount of light absorbing material required in a solar cell. Thin film PV uses thin film coating technologies and use less material because the active area of the cell is usually only 1 to 10 micrometers thick, compared with 100 to 300 micrometers for thick film. An additional advantage is that thin-film cells can be manufactured in a large-area automated, continuous production process.

The most common thin-film technologies use amorphous silicon (a-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium-selenide (CIS) and copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS). Of these, CIGS has demonstrated the highest laboratory efficiency at 19.5% with CdTe close behind. CIGS thin-film technologies can be placed on a wide variety of substrate materials making it possible to manufacture very lightweight, flexible solar cells on metals and plastics. To put it into perspective, the thickness of a flexible CIGS device is approximately the same as the thickness of a human hair, making it very flexible and lightweight. Another specialized thin fill technology uses gallium arsenide (GaAs) with multijunction cells, which consist of multiple thin films. GaAs multijunction devices are the most efficient solar cells to date, reaching a


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record high of 40.7% efficiency under solar concentration and laboratory condition but are some time from commercialization.

The manufacturing processes for thin films are quite different from those used to produce SoG silicon. It is difficult for the companies introducing CIGS to adapt solar cell manufacturing technology. In addition, individual manufacturers are pursuing different processes.

Production of Ingots & Wafers

Ingot and wafer production are usually integrated in the same production facility. In Europe and Japan, ingot and wafer producers are currently expanding capacity.

Silicon feedstock is melted and, from that, thin-walled octagonal tubes of crystal about 18 feet tall are grown or pulled. These tubes are transported to automated laser machines on which wafers are cut from the octagon faces. The wafers are 180 to 350 micrometer thick. Subsequently, the wafers are cleaned before being moved on to a cell line where each is given a positive and negative junction.

Since the late 1990s several companies have focused on this rung of the value chain ladder. ScanWafer in Norway, Deutsche Solar in Germany and PV Crystalox in Germany and the UK are competing for the global leadership in the production of wafers. New entrants competing in this market are Sumco and JFE of Japan, Pillar of Ukraine and Emix of France.

Profiling Solar Cells and Module Manufacturing

Cell and module manufacture is, as the term describes, the manufacture of cells from silicon feedstock or from thin film, and the assembly of cells into modules. Solar cells are made from silicon wafers, by applying a variety of different metals and producing a silicon cell, a number of which are attached together in strings using solder-coated copper wire. These strings are assembled between two sheets of glass together with various plastic type materials which are then laminated to form a composite structure similar to a laminated windshield. A junction box, framing and wiring are attached to create a module approximately four feet by six feet that, when exposed to sunlight, will produce 300 watts of DC electricity.


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In the field of photovoltaics, a photovoltaic module is a packaged interconnected assembly of photovoltaic cells, also known as solar cells. An installation of photovoltaic modules or panels is known as a photovoltaic array or a solar panel. Photovoltaic cells typically require protection from the environment. For cost and practicality reasons a number of cells are connected electrically and packaged in a photovoltaic module, while a collection of these modules that are mechanically fastened together, wired, and designed to be a field-installable unit, sometimes with a glass covering and a frame and backing made of metal, plastic or fiberglass, are known as a photovoltaic panel or simply solar panel. A photovoltaic installation typically includes an array of photovoltaic modules or panels, an inverter, batteries (for off grid) and interconnection wiring.

Balance of System

We can think of a complete photovoltaic (PV) energy system as composed of three subsystems.

• On the power-generation side, a subsystem of PV devices (cells, modules, arrays) converts sunlight to direct-current (DC) electricity.

• On the power-use side, the subsystem consists mainly of the load, which is the application of the PV electricity.

• Between these two, we need a third subsystem that enables the PV-generated electricity to be properly applied to the load. This third subsystem is often called the "balance of system," or BOS.

The term ‘balance-of-system’ is the name given to the equipment and activities of a PV system other than the actual PV modules. Many items can be included among BOS categories: the DC-to-AC inverter; the foundation and structure that mount the PV modules (sometimes tracking the sun, sometimes fixed facing south), and the electrical wiring and connection equipment. Any storage components (usually batteries) and any backup generation are also included in the BOS. Recent practice now includes other important total PV system ‘soft’ costs as part of the BOS cost accounting.


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There is a change in the market structure for balance-of-system components. Inverters are becoming more important because of the increase in grid-connected applications of solar PV. In Japan there are more than ten producers of inverters, with products mainly targeting residential systems with an output in the range 3 kVA to 5 kVA. A large number of 10 kVA units have been supplied to public and industrial facilities. Generally, 10 kVA inverters are connected in parallel for installations up to 200 kW but larger inverters are now being commercialized. In the United States, there are several inverter manufacturers and 25 to 30 in Europe.

In addition to producers of the usual balance-of system components such as storage batteries, charge controllers and supporting structures, specialized equipment exists for the production of wafers, cells and modules. These range from chemical and gas suppliers, abrasives and equipment for cutting wafers, pastes and inks for cells, encapsulation materials for modules and specialized measurement equipment for use in the production process.

In Japan, the USA and Canada more than 20 companies produce grid-connected inverters. The leading companies are Sharp in Japan, and Xantrex based in Canada. Xantrex originally focused on off-grid inverters with the Trace range, but now offers the GT range of grid-connected inverters (using high frequency transformers) sold in Europe via a Spanish subsidiary.

Within Europe around 30 to 40 companies manufacture inverters, with major manufacturing companies based in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Denmark. German company SMA Technology has the largest proportion of the European market and claims to be the world leader. The German market has for many years been dominated by grid connected, building integrated inverters, often under 5 kWp in size. Many systems were installed on domestic properties under the ‘100,000 Rooftops Solar Electricity Program’ with favorable feed-in tariffs guaranteed for PV electricity exported to the grid under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG). In 2004 the EEG was adjusted and now provides a reasonable feed-in tariff for systems in the MW class and there is a movement in the German market towards ground mounted PV power stations.

A number of companies have historically produced ingots and wafers and also processed them into cells and wafers. The most important of these integrated companies are Kyocera, BP Solar,


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Shell Solar and Photowatt. RWE Schott produces silicon ribbon (trademark EFG) in the USA and Germany.


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Silicon Feedstock Market Analysis

SILICON FEEDSTOCK MARKET ANALYSIS

Shortage of Silicon

The solar PV market is currently constrained by a shortage of polysilicon and has been since 2004. The solar PV industry has historically used ‘off-spec’ silicon produced for the integrated circuit (IC) industry, which did not meet the high purity requirements of IC manufacture. The solar industry has relied mostly on the ‘tops and tails’ of the semiconductor industry. Tops and tails refers to ends and sides of a silicon ingot, which are cut off after production because they contain more impurities than the centre of the ingot.

The semiconductor industry is cyclical and it slowed down in the late 1990s. The silicon producers needed to sell their available inventory of feedstock. A new and burgeoning solar industry was there to fill the gap in sales. However, when the semiconductor industry began to pick-up again, silicon producers honored their previous contracts over the demand of the solar PV industry, which continued to develop. The result was a shortage of solar grade silicon and escalating prices. A shortage represents a far bigger problem for the solar industry where it represents 25% of the BOM (bill of material), than for the semiconductor industry, where it only accounts for 1% of cost.

When the microelectronics industry slumped, the overcapacity depressed feedstock prices. For investments in new capacity to be viable it is reported that polysilicon feedstock must fetch at least $30–40/kg. It takes 18–24 months to expand production capacity, so in the volatile climate of the polysilicon market manufacturers were unwilling to increase capacity.

The Vice-President of Hemlock, the largest producer of silicon is quoted as saying that from 2000 to 2004 silicon manufacturers could not justify capital investments because the price for their products in the solar industry had dropped to less than $30 per kilo, or below many companies' costs. Demand for silicon from semiconductor manufacturers and the solar industry has increased sharply since then, and the price has nearly doubled.


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The shortage has continued into 2007. In September 2007 it was reported that, according to a panel of CEOs at the Solar Power 2007 Conference in Long Beach, California, the price of silicon was still having a big impact their companies. The CEOs of Suntech in China, Q-Cells n Germany, Sharp Elecctronics, Sunpower and Conergy of the US, all agreed that it was affecting the output and growth of the industry. With current production of 31,000 MT in 2005 and demand in the semiconductor industry of 20,600 MT, only 10,000 MT was available for the solar industry, which needed at least 17,000 MT. Fortunately there was a residual stock of 7,100 MT, which made up the balance. Unfortunately, once this balance was used up, available supply of solar grade silicon was only 13,500 MT in 2006 and just under 16,000 MT in 2007, leaving a serious shortfall for the solar industry.

Polysilicon Market Statistics

Approximately 35,800 metric tons (MT) of polysilicon were produced in 2006, according to figures released by PV News and the Prometheus Institute, who conduct an in-depth survey of silicon manufacturers. We are grateful to have received permission from PV News and the Prometheus Institute to quote the figures in this section of the report from their survey. They predict that production of silicon will increase in 2007 to 40,200 MT and 57,200 MT in 2008, and in light of demand for EG silicon, only 13,523 MT will be available for solar in 2006 and 15,928 MT in 2007, which will be tight in view of the escalation of the solar market. In 2010 it is forecast that silicon production will double to some 80,000 MT as new production facilities come on stream.

These figures include all semiconductor polysilicon, both SoG and EG. In 2005 there was still a residual amount of 7,118 MT of silicon remaining from the excess accumulated in earlier years when the semiconductor market was in cyclical decline leaving a surplus available for solar cells. This enabled the cell manufacturers to keep up production in 2005 but after the residue was exhausted the shortage bit in 2006 and 2007. The speed with which new cell and module producers come into the market, notably in China, has to be factored into the equation. This may in turn be affected by their perception of the availability of polysilicon.

There are divided views in the industry about the prospects after 2008. It is accepted by all that the shortage will continue until 2008. After that, some believe that it will improve quickly,


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others that it will continue up to 2010. It is reasonable to qualify the position as follows. It will be alleviated, at least partially, in 2008 and will improve through 2009 and 2010 and it may do better than that.

There has been a vigorous scramble in 2006 by cell producers to sign up long term supply contracts with silicon producers. Several of the larger companies have formed partnerships and strategic alliances with silicon producers. This will probably lead to some small cell producers falling by the wayside and others being bought because they do not have the resources to pay higher feedstock prices.

This has a dual effect; the shortage of feedstock constrains production, and there is strong upwards pressure on feedstock prices, which is passed on into cell and module prices.

Five major manufacturers account for 88% of the world's polysilicon production. These are Hemlock, Wacker, Tokuyama, REC (subsidiary of SGS and ASiMI), and MEMC. Only one of these companies is dedicated to solar silicon manufacture, REC. The other four companies produce electronic silicon for semiconductors and PV manufacture.

Figure 7: Production of Electronic Polysilicon in MT

Source: Company Reports & Prometheus Institute


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Table 1: Companies Producing Electronic Polysilicon in MT

Source: Company Reports & Prometheus Institute

Cost Analysis

Polysilicon constitutes 25% of the BOM (bill of materials) in the PV industry, but there is another factor in the total cost equation apart from rising feedstock costs.

Pure polysilicon is produced by a complex sequence of energy consuming and waste producing processes, in large and expensive plants and at least 60% or more of the starting material is lost during processing. About 15% of the crystallized silicon ingots does not reach the wafering stage. Part of it can be recycled, at some cost, and part is lost as silicon powder or unusable scrap. Research is going on in this field to try to reduce the losses in this part of the process.


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Another rough 40% of the material is lost as dust and other yield losses in the wafering process. Current wafer technology is being improved with more automated, more controlled equipment and thinner wafers and new wafering technologies are being devised, such as laser assisted cutting. Ribbon technology is a potential evolution of wafer based silicon technology although this is some way ahead. Wafer substitutes or equivalents on low cost substrates are another possibility to overcome ingot / wafer manufacturing limitations.

Finally, about 10% is lost when wafers are broken between wafer handling in the wafer / ribbon manufacturing stage and the subsequent cell process.

Recycling is already being used to alleviate these heavy losses.

Finally, as in all producing industry the rising cost of energy pushed production costs upwards. According to industry sources the polysilicon manufacturing process is highly capital intensive and requires investments of $200-$250 million for a 3,000 metric ton capacity that takes 24 months to bring into production.

The price of solar grade silicon has increased in recent years, almost doubling in two years from $24 per kilogram in 2003 to $45 in 2005 and continuing to rise to $55 in 2006. An average of at least $60 per kilogram is expected for 2007. In 2003 electronic grade silicon (EG-Si) was over double the cost of solar grade (SoG) at $50 versus 24 but the gap has narrowed as demand for SoG has risen. Electronic-grade silicon for semiconductors (EG-Si) costs about $10 per kg more that SoG-Si. Costs of S0G-Si are expected to reach around $50 in 2006.

At present, the polysilicon industry is enjoying record industry profits and for the first time solar manufacturers are pre-paying for supply, thanks to recent IPOs to ensure supply, and thus funding polysilicon capacity expansion that should eliminate the shortage in 2008. Wacker, Tokuyama, and REC have launched programs to develop processes for manufacturing granular silicon (fluidized bed reactor for Wacker and REC and vapor to liquid deposition (VLD) reactor for Tokuyama). Tokuyama is building a 200 ton half commercial VLD pilot plant in Japan, while Wacker already has a 100 ton FBR pilot plant in Germany. REC is also planning to build a 200 ton pilot plant in Moses Lake, WA. In terms of capacity expansion, Wacker is currently expanding its facility in Germany, Hemlock is adding 3,000 tons of capacity,


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Tokuyama is expanding 400 tons in Japan, while REC has a goal to increase solar grade silicon to 2,500 tons per year. However, most production will not come online until 2008.

Silicon producers have now reacted and are all in the process of increasing their production capacities, which will ease the pressure on the supply side within the next two to three years. The solar PV industry has now entered a new stage in its development. It has become a stable business segment for the silicon industry, as opposed to being strongly dependent on the demand cycles of the micro-electronics industry.

PV companies are accelerating the move to thinner silicon wafers and higher efficiency solar cells in order to save on silicon demand per watt.

Although it is still a small fraction of the total market supply other technologies are beginning to enter the market. Thin film is receiving increasing attention and significant expansions of production capacities are under way.

Manufacturers of Electronic Grade Silicon

Six manufacturers of electronic grade silicon also produce photovoltaic grade silicon which they sell to the solar industry. They have 4 plants in the USA, 3 in Japan, 1 in Germany and 1 in Italy. The three leaders are Hemlock (USA), Wacker (Germany) and Tokuyama (Japan) and each of these companies has indicated that it will continue to dedicate part of its production to photovoltaic grade silicon for the solar PV industry. Both Wacker and Tokuyama have launched initiatives to develop granular silicon. Wacker use fluidized bed reactor technology and Tokuyama use a vapor to liquid reactor.

Wacker is a global chemicals company based in Munich and specializing in silicone and polymers. Polysilicon contributes 5% of Wacker’s revenue, and products include acetylacetone, pyrogenic silicas, chlorosilanes and salt. The company supplies the semiconductor industry and is a key supplier for most of the leading chip manufacturers.


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Tokuyama is a chemicals and cement producer based in Tokyo, producing a wide range of chemicals including multi crystalline silicon. The company is expanding capacity for in multi crystalline silicon for semiconductors using the Siemens method.

Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation is a joint venture of Dow Corning and two of Japan's largest single crystal wafer manufacturers, Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation. The company produces silicon chemicals for semiconductors, fiber optic cables, photovoltaics and microchips. In 1992 Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation expanded its multi crystalline silicon production capacity by 20% and achieved ISO 9002 registration. In 1994 the company became the world’s largest producer / supplier of multi crystalline silicon with a total site capacity of 4000 metric tons per year of multi crystalline silicon production. This was expanded by 40% in 1997.

Several groups are conducting R&D, such as Elkem of Norway, to develop photovoltaic grade silicon from other sources like metallurgical purification. This may offer lower production costs. There have been concerns about sustained supply of silicon feedstock allayed in recent years by the slump in the semiconductor industry. Suppliers of electronic grade silicon have been able to meet the shortfall by supplying PV silicon. With the recovery of the semiconductor industry, there will be less surplus capacity available for the solar PV industry.

The silicon manufacturers have responded by increasing production capacity. In September 2004 Tokuyama announced the increase of its annual production capacity by 400 tons, from 4,800 to 5,200 tons. Wacker is further expanding its polysilicon manufacturing capacity, with new capacity coming online in 2007, supplying the solar industry with hyperpure poly-crystalline silicon. The new plant will produce 2,500 metric tons annually. This, together with other expansion measures, should boost Wacker’s annual solar silicon capacity from the present 5,500 tons to as much as 9,000 tons beginning in 2008. Wacker is investing some €200 million in the new plant.

Manufacturers of PV Grade Silicon

REC Solar Grade Silicon LLC, based in Moses Lake (Washington), was the first company in the world dedicated to the production of solar grade silicon feedstock. SGS was established as a


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joint venture between Renewable Energy Corporation AS (REC) of Norway (75%) and Japanese-owned ASiMI LLC (25%), at that time a subsidiary of the Japanese industrial group Komatsu Ltd. Production was launched in November, 2002, after converting ASiMI’s former plant in Moses Lake, Washington, into the world’s first dedicated plant for production of solar grade silicon. In 2005, REC acquired, as part of the acquisition of ASiMI, the remaining SGS shares and SGS is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of REC. REC is the world’s largest dedicated producer of silicon materials for PV applications. Solar grade silicon can be used in the production of both mono and multicrystalline wafers, as well as wafers based on ribbon technologies. REC is also the world’s largest producer of monosilane gas, which in addition to being used internally by REC to make solar grade silicon, can be used by others in all types of thin-film silicon applications.

The company is has also developed production of granular silicon in a fluidized bed reactor to increase production and reduce costs. Full commercial operation started in 2006.

An SGS subsidiary, ScanWafer is the world’s largest manufacturer of poly-crystalline silicon wafers for the production of solar cells, with a market share of over 20% registered in 2004 within the poly-crystalline wafer market. The company operates plants in Glomfjord and at Herøya in Norway.

In November 2005, REC; a manufacturer with low-cost proprietary String Ribbon™ wafer technology and Q-Cells, and Evergreen Solar; the world’s largest independent manufacturer of crystalline silicon solar cells, announced a partnership. As part of the deal, REC has agreed a long-term supply contract, initially supplying Evergreen Solar with 60 tons of solar grade silicon a year and Q-Cells with 190 tons.

Dealing with Silicon Recycling

With the current shortage of solar-grade silicon, recycling of used silicon has become an attractive alternative for PV manufacturers. Silicon is already being recycled from other industries and this is now spreading to used solar panels. Recycling is not without problems and many manufacturers find it impractical because of the poor condition of the used products. The products received have varied efficiencies and it is not always easy to standardize these. The


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poor physical condition of much of the material means that it is a labor intensive process to recycle it. The emerging Chinese solar industry has a competitive advantage with its access to low cost labor. German companies are overcoming this problem with automation and the US companies are finding high tech solutions.

Table 2: Grades of Recycled Silicon

Source: Silicon Recycling Services Inc


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Major Silicon Recyclers

Ergon Solair-Wonlextech Group

Ergon Solair-WonlexTech Group is an intercontinental group focused on sustainable development, particularly active in international renewable energies.

The company, based in the US and Taiwan sells recycled silicon and other materials as a broker. The group was formed in 2002, when Studio Solaria and Ergon Solair joined forces with Wonlex Technology Taiwan. Subsidiaries include Studio Solaria of Italy, Wonlex Technology and Solariani.

Contact Details: Ergon Solair Group No.176, Sun-tek Rd., Taipei, Taiwan 110 Tel: +886-2-2758-1541 Fax: +886-2-2758-3087 Website: www.solariani.org


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ReneSola

ReneSola Ltd. (ReneSola) is a manufacturer of solar wafers, which are thin sheets of crystalline silicon material primarily used in the production of solar cells. The Company’s customers include some of the global manufacturers of solar cells and modules, such as JA Solar Co., Ltd., Motech Industries Inc., Solarfun Power Holding Ltd. and Suntech Power Co., Ltd. As of December 31, 2007, it offered monocrystalline wafers in sizes of both 125 millimeter by 125 millimeter and 156 millimeter by 156 millimeter. The Company possesses one of the solar wafer manufacturing plants in China based as of December 31, 2007.

As of December 31, 2007, it had annual ingot manufacturing capacity of approximately 378 megawatt, consisting of monocrystalline ingot manufacturing capacity of approximately 218 megawatt and multicrystalline ingot manufacturing capacity of approximately 160 megawatt, and solar wafer manufacturing capacity of approximately 305 megawatt.

ReneSola started recycling scrap silicon in July 2005 in Zhejiang province in China. It recycles silicon from the semiconductor and solar PV industries with a targeted recycling capacity of 125 MW in 2007. ReneSola has wafer supply contracts with Jiangsu Linyang Solarfun of China and Motech of Taiwan.

Contact Details: ReneSola No.8 Boaqun Road YaoZhuang Jiashan, ZHJ 314117 China Tel: +86-573-84773061 Fax: +86-573-84773383 Website: www.renesola.com


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Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, is a semiconductor foundry in mainland China, providing integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing services at 350 nm to 90nm technologies. Headquartered in Shanghai, SMIC operates three 8-inch wafer fabrication facilities in its Shanghai fab, an 8-inch wafer fab in Tianjin, and a 12-inch wafer fab in its Beijing fab, the first of its kind in mainland China. The company was founded by Dr. Richard Ru Gin Chang in April, 2000.

SMIC is China's largest contract chip manufacturer and claims to be the leading semiconductor company in China, and is a leading global company in assembly and testing. SMIC also has a partnership with Motorola. It recycles silicon and has recently announced a cell manufacturing plant.

Contact Details: SMIC Shanghai No 18 Zhangjiang Road Pudong New Area, Shanghai 201203 The People's Republic of China Tel: +86-21-5080-2000 Fax: +86-21-5080-2868 Website: www.smics.com


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Silicon Recycling Services Inc

SRS, based in the USA and China, was founded in 1996 and recycles off-spec and waste silicon. Originally it was asked by the largest solar manufacturer in the world at that time to try to ‘clean’ their pot scrap. After two months of trial the first successful single crystal ingot was grown from un-etched pot scrap. With the tight market conditions for feedstock and the company’s worldwide presence they were able to secure a large supply of pot scrap from all over the world and had it shipped to SRS in Oxnard, California.

In 2005, SRS provided 700 MT of silicon on the spot market, 99% of which was sold to the PV industry and was recycled several hundred tons of silicon for companies that used the silicon in-house. In early 2006, ErSol AG, a German cell producer, purchased SRS.

SRS currently produces "several hundred" tons of recycled silicon each year, which may equate to 30-40MWp once it is turned into cells (ENF estimate). Ersol CFO Frank Müllejans told ENF during a conference call; that the current business that SRS has with other PV and semi-conductor manufacturers is not tied up in long fixed-term contracts. This leaves Ersol free to divert silicon supplies away from its competitors.

Contact Details: Silicon Recycling Services, Inc. (SRS) 322 N. Aviador Street Camarillo, California 93011 United States Tel: +805-388-8683 Fax: +805-388-9985


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SolarWorld

The SolarWorld Group is one of the largest solar energy businesses in the world. SolarWorld’s family of companies are dedicated exclusively to the business of solar energy, combining all stages of the solar photovoltaic (PV) value chain, from the raw material silicon to turn-key solar power plants. SolarWorld operates production facilities in the USA and in Germany as well as sales offices around the world.

In 2006, SolarWorld AG acquired the manufacturing assets of Shell Solar, the largest manufacturer of solar electrical products in America since 1977, which had previously operated as Arco Solar and Siemens Solar. SolarWorld Industries America currently employs several hundreds of people in Camarillo, CA, Hillsboro, OR and Vancouver, WA and continues to hire many more as we expand production.

In 2007, SolarWorld AG acquired the Komatsu silicon wafer production facility in Hillsboro, OR (near Portland) for $40 million and is currently investing over $400 million to renovate the 480,000 square foot facility into a world-class manufacturing plant that will convert raw silicon into up to 500 MW worth of PV wafers and cells every year. The new Hillsboro facility will come on line in fall 2008 and it will employ up to 1,000 people by the end of the ramp up phase in 2009. The Hillsboro factory will provide enough PV cells to serve the entire North and South American market, including the expanded module production in Camarillo, as well as exports to Europe and Asia.

SolarWorld is a cell producer which has an in-house recycling capability. The company has acquired the silicon interests of Shell Solar. In September 2005, the company bought the 600 kW Pellworm plant owned by E.On which was built in 1983. SolarWorld owns Deutsche Solar, which has built a second recycling facility at Freiberg in Germany. By the end of 2006 the two plants will be capable of processing 1,200 MT of silicon, which is 40% of SolarWorld’s feedstock requirement.

SolarWorld Group is currently working on building up a voluntary collection and retrieval system for spent and damaged solar modules and cells. Half of the material recycled comes from internal operations of the company’s wafering activities, while the other half is obtained


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via outside sources, including the semiconductor industry. The company also plans to provide recycling services to other companies.

Contact Details: Solarworld California 4650 Adohr Lane Camarillo, CA 93012 United States Website: www.solarworld-usa.com


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Outlook: Silicon Recycling

The future of silicon panel recycling depends on the development of the silicon supply market. At present the industry is moving in two directions. METI of Japan (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, successor to MITI) is exploring ways of recycling used solar panels.

A number of approaches are being developed within the Japanese market, one of which is a recycling exchange. Another approach is to soak the panel in an organic solvent, resulting in easy removal of the ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA). A key problem with this process is the breakage of the cells by the swelling of the EVA. Some mechanical pressure is therefore needed to reduce breakage losses.

Sharp has developed a recycling technology for crystalline silicon panels, but in this case the silicon is being remelted, thus avoiding the bottleneck of processing smaller wafers, but also reducing the potential energy credit.

For thin-film modules, several developments are underway including a method developed by Showa Shell to recycle Cu(InGa)Se2 based thin-film modules.

Further development on a commercial scale is likely to be hampered by the lack of adequate volumes of used panels yet to justify the investment in a recycling plant.

The other approach being taken is to produce panels which can be recycled easily. This is being researched in Spain and Isofoton is active in this.

The technologies for recycling solar panels are likely to be developed to a point where they can be commercialized independently in two to three years. The future depends on the availability of product and for this reason it is unlikely that there will be many players, as in the silicon manufacturing industry. The direction of environmental legislation will also be critical.


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Film Photovoltaics Analysis

FILM PHOTOVOLTAICS ANALYSIS

Thin films are thin material layers ranging from fractions of a nanometer to several micrometers in thickness. Electronic semiconductor devices and optical coatings are the main applications benefiting from thin film construction. Some work is being done with ferromagnetic thin films as well for use as computer memory. It is also being applied to pharmaceuticals, via thin film drug delivery.

Ceramic thin films are also in wide use. The relatively high hardness and inertness of ceramic materials make this type of thin coating of interest for protection of substrate materials against corrosion, oxidation and wear. In particular, the use of such coatings on cutting tools may extend the life of these items by several orders of magnitude.

The engineering of thin films is complicated by the fact that their physics is in some cases not well understood. In particular, the problem of dewetting may be hard to solve, as there is ongoing debate and research into some processes by which this may occur.

Thin-film alternatives to standard PV solar cells are already available or in development. Thin films are thin material layers ranging from fractions of a nanometer to several micrometers in thickness. Thin-film crystalline-silicon solar cells consist of layers about 10 μm thick compared with 200- to 300-μm layers for crystalline-silicon cells. The current predicament of solar PV development is a result of escalating demand for PV systems and a shortage of SoG silicon to make them. The alternative of thin film is increasingly attractive and is receiving renewed attention as thin films use little or no silicon.

Amorphous silicon, the most advanced of the thin-film technologies, has been on the market for about 15 years. It is widely used in pocket calculators, but it also powers some private homes, buildings, and remote facilities. An amorphous silicon solar cell contains only about 1/300th the amount of active material in a crystalline-silicon cell. Amorphous silicon is deposited on an inexpensive substrate such as glass, metal, or plastic, and the challenge is to raise the stable efficiency. The best-stabilized efficiencies achieved for amorphous-silicon solar panels in the US PV program are about 8%.


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Thin films for solar PV (TFPV) are being developed as a means of reducing the cost of solar PV systems. TFPV modules are expected to be cheaper to manufacture because of their reduced costs of materials, energy, handling and capital. The engineering of thin films is complicated by the fact that their physics is in some cases not well understood. One of the major barriers met in thin film deposition is the need to coat large dimension substrates whilst maintaining high precision results with mono or multi-layer depositions.

Thin film solar technology uses materials other than crystalline silicon to manufacture flexible photovoltaic modules that can be built right into a product such as roofing tiles. In addition to being a more malleable material it is lighter than conventional silicon and does not require reinforcement of roofs. TFPV can also operate under low light conditions.

Although thin film currently accounts for only about 6% of solar PV it is widely perceived as a technology for the future and a small number of companies are investing in TFPV technology.

Copper indium diselenide (CIS) is a more recent thin-film PV material. Siemens Solar developed a process for depositing layers of the three elements on a substrate in a vacuum, and Shell Solar later acquired the technology when it bought Siemens Solar. CIS modules currently on the market reach stable efficiencies of more than 11%. In the laboratory, NREL scientists have achieved cell efficiencies of 19.2% with the semiconductor. Research now focuses on increasing efficiency, reducing costs, and raising the production yield of CIS panels. Karg predicts that thin-film technology will eventually halve the present production cost per unit kilowatt peak (kWp), which is the peak power that a solar panel can produce at optimum intensity and sun angle (90°). This implies a cost reduction for a complete system of 35% or more.

In 2000, CdTe solar panels were field-tested on a large scale in the United States. NREL researchers consider CdTe a promising material because of its lower cost of production, which uses techniques that include electrodeposition and high-rate evaporation. Prototype CdTe panels have reached 11% efficiency, and research now focuses on improving efficiency and reducing panel degradation at the electrode contacts.


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Major Players

Ascent Solar

Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. (Ascent) is a development stage company formed to commercialize flexible photovoltaic (PV) modules using technology developed by ITN Energy Systems, Inc. (ITN). Its manufacturing process deposits multiple layers of materials, including a thin film of copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) semiconductor material, on a flexible, lightweight, plastic substrate and then laser patterns the layers to create interconnected PV cells, or PV modules, in a process known as monolithic integration. The production line is in development on schedule to begin operations in 2008. It is focused on expanding its production capacity to approximately 30 megawatts.

Ascent Solar Technologies Inc is developing state-of-the-art, thin-film photovoltaic materials and modules, is taking a planned slow approach to developing, testing and certifying and commercializing its products and manufacturing processes which will bring the company into profitability in 2010.

Contact Details: Ascent Solar 8120 Shaffer Parkway Littleton, CO 80127 United States Tel: +1-303-2859885 Fax: +1-303-2859882 Website: www.ascentsolar.com


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Ersol

ersol is a German wafer and solar cell manufacturer, based in Erfurt, which specializes in silicon-based photovoltaic products. The company consists of the divisions Silicon, Wafers, Solar Cells and Modules. It has been listed on the German stock exchange since 30 September 2005 and on 19 December 2005 its shares were admitted to the TecDAX. The enterprise was founded in 1997 as ErSol Solarstrom GmbH & Co. KG.

ErSol Solarstrom GmbH & Co. KG was founded on 12 March 1997 by five private persons led by Jürgen Hartwig. The first manufacturing facility was a production line for multicrystalline silicon solar cells 100 mm x 100 mm in size.

In 2001 the company was converted to a public limited company with Dr Claus Beneking as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and has since been operating under the name of ersol Solar Energy AG. In the course of 2002 the production capacity already grew to about 10 MWp. The following years 2002 to 2004 were marked by the market launch of the multicrystalline cell E6+ BluePower® and the first monocrystalline ersol solar cell E6M+ BlackPower® (both in the format 156 mm x 156 mm).

ersol Solar Energy AG went public on 30 September 2005. Its shares were listed in the Prime Standard on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and admitted to the TecDAX in the same year. In the course of a capital increase, Ventizz Capital Fund II became a majority shareholder. The acquisition of ingot and wafer manufacturer ASi Industries GmbH in Arnstadt, whose Managing Director Jürgen Pressl was appointed to the ersol Management Board, marked the beginning of substantial business expansion activities in the ersol Group. Corporate revenue grew to € 64 million and operative earnings reached € 9.5 million. The production capacity was increased to 60 MWp.

In February 2006 ersol acquired Silicon Recycling Services Inc. (SRS), a Californian silicon recycler, and decided to drastically expand the divisions Solar Cells (220 MWp nominal capacity at the end of 2008), Wafers (180 MWp nominal capacity at the end of 2008) and Modules (amorphous silicon thin-film modules, 40 MWp nominal capacity at the end of 2008) involving a total investment volume of about € 200 million. In July 2006 this was followed by


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the groundbreaking for the thin-film plant (ersol Thin Film GmbH), and subsequently the start of the construction project for Solar Cell Plant 2 at Arnstadt, which was inaugurated in November 2007 in the presence of Sigmar Gabriel, German Minister of the Environment (proposed nominal capacity: 120 MWp by 2007). The expansion was funded by way of a € 157 million consortium loan agreement led by Deutsche Bank, which ersol had already signed in October 2006.

The outstanding event at the turn of the year 2006/2007 was a change in the management board. Chief Financial Officer Frank Müllejans retired from the company and was succeeded by Ekhard von Dewitz, who had originally joined ersol Thin Film GmbH as Commercial Manager. Ekhard von Dewitz is now in charge of the two positions simultaneously. 2007 marked the ten-year anniversary of ersol Solar Energy AG, reason enough for a change in corporate design throughout the ersol Group. At the 22nd European Photovoltaic Conference and Exhibition (PVSEC) in Milan ersol unveiled a solar panel based on 16 monocrystalline SuperSize solar cells with an edge length of 210 x 210 mm, developed in cooperation with project partners Crystal Growing Systems GmbH (CGS), SolarZentrum Erfurt, Roth & Rau AG and Day4 Energy Inc. On December 31, 2007 the group had a payroll exceeding 800.

ersol is subdivided into four different divisions according to product groups. The various subsidiaries are responsible to these divisions:

• ersol Silicon with subsidiary Silicon Recycling Services Inc., based in Camarillo, California, recycles scrap silicon in the form of by- und waste products from the semiconductor and solar industry, and makes them re-usable for solar cell manufacture.

• ersol Wafers with subsidiary ASi Industries GmbH in Arnstadt, manufactures monocrystalline ingots and wafers. The monocrystalline ingots are produced by a pulling process, the so-called Czochralsky method. Subsequently, thin “slices” – the wafers – are sawn from them. Their current thickness is 240 to 200 µm, although 180 µm wafers have already been produced. ersol Wafers was one of the first production facilities outside the United States to process its own cutting fluid (slurry).


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• ersol Solar Cells produces solar cells in the format 156 mm x 156 mm and is the core business sector. At a thickness of 200 µm and less, the average efficiency of monocrystalline ersol solar cells is around 17%. The share of production dedicated to higher-grade monocrystalline cells compared to multicrystalline solar cells is increasing and currently stands at about 80%. The parent company ersol Solar Energy AG is responsible for production at its plants in Erfurt and Arnstadt.

• ersol Modules is accountable for all group activities relating to the production and sale of solar modules. The division incorporates Erfurt-based ersol Thin Film GmbH, which is devoted to the production of thin-film solar modules and achieves significant savings in the raw material silicon with the aid of thin-film technology. In addition, ersol markets crystalline solar modules from solar cells produced by ersol and other manufacturers through its Erfurt-based trading subsidiary ersol Crystalline Modules GmbH. The division also has a crystalline module production line at the planning stage.

Contact Details: ersol Solar Energy AG Wilhelm-Wolff-Straße 23 99099 Erfurt Germany Tel: +49-361-2195-0 Fax: +49-361-2195-1133 Website: www.ersol.de/en


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First Solar

First Solar, Inc. designs and manufactures solar modules using a thin film semiconductor technology. Its solar modules employ a thin layer of cadmium telluride semiconductor material to convert sunlight into electricity. It has long-term solar module supply contracts (the Long Term Supply Contracts) with 12 European project developers and system integrators. Its customers develops, owns and operates solar power plants or sells turnkey solar power plants to end-users that include owners of land, owners of agricultural buildings, owners of commercial warehouses, offices and industrial buildings, public agencies, municipal government authorities, utility companies, and financial investors that desire to own large scale solar power plant projects.

First Solar Inc is currently the leading thin film producer using telluride to produce CdTe cells as an alternative to silicon.

Contact Details: First Solar 350 West Washington Street, Suite 600 Tempe, AZ 85281 United States Tel: +1-602-4149300 Fax: +1-602-4149400 Website: www.firstsolar.com


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Global Solar

Global Solar is a developer of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cells in Tucson, Arizona.

Global Solar Energy opened in March 2008 a CIGS factory in Arizona with a capacity of 40 MW, which will be expanded to 75 MW in 2008. The company expects to produce 20 megawatts of the films at the plant this year before ramping up to 40 megawatts of capacity in 2009 and 140 megawatts by 2010.

The second upcoming production location is Berlin-Adlershof.

The company uses copper indium gallium diselenide, which achieves up to 19.9% efficiency in laboratory samples and production cells of about 10 percent efficiency.

Contact Details: Global Solar Energy, Inc. 8500 S. Rita Rd. Tucson, AZ 85747 United States Tel: +1-520-546-6313 Fax: +1-520-546-6318 Website: www.globalsolar.com


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HelioVolt

HelioVolt Corporation is a solar energy company specializing in Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) non-vacuum nanomaterial-based solar panel technology. The company has attracted over $100 million in investment. It is based in Austin, Texas.

HelioVolt Corporation was founded in 2001 in order to develop and market new technology for applying thin-film photovoltaic coatings to conventional construction materials. The company’s FASST process, based on semiconductor printing, was invented by HelioVolt founder Dr. Billy J. Stanbery, an expert in the materials science of CIGS and related compound semiconductors. FASST is a patented manufacturing process for CIGS synthesis.

Large-scale investment in HelioVolt began with $8 million in Series A funding from New Enterprise Associates in 2005. A further $77 million was added in a Series B funding round co-led by Paladin Capital Group and the Masdar Clean Tech Fund in August 2007.[4] The Series B funding round was closed for a total of $101 million in October 2007 with investments from Sequel Venture Partners, Noventi, and Passport Capital. The latest investment will be used to build factories.

HelioVolt has developed a new way to manufacture thin-film CIGS semiconductor coatings for solar panels, based on research into the fundamental device physics of the CIGS semiconductor material.

Conventional semiconductor processing requires a vacuum process to deposit the semiconductor film on the substrate. The need for vacuum chambers makes this a lengthy batch-oriented production process. HelioVolt has developed a nanomaterial-based coating that can be sprayed onto a wide variety of substrates without requiring a vacuum. Non-vacuum or atmospheric deposition processes offer a combination of lower costs, process simplicity and reduced manufacturing times. The company's FASST manufacturing process won a Nanotech Briefs "Nano 50" nanotechnology award in 2006.

HelioVolt said it has produced thin-film solar cells that can convert 12.2 percent of the sunlight that hit them into electricity.


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HelioVolt closed a second round of venture capital financing in September 2007 that exceeded $100 million.

HelioVolt is making cells on a pilot line, not a production line that would represent commercial volumes, and also is making them 10 times smaller than their ultimate market-ready size. Making product larger comes with some risk, as technologies do not always perform the same at different sizes.

Contact Details: HelioVolt Corporation 8201 E. Riverside Dr. Suite 600 Austin, Texas 78744-1604 United States Tel: +1-512-767-6000 Website: www.heliovolt.net


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Konarka Technologies

Konarka Technologies, Inc. is a solar energy company based in Lowell, Massachusetts, founded in 2001 as a spin-off from University of Massachusetts. The company is developing dye-sensitized solar cells.

Konarka cells are lightweight, flexible photovoltaics that can be printed as film or coated onto surfaces.

The company hopes its manufacturing process, which utilizes organic chemistry, will result in higher energy conversion efficiency at lower cost than traditional silicon fabricated solar cells. Konarka is also researching infrared light activated photovoltaics which would enable night-time power generation.

The company's co-founders include the Nobel laureate Alan J. Heeger.

As of 2006, Konarka has received $60 million in funding from venture capital firms including 3i, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, New Enterprise Associates, Good Energies and Chevron Technology Ventures. Konarka has also received nearly $10 million in combined grants from the Pentagon and European governments, and in 2007 was approved for further funding through the Solar America Initiative, a component of the White House's Advanced Energy Initiative. The company raised a further $45 million in private capital financing in October 2007 in a financing round led by Mackenzie Financial Corporation.

Konarka in 2002 was granted licensee rights to dye-sensitized solar cell technology from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL).

Konarka builds photovoltaic products using next generation nanomaterials that are coated on rolls of plastic (Power Plastic). Konarka's nanomaterials absorb sunlight and indoor light and convert them into electrical energy. These products can be easily integrated as the power generation component for a variety of applications and can be produced and used virtually anywhere. Konarka is one of several companies developing nanotechnology-based solar cells, others include Nanosolar and Nanosys.


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The heart of Konarka’s technology is a new way to make photovoltaic cells.

Its solar-cell design includes two main components: a polymer (a special light-sensitive dye) that releases electrons when exposed to sunlight and titanium dioxide carbon nanostructures called fullerenes, which escort electrons away from the polymers and to an external electronic circuit, generating electricity.

These materials, as well as positive and negative electrodes made from metallic inks, can be inexpensively spread over a sheet of plastic using printing and coating machines to make solar cells, using roll-to-roll manufacturing, similar to how newspaper is printed on large rolls of paper. Konarka’s manufacturing process enables production to scale easily and results in significantly reduced costs over previous generations of solar cells. Richard Hess, Konarka's president and CEO, says that the company's ability to use existing equipment allows it to scale up production at one-tenth the cost compared with conventional technologies.

Unlike conventional solar cells, which are packaged in modules made of glass and aluminum and are rigid and heavy, Konarka's solar cells are lightweight and flexible. This makes them attractive for portable applications. What's more, they can be designed in a range of colors, which can make them easier to incorporate attractively into certain applications. One of the first products to use Konarka's cells will be briefcases that can recharge laptops. Another company is testing Konarka's solar cells for use in umbrellas for outdoor tables at restaurants. They could also be used in tents and awnings.

Because the solar cells can be made transparent, Konarka is also developing a version of its solar cells that could be laminated to windows to generate electricity and serve as a window tinting.

However, the technology has several drawbacks. The solar cells only last a couple of years, unlike the decades that conventional solar cells last and the solar cells are relatively inefficient. Conventional solar cells can easily convert 15 percent of the energy in sunlight into electricity; Konarka's cells only convert three to five percent


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Konarka Technologies and Renewable Capital announced the licensing and joint development of Konarka's dye-sensitized solar cell technology for large-scale production, scaling to several hundred megawatts.

Renewable Capital selected Coatema, a world manufacturer of coating equipment, as its manufacturing partner, due to its more than 30 years in the laminating and coating equipment industry.

Konarka has opened a commercial-scale factory, with the capacity to produce enough organic solar cells every year to generate one gigawatt of electricity, the equivalent of a large nuclear reactor. The company plans to gradually ramp up production at its new factory, reaching full capacity in two to three years.

Contact Details: Konarka Technologies, Inc. 116 John Street Suite 12, 3rd Floor Lowell, MA 01852 United States Tel: +1 978-569-1400 Fax: +1 978-569-1402 Website: www.konarka.com


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NanoSolar

Nanosolar is a developer of solar power technology. Based in San Jose, CA, Nanosolar has developed and commercialized an extremely low-cost printable solar cell manufacturing process. The company started selling panels mid-December 2007, and plans to profitably sell them at around $1 per watt (one fifth the price of the silicon cells).

Nanosolar was started in 2002 and is headquartered in San Jose, California. The company has received financing from a number of technology investors including Benchmark Capital, MDV, and Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the founders of Google. Nanosolar received the largest amount in a round of Venture Capital technology funding, amongst United States companies during Q2 2006, with 100 million USD of new funding secured.

Nanosolar planned to build a large production facility in San Jose and in Germany, with an annual capacity of 430 megawatts, enough to roughly triple total American solar cell production, moving the US from third worldwide to second, behind Japan. Nanosolar is also building a panel manufacturing plant in Luckenwalde (Berlin). Several German energy and venture capital companies are heavily invested in this company as a consequence of the favorable economics for solar energy in Germany due to government subsidies.

On December 12, 2007 the company announced that it had started solar cell production in its San Jose factory, with its German facility slated to go into operation in the 1st quarter of 2008. The company said in 2006 that the factory would have the capacity to produce 430 megawatts of cells.

On December 18, 2007 the company began shipping their first solar panels for a one-megawatt municipal power plant in Germany.

The company uses copper indium gallium diselenide—which achieves up to 19.9% efficiency in laboratory samples - to build their thin film solar cells. The company's technology gained early industry recognition with the presentation of a Small Times Magazine award at a leading nanotech business event in 2005. Nanosolar's solar cells have been verified by NREL to be as efficient as 14.6% in 2006, with no more recent results announced by the company. In


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Nanosolar's process, the ink is deposited on a flexible substrate (the “paper”), and then nanocomponents in the ink align themselves properly via molecular self-assembly.

Nanosolar has developed a suite of in-house capabilities for creating nanostructured components based on various patented and patent-pending techniques. It uses nanostructured components as the basis for creating printable semiconductors, printable transparent electrodes, novel forms of advanced nanocomposite solar-cell architecture, as well as powerful new forms of barrier films.

According to the company, "leveraging recent science advances in nanostructured materials, Nanosolar has developed a proprietary ink that makes it possible to simply print the semiconductor of a high-performance solar cell. This ink is based on Nanosolar developing various proprietary forms of nanoparticles and associated organic dispersion chemistry and processing techniques suitable for delivering a semiconductor of high electronic quality."

Two advantages over earlier technologies is that a printing process is quick and also makes it easy to deposit a uniform layer of the ink, resulting in a layer with the correct ratio of elements everywhere on the substrate. Also, the ink is printed only where needed, so there is less waste of material. Last, the substrate material on which the ink is printed is much more conductive and less expensive than the stainless steel substrates that are often used in thin-film solar panels.

These solar cells successfully blend the needs for efficiency, low cost, and longevity and will be easy to install due to their flexibility and light weight. Estimates by Nanosolar of the cost of these cells fall roughly between 1/10th and 1/5th, the industry standard per kilowatt.

The company implies that their solar cells can last more than 25 years by saying they "achieve a durability compatible with our 25-year warranty."

Contact Details: NanoSolar 5521 Hellyer Ave. San Jose, CA 95138


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United States Tel: +1-650-565-8891 Fax: +1-408-365-5965 Website: www.nanosolar.com

Odersun

Odersun AG is a developer and manufacturer of silicon free thin-film solar cells, modules and applications that convert sunlight into electricity. Our innovative products combine functionality and design offering economical solutions for the global use of solar energy.

German company Odersun makes inexpensive thin-film CIGS cells, that do not use silicon.

The company topped the inaugural Guardian/Library House "CleanTech 100" list, which showcased the best in European clean technology companies.

Contact Details: Odersun Website: www.odersun.de


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Solibro AB

Solibro GmbH is a Joint Venture between Q-Cells SE (Germany) and Solibro AB (Sweden) with the objective to commercialize CIGS thin film solar modules. The unique combination of Solibro's world-class thin-film CIGS technology and the commercial and industrial backing of Q-Cells will have decisive impact on the commercial competitiveness of solar electricity.

CIGS has the highest efficiency potential among thin-film solar cell materials. The CIGS technology of Solibro is based on extensive research and development carried out at Uppsala University. These activities resulted in world class results, such as the current world record CIGS mini-module with 16.6% efficiency, and were the basis for the spin-off company Solibro AB. Development in Uppsala is now continued with expanded resources at Solibro Research AB, a subsidiary of Solibro GmbH.

Solibro AB was started in 2003 in Sweden to produce and commercialize CIS thin film solar modules within four to five years.

Contact Details: Solibro OT Thalheim Sonnenallee 32-36 06766 Bitterfeld-Wolfen Germany Tel: +49-0-3494-3840-93-000 Fax: +49-0-3494-3840-93-100 Website: www.solibro-solar.com


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Solyndra

Solyndra is a manufacturer of thin-film solar cells. It is based in Fremont, California.

Solyndra designs, manufactures and sells solar photovoltaic (PV) systems comprised of panels and mounting hardware for large, low-slope commercial rooftops. The panels perform optimally when mounted horizontally and packed closely together, thereby, the company claims, covering significantly more of the typically available roof area and producing more electricity per rooftop on an annual basis than a conventional panel installation. However, the company's marketing may rely on a strawman argument as conventional flat-plate panels are also often mounted flat and tightly tiled (e.g. using SunPower's PowerGuard product), so no advantage would result under that more appropriate comparison.

The solar panels developed by the company are unlike any other product ever tried in the industry. The panels are made of racks of cylindrical tubes (also called tubular solar panels), as opposed to traditional flat panels. Solyndra rolls its copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) thin films into a cylindrical shape and places 40 of them in each 1-meter-by-2-meter panel. The cylindrical solar panels (think of fluorescent tube lights...except in reverse) can absorb energy from every direction (direct, indirect and reflected light) which the company claims is a useful feature.

But of course conventional flat panels don't allow sunlight to hit the roof in the first place, thus not necessitating the absorption of reflected light.

Each Solyndra cylinder, which is one inch in diameter, is made up of two tubes. The company uses equipment it has developed to deposit CIGS on the outside of the inner tube, which includes up to 150 CIGS cells. On top of the CIGS material, it adds an "optical coupling agent," which concentrates the sunlight that shines through the outer tube. After inserting the inner tube into the outer tube, each cylinder is sealed with glass and metal to keep out moisture, which erodes CIGS' performance. The sealing technology is commonly used in florescent bulbs.

When combined with a white roof (which are now required for any new commercial construction in California but which have seen little penetration outside of California and in the


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rest of the world), the company claims the panels can capture up to 20% more light than traditional solar panels measured relative to tilted flat-plate panels. However, with many commercial installations of First Solar and other panels also not using tilting, the company's comparison does not hold in those cases.

The other advantage claimed by the company is that the panels don't have to move to track the sun. The panels are always presenting some of their face directly perpendicular to the sun. However, conventional flat-plate panels that are mounted flat also do not require tracking; so it is not clear what baseline the company is using for comparison. In fact, if the sun stands high, a significant proportion of light will go through a Solyndra panel, lowering the total energy conversion efficiency. In other words, Solyndra panels will very likely be less efficient in total than flat-plate panels.

The Solyndra system is lightweight and the panels allow wind to blow through them. According to the company, these factors enable the installation of PV on a broader range of rooftops without anchoring or ballast, which are inherently problematic [5]. However, conventional flat-plate panels are also being mounted without ballast and anchoring using interlocking systems, and Solyndra does not compare its solution against these.

The company claims the cells themselves convert 12 percent to 14 percent of sunlight into electricity, an efficiency that Gronet said is better than competing CIGS thin-film technologies.

The company has so far refused to discuss full panel performance, the typical industry metric and the one relevant for customers.

The efficiency of a Solyndra panel depends on the specifics of the rooftop they are installed on. For instance, a non-white rooftop does not reflect light and thus may rule out the use of a Solyndra panel. Even an originally white rooftop may become somewhat off-white over a period of 25 years so that it is difficult to bank on a certain kWh performance output over the years.

By design, Solyndra's product cannot perform very well in any world region close to the equator where approximately half of the sunlight would pass through in between (and thus fail


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to be absorbed by) the panel product. It also does not appear to work very well for residential and utility purposes.

Due to the idiosyncrasies of the product, it remains to be seen whether Solyndra's product is generically bankable. Customers tend to use banks to finance solar system installations yet banks require a conservative assessment of a PV system's kWh performance to be expected over a period of typically 25 years. It is not clear how anyone would be able to generically assess the performance of a Solyndra system that is inherently tied to the reflective properties of the materials of a rooftop.

The company began shipping its panels to customers in larger volume in July 2008. It has announced contracts with two customers so far, Solar Power Inc. and Phoenix Solar.

Contact Details: Solyndra Website: www.solyndra.com


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Uni-Solar

United Solar Ovonic LLC, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan is the world’s largest manufacturer of triple junction amorphous silicon solar panels. A wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices (ECD Ovonics), it is now of ramping up manufacturing significantly. The company manufactures and markets flexible thin film, peel-and-stick solar laminates that can be integrated with roofs, and also supplies OEM laminates to major roofing manufacturers worldwide.

Contact Details: United Solar Ovonic 3800 Lapeer Road Auburn Hills, MI 48326 United States Tel: +1-248-475-0100 Fax: +1-248-364-0510 Website: www.uni-solar.com


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Global Solar Photovoltaic Market Overview

GLOBAL SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC MARKET OVERVIEW

PV technology was initially developed in the late 1950s to provide long-term reliable power for satellites. It began with the American space program in the 1950s and has grown to become a major potential alternative source of energy. Early on, PV was primarily used for non-grid purposes, using small cells in standalone situations. But by the end of 2002 grid-connected capacity had reached 74% of global solar PV capacity.

The PV manufacturing industry has passed through three phases and is now reaching a stage of global consolidation. Like many nascent technologies, the industry started with a field of many small companies and has gradually been whittled down over the last ten years due to consolidation in the market. Companies began offering PV technology for commercial applications in the mid-1970s, and the PV market has demonstrated consistent average annual growth of 15-20% since 1995.

The economic impact of the PV business has been measured in some countries both as a net value that includes the effect of imports and exports and as labor place creation. The net business value measure is expected to show interesting trends over time, as international production shifts to meet demand.

Most countries report a generally positive trade balance in PV equipment, although many have struggled to locate accurate data, particularly on imports. In most countries the proportion of net exports is small in comparison to the overall market size, approximately 10-20% of total market turnover. Norway, a major manufacturer of wafers used for further development elsewhere, is the sole exception to this. For those countries with little or no equipment manufacturing capability, such as Denmark, the proportion is reduced.

In employment terms, many countries have reported significant increases in persons directly employed in PV-related industries, research and development, and installation support. Total direct employment in the sector in reporting countries may now exceed 50,000 persons, with particularly rapid growth in Germany and the US. Many of the newer jobs in the sector are associated with the installation and marketing of PV products, rather than the manufacture of modules and


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components. This is partly due to a continuing trend for the most labor-intensive activities in the supply chain to move to low-cost-base economies that are often not IEA PVPS members, a trend common across all manufacturing sectors. For example, a new module manufacturing facility opened in The Philippines in late 2004 to service the Japanese and Southeast Asian markets.

In Europe, the supported market’s dominant position in Germany has provided employment in Austria and The Netherlands, even though these countries’ domestic markets have shrunk following the withdrawal of support mechanisms. There is evidence that the PV markets’ level of exposure to political influence or policy has restricted the appetite for investment. This has the impact of restricting supply and may, therefore, be yet another significant factor in the leveling of price decreases noted in previous years.

Present Market Size

The solar PV market has been flourishing over the last years and is estimated to sustain this curve in the coming years. By the end of 2007 the global accumulative capacity surpassed 9 GWp. The European Union contributes to around 50 % of the global cumulative capacity.

Figure 8: Development of Cumulative Installed Global & EU PV Capacity

Source: European Photovoltaic Industry Association


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Table 3: Development of Cumulative Installed Global & EU PV Capacity

Source: European Photovoltaic Industry Association

PV marketplace deployment is to a large extent dependent on the political model of any given country. Support mechanisms are defined in internal practices of law. The introduction, Adjustment or dissolving of such support strategies could have central effects on PV industries. PV market forecasts therefore depend upon a deep understanding of the governmental framework. EPIA puts a good deal of effort into analyzing PV markets.

Figure 9: Annual Market (MW) and Annual Growth Rate (%)

Source: EPIA


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Table 4: Annual Market (MW) and Annual Growth Rate (%)

Source: EPIA

It is expected that the global PV market will witness nearly 7 GWp of annual installations by the year 2010 and 10.9 GWp by 2012. According to this scenario, within the next five years, the global PV market will be at least five times larger than it was in 2007. Annual market rates of growth differed substantially in the past. Due to the take-off of the German PV market in 2004 the rate of growth for yearly installed capacity grew at 71% in the that year. An irregular deficit of silicon and a demand supply instability led to lower rates of growth in the next two years. In 2007 the Spanish market took-off which again led to an optimistic rate of growth. Over the coming years European countries and the USA are expected to be the chief contributors to uninterrupted development in the PV sector.

Solar PV Manufacturers

The manufacture of solar PV cells and modules started in the USA with the development of the NASA space exploration program and the corresponding need to generate electricity without carrying large quantities of fuel. The manufacturing industry has passed through three phases since its beginning and is now reaching new levels of globalization and consolidation. In common with many other new technologies, the industry started with many small companies in the field. These have gradually been whittled down and in the last ten years, there has been much consolidation in the market. Three leading national groups have emerged through the field.

In the early years up to 1996 the USA dominated the industry but Japan was establishing a manufacturing base. The rate of growth in world production has been erratic and production grew an at annual rate fluctuating between 12% and 15% for ten years, and slowed to its lowest level in 1995, when it grew only 11% on the previous year. 1997 saw an escalation to 54%


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growth in the year, followed by a dip and then a peak at 48% in 1999, again followed by a dip but peaking with 60% in 2004, the highest rate of growth yet achieved. In 2005 the rate of growth dropped to 49% as the silicon shortage bit and fell further to 42% in 2006. However, on a five year CAGR basis the fluctuations even out and growth has increased steadily to 45% in 2006. The increase in 1997 coincided with increased activity by the Japanese companies and heralded the second phase of development in the solar photovoltaic industry when the USA started to lose its dominance to Japan. Production has been developed in Japan, supported by a range of government and industry initiatives, with a high level strategic decision to create a world class photovoltaic industry. All companies producing solar PV cells and modules are leaders in silicon o technology and communications.

Japan remains the largest producer, with 37% of world production, but a third leader entered the market in 2001, Germany. From a very small base in 2000, Germany is now the second largest producer, having overtaken the USA and produced 520 MW in 2006, a 20% share of world production. China is making fast headway and in 2006 had a 15% share, ahead of the USA, which has 8%.

The division of capacity is confused by ownership of manufacturing facilities in the United States by other market leaders, based in other countries.


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Figure 10: Production of Solar Cells by Country, MW

Source: Company Reports

The solar PV manufacturing industry is in a constant state of flux, with escalation of capacity, mergers and acquisitions and this will probably remain the case as the industry beds down.

In 2006 Japan accounts for 37% of production and five companies dominate the Japanese market. Sharp remains the world leader and has done for nine years, although it is now being challenged vigorously by Q-Cells of Germany, a relative newcomer. By 2005, Sharp was by far the dominant producer with capacity of 500 MW, the next largest being Kyocera with 240 MW, just under half the leader’s total. Deutsche Solar with 190 MW and the newcomer Q-Cells with 170 MW, up from only 24 MW in the two years since 2003. In the last two years, Sharp has increased steadily but less fast than Q-Cells which has risen dramatically from170 MW to 540 MW in 2007. Chinese companies are making a strong showing with rapid growth. By 2006, Suntech had moved into third place with 330 MW capacity but if reports are correct will be overtaken by Nanjing CEEG, which plans to have 500 MW of capacity on-line by the end of 2007.


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The US accounts for 26% of global production but 69% of US production is owned by Britain’s BP Solar and Shell Solar, and Germany’s Schott Solar. The three European companies are expanding market penetration and production capacity in the US and elsewhere. Apart from domination of the US industry by these three groups, and to a lesser extent Japanese photovoltaic manufacturers who own production facilities in the US, the American industry is characterized by a number of small companies at the leading edge of technology. Some of these companies are under contract to the DOE for development of technology.

Figure 11: Growth of Capacity by Manufacturers, 2005 to 2007



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Market Growth

Figure 12: Global PV Capacity Growth & Forecast

Source: EPIA

By the close of 2012 a worldwide accumulative capacity of 44 GWp can be attained. This is equal to the power capability of 44 nuclear reactors. PV is distinctly en route to becoming an outstanding worldwide energy source.


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Table 5: Comprehensive Industry Forecast for Major Worldwide Yearly PV Markets in MW

Source: EPIA

Figure 13: Regional Breakdown of Global PV Markets

Source: EPIA


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Germany is likely to remain the market leader and even increment its market sizing substantially over the next years. The largest growth is envisioned for the Rest of Europe particularly in countries such as Spain, Italy, France and Greece. The United States will likewise be able to use its immense solar potentiality and will challenge Germany as the number one PV country. PV evolution in Japan will, to a large extent, depend on the decision of the Japanese government to re-introduce, or not, a support program. Also the Rest of Asia, in particular India and South Korea, will face expanding requirement for PV.

Figure 14: Installed Global Solar PV Generating Capacity 1990 to 2006 by Application

Source: IEA


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Figure 15: Global Installed Solar PV Capacity

Source: REC Renewable Energy Corporation


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Production Market Overview

Table 6: Production Capacities Forecast by End of 2010

Source: EPIA

Silicon is the second most plentiful raw material on Earth. For a few years silicon supply (processed silicon) was the constriction of the PV industry. Due to the vast expansion of production capacities of acknowledged players and the debut of new capacities by new participants, silicon capacities will reach 8-10 GWp by 2010. As silicon is a major raw material for c-Si technologies (93 % in 2006), silicon capabilities predefine the upper production limit for the industry. However, “end of the year production capacities” along the value chain from wafer - cells - modules are larger than actual production. Why? Firstly, an extensive part of capacity is contributed during the year while capacities are all of the time declared as end of year capacities. Secondly, capacities are frequently stated by assuming a 365 day twenty-four hour operation. Maintenance periods and periods of lower capacity use have to be considered when comparing actual production and capacity figures.

In addition to the established c-Si capacity, about 4 GW of thin film capacity is anticipated to be available by the end of 2010. This would represent 20 % of the overall module production capacity. Whilst all technologies face high enlargement rates, Thin Film capacities are presently amplifying at a faster rate than capacities for other technologies.


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Country-wise Analysis

Austria

Austrian solar PV capacity is mainly grid-connected distributed with 23 MW by the end of 2006, out of a total of 29 MW. In 2006 the feed-in tariff was adjusted.

Figure 16: Installed Solar PV Generating Capacity of Austria 1990-2006 by Application

Source: IEA

Australia

The Australian PV market has been growing steadily over the past decade, assisted by government grant programs, but began to increase markedly towards the end of 2006 when public awareness and discussion of climate change increased. From 2007 the PV market is expected to grow at a faster rate since Federal Government grant programs have been extended or increased and several State Governments have announced local renewable energy targets. In addition, the four Solar Cities will begin installations in 2007 and, if their implementation


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models are successful, will result in a steady increase in PV uptake even after their original programs are complete.

The largest installed capacity of PV in Australia is for off-grid industrial and agricultural applications. These include power systems for telecommunications, signaling, cathodic protection, water pumping and lighting. Significant markets also exist for off-grid residential and commercial power supplies and increasingly for fuel saving and peak load reduction on community diesel grid systems.

Some of this market is supported by government grants aimed at reducing diesel fuel use. A number of Australian Government programs support the PV market in Australia. The most important ones are the PV Rebate Program (PVRP) and the Renewable Remote Power Generation Program (RRPGP). Some support is also provided via the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) and Green Power programs, while the Solar Cities Program began providing support from 2007. Several State Governments are considering feed-in tariffs for PV, although to date only the South Australian Government has put forward a proposal. State Governments have also put forward a proposal for an Emissions Trading scheme and for renewable energy targets on top of the MRET.

These programs and proposals, in addition to the heightened awareness of climate change issues in the Australian community during 2006, served to stimulate the PV market towards the end of the year.

After a federal government election in 2007, a number of commitments to continue PV support have already been made by the Government and the opposition parties. These include doubling the PV Rebate to 8 AUD/W to a cap of 8 000 AUD and extending the RRPGP.

Electricity utility interest in PV has been rekindled by the Solar Cities Program, with three utilities now actively involved. In addition, the inclusion of fringe of grid locations in the eligibility list for RRPGP support has resulted in some interest in the use of PV for grid support. Four States are now examining options in this area.


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The release of the Stern and IPCC Reports, Al Gore’s film “An Inconvenient Truth” and the continuing drought in Australia have resulted in a sudden increase in media coverage and political interest in climate change, an issue the Australian Government had previously downplayed. Public interest is now high and new climate change programs are expected to be announced in 2007. Key sectors which are already moving ahead include Local Government and several major building companies. Although PV remains a high cost option, because of Australia’s low electricity prices, it is a more straightforward one for the community than many other energy options, with few aesthetic, noise, water or emission issues arising.

Hence, with Australia’s good solar resources and increased rebates, the PV market is expected to grow more rapidly over the coming year.

The main applications for PV in Australia are for off-grid industrial and agricultural power supplies for telecommunications, signaling, cathodic protection, water pumping and lighting. Significant markets also exist for off-grid residential and commercial power supplies and increasingly for fuel saving and peak load reduction on community diesel grid systems. Some of this market is supported by government grants aimed at reducing diesel fuel use. PV installations connected to central grids continue to increase steadily, with the majority of installations taking advantage of government grant programs which currently contribute 20%-25% of up front capital costs. The main applications are rooftop systems for private residences, schools and community buildings.


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Figure 17: Installed Solar PV Capacity in Australia (1995-2006)

Source: International Energy Agency

In 2006 a total of 23,7 MAUD was spent on PV market support programs, the largest portion of which was spent on off-grid PV applications to displace diesel fuel use. The Renewable Remote Power Generation Program (RRPGP) is an Australian Government program, administered by State and Territory Governments which aims to increase the use of renewable energy for power generation in off-grid and fringe of grid areas, to reduce diesel use, to assist the Australian renewable energy industry and the infrastructure needs of indigenous communities, and to reduce long-term greenhouse gas emissions. The target groups are indigenous and other small communities, commercial operations, including pastoral properties, tourist facilities and mining operations, water pumping and isolated households that operate within diesel grids, use direct diesel generation or are at the end of long grid lines. Grants of up to 50 % of the capital cost of renewable generation and essential enabling equipment are available, with additional funding provided by some States.

The Photovoltaic Rebate Program (PVRP) is funded by the Australian Government and provides PV rebates to householders and owners of community buildings, such as schools, to install photovoltaic systems in order to reduce greenhouse emissions, assist in the development


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of the Australian PV industry and increase public awareness of renewable energy. The householder rebates were doubled in 2007, to AUD8/Wp for the first kWp, with a corresponding in release in demand. School and community installations are eligible for a 50 % rebate, capped at 2 kWp. 1230 systems were installed in 2006, amounting to 1,85 MWp, of which 75 % were on grid connected buildings. Since the start of the program in 2000, more than 8000 systems, using 10 MWp of PV, have been installed and rebates of over 40 MAUD have been provided. From 2007 an additional 150 MAUD over five years was allocated to the program.

1,64 MWp of PV was installed under RRPGP in 2006, bringing the total installed capacity to 7 MWp under this program, of which 1,44 MWp is installed in large utility run diesel grid systems. The latter includes 0,72 MWp of solar concentrating dishes commissioned in the Northern Territory. The RRPGP also provides funding for industry support activities, such as test facilities, standards development, training, feasibility studies and demonstration projects, as well as support for the Bushlight program to assist with deployment of renewable energy systems in small indigenous communities. More than 100 PV powered household systems have now been installed via Bushlight, with specifications developed in consultation with the end-users.

The Low Emissions Technology and Abatement (LETA) program has 26,9 MAUD to assist the uptake of low emission technologies by supporting development of PV-related standards, training of PV designers and installers, and of solar resource mapping. 75 MAUD have been allocated over 5 years to the Solar Cities program, to demonstrate high penetration uptake of solar technologies, energy efficiency and smart metering and to improve the market for distributed generation and demand side energy solutions.

Utility interest in PV has been rekindled by the Solar Cities Program, after some years of low activity, with 5 electricity retailers now actively involved. Consortia, comprising a mix of PV companies, banks, local governments, utilities, building companies and research groups, were formed to bid for the Solar Cities funding. 5 Solar Cities have been announced – Adelaide, Townsville, Blacktown, Alice Springs and Central Victoria. The new Australian Government has indicated an interest in funding further Solar Cities.


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PV installations in Australia in 2006 totaled 9,72 MWp, a 16 % growth since 2005. Of this, central grid installations accounted for 2,1 MW, off-grid residential 3,37 MW, off-grid industrial and agricultural 3,58 MWp and diesel grids 0,625 MWp. Grid installations grew at a rate of 31 % and now account for nearly 13 % of installed capacity. The recent doubling of PVRP rebates is likely to see a large increase in the grid market for PV over coming years, while continued increases in diesel fuel prices will also keep the off-grid market growing.

PV module and system prices increased by 4-10 % in 2006, with the flow through of earlier international silicon prices, as well as more stringent training and OH&S procedures. Module prices averaged AUD 8,50 and rooftop systems 12,50 AUD per Wp. Price competition for both modules and systems is likely to see prices stabilize and begin to drop in 2008.

The rapid growth in electricity demand, and particularly in peak load demand, is dominating utility planning in Australia at present. Increased air conditioner use is the major contributor to both these trends. These developments have an indirect bearing on utility attitudes to PV. At substations where PV can be shown to generate during times of peak demand, there is likely to be utility interest. Nevertheless, PV remains a high cost option and there has been no discussion so far on possible utility incentives for PV installation.

Although Australia has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, it has joined with the USA, Japan, South Korea, India and China in an Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (AP6) which is to develop and demonstrate a range of strategies to improve energy security, reduce local air pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the region. Australia also has a bilateral climate change partnership with China which includes improving Australian renewable energy business opportunities in China and developing renewable energy training programs, including PV trade certification and engineering.

BP Solar is the largest commercial PV manufacturer in Australia with an installed cell capacity of 50 MW. In 2006 it produced 36 MW of cells and 7,6 MW of modules. The company is also active in the development of safe and efficient installation systems and procedures including new frame types, mounting systems, smart communications and modular pre-designed packaged systems. BP Solar and Dux have developed a combined PV / solar water heater kit,


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sold as the BP Solar Energizer Plus. It is available in several sizes and aims to streamline household solar conversion.

In 2006, a crystalline thin film technology developed in Australia entered commercial production by CSG Solar in Germany and the Sliver cell technology entered pilot production by Origin Energy in Adelaide. Patents for a number of new and improved technologies and production processes continue to be developed and licensed to Australian and international companies.

Chinese-based PV manufacturer, Suntech Power, which is a joint Chinese - Australian company, continues to improve its production processes in cooperation with Australian researchers. The company has been awarded the contract to supply 130 kW of PV for the Beijing Olympic Stadium.

Balance of system component manufacture and supply is a critical part of the PV system value chain. There are a number of Australian manufacturers of inverters, battery charge controllers and inverter/chargers, particularly catering for the off-grid system market. Some of these manufacturers also supply inverters suitable for grid interconnection, and the industry is constantly looking for new ideas, improved products and reduced prices. Although some battery components are made in Australia, only few manufacture complete solar batteries.

There is an increased interest in the use of trackers for off-grid pumping and power supply systems. Passive gas and electronic controlled trackers are used and expect to increase power output by up to 40% compared with non-tracked systems.

As the PV component market becomes more global, expertise is increasingly being built up at the systems design level. There a several hundred companies around Australia which distribute and install solar systems. A number of these have now become significantly sized systems houses, providing products and systems for a range of applications in Australia and worldwide.

Bushlight was established under the RRPGP to provide sustainable energy services to remote aboriginal communities. It has developed a modular, scalable renewable energy power supply system which can supply loads between 2 and 32 kWh per day, with provision for a diesel


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generator to cater for higher loads if required. The systems are designed in conjunction with the community, which is also provided with appropriate educational material. For community systems, energy management units are installed at each house to ensure community supply is maintained.

CSG Solar commenced commercial module production in Germany during 2006 but continues its research in Australia on Crystalline Silicon on Glass, a thin film PV technology based on initial research at the University of NSW.

Dyesol is the industrial research hub for the world’s network of researchers into Dye Solar Cell (DSC) technology. Dyesol researches, develops and manufactures DSC materials and components, including nanoparticulate pastes and dyes, as well as equipment specifically designed to research and manufacture DSC.

Origin Energy is commercializing the “Sliver cell” PV technology developed by the Australian National University. The technology promises crystalline Si cell performance with significantly lower wafer requirements. Trial 10 W and 70 W modules have been produced from a 5 MW Pilot Plant.

PV Solar Energy Pty Ltd has developed a PV roof tile which uses a low cost pluggable PV junction box and monocrystalline solar cell laminates. Installation options include active air flow in the roof space below the modules to keep them cool and to allow warm air circulation into the building during winter months.

Solar Systems Ltd. has developed and commercialized a PV tracking concentrator dish system for off-grid community power supplies and end of grid applications. Current systems achieve 500 times concentration and use air or water cooling. The systems were initially based on silicon cells, but upgrading to higher efficiency non-silicon devices is now underway. The company has been granted 75 MAUD from the Australian Government and 50 MAUD from the Victorian Government towards a 154 MW heliostat PV concentrator power plant to be built in northern Victoria. Installation will commence in 2008.


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The Australian PV market has been growing steadily over the past decade, assisted by government grant programs, but began to increase markedly towards the end of 2006 when public awareness and discussion of climate change increased. From 2007 the PV market is expected to grow at a faster rate since Federal Government grant programs have been extended or increased and several State Governments have announced local renewable energy targets.

BP Solar is the only flat plate PV manufacturer in Australia at present, with a production capacity far in excess of current local use. There is interest in establishing other PV plants, so an increase in the local market may stimulate some proposals. It may also encourage local commercialization of new PV technology, most of which currently goes overseas.

Solar Systems continues its development and installation of concentrator PV systems, with the market increasing both in Australia and internationally, particularly for use in diesel grids. Australia has more than 400 MW of diesel generation which will be impacted by both diesel price increases and any introduction of a carbon price, so that this market is also likely to grow strongly over the next five years.

State and Federal Governments are currently developing plans for a national Emissions Trading scheme, which will reduce the margin between renewable and fossil fuel based electricity supplies and provide another boost for the PV market.

Canada

In late 2006, the Government of Canada introduced Canada’s Clean Air Act in Parliament. The Act represents a comprehensive and integrated approach in the regulation of air emissions in Canada. To complement introduction of the Act, the Government also released in to 2007 Canada’s Action Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gases and Air Pollution and it introduced a series of ecoENERGY initiatives to reduce smog and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that affect the environment and health to Canadians. These initiatives are a set of focused measures to help Canadians to use energy more efficiently; boost renewable energy supplies; and develop cleaner energy technologies. An important component of the ecoENERGY initiative is the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program which was announced in early 2007. This 14-year program will encourage the production of 14,3 terawatt-hours of electricity from low impact


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renewable energy sources, such as solar photovoltaic, wind, hydro, and biomass and ocean energy. It will provide an incentive of 1 cent Canadian per kilowatt-hour of production over 10 years. The objective of the program is to “position the low-impact renewable energy industries to make an increased contribution to Canada’s energy supply thereby contributing to a more sustainable and diversified energy future.”

The Canadian Solar Buildings Research Network (SBRN) continues to be in the centre of Canada’s R&D into solar buildings by innovating solar energy production and efficiency of its use in commercial, institutional and residential buildings in Canada. Also in 2007, the SBRN held its second Conference in conjunction with the Annual Conference of the Solar Energy Society of Canada bringing together leading experts from Canada and around the world to discuss all aspects of solar housing, from solar electricity to design issues to finding ways to encourage Canadians to go solar.

The SBRN is pooling the R&D resources of 10 universities and federal departments to develop the future generation of experts knowledgeable in solar buildings research. The R&D efforts of the SBRN will provide in-depth analyses to Canadian stakeholders on the optimization of low and net-zero energy homes for Canadian climatic conditions. It will help to support innovation in the construction industry in order to accelerate the adoption of low and net-zero energy solar homes.

In 2007, the Government of Canada announced the twelve Canadian homebuilder teams that were selected as winners of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) Equilibrium sustainable housing competition4. The goal of CMHC’s Equilibrium initiative is to demonstrate the integrated design process as a new approach to housing in Canada. It supports the building of sustainable healthy houses that are also affordable and energy- and resource-efficient. EQuilibrium housing is designed to lower homeowner’s energy bills by reducing energy consumption and by delivering electricity back to the grid. The houses will also promote water conservation, healthy indoor environments, durability, and reduced pollutant emissions. The EQuilibrium brand replaces the previous working name for this initiative, Net Zero Energy Healthy Housing, to better reflect the goals of balancing Canada’s housing needs with those of the environment.


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The federal Department of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is responsible for energy policies and energy R&D in Canada. The CANMET Energy Technology Centre-Varennes (CETC-Varennes) is one of NRCan's three energy research and innovation centers. Established in 1992, CETC-Varennes' mission is to encourage targeted sectors of the Canadian economy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, use energy more sustainably, and improve innovation capabilities. CETC-Varennes is responsible for the management of the federal photovoltaic R&D and technology transfer programs. Other Centre activities focus on buildings, refrigeration, industry, and RETScreen development.

Growth in the Canadian solar PV sector has been strong over the past 14 years, with capacity growing by more than 20% annually between 1993 and 2007. Whereas, the worldwide trend has been moving towards grid-integrated application supported by market stimulation measures mainly in Germany, Japan and the US; in Canada, the market is mainly for off-grid applications and represents 93% of total installed PV power capacity. There has been a growing number of grid-connected PV applications in Canada in 2007 because the barriers to interconnection of “micropower” systems have been addressed through the adoption of harmonized standards and codes. In addition provincial policies supporting “net-metering” of PV power have encouraged a number of building integrated PV applications throughout Canada during this period.

More recently, the Ontario Power Authority has announced a program for standard offer contracts at C$0.42 per kilowatt-hour for PV electricity and several local electricity distributors in Ontario have identified PV applications as part of their conservation and demand management programs. The PV market and industry in Canada is continuing to grow, despite the low price for conventional energy. A sustainable market for remote and off-grid applications has developed over the last 14 years in Canada and continues to accounts for about 93% of total PV installed. This is an unsubsidized market that is growing because PV technology is meeting the remote power needs of Canadian customers particularly for transport route signaling, navigational aids, remote homes, telecommunication, and remote sensing and monitoring.

Growth in the Canadian sector has been strong over the past 15 years, with capacity growing by more than 20% annually between 1993 and 2007. Whereas, the worldwide trend has been moving towards grid-integrated application supported by market stimulation measures mainly


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in selected European countries, Japan and the U.S.A., in Canada, the market is mainly for off-grid applications and represents 90% of total installed PV power capacity. The Ontario RESOP offering 0,42 CAD per kilowatt-hour for PV electricity production is paving the way for a strong uptake for grid-connected PV – once the contracted projects are implemented. The numbers of grid-connected systems in Canada in 2007 continued to grow because the barriers to interconnection of “micropower” systems have been addressed through the adoption of harmonized standards and codes. In addition provincial policies supporting “net-metering” of PV power have encouraged a number of building integrated PV applications throughout Canada during this period.

The PV market and industry in Canada is continuing to grow, despite the low price for conventional energy. A sustainable market for remote and off-grid applications has developed over the last 15 years in Canada and continues to accounts for about 90 % of total PV installed. This is an unsubsidized market that is growing because PV technology is meeting the remote power needs of Canadian customers particularly for transport route signaling, navigational aids, remote homes, telecommunication, and remote sensing and monitoring.

Figure 18: Installed Solar PV Capacity in Canada (1995-2006)



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The Government of Canada is continuing to fund the Net Zero Energy Healthy Housing (NZEHH) Pilot Demonstration Initiative, implemented by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. In 2006 a Request for Expressions of Interest (REOI) was issued to the public and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Since the launch of the REOI phase on May 15, 2006, six hundred and thirty-six information packages were sent out across the country to prospective proponents. By the REOI submission deadline of July 10, 2006, seventy-two Expression of Interest responses were received, proposing NZEHH projects Canada-wide. This level of response exceeded expectations for the project and also indicates a very positive reception and interest expressed by the Canadian housing industry in the concept and scope of the NZEHH initiative, and their enthusiasm to create exciting new models of sustainable housing in Canada. These applications recognized the significance of PV power generating systems in their final designs to enable them to reach their energy targets. Of these 72 applications, a maximum of 12 projects will be recommended in January 2007 for government funding.

In the fall of 2006, the Province of Ontario, through the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) and the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), has developed a Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program (RESOP) for the Province, designed to encourage and promote the greater use of renewable energy sources including solar photovoltaic, wind, waterpower and biomass from small (10 MW or less) generating projects that would be connected to the electricity distribution system of Ontario. The RESOP, when implemented, will help Ontario meets its renewable energy supply target of having 2,700 megawatt of electrical power generated by new renewable energy sources by 2010, by providing a standard pricing regime and simplified eligibility, contracting and other rules10 for small renewable energy electricity generating projects.

There are over 150 solar energy organizations (sales companies, wholesalers, product manufacturers, private consultants, systems installers and industry associations) driving the PV market in Canada. A majority of them are active in the Canadian Industry Association and Énergie Solaire Québec. The Canadian PV manufacturing sector has grown significantly in the last five years to serve both the domestic and export markets.

Canadian-based Timminco Limited, a leader in the production of silicon metal for the electronics, chemical and aluminum industries has commenced production of solar grade


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silicon through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Bécancour Silicon Inc. (BSI) in its new facility in Bécancour, Québec. The facility will be comprised of three production lines, each with an annual capacity of 1,200 metric tons. The production lines are being brought into production in series with the first starting in fourth quarter 2007, with the second and third lines anticipated to be coming on stream in the first quarter of 2008.

In 2007 BSI also announced that it has entered into several long-term commercial agreements for the sale of approximately 6,000 metric tons of solar grade silicon to solar cell manufacturers beginning in 2009.

In 2007 witnessed several growth-developments of Canadian solar manufacturers. Burnaby-based Xantrex Technology Inc., a world leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of advanced power electronic products and systems for the renewable, portable, mobile and programmable power markets, expanded its programmable power business by acquiring California-based Elgar Electronic Corporation. This acquisition will enable Xantrex to become a leading player in the global programmable power market with a significantly expanded product line and customer base.

Also Day4Energy Inc.20 formed in 2001 in Burnaby, British Columbia, as a manufacturer of PV modules announced in 2007 that it has raised over 115 million CAD in public investment into the company to enable to expand its production. It was also the lead PV modules supplier to the 1 MW solar energy project in the German county of Sigmaringen with EnBW one of Germany’s largest energy suppliers.

EnBW has extended its contract with Day4Energy for two additional large-scale projects set for construction in 2009 and 2010. The province of Ontario’s Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program (RESOP offer PV $ 0,42 kilowatt-hour) has attracted several large energy developers in 2007. For example Skypower Corporation21, a subsidiary of Lehman Brothers, a US-based private equity business, and one of Canada’s leading independent renewable energy developer, entered into a joint venture with SunEdison Canada LLC, a subsidiary of SunEdison LLC the largest solar energy service provider in North America, on two 10 MW RESOP solar projects in Ontario.


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Solera Sustainable Energies Company™ is a leading provider of utility-grid connected solar power in Canada. Solera is the new operating division of Phantom Electron which was founded in Toronto, Ontario in 1985. Solera has been providing clean, reliable, maintenance-free electricity for residential, commercial and institutional applications for more than a decade. Partnered with Compower Systems Inc., a Canadian manufacture of telecom power products, Solera offers the marketplace proven capabilities in renewable energy and backup power system design, engineering, manufacturing, service and installation, and product supply.

Xantrex Technology Inc. is a leading manufacturer of innovative power electronic product interfaces with headquarters in Burnaby, British Columbia. Xantrex has developed a platform for advanced multi-energy control for hybrid power systems that have been demonstrated at six sites in Canada. It also initiated a project for a new integrated variable-speed drive system for larger wind turbines in 2004;

Carmanah Technologies Corporation has developed innovative solar powered LED lighting solutions for marine, aviation, transit, roadway, railway, and mining markets. Since 1997, it has sold more than 80,000 units in 110 countries.

A network of systems integration companies has established distribution and dealer networks that effectively serve a growing Canadian PV market. These include distributors for Sanyo, BP Solar, Shell Solar, Kyocera, Photowatt, Sharp, and UniSolar. Modules are sold with PV module product warranties ranging from 10 to 25 years and products are certified to international standards.

Private sector investments in the development and marketing of solar PV power systems in Canada will continue to drive the domestic PV market for the foreseeable future. This is reflected by steady growth in the installed base, as well as the significant private-sector investment in manufacturing. The Canadian Solar Industries Association and Énergie Solaire Québec have continued their promotional and marketing activities. The Solar Buildings Research Network will generate opportunities for demonstrations of innovative PV projects and will expand the knowledge base of Canadians to the benefits and add value of PV technology in the buildings of the future. Technology demonstration funding opportunities in support for


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climate change mitigation will continue to generate private sector interest in demonstration projects and collaborative joint ventures.

The Solar Buildings Research Network will generate opportunities for demonstrations of innovative PV projects and will expand the knowledge base of Canadians to the benefits and add value of PV technology in the buildings of the future. Technology demonstration funding opportunities in support for climate change mitigation will continue to generate private sector interest in demonstration projects and collaborative joint ventures.

Several Canadian PV companies have invested significantly in both development and promotion of solar PV power systems in Canada. This is reflected by steady growth in the installed base, as well as the significant private-sector investment in manufacturing.

The Net-Zero Energy Home Coalition is calling for leveraged support from the federal and provincial governments to participate in a project to construct 1500 net-zero energy homes across five or more regions in Canada within three to five years as a pilot demonstration of the concept. This pilot phase would be followed by a full scale, incentive-based, early-adopters deployment program. This is a first step to enable the Coalition to reach the target by 2030 that all newly built homes in Canada meet Net Zero Energy standards.

France

In 2006, the French government has implemented measures to promote the use of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems:

• The feed-in tariffs for PV-generated electricity are set at 0,30 EUR the kWh for the traditional photovoltaic installations and 0,55 EUR the kWh when photovoltaic modules are integrated into the architecture of the buildings.

• The tax credit deductible from the private individuals’ income is set at 50 % of the costs of the equipment with a ceiling at 8 000 EUR per fiscal home.


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The measures designed for boosting the market are aimed at creating industrial dynamics and diversification of primary energy sources that have low greenhouse gas emissions.

In parallel, since 2005, the government has extended national sources for funding research and technological development (RTD) in the photovoltaic field. ADEME, the historic backer, is now sharing its research interventions with two other agencies: The National Research Agency (ANR) and the Agency for Industrial Innovation associated with OSEO Agency (Innovation in the SMEs).

2007 has seen two important initiatives. In October 2007, in his conclusion speech on the “Grenelle de l’environnement” – (a series of public meetings involving stakeholders from the environment field), the President of the Republic has stressed his willingness to promote the development of renewable energies. On its part, the European Commission has launched a fresh strategic plan covering the new energy technologies in March 2007. One of the objectives of the said plan is to achieve a contribution of 20 % of renewable energies to the energy package by 2020. This would represent a total operational photovoltaic power of 4 to 5 GW in France.

In order to implement its policy for market opening in conjunction with the regional councils, ADEME is sharing the investment subsidies and acting in some operations in cooperation with the structural funds of the European Commission. Some regional councils are very active, and they have implemented a policy involving calls for projects in the tertiary and collective construction industry while stressing architectural integration and energy performance in the buildings as well as the demonstrative aspect (Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence – Alpes – Côte d’Azur, Poitou-Charentes, etc.).

The French Agency for Environment and Energy Management (ADEME) is a public organization responsible, under French government supervision, for the national sustainable policy in five intervention areas: energy management, waste management, conservation of soils, and air quality. The energy management aspect involves energy efficiency and renewable energies, and solar photovoltaic electricity is one of the activity lines covered under this policy.


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A new framework law on energy was submitted to the Parliament in 2005. The text of the law focused on energy efficiency and promotion of renewables. The use of bio-resources and recourse to thermal solar energy is high on the agenda. Photovoltaic solar electricity (PV) falls under the research section of the law, similar to hydrogen and carbon dioxide sequestration.

ADEME is the only public establishment with a promotional role in photovoltaic at the national level. ADEME co-finances research and technological development projects and allocates grants designed to facilitate opening of the market for photovoltaic applications.

In order to implement its market-opening policy, ADEME participates in operations with regional agencies (regional councils) and the European Commission's structural funds. Since some of these regional councils are very active, and consequently some French regions are better equipped with solar systems than others. It was from a local initiative that the idea of creating a solar energy institute (INES) at Chambéry was born. The preliminary studies for this research and solar energy promotion tool were done in 2004. The French Atomic Energy Commissariat (CEA) and the National Council for Scientific Research (CNRS) are very active in the development of this project and plan to eventually bring together a large part of their PV research teams within the INES.

The Finance Act which came into force early 2006 has implemented the new financial subsidy system designed for private individuals installing a photovoltaic array on the roof of their homes. As a result, for the private individuals subject to taxation, the fiscal measure consists of reimbursement covering up to 50% of the costs of the materials (installation costs are excluded). The fiscal measure replaces the subsidies granted by ADEME to the private individuals through its regional delegations. A few regional Councils continue to allocate subsidies to the private individuals in the form of electricity buy back rate or direct grant).

For the private or public operators the subsidy amount is granted on a case-by-case basis as part of calls for projects. In this case, ADEME is insisting on the quality of the architectural integration of the PV modules in the buildings when it is a new building and requires that a strong energy management policy be implemented. In 2006, the overall power of the systems installed in France is estimated at over 14 MW the majority of which is connected to the grid, which means a significant increase against the previous year (7 MW).


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Operational photovoltaic capacity existing in France at the end of 2006 was estimated at 47 MW which accounts for the annual production of 47 GWh of electrical energy. In the year 2006, over 10 MW have been installed. The installed power of the stand-alone systems remains stable, at about 1 MW. And this includes an activity of replacement of the installations at end of life and the reinforcement of the existing installations as well as the installation of new equipment. The most powerful installation ever installed in France, 1 MW is found in the Réunion Island. There are now several installations in the range of 100 kW. The regional councils have launched calls for projects in 2005 and 2006 representing several megawatts. PV installations or the large majority of them are in urban environment and on the buildings.

Figure 19: Installed Solar PV Capacity in France (1995-2006)


The most important project being the photovoltaic power system of 1 MW capacity installed on the Réunion Island. This project was dedicated in December 2006 and should supply the Réunion island with 1.3 GWh in electricity per year. The issue of energy independence in the French overseas departments has become a priority for the local political authorities and photovoltaics are, associated with a reduction in the energy demand, the preferred solution to remedy this problem. About 60% of the park of photovoltaic installations is connected to the


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French grid and is currently concentrated in the three overseas departments (Réunion, Martinique and Guadeloupe).

The increase in the French PV feed-in tariff that came into force in the decree published 10 July 2006 constitutes the major event for the French players of the photovoltaic industry this year. In 2005, the tariff stood at €0.14 per kWh in mainland France, a level clearly insufficient for ensuring financial profitability of this type of investment. Tariff was increased fourfold in 2006 for the building integrated PV (BIPV) up to €0.55/kW generators

ADEME has actively participated in this tariff determination with the Ministry of Industry.

The total power of the systems installed in France during the year 2007, is estimated at approximately 30 MW, i.e. tripling of the volume of the installations relative to the previous year. However, these data will have to be confirmed in coming months through investigations carried out by ADEME and the figures for the grid connection communicated by EDF.

According to a recent survey made by a private consultancy office and based on a questionnaire sent to the French installers, BIPV accounts for over 80 % of the market in continental France in 2007; primarily in the residential sector. Conversely, in the overseas departments (DOM) where the basic PV feed-in tariff is higher, the installations on large surface areas of roofing account for the majority of the market (building added-on applications). Several projects of PV power plants (between 1 MW and 15 MW) are being finalized in these departments. The operational photovoltaic capacity in France1 was estimated at 73 MW, in late 2007. This accounts for an annual production of 70 GWh of electric power.

The regional councils have launched calls for exemplary projects based on 3 main criteria (architectural integration, energy performance of the building and demonstrative aspect). All these subsidy-winning installations account for approximately 4 MW.

A roof of 216 kW has been realized on the Geoffroy Guichard stadium in Saint-Étienne. This stadium has hosted the World Rugby Cup. The product used is an innovation developed through a RTD project partially funded by ADEME.


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There has been an important growth in the photovoltaic installations fuelled by the new feed-in tariffs and fiscal measures. A first estimation at the beginning of 2008 shows that during 2007, the volume of the installations has tripled relative to the previous year. Since it is becoming difficult to calculate this growth, ADEME and its partners such as the Renewable Energies Federation (SER) and EDF, are trying to rationalize the collection of information.

The strategy of building integration of photovoltaics seems to pay off since new integration products have been commercialized and that over 80 % of the operations in continental France are building integrated.

Concerning the materials, the silicon sector is the most dynamic for its R&D projects as well as for the investments made in new production equipment. Among others, one should recall two new projects involving the manufacture of feedstock solar photovoltaic grade silicon.

The French government has announced its commitment to the environment and the development of renewable energies. The European Commission is also preparing an ambitious policy in this field. Such a favorable context may enable France to regain a place more in keeping with its historic involvement in the photovoltaic industry.

Germany

The support of renewable energies by the German Federal Government follows the general guiding principles for energy policy; namely security of supply, economic efficiency and environmental protection. Concerning climate protection, the aim is to ensure that all measures are affordable and keep pace with the economic development. For this reason, the German government adopted in December 2007 a package implementing an integrated energy and climate program which comprises a number of proposals dealing with, for example, energy efficiency and renewable energies in the electricity and heat sectors, as well as transportation.

Moreover, the integrated energy and climate program also promotes Germany as an industrial and investment location. Through improved efficiency and the use of renewable energies, a lower consumption of coal, oil and gas in the transport, heating, hot water and electricity sectors and thus a reduction of Germany's dependence on energy imports will be accomplished.


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For the electricity sector, the Federal Government set a national target for renewable energies of 12,5 % by 2010 and 20 % by 2020. While in 2000, a share of 6,3 % for renewable energies was assessed; in 2006 already 11,5 % were reached. For 2007 a share of around 14 % is expected which means exceeding the 2010 target already now. Photovoltaic (PV) adds to this development. From the currently installed PV capacity one can estimate a share for PV of roughly 3 % of the renewable power generated in Germany. Driven by the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), PV still shows an impressive development. Additionally, PV has become a real business with noticeable employment and turnover.

The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is an important goal of environmental policies in Germany. The Federal Government has committed to doubling the share of renewable energies as a percentage of gross energy consumption from 2000 until 2010. Accordingly, for electricity production an increase from 6.3% (2000) to 12.5% (2010) is expected. For 2020, a share of 20% is envisaged. While in 2000 a share of 6.3% for renewable energies was assessed, in 2006 already 11.6 % were reached.

Photovoltaic (PV) adds to this development. From the currently installed PV capacity one can estimate a share for PV of roughly 2.8% of the renewable power generated in Germany. Driven by the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), PV still shows an impressive development. Additionally, PV has become a real business with noticeable employment and turnover.


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Figure 20: Installed Solar PV Capacity in Germany (1995-2006)


A first approximation for 2007 is based on a new capacity on the grid amounting to 1 200 MW resulting in a cumulated capacity of 3,9 GW at the end of the year.

In addition to the market of grid connected systems, there is a stable and steadily growing request for standalone systems. First estimates indicate that in 2007 around 4 MW were installed mainly for industrial applications, such as the automotive sector, traffic signals etc.

Since 2004, Germany is the country with the highest annual PV installation world-wide. This remarkable development is based on the "Electricity Feed Law" introduced in 1991 that was replaced by the “Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG)” in April 2000. The EEG rules the input and favorable payment of electricity from renewable energies by the utilities. In 2004 the EEG was amended and the feed-in tariffs were adjusted mainly according to changes in accompanying market introduction programs. The tariffs for new installed PV systems drop year by year by 5%. The rates are guaranteed for an operation period of 20 years.


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At the end of 2003, the “100 000 Rooftops Solar Electricity Program” terminated. With a total granted capacity of 345.5 MW and 65,700 systems built, this program was a real success. The support of PV systems by soft loans is maintained for example by the new program “Solar Power Generation”. Under this program 30,284 loans representing a total volume of 237.4 MW equivalents to €946.6 million investments were granted since 2005.

Other measures like program of the Federal States (Länder) and the Federal German Environmental Foundation (DBU) are designed for a local or an application specific support of PV. Moreover, a number of utilities have launched initiatives to build PV-demonstration and pilot systems or to provide advice and information.

Based on the measures described above, the German PV industry experienced a period of strong growth over the last years. Despite the fact that some investments are delayed, the range of companies dealing with PV is expanding along the whole value chain. Especially the capacity of thin film production facilities is expected to grow significantly in the near future; taking advantage of the current global silicon supply shortage.

Silicon Feedstock: Wacker, one of the world’s largest suppliers of silicon for the semiconductor and PV industry, again enhanced its silicon production to 8 000 t in 2007. This is equal to a PV production of approximately 660 MW. An extension to 10 000 t until 2008 has already been decided on. Along with Joint Solar Silicon, PV Silicon, Scheuten SolarWorld Silizium and Schmid Silicon Technology, additional producers will enter the market in 2008/9 introducing new ways for the production of solar silicon. In total, for 2008 a production of 11 750 t equal to almost 1 000 MW is expected.

Wafer Production: The total production of wafer amounted to 415 MW in 2007. The main supplier of silicon wafers is still Deutsche Solar AG in Freiberg. The company produced approximately 250 MW of mono- and multi crystalline wafers. Besides Deutsche Solar there are two further Germany based wafer manufacturers: PV Silicon at Erfurt and ASI at Arnstadt. It is estimated that both companies together sold up to 125 MW in 2007. Silicon ribbons are produced by Wacker Schott Solar (EFG-ribbon) in Alzenau and EverQ (String-ribbon) in Thalheim.


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From 2008-2009 on two other companies will start production; namely Conergy in Frankfurt (Oder) and Q-Cells in Thalheim. It is estimated that at the end of 2008, a total wafer production capacity of around 1 300 MW will be accomplished.

Solar Cell Production: The cell production in Germany shows a steady growth. Starting from 58 MW in 2002 the production achieved 700 MW in 2007. Currently, nine companies are engaged.

These are Deutsche Cell in Freiberg, ErSol Solar Energy in Erfurt, EverQ and Q-Cells in Thalheim, Scheuten Solar in Gelsenkirchen, Schott Solar in Alzenau, Solarwatt Cells in Heilbronn, Solland Solar Cells in Aachen/Heerlen (NL) and Sunways in Konstanz and Arnstadt.

With Conergy and Arise Technologies Corp. (Bischofswerda), a Canadian based company, ready to start production in 2008, an increase in production capacities to 1 250 MW in 2008 seems possible.

The production of solar modules grew again. After assembling 40 MW in 2002, the output of modules reached 680 MW in 2007. Because of the ongoing strong demand for modules many manufacturers are aiming for further production extensions.

The biggest module manufacturers are planning to end up with a production of around 1 000 MW in 2008 alone.

Thin-film Technologies: In addition to the silicon wafer activities, there is an increasing number of companies investing in thin-film production lines.

In 2007 there was a production of around 92 MW, namely of silicon technologies (6 MW from CSG Solar, Brilliant 234 and SCHOTT Solar), CIS (16 MW mainly from Odersun, Sulfurcell and Würth Solar) and CdTe (70 MW from First Solar and Calyxo). This is a remarkable increase of thin film production when compared to the activities in previous years which were on the level of 10 MW. For the coming years further growth is expected. For 2008, based on a production of more than 250 MW, it seems likely:


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• CSG Solar is going to double its production capacity to 20 MW.

• Sontor (formerly Brilliant 234), Ersol Solar Energy, Inventux Technologies, Malibu, Schott Solar, Signet Solar and Sunfilm AG announced to establish (additional) production capacities of amorphous / mircomorphous silicon modules until the end of 2008.

• Avancis (former Shell Solar), Global Solar Energy, Johanna Solar Technologies, Nanosolar Inc., Odersun, Sulfurcell Solartechnik and Würth Solar are going to invest in CIS technologies. Together, a production of around 50 MW could be possible during 2007.

• First Solar and Calyxo will increase the production of CdTe modules aiming for a production of 150 MW and 5 MW respectively.

Besides the manufacturing of wafers, cells and modules, the production of inverter technology shows impressive growth rates and keeps pace with the market expansion. In addition to the PV industry PV equipment manufacturers supply tools for every step of the PV value chain. The initiative “Invest in Germany” lists 44 companies covering the range from equipment for ingot/wafer production to module turnkey lines.

In conclusion, the German PV industry is not only a fast growing industry but is also offering innovative products along the whole value chain. During the last years, equipment and production companies became the most experienced ones world-wide. More and more companies are entering into the business making PV to a real opportunity for employment and business in general: Today, around 10 000 companies employing 40 000 workers are producing a turnover of 5.5 billion Euros annually.


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Figure 21: Development of Grid Connected PV Capacity in Germany

Source: IEA

The temporary stagnation in the German PV market which was observed in 2006 was overcome in 2007. Further market growth seems to be possible in the next years.

The currently running amendment of the EEG will be completed in 2008. For PV one expects slightly lower feed-in tariffs and higher depression rates in order to stimulate additional price reductions.

The German PV industry intends to extend their production capacities further. From 2010 on, an increasing share of the turnover will be earned from export activities. In an environment of competition it is therefore important to offer high quality state of the art products. The current technical and economical status does not allow any standstill. Enhancement of production efficiency and at the same time lowered costs remain on the agenda. For that reason, high-level R&D together with sustainable market supporting mechanisms such as the EEG are still needed.


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The current situation in Germany and in Europe, in general, feeds the conviction that PV will continue its way successfully.

Japan

Japan’s policy and measures on energy including PV power generation is based on the Basic Act on Energy Policy (Energy Policy Law) enforced in 2002, that stipulates three principles; securing a stable supply, environmental suitability and utilization of market mechanisms. Promotion of use of solar energy is listed in the “environmental suitability”. In addition, the Basic Energy Plan was established in order to materialize these basic directions of the energy policy.

Dissemination of PV Systems is defined in the “New Energy Innovation Plan” under “New National Energy Strategy” that is the foundation of Japan’s energy strategy, laid out in 2006.

The “New National Energy Strategy” was established based on the basic recognition of the current status of energy, such as structural change in energy demand and supply. Numerical targets to be achieved by 2030 were set for achieving the “Establishment of energy security measures that people can trust and rely on the “Establishment of the foundation for sustainable development through a comprehensive approach for energy issues and environmental issues all together,” and “Commitment to assist Asian and world nations in addressing energy problems.” Specific activities are comprised of the four items:

1) Realizing the state-of-the art energy supply-demand structure,

2) Comprehensive strengthening of resource diplomacy and energy and environment cooperation,

3) Enhancement of emergency response measures and

4) Common challenges. New Energy is considered as one of the four major pillars of the structure in the “Realizing the state-of-the art energy supply-demand structure;” significantly contributing to the New Energy Innovation Plan.


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The New Energy Innovation Plan clearly specifies the targets for year 2030 based on the following concepts:

1) “Specify renewable energy sources which particularly need to be promoted, such as PV, wind power and biomass, and give them strong support,”

2) “Development and enhancement of use of innovative technology for high-level utilization of energy,”

3) “Promotion of “demand” and “supply” expansion measures in response to dissemination stages,”

4) “To broaden thickness of industrial structure of new energy, etc. and improve economic efficiency of the entire new energy industry.”

As for the PV Systems, it is targeted to reduce the PV power generation cost to the level of thermal power generation by 2030. Promotional measures for the expansion of “demand” and “supply” through implementation support measures such as subsidies and taxation systems by stages of growth will continue. Also targeted is the creation of a group of PV-related industries.

Toward the dissemination of new energy, the “New Energy Law,” established in 1997, defines the responsibility of the government and local authorities, energy consumers, energy suppliers and manufacturers of energy equipment. In addition, “Special Measures Law Concerning the Use of New Energy by Electric Utilities, the Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) Law” established in 2002, obliges energy suppliers to use a certain amount of electricity generated from new and renewable energy sources. The obligatory usage amount of new and renewable energy has been increased every year.

For technological development of PV Systems, technological targets for solar cell and PV Systems from the long-term perspective towards 2030 were established based on “PV Roadmap toward 2030 (PV2030)”, a roadmap for technological development of PV Systems established in 2004. Moreover, utilization and introduction of new and renewable energy are implemented


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as one of the measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions toward 2010 under the “Kyoto Protocol Target Achievement Plan” endorsed by the cabinet in 2005.

Through the measures for introducing PV Systems, mainly implemented by METI, the market development of residential PV Systems and PV Systems for industrial and public facilities is underway. The size of the residential PV market grew to the level of 50 000 systems/year through government support programs for introducing residential PV systems implemented for 12 years. Cumulative installed capacity at the end of FY2006 was 1 277 MW installed at approximately 350 000 houses. Even after the program was completed, the PV market in Japan didn’t shrink but leveled off. PV manufacturers are working on expansion of the market for residential PV Systems for both newly built and existing houses by minimizing the price increase of PV Systems despite the soaring price of silicon feedstock due to the polysilicon shortage.

In the newly built residential house market, pre-fabricated house manufacturers enhance efforts for energy conservation and reduction of CO2 emissions. Accordingly, some housing manufacturers adopted PV Systems as standard equipment and this trend has expanded to major housing companies, who are advertising PV-equipped housing on TV commercials to increase sales across the country. In particular, the new concept of zero-utility charge house equipped with PV system contributes to the expansion of purchasers who recognize economical efficiency in running cost of the house as well as the environmental value. In the PV market for existing houses, PV manufacturers are developing and establishing a distribution channel consisting of local builders, electric contractors, electric appliances stores and roofers, etc., while seeking purchasers of residential PV systems all over Japan.

Through the long-term field test projects, PV systems for nonresidential use, such as for public and industrial facilities, have been making progress year by year in many aspects: economical efficiency, grid-connection technology, design and installation as well as system efficiency. Consequently, opportunities for market expansion have been increasing and diversified in such areas as application, design, installation sites, power generation capacity and introducers of PV Systems and the market development of non-residential area is in progress. As for the installation sites, PV Systems have been added to a wider variety of places: public facilities (schools, government office buildings, community buildings, water purification plants, welfare


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and medical facilities) and industrial facilities (factories, warehouses, laboratories, office buildings, commercial buildings).

In addition to these sites, recently, PV systems have been installed to agricultural facilities (greenhouses), commercial facilities (shopping malls, family restaurants), railway facilities (station buildings and platforms), road facilities (parking lots and expressway toll booths), financial facilities (banks, etc.), transport facilities (logistics centers, etc.) and resort facilities (hot-spring resorts, etc.). The size of a PV Systems has been increased to as large as 5-MW. The range of those who installed PV systems are widely varied, from large companies to individual owners in the private sector and from public-interest organizations to nonprofit organizations (NPOs).

Some companies have been introducing PV systems to their factories and offices nationwide and installing additional PV systems to existing PV-equipped facilities. Installation of large-sized PV systems is also on the rise. The number of such companies has been increasing year by year. In NEDO’s Field Test Project on New Photovoltaic Power Generation Technology in FY2007, total capacity exceeded 20 MW, of which 2 007 kW was installed by Toyota Motor Corporation and 1 000 kW by Electric Power Development.

Figure 22: Installed Solar PV Capacity in Japan (1995-2006)



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In the off-grid domestic market there are PV applications for mountain cottages, islands and certain applications for public and industrial uses, but the market scale is quite small. The main PV applications in the off-grid non-domestic market include power supplies for street lighting, telecommunication, remote monitoring, water pumping, emergency power for disaster relief, agriculture, traffic signs, ventilating fans and the like. The off-grid non-domestic market in Japan has already been established as a commercial market that does not require subsidy.

In 2007, a series of activities to strengthen a group of PV related-industries were observed in Japan’s PV industry:

1) Capacity expansion and new entries by raw material and silicon wafer manufacturers, 2) large scale production capacity increase and extension of overseas production sites, in addition to improvement of PV cell/ module performance by early-started solar cell manufacturers, 3) start of production and production capacity increase by new entrants of thin-film PV module manufacturers, 4) burgeoning of system integrators, 5) production capacity increase and new entrants in components of PV cell/ module, 6) emergence of manufacturers who produce full turn-key manufacturing equipment for solar cell production lines.

PV cell/module manufacturers continued actively working on their business. Highlights of PV cell/module manufacturers in 2007 are as follows.

Sharp announced a plan to first increase its solar cell production capacity at Katsuragi Plant from 600 MW/year to 710 MW/year and then to construct a thin-film silicon PV module plant with capacity of 1 000 MW/year in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, annexed to a plant for large-sized liquid crystal display (LCD) panels. First, capacity of a thin-film PV module production line at Katsuragi Plant will be increased to 160 MW/year; then the technology cultivated there will be introduced to the new Sakai Plant. Furthermore, Sharp announced a plan to double the production capacity of the PV module factory in the UK to 220 MW/year.

Kyocera will increase domestic production capacity to 500 MW/year by 2010. Production capacity of PV module plant in Mexico will be increased to 150 MW/year.


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Sanyo Electric announced a plan to launch a new PV module plant in Shiga Prefecture with the capacity of 40 MW/year, in response to the growing demand. Sanyo also plans to establish the “Advanced Photovoltaic Development Center” in the aim of commercialization of next-generation thin-film silicon PV module.

Mitsubishi Electric plans to enhance its solar cell production line towards establishing a production framework with the capacity of 250 MW/year.

Kaneka completed the construction of a new thin-film silicon PV module production line with the capacity of 55 MW/year, with a plan to further increase the production capacity to 130 MW/year.

Fuji Electric Systems plans to increase production capacity of flexible thin-film silicon PV module from 15 MW/year to 150 MW/year.

Showa Shell Sekiyu decided to construct the second plant for CIGS PV module with the production capacity of 60 MW/year and announced a plan to increase production capacity to 80 MW/year in total.

Honda Motor started a full-scale production of CIGS PV module entered into the residential PV Systems market.

Clean Venture 21 established a commercial plant of spherical silicon solar cell.

Fujipream established a plant to exclusively produce concentration type spherical silicon solar cell.

MSK’s Fukuoka Plant was acquired by its employees and started operation as a new company “YOCASOL”.

In the area of the silicon feedstock/ wafer, manufacturers have been increasing production capacities and many new players are entering the market.


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Mitsubishi Materials, one of the major polysilicon manufacturers, announced a plan to increase manufacturing at production plants both in Japan and the USA.

Japan Solar Silicon, one of the group companies of Chisso achieved polysilicon for solar cells with 6N purity by SiCl4 zinc reduction process.

M. Setek entered into the business of polysilicon for solar cell and started production.

With the metallurgical process of polysilicon production, Nippon Steel entered into the business and other companies have been active in this area.

JFE Steel plans to construct a 300-t/year plant of polysilicon for solar cell.

Dow Corning Toray expanded sales of polysilicon for solar cells, in which the US headquarters is engaged, to a full-scale operation.

SUMCO decided to supply multicrystalline silicon wafer for solar cells, in addition to that for semiconductors, and announced a plan to construct a new plant of silicon wafer aiming to achieve 1 GW/year production.

Sumitomo Corporation formed a business alliance with a Chinese company for single crystalline silicon ingots for solar cells.

Osaka Fuji Corporation decided to establish a new plant to process wafers for solar cells.

Not only in the area of silicon ingot and wafer but also in the area of BOS (Balance of System) and production equipment for solar cells, a number of companies are entering into the business and aggressively expanding production as well as establishing business partnerships.

Denal Silane plans to increase production capacity of monosilane gas.

Jemco plans to double the production capacity of columnar crystalline silicon ingot.


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Ferrotec decided to produce quartz crucibles in Norway and strengthen production of single crystalline silicon ingot puller.

Covalent Materials decided to increase production of quartz crucible for solar cells.

Other manufacturers are also active in the area of BOS and production equipment, as follows:

EVA: Bridgestone, connector for PV modules: SMK, Honda Tsushin Kogyo, wiring units: Onamba, solar cell production line: SES, PV cell/ module production equipment: NPC (listed on TSE MOTHERS of the Tokyo Stock Exchange), PV cell/ module testing equipment: Iwasaki Electric, Yamashita Denso, crystalline silicon solar cell production equipment: Noritake.

Ulvac entered into the business of thin-film silicon PV module production equipment, receiving a series of orders from PV manufacturers in Taiwan and China. Accordingly, Ulvac established a PV module line for evaluation and plans to expand its production sites.

In the PV Systems distribution industry, residential PV Systems have been selling well, despite completion of the government’s subsidy program.

Sekisui Chemical achieved sales of 58 000 PV systems by the end of 2007.

Daiwa House, PanaHome and Sumitomo Forestry have started the sales of all-electrified housing one after another, with PV Systems as standard equipment.

NTT Facilities has been promoting the construction of large-scale PV systems as part of national projects.

Itochu acquired Solar Depot, a US company selling PV systems and entered into the PV business.

As systematic introduction of PV systems has started on the user side, movements towards full-scale PV dissemination will be continuously pursued.


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The government of Japan revised the Basic Energy Plan foreseeing around 10 years ahead in 2007. The Plan emphasizes the importance of energy security reflecting recent global circumstances such as the tight situation of energy demand and supply, soaring prices of energy and countermeasures against global warming. The main pillars of the Plan include the following:

1) Promotion of nuclear power generation and expanded installation of new and renewable energy,

2) Aggressive development of diplomacy on resources toward the stable supply of fossil fuels such as oil,

3) Enhancement of energy conservation strategy and initiative for forming an international frameworks to work on measures against global warming and

4) Strengthening of technological capabilities.

New and renewable energy is positioned as “the complementary energy for the time being; which the government will promote measures aiming at making new and renewable energy one of the key energy sources in the long run.” For that, the government announced the creation of strategic efforts for implementing technological development to reduce costs, to stabilize the grids and to improve performance in collaboration among industrial, academic and governmental circles. Furthermore, in order to expand introduction of new energy, the following measures are included, depending on different stages of market growth:

1) Take-off support (technological development, demonstration tests),

2) Creation of initial demands (model projects, support for installation of facilities),

3) Initiative in installations (at public institutions-related facilities),

4) Support for market expansion (legal actions such as the RPS Law),


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5) Formation of industrial structure (promotion of venture businesses to enter into the market, fostering peripheral and related industries),

6) Maintenance of promoting environment for dissemination (awareness for dissemination, public relations and information service).

In addition, the government reviewed the RPS Law which obliges utilities to use a certain amount of new energy, and set the target for the period between FY2011 and FY2014. In the revision, final target for FY2014 was set based on the former target of 12,2 billion kWh by FY2010 as a benchmark, by increasing 950 million kWh every year, to reach the ultimate goal of 16 billion kWh. The revision adopted a special preferred measure to double-count the RPS equivalent volume for PV power generation in order to improve the system management of the RPS Law. It is expected this measure would be a new tailwind for the dissemination of PV Systems.

Moreover, the government proposed a long-term target of countermeasures against global warming; cutting global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by half from the current level by 2050, announced “Cool Earth 50 - Energy Innovative Technology Plan” to achieve the target and selected 20 research topics to be promoted as priorities.

“Innovative PV Technology” was selected as one of the research topics aiming to improve conversion efficiency of solar cells from current 10 - 15 % to over 40 % and reduce power generation cost of solar cells from current 46 Yen/kWh to 7 Yen/kWh. The efforts for “innovative PV technology” will start from FY2008.

Meanwhile, it is assumed that the PV manufacturers will enhance their efforts for full-scale dissemination of PV Systems by working on 1) further cost reduction of the PV system, 2) detailed product development suitable for each application area, and 3) development of new application area, through technological development, enhancement of production capacity and collaboration with other industries using PV Systems.

Thus, in addition to these efforts by the national government and industry, and with support from users of PV Systems, including other ministries, agencies, local authorities, private


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companies and individuals, further deployment of PV Systems in Japan will continue into the future.

United States

For the United States, photovoltaic (PV) innovation defined 2007. The future of PV in the United States began to take shape as innovative PV products and programs in states and cities made PV more affordable for homeowners and businesses. Throughout the year, solar advocates lobbied Washington to extend and expand the federal tax credit, which provides a 30 % credit for commercial and residential solar installations (up to 2 000 USD for residential).

The federal tax credit and other investment tax credits were not included in the Energy Independence and Security Act signed in late 2007. The new energy bill also did not require utilities to produce 15 % of their electricity from renewable sources, although roughly half the states have enacted a renewable portfolio standard (RPS).

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) partnered with national laboratories, universities, and private industry to advance PV technology by financing product innovation and market transformation. Interest in utility-scale PV projects increased as states created more incentive programs for PV installations. Top policy issues at the state level included interconnection agreements, renewable portfolio standards, and net metering. According to a report published by several nonprofit organizations titled “Freeing the Grid,” New Jersey and Arizona led the nation with the best interconnection policies, while Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania led the nation in net-metering policies. Solar energy also became more popular with consumers in 2007 as new residential “solar communities” began to emerge along with new solar businesses that offered a variety of PV products and financial assistance.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Program (SETP), part of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, is responsible for developing solar energy technologies that convert sunlight to useful energy and make that energy available to cost-effectively satisfy a significant portion of U.S. energy needs. The SETP supports R&D addressing a wide range of applications, including on-site electricity generation, thermal energy for space heating and hot water, and large-scale power production. The SETP has created a


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management structure that blends program administration with scientific oversight. Program administration is done by a relatively small DOE staff that focuses on implementing Administration policy. Two DOE national laboratories—the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories— provide scientific oversight of the solar R&D tasks being performed by universities, industry, and other national laboratories. Laboratory management of the tasks enables detailed technical evaluations to become a part of the programmatic decisions made by DOE.

The bulk of the SETP Photovoltaic Subprogram’s activities are carried out through two primary research centers: the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), in Upton, New York, provides program support in the area of environmental health and safety. NREL, SNL, and BNL are all partners in the National Center for Photovoltaics (NCPV), which provides guidance to DOE PV research efforts. In addition, DOE’s Golden Field Office (GO), in Golden, Colorado, administers and manages contracting activities assigned by headquarters.

The development of new PV products, businesses, and solar villages surged in 2007. Despite an increase in home foreclosures, home builders constructed and sold homes with PV systems two to three times faster than conventional homes, implying that PV was helping to differentiate them from the competition. More than 12,500 people attended the Solar Power 2007 conference, an event described by some media as “a castle under siege” because of the number of people who came to see the new PV products on “Public Night.”

California’s Silicon Valley was renamed “Solar Valley” by the national media because of the emergence of many new solar companies in the area. Google, Inc., located in Silicon Valley, began backing PV start-ups it claims will revolutionize the industry and it plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on renewable energy projects in 2008. Popular Science magazine gave Nanosolar, located in Silicon Valley, an “Innovation of the Year” award for its PowerSheet flexible solar cells, beating out Apple for the iPhone. Underwriters Laboratories (UL) announced the construction of a new PV testing lab in Silicon Valley that will be the largest commercial laboratory for PV testing and certification in the United States. The lab will be up and running by June 2008. Outside of Silicon Valley, countless new solar businesses


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sprang up across the nation as investors poured money into an industry growing by leaps and bounds.

Figure 23: Installed Solar PV Capacity in United States (1995-2006)


According to PV News, US PV cell production grew 30.9% from 2005 to 2006, reaching 201.6 MW. This growth, according to Prometheus Institute, was due mostly to increased production of First Solar (60 MW) while many other US producers were affected by the polysilicon shortage. World cell production exceeded 2,500 MW-dc in 2006, a 40% increase over 2005. Also, in 2006 Shell Solar sold its Camarillo, California, plant, a fully integrated single-crystal silicon facility, and its Washington State plant to SolarWorld. Shell Solar shifted its focus from silicon-based technology to thin films in Europe. At the same time, GE is continuing to rebuild the solar business purchased from AstroPower; and BP Solar, United

Solar Ovonic, and First Solar all increased their US cell production. Another US company, Evergreen Solar, added significant new production in Germany. World production of PV cells exceeded 1,700 MW in 2005 in spite of tight feedstock supply.


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A consequence of the rapid growth of PV has been the emergence of a solar-grade silicon supply shortage. This shortage is believed to be temporary, with new supplies and capacity coming on line between 2006 and 2008. In the meantime, however, this has created an opportunity for thin-film PV and concentrator technologies, which do not use polysilicon feedstock, to accelerate their move from the laboratory into manufacturing and large-scale production. Driven in large part by increases in electricity prices, concern about climate change, need for energy security, and pro-solar policies, the demand for PV and thus silicon is expected to continue to grow in the United States.

According to PV News, in 2006, PV installations in the United States experienced strong growth, with grid-tied systems growing by 60% over 2005. According to Prometheus Institute and a study done by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, 100 MWp dc of grid-tied PV were installed in 2006, up from 63,3 MWp dc in 2005.

The Solar America Initiative, announced in 2006, represents the US DOE’s most comprehensive effort thus far in support of PV market development. The two-pronged approach to accelerating markets and bringing the cost of PV to grid parity by 2015 tackles technical and non-technical barriers to market transformation. This initiative is the largest PV commercialization effort to occur in the United States, based on:

• the scale and complexity of the formal alliances with industry, university, and non-governmental organizations to guide those efforts, and

• the level of accountability by potential partners to perform the necessary work in conjunction with DOE.

The main objectives of US market development efforts are to provide technical support in assisting market growth and to retrieve technical performance, cost, and reliability information from fielded applications. This information is fed back to researchers, providing direct, market-based data that can drive decisions. Deployment facilitation activities are geared to produce an impact on overall market volume across the spectrum of market sectors, including residential, commercial, industrial/utility, off-grid, and international.


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In addition to the work of the SAI, the SETP addresses market deployment opportunities in a variety of ways. For example, DOE’s Solar Decathlon brings college and university teams from around the world to compete in designing and building houses that demonstrate the benefits of solar technologies. The next Decathlon will occur in Washington, D.C., in October 2007 and promises to be the most exciting event yet with the inclusion of more international participants.

International partnerships also play a role in market development because much of domestically produced solar products are currently shipped overseas, and international solar markets will continue to grow in the foreseeable future. Therefore, knowledge and information from solar activities outside the United States continue to provide business opportunities to US solar companies in developed markets, such as Japan and Europe, and developing markets, such as India and China. The SETP also supports the International Energy Agency (IEA), specifically through the IEA Photovoltaic Power System Implementing Agreement. Activities include technical assistance, demonstration of the technical feasibility of new technologies and applications, training, development and promotion of norms and standards, and fostering business development, such as facilitation of joint-venture agreements between foreign and US companies.

To facilitate continued market growth, the SAI Market Transformation work will focus on eliminating non-technical barriers for PV commercialization. Working groups are proposed to develop appropriate and reasonable codes, standards, and certification programs. In addition, the SETP focuses support on collaborative efforts with standards organizations, including the National Fire Protection Association, the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the American Society for Testing Materials, Underwriters Laboratories, and the International Electrotechnical Commission.

Specific opportunities in this arena are improved utility interconnection standards that include communications and controls for grid stabilization, a standardized communications protocol for inverters and system controllers, hardware certifications to improve consumer confidence, and standardized practices for certification of PV system designers and practitioners, assuring up-to-date knowledge on advances in technology, safety, or interconnect practices.


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The US PV industry believes that the next 10 years are critical for worldwide solar power development. This period will determine which nations reap the economic, environmental, security, and reliability values that solar power offers. Actions by government and industry will determine whether solar power is catapulted to a new level and whether the United States will regain its position at the forefront of solar power development. Investment decisions over the next decade for research, new manufacturing, and creating new markets will determine where solar power will thrive.

The Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA), the US trade association of the solar industry, convened an executive forum in 2006 to begin a dialogue about the shared vision of the industry’s future. The executives that met forecasted a global PV market of 20 GW per year by 2015 and identified a high-end goal of 50 GW. To achieve this, the chief executive officers (CEOs) of the companies agreed to work together toward that ambitious goal. The CEOs also determined that the United States represents the largest untapped national market for PV and that solar could represent 10% to 20% of incremental installed capacity in the US by 2015. The group also concluded that grid parity for PV in the United States could be reached with a 50% cost reduction over 10 years. To realize this vision, the group determined that the PV industry must secure a long-term extension of the Federal investment tax credit (ITC), as well as long-term state incentives. Sustained energy behind this vision will need to come from a unified industry voice coupled with strong communications strategies directed at key stakeholders.

Outlook – Global Solar PV Capacity

Projections of installed solar PV capacity to be achieved by 2010 vary widely and repeatedly they have been revised upwards, in common with projections for some other categories of renewable energy. Europe contributed 56% to the total of world installed capacity in 2006, of which Germany accounted for 50%, Japan 28% and the USA 10%. The three leading countries accounted for 88% combined. Future forecasts for the next few years, before the market starts to widen therefore depend principally on the outcome in these three countries or regions. The solar PV market has not yet reached the breadth that wind power is now experiencing, with the leaders consolidating, intermediate sized markets moving up the ladder and quite a large number of countries entering the market with their first installations of wind turbines.


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The market has already achieved a degree of momentum although it is still very small in the global energy picture. The market dynamics is enough to ensure growth internally but demand will be subject to two external factors. Firstly the supply of silicon feedstock or thin film and secondly favorable feed-in tariffs or RPS, as well as other tax and fiscal incentives.

There are mixed views regarding feedstock supply and it is extremely difficult to assess because it is a revolving situation. Demand will not increase unless the shortage of silicon and/or thin film abates, and this will not abate without investment, which in turn depends on producers’ assessments of growth in demand. Many countries are offering advantageous feed-in tariffs, RPS or other fiscal incentives but one key market is tardy in this respect, China. Chinese manufacture will undoubtedly escalate for export, but the development of domestic demand is less certain because of inadequate incentives. Several other small markets are also lacking in good incentives but in the next four years it is the key markets of Germany, Japan and the USA which will dominate global demand. Spain is ready to become significant, China and India undoubtedly will follow, but the impact of these countries on demand in the next few years will be limited.

Growth in 2009 will be roughly the same as in 2008, since several of the key manufacturers have tied up silicon supply contracts and the Chinese are reporting that they have little trouble in obtaining supplies. Accelerated growth is anticipated in 2010 as some silicon production capacity comes on-line. Installed capacity for solar cells in 2010 will be between 16,000 MW and 18,000 MW.


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Figure 24: Installed Solar PV Capacity, MW, 1990-2010

Source: IEA

Global demand for solar PV in the next four years will be driven by Germany and Japan, followed by the USA.


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Figure 25: Installed Capacity in the Low Forecast by Region, MW, 1990 to 2010

Source: IEA


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Production Statistics for Solar Photovoltaic Cells

PRODUCTION STATISTICS FOR SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS

Global production of solar photovoltaic cells rose from 47 MW in 1990 to 1,194 MW in 2004 and 1,727 MW in 2005. It is estimated at 2,520 MW in 2006.

Figure 26: Solar PV Cells Production, MW


Production rocketed by 74% in 2004 over 2003 to 1,194 MW, and then growth slowed in 2005 to 45% and an estimated 46% in 2006, with 2,520 MW produced globally. .It is anticipated that production will grow less quickly in 2007 and 2008 due to the silicon shortage and then start to pick up slowly in 2009.

The following table, which lists current production capacity, has been assembled from company announcements and press releases, annual reports and Internet reports. Some of the reported expansions have not been as large as originally announced, probably due to reductions


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caused by the silicon shortage. Long term plan capacity remain high, with one exception; Sanyo has reduced its stated target of being a 1 GW producer by 2010 to 600 MW.

The major players have nearly all made bullish statements of intent despite the silicon shortage. Sharp continues its relentless expansion but other companies, notably Q-Cells and SolarWorld are fast catching up. Some strategic changes have taken place recently in the solar PV industry. The Japanese solar PV companies continue to make ambitious predictions although they also add caveats about the silicon shortage. BP Solar has opined that one day solar will be bigger than oil. RWE has sold its holding in RWE Scott to its partner and Schott Solar is the successor company. Shell Solar has decided to concentrate on thin film technology and has divested its silicon interests to SolarWorld.

An important development in the last two years has been the emergence of China as a significant player with serious aspirations for solar PV in the future, mirroring its performance with wind power.

In 2005 China was the third largest producing country with 150.7 MW produced and in 2006 production exceeded 300 MW. Analysts are already warning the Japanese companies, the German companies and the American companies to watch their backs, predicting that the Chinese will take the first slot, with plentiful supplies of silicon and cheap labor for labor-intensive recycling silicon operations as well as state support. So far state support has not emerged to stimulate domestic solar PV demand. Interestingly, China is the only country apart from Japan where solar PV is positioned as a strategic state objective.


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Table 7: Solar PV Production Capacity, MW

Source: Company Reports, IEA


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Regulatory Framework

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

Renewable Energy Targets

The EU and the United States have lead the way and now countries around the world in all continents are setting renewables targets. The number of countries which have set a national target and/or support programs for renewable energy supply is increasing continuously and by October 2007 we had counted 64. They range widely in format and size. Most national targets for renewables are defined as shares of electricity production, and/or primary energy, typically 5%-30% by a certain date. Some countries set separate targets for individual renewable energy sources.

The EU has pan-European targets; 21% of electricity and 12% of total energy is to be supplied by renewable sources by 2010. In September 2005, the EU parliament voted to extend the renewables target from 12% in 2010 to 20% by 2020.

Some 20 US states (and the District of Columbia), and three Canadian provinces have targets based on renewables portfolio standards and a further seven Canadian provinces have planning targets.


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Table 8: Renewables Targets and Support Mechanisms of European Countries


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175



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Source: Miscellaneous


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Table 9: Non-European Countries with Renewable Energy Targets & Plans

Source: Miscellaneous


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All the renewable energy technologies which are already commercialized or are approaching commercialization have exhibited fairly conventional learning curve trends and the various government measures have been highly successful in encouraging them. The success of renewables, notably wind energy and solar PV would not have been possible without the decisions taken- and development programs pioneered by a number of governments, especially in Denmark, the United States and Germany. These programs involved funding for R&D and financial incentives for investors and developers. Increasing numbers of countries, states, provinces and cities have enacted policies to promote renewable energy. In general, the following payment systems are employed:

• Feed-in tariffs are a fixed price or a premium added to the market price of electricity. Usually a specific price is set for a period of several years, and this must be paid by electricity companies, usually distributors, to producers of green electricity. The additional costs of these schemes are paid by suppliers in proportion to their sales volume and are ultimately passed to the consumers. These schemes have the advantages of investment security, the possibility of fine tuning and the promotion of mid- and long-term technologies

• Tender over an amount of energy (kWh) or a certain capacity (kW). Tendering procedures existed in two EU member states, Ireland and France but both have changed to a feed-in tariff. Under a tendering procedure, the state places a series of tenders for the supply of renewable energy, which is then supplied on a contract basis at the price resulting from the tender. The additional costs generated by the purchase of renewable energy are passed on to the end consumer of electricity through a specific levy

• Tradable green certificates are issued to the producers and a corresponding obligation (quota) among the consumers to buy a certain amount of certificates. In this system, currently existing in five EU countries (Sweden, the UK, Italy, Belgium and Poland) renewable energy is sold at conventional power-market prices. In order to finance the additional cost of producing green electricity all consumers or countries producers are obliged to purchase a certain number of green certificates from renewable energy producers according to a fixed percentage, or quota, of their total electricity consumption / production. Penalty payments for non-compliance are transferred either


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to a renewables research, development and demonstration (R&D) fund or to the general government budget

• RPS, Renewable Portfolio Standard. Mainly used in the United States, governments set standards specifying that electric utilities generate a certain amount of electricity from renewable sources and these targets are encouraged with a variety of competitive measures

• Tax incentives and investment subsidies

• Mixed systems. There are several systems that have mixed elements, usually a combination of RPS and tax incentives

Feed-in Tariffs & the Renewables Portfolio Standard

The two most prevalent policies for supporting new renewable electricity are variations of the feed-in tariff and the Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS). There is currently a debate going on in many countries about the results of these systems. The debate draws on the two regions most experienced in applying them, the US and the EU. There has been a basic difference of approach between the United States and the EU and other countries have chosen their own paths.

Feed-in tariffs offer a long-term, fixed price payment to renewable energy generators. The RPS tries to create competition between renewable energy generators to meet defined targets at the least cost, and typically uses price caps.

Feed-in tariffs are also referred to as advanced renewable tariffs (ARTs), renewable energy feed-in tariffs (REFITs), FITs, fixed price tariffs, and standard offer contracts. In Europe, RPS is called by other terms; quota obligations, renewable energy obligations, or tradable green certificate (TGC) systems.


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Feed-in Tariffs in EU

The EU has substantial experience with both approaches but feed-in tariffs have so far been most successful in creating renewable energy capacity expansion in several EU member nations. Two countries which initially used the RPS system, France and Ireland, have now changed to feed-in tariffs. The success of feed-in tariffs has inspired the adoption of similar laws by other countries, and feed-ins are currently the most widespread national renewable energy policy in the world.

Renewables Portfolio Standard in the US

In the US, policies are enacted by states and they are mostly RPS systems, with little use of feed-in tariffs. RPS policies require utilities to supply a minimum percentage of their electricity from renewable sources. RPS is widely used in the United States but the impact of feed-in tariffs in Europe is beginning to attract attention in the US. In Europe there has been a lively debate between RPS and feed-in tariffs in anticipation of a harmonized EU-wide policy but in the US, the debate has been limited because of lack of experience with feed-in tariffs.

Feed-in Tariff in Europe

In contrast to the US, most European countries have adopted feed-in tariffs. While RPS policies typically seek to create electricity price competition, feed-in tariffs require utilities to purchase power from renewable energy generators at a fixed price. These fixed prices are structured either in the form of long-term payments based on generation cost (as in Germany) or in the form of a fixed premium on top of the spot market price for electricity (as in Spain). Most of the laws also require utilities to interconnect all eligible renewable generation, thereby guaranteeing that renewable electricity can feed in to the grid. By February, 2007, eighteen countries in the EU had feed-in tariffs.

Like RPS, feed-in tariff designs vary widely. The three wind power leaders in the EU, Germany, Denmark, and Spain had feed-in tariff policies in place since the 1990s, although Denmark has now changed and only retains feed-in tariffs for biomass and biogas. Some of the systems, especially those of the newer EU member nations, are fairly new and untested.


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Successful feed-in tariffs have several characteristics:

• Long term guaranteed payments adequately reflect generation costs and profit

• Incentive levels decrease over time, so that the tariff becomes competitive

• Specific incentive levels for each renewable energy technology have been more successful than broad renewable tariffs

• Incentive levels designed to achieve specific policy goals or develop technologies have been successful in meeting these goals

In the 1980s there was a voluntary agreement between Danish utilities and the Danish Wind Turbine Association under which utilities purchased wind generated electricity at 85% of the retail electricity rate. The German Stromeinspeisungsgesetz (StrEG) (1991-2000) was patterned after this system and has been especially successful, with a fixed price for renewable energy set at 90% of the retail electricity rate. In 2000, when retail rates in Germany declined to a point that renewable energy development slowed under the StrEG, Germany introduced the Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz (EEG), under which a fixed price was established independent of retail rates.

This system still applies and renewable generators receive a fixed payment for 20 years, with payment streams declining over time such that a generator beginning production in 2007 will receive a lower payment stream than a generator beginning production in 2006. This declining payment structure, is intended to account for improved efficiencies from development of the technology and economies of scale and to encourage cost reductions over time. The EEG also differentiates between renewable technologies and each resource receives a different guaranteed price per kWh.

US Federal & State Incentives

Federal government support for renewables has been expressed in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, announced in February 2006. The President's Solar America Initiative (SAI) proposes the


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largest funding increase for solar energy research in US budget history. The initiative aims to decrease the cost of solar to be competitive with existing sources of electricity in 10 years. The program also aims to deploy 5-10 GW of solar PV capacity by 2015. The proposed budget for 207 is $148 million, a 78% budget increase, which includes $139 million for PV and $9 million for concentrating solar power. The SAI emphasizes funding industry-led partnerships to accelerate market-ready PV using aggressive new goals and a new focus on manufacturing and production R&D barriers.

The Solar Energy Technologies Program (SETP) operated by the US Department of Energy (DOE's) is part of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and is responsible for developing solar energy technologies. The SETP supports research and development addressing a wide range of applications, including on-site electricity generation, thermal energy for space heating and hot water and large-scale power production.

The bulk of the SETP Photovoltaic Sub-program’s activities are carried out through two primary research centers: the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), in Upton, provides program support in the area of environmental health and safety. NREL, SNL, and BNL are all partners in the National Center for Photovoltaics (NCPV), which provides guidance to DOE PV research efforts.

There are three areas of SETP-sponsored PV research:

• Development, and demonstration

• Fundamental research, advanced materials and devices

• Technology development

The solar PV sector is geographically fragmented in the US and lacks cohesion. As in other energy markets, there is no single market for solar PV in the United States. Historically, there has been more support for renewable energies from US states and local initiatives by utilities and municipalities than from the federal government.


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One of the main problems of PV in the US is still the lack of infrastructure for sales and marketing, as well as installation and maintenance of PV systems, with no standardization of PV systems according to IEEE standards. This is not only a technical problem but prevents further cost reduction using cost-efficient standard installation components.

Many State and Federal policies and programs have been adopted to encourage the development of markets for solar PV and other renewable technologies. These consist of direct legislative mandates (such as renewable content requirements) and financial incentives (such as tax credits). Financial incentives typically involve appropriations or other public funding, whereas direct mandates typically do not. In both cases, these programs provide important market development support for PV.

Federal Tax Incentives

In August 2007 the House of Representatives today approved two bills that could jump-start investment in solar power. The 30% solar energy investment tax credit for businesses is to be extended up to 2016 and there will be improvements to the tax credits for homeowners.

Photovoltaic Industry Roadmap

The Photovoltaic Industry Roadmap is a US industry-led effort to help guide domestic photovoltaic development. The roadmap covers the period of 2000-2020 and maps the direction of the photovoltaic industry, its critical partners and US government programs, with the aim of reclaiming US dominance of the solar PV industry.

Although solar electricity is not cost competitive with bulk, base load power, the industry points out that it does not have to be but provides electricity when and where energy is most limited and most expensive, and claims that solar electricity mitigates the risk of fuel-price volatility and improves grid reliability, thus guaranteeing a more stable energy economy. However, we would point out that this will be a rather optimistic claim for some years to come in view of the small scale of solar PV capacity.


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The US electrical grid will increasingly rely on distributed energy resources in a competitive market to improve reliability and moderate distribution and transmission costs and on-peak price levels. The roadmap emphasizes the role of solar PV in promoting distributed power. Many regions of the US are becoming limited by transmission capacity and local emission controls and solar-electric power addresses these issues because it is easily sited at the point of use with no environmental impact.

Photovoltaics Technology Plan

Most of the federal research is coordinated by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and its National Centre for Photovoltaics (NCPV). The current DOE ‘Photovoltaics Technology Plan’ runs from 2003 to the end of 2007 and it covers the following topics.

Fundamental Research

• Basic University Research

• High Performance and Concentrator Research

• Crystalline Silicon

Advanced Materials and Devices

• Crystalline Silicon

• Thin Films Manufacturing Research and development

• Module Performance and Reliability

Technology Development

• Module Performance and Reliability


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• System Engineering and Reliability

• Partnerships for Technology Introduction

• Program Integration and Facilities

Objectives of the Program

• Improve the cost, integration, and performance of solar heating, cooling, electricity, and lighting technologies in combination with building systems to levels where they are a competitive, reliable option for building owners and occupants

• Add significant security, reliability, and diversity to the U.S. energy system and improve the quality of life in this country by providing clean, distributed electricity to all

• Make solar technologies and systems an accepted and easily integrated option for distributed-energy production both on and off the electric utility grid

• Reduce the environmental signature (air emissions) by displacing fossil fuel energy systems with cost-effective solar energy systems

Near - Term Goals

The 2005 goals for the Solar Program were to promote the increased use of solar energy by reducing solar energy system costs as follows:

• Electricity from photovoltaic systems reduced to $0.18/kWh

• Electricity from concentrating-solar-power systems reduced to $0.10/kWh


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Long - Term Goals

The 2020 goal for the Solar Program is for the cost of solar energy to be competitive with fossil fuels. Although it is difficult to predict the cost of energy that far into the future, it is projected that by 2020, Intermediate load electricity will be $0.04 to $0.06/kWh, while homeowners will pay $0.08 to $0.10/kWh.

International Policies

Australia

The Australian Government has initiated a number of measures over recent years to support renewable energy in general and, in some cases, PV in particular.

Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET)

This program seeks to increase the contribution of renewable energy sources in Australia's electricity mix by 9, 500 GWh per year by 2010, with that target continuing until 2020. Since 2001, electricity retailers and large energy users must purchase increasing amounts of electricity from renewable sources. A trade in Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and financial penalties for non-compliance are features of this scheme. Small generating sources, such as rooftop PV systems, are allocated RECs on the basis of deemed generation over their lifetimes, rather than claiming RECs annually. For PV, RECs have been available on installation for up to 5 years of operation.

This time period has now been extended to 15 years and the size of eligible systems has been increased from 10 to 100 kW.

The Renewable Remote Power Generation Program (RRPGP) started in 2000 for the conversion of remote area power supplies, including public generators and mini-grids, from diesel to renewable energy sources.


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The PV Rebate Program (PVRP) started in 2000 and expires in 2007. Funding is provided by the Australian Government, with administration by the State Governments. Rebates on PV capital costs are provided to householders or community building owners who install grid-connected or stand-alone photovoltaic power systems.

Several new support programs for renewable energy technologies have been introduced:

• Solar Cities Trials, with Aus $ 75 million of funding, demonstrate high penetration uptake of solar technologies, energy efficiency, smart metering and other options

• The Renewable Energy Development Initiative (REDI) was launched in October 2005 and will provide Aus $100 million over seven years in the form of competitive grants to Australian industry to support early-stage commercialization; research and development of renewable energy technology

• The Low Emissions Technology and Abatement (LETA) initiative is an Aus $26.9 million measure to identify and implementation of cost effective abatement opportunities

State and local government policies also increasingly support PV market growth directly or indirectly and are expected to play a more significant role in future.

Canada

In 2005 the Government of Canada released a new national climate change plan entitled, ‘Moving Forward on Climate Change: A Plan for Honoring our Kyoto Commitment.’ The plan combines regulatory, negotiated, and incentive-based approaches. It anticipates mandatory emission intensity caps for major GHG-producing sectors but also relies heavily on government-funded purchases of emission reductions, both domestically and through the Kyoto Protocol's market-based mechanisms.

Also in 2005, the Government of Canada, through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, launched the first phase of a Canadian net zero healthy housing initiative. The PV market and


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industry in Canada is growing slowly. Remote and off-grid applications have developed over the last 12 years and account for about 95 % of total PV installed. This is not a subsidized market and is growing because PV technology is suitable for transport route signaling, navigational aids, remote homes, telecommunication and remote sensing and monitoring.

There are still many barriers to the development of the grid-connected market sector in Canada. Residential customers find the installation and approval process costly and lengthy but commercial and industrial customers are more likely to pursue projects.

The solar resource in Canada is generally very good and compares favorably with other regions of the world, partly due to its ‘clear-sky’ climate. However, with its abundant water power and natural gas resources, the country does not place a high priority on the development of solar energy. Nevertheless, Canada has in excess of 300 remote communities that depend on diesel generators for their electricity. PV systems can assist such remote locations and the bulk of the 10 MW installed capacity at the end of 2002 is used for off-grid applications.

The largest individual PV system user in Canada is the Canadian Coast Guard with an estimated 7,000 navigational buoys, beacons and lighthouses using photovoltaic modules.

The federal Department of Natural Resources (NRCan) is responsible for energy policies and energy R&D in Canada. Within the framework of the Renewable Energy Strategy, NRCan’s CANMET Energy Technology Centre-Varennes (CETC-V) is responsible for the management of the federal photovoltaic R&D and technology transfer programs. Both Federal and Provincial funding for R&D and demonstration are growing.

The Canadian government has developed a subsidy program for national government buildings called the ‘On-Site Generation at Federal Facilities’ program. The subsidy amounts to a refund of 25% on the cost of purchasing and installing a PV off-grid system, or up to 75% refund on the cost of purchasing and installing a grid connected system to a maximum refund of C$ 80,000. The project criteria include high visibility, the potential for developing into a sustainable market, and the technical appropriateness.


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The Canadian R&D program supports the development of technologies, the evaluation of the performance of PV systems in new applications and their adaptation for use in cold climate conditions. This work is conducted in collaboration with the industry at the CANMET Energy Technology Centre-Varennes (CETC-V), a National research facility located near Montreal in the Province of Quebec.

Current projects include:

• A comprehensive research program to evaluate the use of small PV-hybrid systems in order to optimize their performance and reduce their life-cycle cost

• A research project to increase the integration of renewable energy technologies in off-grid residences in Canadian climatic condition, in partnership with the Yukon Energy Solution Centre, the Arctic Energy Alliance and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation

• Evaluating the energy performance of commercial PV modules operating in Canadian climatic conditions and contributing to the development of international PV module standards

• Assessing the performance of PV products designed for building integration, in collaboration with Canadian manufacturers and system integrators

• Conducting research to improve the efficiency and performance of inverters and balance of systems components used for utility interconnected PV systems

• Championing the development of a national guideline for the interconnection of small distributed generation systems, including PV, wind, micro-turbines, and fuel cells, in collaboration with the Electro-Federation of Canada

• Supporting the development and adoption of performance and safety standards for use in Canada, including participation in the International Electro technical Commission working groups that aim to develop international standards


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CETC-V also developed a Project Analysis Software Tool, known as RETScreen® that can be downloaded from the web free-of-charge.

There are less than 40 grid-connected PV systems installed in Canada with a capacity of only 267 kW. Since the cost of PV power is still 5-10 times higher than conventional power available on the grid, it is unattractive for grid-connected applications at this time. Many of the grid-connected systems in Canada were installed as technology demonstration projects.

The most cost-effective active solar energy technologies are those used for low-temperature heating applications, such as domestic water heating, pool heating and commercial / industrial ventilation air preheating. An estimated 12,000 residential solar hot-water systems and 300 commercial / industrial solar hot water systems are currently in use.

China

China has emerged in the last two years as a significant player in the solar PV market and has declared ambitions to become a world leader.

China’s modern utilization of solar energy began in the mid-1970s and has developed following the first national solar conference in 1975. The development of solar energy was incorporated into some government programs but it was not until after the Rio Conference of 1992 that the Government drew up the ‘Agenda of 21st Century in China’, concentrating on renewable energies. In 1995, the State Development and Planning Commission (SDPC), the State Economic and Trade Commission (SETC) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) formulated a ‘Program on New and Renewable Energy from 1996-2010’. SDPC, SETC and MOST have launched the ‘Sunlight Program’, running until 2010 for solar PV systems. It is designed to upgrade the country’s manufacturing capability of solar technologies, to establish large-scale PV and PV / hybrid village demonstration schemes, home PV projects for remote areas and to initiate grid-connected PV projects.

Three avenues are being pursued:

• Establishing independent small-scale PV systems


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• Establishing mid-scale (100-1000 kW) PV systems on unused land on the outskirts of urban areas

• Establishing PV systems larger than 10 MW on vast, barren, unused lands that enjoy extensive exposure to sunlight, such as in desert areas

In the next decade the PV market will develop from the smaller systems to larger grid-connected power generating systems, including the larger PV power plants of 10 MW in desert areas and rooftops systems like the 100,000 roofs program in Shanghai.

The ‘Brightness Project’ first launched in 1996 and coming to fruition in 2000 aimed at providing electricity from solar and wind energy in a number of remote regions. This is now developing into the realization that large scale generation is possible with solar PV plants in remote, highly insolated regions, such as the Gobi Desert, the Xinjiang deserts and three mountainous areas of Xizang (Tibet). China is well-endowed with solar energy resources, two-thirds of the territory receiving in excess of 4.6 kWh/m2/day solar radiation. With a large number of remote communities (including many hundreds of islands) without electricity, photovoltaic power generation could play an effective role in serving these areas.

India

The Indian Renewable Energy program is well established. It was set up under the Department of Science and Technology before being transferred to the newly-created Department of Non-Conventional Energy Sources in 1982. The Department was upgraded to the Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES) in 1992 and MNES has since worked with the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA, created in 1987), to accelerate the momentum of renewable energy development. The promotion has been achieved through R&D, demonstration projects, government subsidy programs, programs based on cost recovery supported by IREDA and also private sector projects.

India receives a good level of solar radiation, the daily incidence ranging from 4 to 7 kWh/m2 depending on location. Solar thermal and solar photovoltaic technologies are both encompassed by the Solar Energy Program that is being implemented by the MNES. The country has also


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developed a substantial manufacturing capability, becoming a leading producer in the developing world. The principal objective of the Solar Thermal Program is the market development and commercialization of solar water heaters, solar cookers etc. At the present time, the installed systems account for some 500,000 m2 collector area and some 485,000 solar cookers.

A Solar PV Program has been developed by the MNES for the past two decades, aimed particularly at rural and remote areas. To date, approximately 44 MW have been installed (representing some 750,000 systems), of which street lighting and solar lanterns account for 2.8 MW each, home lighting systems for 4.3 MW, water pumps for 4.2 MW, telecommunications for 14.7 MW, power plants for 2.2 MW and other applications for 12.5 MW. Exports account for another 13.5 MW.

The MNES has instituted a plan for establishing solar PV power generation of 1 MW for use in specialized applications: voltage support at rural sub-stations and peak shaving in urban centers. At the present time 15 grid-interactive solar PV power projects have been installed in seven states and a further 10 are under construction.

The MNES has enabling installation of solar PV water pumping systems for irrigation and drinking water applications through subsidies since 1993-94. Typically, a 1,800 W PV array capacity solar PV water pumping system, which costs about Rs. 365,000, is being used for irrigation purposes. The Ministry is providing a subsidy of Rs.30 per watt of PV array capacity used, subject to a maximum of Rs. 50,000 per system. The majority of the pumps fitted with a 200 watt to 3,000 watt motor are powered with 1,800 W PV array which can deliver about 140,000 liters of water / day from a total head of 10 meters. By 30th September, 2006, a total of 7,068 solar PV water pumping systems had been installed.

Indonesia

The archipelago of Indonesia is comprised of over 13,000 islands of which approximately 6,000 are inhabited. 80% of the population has access to electricity and allowing for a heavy concentration of population in the densely populated island of Java, a lower proportion of villages throughout Indonesia are electrified.


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Historically, areas that could not be supplied with conventional electricity from the national grid have relied upon small hydroelectric plants and stand-alone diesel generators to power mini-grids, or they use kerosene for lighting.

Indonesia’s situation being close to the equator and its annual average insolation level make it highly suitable for the installation of solar energy devices, especially for the huge rural population in remote areas. PV systems were first demonstrated in 1979 through a water-pumping project and the Government has since supported the development of solar energy, with assistance from the World Bank and foreign aid agencies.

Indonesia is planning a major installation of solar water heating systems of off-grid use. At present, only 20,960 of the 60,000 rural villages are connected to a public electricity grid, leaving 25 of 36 million rural Indonesian households to rely on kerosene, dry cell batteries, and candles for lighting. The Government of Indonesia, through its national utility company, PLN, aims to connect another 11,600 villages through grid extension, but at the current pace, it will take at least another forty years to achieve this goal. Even under this ambitious grid extension program, over half of all Indonesian villages would remain unelectrified. In order to accelerate rural electrification, the government has begun to support solar rural electrification, and has recommended a ‘Fifty Mega-Watt Peak (50MW) Photovoltaic Rural Electrification Project’, to install one million SHS over the course of the next ten years. Working towards such a goal, SELF helped to further demonstrate and showcase a successful. SELF's Indonesia project is being managed by PT Sudimara Energi Surya, a private solar energy service company in Indonesia with extensive experience in the sales and marketing of solar home systems.

However, Indonesia suffered more severely than any other country in Southeast Asia from the Asian financial crisis and the target was a long way from being met, with national installed capacity of only 5 MW in 2002. The Agency for Application and Assessment of Technology, which coordinates all PV subprograms under the 50 MW program, provides favorable financing conditions usually in collaboration with foreign donors.

A 1993 program for rural medical clinics where kerosene-powered lighting and refrigeration facilities have been replaced by PV modules has continued. By 1999, some 5,500 clinics had


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been converted, bringing safely stored vaccines and reliable radio communications to remote areas.

The government has also set targets for the installation of PV systems for a variety of applications: pumping stations for rural clean water supplies, TV repeaters, fishing boat lighting, grid-interconnected housing etc.

Many local PV projects are sourced through government-instituted village cooperatives (KUDs). The KUDs participate in the installation, maintain the systems thereafter, collect payments and act on behalf of the individual end-users with banks and government.

Israel

Solar PV in Israel is still in its infancy but the country is a major user of household solar water heaters with 80 % penetration of households. Development of solar PV usage is expected. With an annual incident solar irradiance of approximately 2,000 kWh/m2 and few natural energy resources, Israel has pioneered the use of solar energy, originally in the form of solar thermal water heating, but now developing solar PV. Since the early 1970s, the Israeli Government has dedicated much time and money to R&D of solar energy technologies and on demonstration programs. Nationally, solar power has been harnessed through both photovoltaic modules and solar domestic hot water systems although it is the latter technology that has brought Israel to the forefront of global development.

The ‘Solar Law’ requiring the installation of solar water heaters in Israel was introduced in 1980. The Planning and Building Law requires the installation of solar water heaters for all new buildings (including residential buildings, hotels and institutions, but not industrial buildings, workshops, hospitals or high-rise buildings in excess of 27 m). By dictating the size of the installation required for a particular type of building; the Land Law governs solar installations in existing multi-apartment buildings and the Supervision of Commodities and Services Law provides governmental supervision of the quality of installations and their guarantees. Furthermore, Israel is the only country in the world that legally requires the education of energy managers to include solar energy.


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During 1997, more than 80% of Israeli families had solar water heaters, representing over 1.3 million installations. The solar contribution was equivalent to 21% of the electricity used by the domestic sector, 5.2% of national electricity consumption and 3% of Israel’s primary energy consumption. In addition to being used extensively in the domestic sector, solar energy is also used for a variety of agricultural purposes (greenhouses, drying and water heating), minerals extraction at the Dead Sea Works and water heating / steam production in many educational / commercial buildings.

Currently, photovoltaic activity in Israel is concentrated mainly in academic research, with limited industrial involvement. The electricity grid is so extensive in Israel that most non-grid applications are not cost effective. The recently published Energy Master Plan sets the direction for energy policy over the next 20 years. In particular, it examines the prospect of mandatory implementation of PV (in a similar manner to solar hot water heating, where the household uptake is 80%) and supports the implementation of centralized solar plants.

The Public Utility Authority Electricity (PUA) has issued Guidelines and Regulations providing premium payments to private electricity producers, using renewable technologies. These ‘Environmental Premiums’ are restricted to specific renewable sources of energy. Although premium payments will be available to both large and small or residential power producers, the current regulations apply solely to the nonresidential power producers. Regulations applying to residential users will be available at a future date, when a number of other factors are considered, such as balancing the ease of using a net-metering system vs. higher premiums for even the small producers. Hybrid-systems may also qualify for such premiums, e.g. PV and wind.

Payment of the premiums will be based on calculations of the displaced pollution by type and quantity. Establishment of the premium is only the first step in the process of "environmental quality tariff".

By the end of 2006, there were 500 kW of installed PV power, of which 381 kW was off-grid. Approximately half of the applications are lighting systems and about 15% are remote electrification systems. However, the extensive national grid precludes the same penetration by PV as has been enjoyed by solar water systems. There is no PV module manufacturing


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capability within the country and currently most activity is concentrated on maintaining the technical excellence that has been achieved through academic research.

The Ministry of National Infrastructures estimates that by 2025, solar water heaters will account for 2.4% of the estimated national energy consumption, solar houses for 0.1%, concentrating collectors for 0.5%, solar towers for 0.3% and PV for 0.03%.

Japan

The energy policies of the Japanese government differ from those of the EU, in that they are driven by several considerations. These include energy security as well as the environmental priority, and also a strategic business objective to build a sustainable solar photovoltaic industry. The Japanese implementation program for photovoltaics started with the “Monitoring Program for Residential PV systems” (1994 to 1996), followed by the “Program for the Development of the Infrastructure for the Introduction of Residential PV Systems” (1997 to 2005). During this period, the average price for 1 KW of power in the residential sector fell from 1 million ¥/kWp in 1994 to 660,000 ¥/kWp in 2005.

The focus of the PV market in Japan is now on the grid-connected installations that have acted as a growth engine for the industry. METI’s Residential PV System Dissemination Program created a market for residential PV and was very successful, reaching an annual installation of just over 200 MW by 2003. (Before 2001, METI was known as MITI, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.)

A subsidy for domestic installations was first made available in 1994, and originally covered 50% of the extra installation cost. In 1997, this was changed to a fixed sum per kilowatt installed and 5,654 installations were made that year. Since then, the subsidy has gradually been reduced to ¥90,000 ($865) in 2003 a year with nearly 53,000 installations. By March 2004, the Residential PV System Dissemination Program had part-financed the installation of nearly 169,000 residential PV systems amounting to nearly 623 MW of residential PV (all of the systems were under 10 kW). In 2003 the residential sector consumed 88.9% of Japan’s domestic shipments.


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Alongside the national programs, many local governments are actively developing their own plans for the introduction of PV systems into public facilities and public housing schemes. Local governments also provide financial subsidies; 262 local government bodies provided financial support for residential PV during 2003.

Price of PV in Japan

The price of PV in Japan has been falling rapidly, with residential PV systems dropping from ¥1,920/W in 1994 (US$18.18) to under ¥1,000 in 1999, and to ¥660/W in 2005. Similarly, the price of systems for public and industrial facilities has fallen, dropping below ¥1000 for the first time in 2001, and to ¥780 in 2005. The Governmental Committee on Energy and Environmental Technology has established the “New Sunshine” program, which defines objectives and strategies for technology development policies for new energy, energy conservation and environmental protection. The development of solar energy technologies is one of the major components of this policy.

The New Sunshine program was targeted to achieve 400 MW by 2000 and 4,600 MW by 2010.

Research & Development Projects

The New Sunshine Project established in 1993, aiming at comprehensive and long-term R&D, finished in FY2000, and a new technology program, the “5-Year Plan for Photovoltaic Power Generation Technology Research and Development (2001 to 2005)” was launched by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The framework for the new technology development plan effective from 2006 is in preparation, based on a roadmap for technological development of PV systems, “PV Roadmap toward 2030 (PV2030)”.

The principal objectives for solar PV technology are to continue PV material and cell development and to stimulate PV market expansion so that large-scale production benefits can be exploited. Interim evaluation of research and development activities on photovoltaic power generation under the Sunshine Program is carried out by a Policy Technological Subcommittee every four years, where results are evaluated and new targets are set for development during the next term. Priorities have been assigned to the following two major R&D issues:


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• The development of manufacturing technologies for solar PV cells

• PV system technology development

A Brief Look at Third Science and Technology Basic Plan (2006 to 2010)

This plan was renewed in 2006 and amongst the 14 measures of strategic importance selected in the energy area, the further technical development of Photovoltaic systems will be promoted.

Long term targets after year 2010

Technology developments have been aimed at reducing PV power costs so that solar power can be adopted as a standard component of electric utility power generation facilities, with the following specific orientations:

• The development of thin layer poly-crystalline silicon solar cells and CuInSe2 solar cells, which are expected to reach an efficiency of around 20%

• Development work aiming at the improvement of conversion efficiencies to 30- 40%, focusing on the single crystal silicon solar cell and compound semiconductor solar cell (III-V group)

• In addition, new cells such as the organic semiconductor solar cell, which present materials and structure completely different from conventional cells, are subjected to feasibility investigation

Subsidy Program for Residential PV Systems

In 1994 MITI (now METI) launched a subsidy program for grid-connected residential PV system applications. Each private house-owner is obliged to report performance and operation data to the New Energy Foundation (NEF) for three years with an annual budget of $20 million. This program refers to applications under the following conditions.


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Rebates decreased continuously over time from 50% in 1994 to 30% in 1999. In 1998, about 8,000 systems were subsidized. The upper limit for rebates has been reduced from ¥900,000 in 1994 to ¥500,000 in 1996 and ¥329,000 in 1999. In 2000, it was decided to switch to a fixed subsidy ¥270,000/kW per kW in the first half of the year and to ¥180,000 /kW in the second half.

A result of these efforts is that Japan is now the world leader in the development of grid-connected systems. This success is the direct result of a conscious policy to promote PV technology, both for reasons of national energy security (Japan imports most of its fuels) and for reasons of economic development (Japan aims to dominate PV manufacturing to the same extent as it dominates the production of electronic equipment).

Kenya

The search for alternative energy sources following the oil crises of the 1970s, the favorable climatic conditions for solar technologies and the slow progress of the Rural Electrification Plans have led to the development of PV systems in Kenya. A large percentage of the urban population and almost all of the rural population have no access to electricity, so solar-based power could play a significant role.

In the early phase of growth of the Kenyan PV market, the majority of the components for the systems were imported with the help of foreign donor aid. During the 1980s, a domestic manufacturing expertise was gradually developed which helped to reduce the prices for consumers and boosted sales of PV systems. However, during the same period, whilst worldwide technological improvements contributed to steadily falling prices for PV components, the political situation precipitated the withholding of donor aid from Kenya.

From 1992 onwards, prices increased dramatically, inflation was rampant and PV sales were very badly affected. The uncertain financial situation persisted until the mid 1990s but following the stabilization of the currency, the market began to recover, although government duties and taxes continued to complicate the situation.


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Potentially, a large market for PV systems exists in Kenya, but to date, implementation has been confined to affluent sections of society. Some 60,000 households have installed solar energy systems, comprising more than 1 MW of PV power. In addition to such domestic installations, over the past ten years several hundred PV refrigerators have been installed for the safe storage of vaccines, several water-pumping projects have been initiated and a program to make low-cost solar lanterns widely available has been started.

Korea

The Government actively began to advance renewable energies when the ‘Promotion Act for the New and Renewable Sources of Energy (NRSE) Development’ was passed in 1987.

In 2004 and 2005, the new national plan, ‘The 2nd Basic Plan for New and Renewable Energy Technology Development and Dissemination’ set targets for renewable energy to provide a 3 % share energy supply by 2006 and 5 % by 2012.

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) selected photovoltaics, hydrogen and fuel cells, and wind power as three main areas for development during the next 10 years.

Direct use of solar energy is also utilized and by end-2003, in excess of 250,000 domestic hot water systems, together with over 160 large-scale hot water systems, were in use.

The new plan for PV implementation targets 100,000 residential roof-tops and 70,000 commercial and industrial buildings, for a total capacity of 1,300 MW by 2012. The annual budget for the roof-top program increased to 6.3 billion KRW in 2004, 16 billion KRW in 2005 and will be 49 billion KRW in 2006.

The new technology plan is divided into different steps focusing on developing the technology for mass distribution and commercialization of PV.

• In the short-term, PV cell R&D is focused on crystalline silicon. The target is to increase PV module efficiency from the current 12 % to 15 % by the end of 2006 and to 18 % by 2010


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• The cost target for modules is US$5.4/W by 2004, $3.3/W by 2006 and $1.9/W by 2010

• Finally, selected developed technologies will be commercialized by the year 2012

Europe

There is no unified approach towards renewable energies yet but overall targets for renewable energy have been set, to be met by national plans. The goals are that renewables will provide 12% of the primary energy and 21% of electricity by 2010. The emphasis on different renewable technologies varies from country to country.

The target for the cumulative photovoltaic systems capacity installed in the European Union by 2010, was 3,000 MW, increased to 4,000 MW and certain to be exceeded by the unexpected escalation of solar PV installations in Germany.

The introduction of the German Feed-in Law in 1999, which a number of countries followed, led to a significant improvement in the conditions for investors in solar PV. Since then, European PV production grew on average by 40% per annum and reached an estimated 665 MW in 2006 (qualified by uncertainty over the German figure due to a break down in the system of receding installations in Germany).

Finland

The domestic market in Finland is still dominated by small solar home systems for vacation houses, typically 50-100 W in size. Examples of larger applications in remote areas are telecommunication base stations, weather stations or the larger stand-alone hybrid systems operated by the Finnish Coast Guard.

Over integrated applications are becoming an important market segment.

Goals have been set for solar PV under the national ‘Action Plan for Renewable Energy Sources’. The Plan, which was launched in 1999 aims at 40 MW of PV to be installed by 2010, with a target of 500 MW by 2025 and a national roadmap has been drawn up. The main


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emphasis is on PV in buildings, though standalone systems and support for Developing Countries are also addressed.

Subsidies of up to 30% of investment costs have been available for community and commercial PV installations on new buildings for a number of years, but this is likely to be extended to private individuals in the near future and the subsidy ceiling raised to 40%, the same as is available for wind energy investments.

France

Several entities are involved in funding R&D of renewables in France. The main sources of funding for the development of a PV market are ADEME (French Agency for Environment and Energy Management) and EDF (Électricité de France), linked to the rural electrification FACÉ public fund, the Regional Councils and the European Commission.

The National Research Agency (ANR) and the Industrial Innovation Agency have been established to promote technology development and both have put solar PV high on their lists of priorities. An Energy Framework Policy Law was enacted in July 2005, which emphasizes energy management coupled with the development of renewable energy. Priority has been given to the use of bio-resources and to solar thermal energy. Solar photovoltaic energy (PV) comes under the same research package, equal to hydrogen and carbon dioxide sequestration.

Fiscal measures favor the use by private individuals of materials for heat and electricity generation based on renewable energy sources. The tax credit on income previously set at 40 % for the year 2005 rose to 50 % in 2006.

A 50% increase in the buyback rate for PV-generated electricity for the private individuals and a 100 % rise for enterprises and local communities came into effect in March 2006.

The ISIS proprietary database has put together technical, financial and sociological data on the stand-alone off-grid photovoltaic systems funded with public funds. The database became operational in 2002. Research supported by ADEME on the Cu-In-Ga-Se thin film-based poly-


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crystalline obtained through electro deposition in collaboration with Saint-Gobain Recherche and CNRS.

The French national photovoltaic program has three aspects:

• Research and technological development funded since February 2005 by two agencies: ADEME (the historic backer) and the new ANR

• Incentives for opening the market provided by ADEME in conjunction with the regional councils and the EC

• Training activities, information dissemination and cooperation run by ADEME

Germany

Germany has been a strong supporter of renewable energy and energy conservation and is now a world leader in solar PV and wind power. Governments have been active at Federal and State level. The Federal Ministry of Environment (BMU) is been responsible for the renewable energy programs within the Federal Government. R&D is conducted under the 4th Program on Energy Research and Energy Technology. Important parts of this program, namely “The development of techniques for efficient use of energy and renewable energies” are managed by the Project Management Organization, PTJ.

In 1991 the “Electricity Feed Law” was introduced and was replaced in 2000 by the “Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG)”, continuing and increasing the feed-in tariff. , Feed-in tariffs are guaranteed for 20% reduced each year by 5%, for onshore wind, offshore wind, PV, biomass, hydro, landfill gas, sewage gas and geothermal.

There are additional bonuses for small systems and building integration.

A number of Federal states have implemented their own grant and loan structures, and a new ‘Solar Production Program’ started in 2005. Other applications of renewable energy (solar-thermal, geothermal, biomass etc.) are supported by soft loans or subsidies. The PV initiative


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‘Sun at School’ is a part of this program. A number of utilities have launched initiatives to build PV-demonstration and pilot systems or to provide advice and information and increasingly, financial support for the rational use of energy and for renewable energies is provided. Cost-effective payments for every kWh of energy fed into the public grid from PV and other renewable energy systems are offered by some utilities belonging to cities and communities.

In January 1999 the ‘100,000 Rooftops Solar Electricity Program’ was instigated, providing soft loans for nearly 66,000 grid-connected PV systems with a total capacity of 345.5 MW. This has now been replaced with the ‘Solarstrom Erzeugen – Solar Power Generation’.

The 4th Federal Program on Energy Research and Energy Technology was launched in 1996. A new 5th Energy Research Program is now in force until 2008. In 2005 an R&D strategy roadmap was developed by the BMU, together with industry and research establishments. In 2005 Federal funding amounted to €42 million.

Crystalline Silicon (Basic material R&D - cell and module development)

Crystalline silicon is still the most important material for manufacturing solar cells but thin film technology is receiving attention because of the current solar grade silicon shortage. In 2005 extra funds were made available to set up the PV Technology Evaluation Centre (PV-TEC), which promotes new silicon solar cell concepts. The Centre is financed by cooperative R&D projects of industry and research groups. Other research projects deal with efficient silicon ingot production and innovative rear contact cells.

Italy

ENEA (the Italian Agency for New Technology, Energy and Environment), CESI (Institute for Research and Certification of Electric Components and Systems), the Ministry of Environment and all the Italian Regions, ENEL Green Power (ENEL Group) and some Italian PV industries have been most active in promoting solar PV.


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CESI has taken over R&D activities in generation, transmission, distribution, end-use of electricity, environment and renewable energies, from ENEL. CESI is now carrying out studies and experimental activities, in the sector of photovoltaic systems, on behalf of the Italian Ministry of Productive Activities. In 2002, ENEL Green Power Spa became the world’s largest company dedicated exclusively to renewable energy.

The government originally launched its 5-year ‘10,000 roof-top’ program in 1998 but delays followed and it finally got under way in March 2001. This was followed with the Regional Roof-Top Programs, managed by the regions of Italy, promoting solar PV among householders. From 2003 to 2005 government has contributed approximately €105 million annually.

A new feed-in tariff system for solar PV has been valid since 5th August 2005. PV plants are eligible for the incentive scheme if: 1) they are connected to a low or medium voltage grid, 2) their components satisfy technical standards, 3) their capacity ranges from 1 to 1 000 kW and 4) they were operational after 30 September 2005.

Netherlands

Although small compared with Germany, the Netherlands had the second highest installed solar PV capacity in Europe until 2004 when Spain took the second place. Source specific feed-in tariffs are guaranteed for 10 years and fiscal incentives for investment in renewables are available, but the energy tax exemption on electricity from renewables ended on January 1, 2005. Some local authorities have already started supporting PV with capital grants.

The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs is responsible for policies regulating renewable energies and has implemented programs to promote the development of both photovoltaic solar energy and thermal solar energy.

In April 1997, a PV energy covenant was signed by industrial bodies, utilities, the R&D sector and Government to make an effective contribution to the development of PV energy. Originally designed to run until 2000, a new covenant has been extended to the end of 2007. In the same year, the Government published an Action Program for the period 1997-2000 to increase the share of renewable energy in the national energy supply to 3% in 2000 and 10% in 2020, with


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certain goals for the installation of PV: 12.5 MW by 2000, 250 MW by 2010 and about 1,500 MW by 2020.

Biomass and wind energy projects took priority over PV. For highly innovative PV research projects, subsidies were available from the low budget New Energy Research (NEO) subsidy scheme that was opened in April 2002.

A subsidy scheme promotes solar PV installations. Also, like the energy covenant for PV, a covenant for solar boilers was signed at the beginning of 1999. It was due to run until the end of 2001 with an option to extend it to 2007 with a target of 400,000 solar boilers by 2010.

From January 2001 onwards, solar PV was part of Energy Premium Regulation (EPR), which is a regulation to stimulate energy saving measures and renewable energy options in dwellings. Starting in 2003, house owners who install a PV system were entitled to a premium of €3.50/W. When the installation is the result of a so-called Energy Performance Advice, (EPA) the premium is increased by 10% to €3.85/W. This new regulation opened up a large new market segment for PV systems; existing and new dwellings. In October 2003 the EPA was terminated and a new purchase price for renewable energy was introduced, the MEP (Milieukwaliteit van de Elektriciteitsproductie) effective from January 1, 2005.

The MEP guarantees a purchase price for 10 years or the equivalent of 18,999 hours of operation. At €9.2/kWh this is the same as for off-shore wind energy and six times less than the German purchase price. There has been a consequent fall in take up of solar PV installations and a new scheme is under study.

Solar cell research in the Netherlands is still mainly concentrated on improving poly-crystalline and amorphous silicon production, but the work on CIS by Scheuten Solar is gaining importance. As the BSE DEN program appears to be a more difficult option for solar energy research, the R&D in the Netherlands is mainly relying on European support programs.

At the end of 2004, the Ministry of Economic Affairs started the new EOS (Energy Research Subsidy) program. The new program consists of five sub-programs aiming at new ideas, fundamental research, knowledge transfer, demonstration and unique opportunities:


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• NEO: New Energy Research, focusing on new, unconventional ideas. This program is mainly intended for inventors. The program covers all new energy options

• EOS LT: Energy Research Subsidy - Long Term, focusing on long term research on a selected range of promising energy saving-or renewable energy technologies, with expected serious impact between 2010 and 2030

• IS: Innovation Subsidy Collaboration Projects, focusing on technology transfer from research to industry, to convert technologies into products

• EOS Demo: Energy Research Subsidy - Demonstration, focusing on testing and demonstrating new energy saving- or renewable energy applications in a realistic user environment

• Transition UKR: Transition - Unique Opportunities Scheme, focusing on improvement of material- and energy use and on the application of renewables in general and biomass in particular

Within each of these areas, 4 to 7 topics related to the Dutch energy research fields have been identified. Of the total of 26 topics two address PV specifically:

• Solar conversion: multi-crystalline silicon PV technology

• Solar conversion: thin-film PV technology

PV research is furthermore included in a few other topics, such as 'System approach in the built environment and local energy generation,' 'Electricity conversion, power quality customer power converters and EMC' and 'Electricity storage, small-scale storage and system applications.'

In 2005 there were three main strands in solar PV R&D in the Netherlands:


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1. Solving the silicon shortage problem by reducing silicon consumption per Wp and developing production processes for SoG (solar grade silicon). RTD activities include the improvement of the AkzoNobel roll-to-roll process and the ECN work on RGS - wafers. In the field of SoG special attention is given to the relation between impurity levels and cell efficiencies

2. Improving cell production processes, using new cell concepts and new or improved production technologies. Here two projects stand out: 1) development of CIS cells based on 0.2 mm CIS coated glass spheres, homogeneously distributed over a grid-shaped substrate and application of a radio frequency modulated expanding plasma for fast deposition of amorphous silicon

3. Improving the efficiency of future generation cells through hetero-junctions and up- and down conversion of photons

Norway

The program NYTEK financed by the Norwegian Research Council came to an end in 2001. The program was renewed for another five-year period, but photovoltaics in this program has to compete with other renewables like bio energy, wind, wave power, hydrogen, solar thermal and others. The new program is called EMBA (Energy – Environment - Buildings and Construction). Most of the R&D projects are focused on the silicon chain from feedstock to solar cells. Apart from a general investment subsidy of up to 25% available to a range of renewable energy technologies, there are no specific support measures.

The program called ‘From Sand to Solar Cells’ is coming to term but will be prolonged by a new program co-financed by industry and the Research Council, hopefully involving more players.


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There are three main R&D groups in Norway looking into solar photovoltaics:

• NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) Trondheim: 3 PhD studies. Focusing on silicon feedstock, refining and crystallization. Supporting Scan Wafer and Elkem Building Integrated PV (BIPV) supporting Norwegian Research Council, EU, Hydro, British Petroleum and SollEnergy

• Agder College: 2 PhD on silicon in co-operation with Oslo University supporting Elkem

• IFE (Institute of Energy Technology) supports industry (Scan Cell and others with 3 PhD students working on solar cell processing

Spain

A new Royal Decree, 426/2004, came into force in March 2004 offering a new feed-in law for renewables or a premium on top of the conventional electricity price.

The objective of the old ‘Plan de Fomento de las Energias Renovables (PFER),’ approved in December 1999, was to have 135 MW installed between the years 2000 and 2010. In August 2005, the government approved a revised version.

In 2005 the revised Plan de Energías Renovables of 2005 sets capacity targets for 2010, which include wind (20,155 MW), solar PV (400 MW), solar thermal (4.9 million m2), solar thermal electric (500 MW) and biomass (1,695 MW).

Electricity producers can choose between a fixed feed-in tariff or a premium on top of the conventional electricity price, and both are available over the entire lifetime of a RES power plant. Soft loans, tax incentives and regional investment incentives are available. Feed-in tariffs apply with a cap of 150 MW at 0.396€/kWh<100kWp for 20 years. This was previously limited to 5 kWp systems, with payment on 80% of rated power output beyond that; >100kWp, 0.216€/kWh. The new Royal Decree defines two different feed-in tariffs for plants smaller and larger than 100 kWp. In the first case, the tariff reaches 575% of the average electricity tariff


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(TMR, defined by the energy authorities) for the first 25 years after commissioning, and 460% afterwards. For the year 2005, the value of TMR has been fixed at €0.421498/kWh and €0.337198/kWh respectively.

Renewable electricity sold in the market obtains the market price plus a premium (250% of the TMR for the first 25 years, and 200% afterwards), plus an incentive (10% of TMR), plus a fee for power guaranteed (depending on availability), and another fee for reactive power compensation, if any. The incentive is intended to put economic pressure on PV generators to sell their electricity in the market, like any other kind of generators. If the owner does not go to the market a tariff of 300% of TMR is available for the first 25 years and 240% afterwards, as well as a fee for compensation of reactive power. The owner can switch from one alternative to the other, within an interval of one year.

The entire support scheme is applicable until the total PV installed capacity reaches 150 MW, which it probably already has since it was at 120 MW at the end of 2006. Direct support for investments in solar energy is also provided, both through IDAE (the Spanish institute for diversification and energy savings) and through some regional authorities.

Solar PV has been well received in Spain in the past but many people found it too expensive and too complicated to install. The legal procedures are complex and time-consuming but the new approach is an attempt to remedy this.

R&D activities in Spain are carried out by both the PV industry and the research centers and universities, with the following main fields of interest:

• New semi-conductive substrates production technologies to manufacture solar cells. Practically all the Spanish PV scientific and relevant bodies are involved in this field

• Production technologies, including industrial automation, more thin cells and improvements in efficiency

• Concentration technologies


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• New materials (AsGa, silicon of “solar type,” etc.)

There are some other programs not exclusively devoted to PV as well, but clearly interrelated: electronics, inverters, integration with other power sources, etc.

Switzerland

In Switzerland, most PV Installations are grid-connected and built on the roofs of buildings. Larger installations (> 50 kW) are usually flat roof mounted on commercial buildings and offices. The market for PV systems continues to be driven by the campaign for ‘solar electricity from the utility’. Different financial models are being used according to the preferences of the utilities. About 50% of the Swiss population meanwhile has access to solar electricity through the grid and more than 30,000 customers annually subscribe. The campaign has been successful, involving different stakeholders.

The Swiss Government launched ‘Energy 2000’ in 2010, a 10-year national program. As part of the program, the Government intended to promote the advantages of both solar energy systems and the employment of passive heating. An initial investment of SF 150 million per year was planned but this has been reduced to SF 50 million per year. As a result of this reduction the PV target has not been achieved.

In September 2000, a public referendum took place on the introduction of a levy on non-renewable energy and a longer-term ecological tax reform but due to a rise in fuel prices prior to the referendum only 48% of the electorate voted in favor. In 2003 there were budget cuts in the Swiss Energy Program with the removal of government funding for pilot and demonstration schemes. In 2004, a total of 35 PV pilot and demonstration (P+D) projects were still active and this has remained static in 2005.

Testing of new technologies and components in pilot installations is declining. This important link between research and development and the commercial deployment of new technologies has now been cut and will undoubtedly have a negative effect on the market.


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A wide variety of research and development projects deal with solar cells in spite of cutbacks in national funding. Thin-film silicon cell research is the most important area in Swiss photovoltaics R&D, with much work being done at the University of Neuchatel (IMT), the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (CRPP), and the Universities of Applied Science in Le Locle (EIAJ) and Buchs (NTB). Industrial cooperation was centered at Unaxis Solar (Truebbach) and VHF Technologies (Yverdon), which are working to commercialize the technology.

Since the introduction of the nature made® labels for renewable electricity, utilities have started introducing different product brands, some with a mix of different renewable energy sources and others with technology specific products, e.g. the product ‘Premium Solar’ by the utility of the city of Zurich.

The trade of renewable electricity through a certificate system, e.g. RECS, is starting, using the naturemade® labels and individual product brands, e.g. ‘Pure-Power Graubünden’ by Rätia Energie. Many of these developments are bottom-up initiatives which favor market and customer oriented approaches. Solar electricity can be part of the renewable energy mix through naturemade star® labeled products.

Other means are available to help continue the demonstration and promotion of solar technology, in spite of the cut-backs in government funding. The so-called ‘solar stock exchanges’ in which solar power is sold to persons and institutions interested in purchasing clean electricity, are proving popular. In the near term, PV market development will continue to depend on the initiatives of regional authorities and even more on the private sector, principally the utilities.

United Kingdon

UK energy policy is implemented by a Sustainable Energy Policy Network which includes representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Department of Transport.


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The Renewables Obligation (RO) forms the main element of the Government's strategy for renewables. The Government also has an aspiration to reach 20% of electricity from renewables in the UK by 2020, although it is now becoming apparent that this will not be achieved. The RO began in 2002 and sets out targets for electricity suppliers to source an increasing amount of their electricity from renewable resources.

Certificates, or ROCs, are awarded to suppliers using renewable sources and these can be traded between suppliers to make up any shortfall.

The UK’s National PV Program consists of the following elements:

• Research and development, under the DTI Renewable Energy Program and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) program

• Field tests and demonstrations, under DTI programs

• Participation in international programs (EC and IEA)

The overall goal is to develop the capabilities of industry and to encourage sustainable growth in the market by removing barriers to the deployment of PV.

The Program was reviewed in 2005 and with current technology, solar PV installations were shown to be expensive under UK conditions. It recommended that research should focus on 3rd generation PV, and collaborative efforts with nations with complementary capabilities.

The whole field of energy in the UK is under wide discussion at present, as the public realizes that with the closure of nuclear stations over the next ten years and the run-down of coal-fired generation, there will be a shortfall of 25-40 GW of generating capacity, all base load, out of a total of nearly 80 GW. The government has been negligent in addressing this issue because it earlier took a highly proactive position on renewable energy as politically attractive and is now faced with the realization that it set a series of unattainable targets for reduction of carbon emissions and other GHGs.


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It has repeatedly postponed decisions on replacement of the base load generating capability and many people now fear that the UK faces a potential energy crisis. The government has stated that this will be met by renewables and natural gas but it is becoming increasingly clear to people that the policy was not thought out properly but put together as a vote-getting exercise. Against this background the future of renewables is less certain than it was two years ago.

The existing DTI Renewable Energy R&D Program has been strengthened through the preparation of ‘Technology Route Maps’ for each technology, in consultation with industry. Funding of the PV element of the program is running at about £ 3 million a year.

The current priorities for work supported under the R&D Program are as follows:

• The identification, development and evaluation of novel materials and/or cell structures which offer significant improvements to current PV performance and costs

• Innovative approaches to existing cell or module technologies with the goal of improving performance and/or reducing costs.

• Identification, development and evaluation of new production methods and processes which offer significant potential for cost reduction

• Innovative approaches to balance-of-systems technologies such as power conditioning equipment, metering, wiring and installation systems with a view to significant improvements in the cost or performance

The DTI is working with a number of industrial partners to pursue these objectives. Work includes development of amorphous silicon, high efficiency thin film silicon and organic cells.

Since 2000 there have been three PV field trial and demonstration programs in the UK. A Major PV Demonstration Program for was carried out by the DTI in March 2002.

The Domestic Field Trial (DFT) which ran in two phases between 2000 and 2003. The DFT aimed to use the design, construction and monitoring of the installations as a learning


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opportunity for utilities, building developers and other key players. A total of 660 kW was installed by the end of 2003, the majority of which is on social or mixed housing. Monitoring of the systems has been carried out to assess performance over the two years following commissioning.

The Large Scale Building Integrated PV Trial (LSBIPV) made £4.2 million of funding available for 18 projects totaling almost 1.15 MW on public buildings across the UK. The objectives of the program include raising awareness of the technology and creating confidence in the application of PV as well as increasing UK capabilities in the application of PV.

In 2002 £20 million was made available through the PV Major Demonstration Program with a further £11 million of additional funding during 2004 to enable the scheme to run until 2006. The scheme, administered by the Energy Savings Trust, comprises two application streams; individual or small-scale applications (systems from 500 W to 5 kW) are dealt with on a rolling basis, and medium or large-scale company or group applications of between 5 kW and 100 kW.

Grants have been available since 2003 for modules, inverters and installation but not batteries or complex charge controllers. Subsidy levels are on average 50%.

The area of research is changing, away from traditional silicon based materials toward new organic polymer based systems and micro / nano structured devices, as well as exotic new materials such as semiconductor quantum dots and copper indium diselenide.

The DTI R&D program is concentrating mainly on cost reduction, with emphasis on new, leading edge cell technology and manufacturing, and also on improving the cost-effectiveness of balance of systems components.


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Economics of Solar PV

ECONOMICS OF SOLAR PV

The holy grail for solar PV is ‘grid parity’, when costs are the same as or less than for grid delivered power. Grid parity is achieved first in areas with abundant sun and high costs for electricity such as in California and Japan and has been reached in Italy, which has very high imported fuel costs, and in Hawaii and other islands that otherwise use diesel fuel to produce electricity. The US government has set 2015 as the date for achieving grid parity.

PV modules comprise about 60% of installation costs for grid-connected and, compared to the widely varying non-technical and other costs, provide a useful indicator for tracking the changes in PV technology costs over time.

Prices for photovoltaic installations have been following a trend similar to those of wind power and other new technologies. They fell substantially from $90 per watt in 1968 to $10 by 1985 and to an average just under $4 in 2006, with an absolute minimum prices of modules under $3 per watt. The figure below compares the fall in prices to competitive levels with the global increase in sales.


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Figure 27: Prices Compared with Shipments 1975-2006 $/Watt

Source: EIA

System prices for off-grid applications are usually greater than those for grid-connected applications, as the latter do not require storage batteries and associated equipment. In addition, for off-grid applications, provision is sometimes included for battery replacement at intervals. Although there is considerable variation in the data, off-grid system prices are about twice the price of grid-connected systems. For BIPV systems, the price will vary significantly depending on whether the system is part of a retrofit or is integrated into a new building structure. Market stimulation measures can have dramatic effects on demand and supply of equipment until the market is self standing. There is wide variation in pricing depending on region and application used in the installation, and the cost and complexity of permits and grid-connection controls, especially for smaller systems.

It is interesting to compare the results with those suggested by technology learning curves, which suggest a cost decrease of 15–20% for a doubling of market size. In terms of production, the market has increased by just over double its size in the last two years during the last four


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years and just under double in the two years before that. Module (current) prices are now falling between 10-17% per doubling of market size, although the trend may not be smooth. Progress ratios (PR) for solar PV vary widely, range between 70% and 90%. In one comparison of 11 measurements, eight fell between 78% and 83%, indicating a generally accepted PR of about 80%, which is an industry norm.

The large range of reported prices is likely to be a function of factors specific to the country and the type of project. Off-grid systems greater than 1 kW tend to show slightly less variation and generally slightly lower prices.

The installed price of grid-connected systems also varied (but not as widely as off-grid prices) both within and between countries. Nevertheless, there has been a continuing downward trend in grid-connected system prices in some countries and the associated less-variable downward trend for the module prices. The convergence of prices in the different countries continues, indicating the worldwide trading of modules.


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Major Players in the Global Solar PV Industry

MAJOR PLAYERS IN THE GLOBAL SOLAR PV INDUSTRY

Aixin Silicon Sci-Tech Industrial Park

Construction of the plant in Nanhaizi Industrial Park in Qujing county of Yunnan has started. After the completion of the first phase of the project, polycrystalline silicon capacity will reach 3,000 tons and a further 10,000 tons of capacity will be added within 3 years.

Contact Details: Unavailable


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Akeena Solar, Inc

Akeena is a leading designer and installer of solar power systems. The company went public via a reverse merger, in August 2006.

Akeena Solar is a market leader in the design and integration of solar power systems for residential and commercial customers in New York, California, New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. Akeena and Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd., one of the world's foremost manufacturers of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, announced that Suntech will manufacture Akeena Solar's Andalay solar panels.

According to the terms of the agreement, Suntech will manufacture and deliver 10 to 14 Megawatts of Andalay solar panels to Akeena Solar during 2008.

Andalay is the brand name for Akeena Solar's patent-pending high performance solar panel systems. Differing from regular solar panels, Andalay panels incorporate built-in wiring, built-in grounding and built-in racking so the panels attach directly to the roof offering a smooth, flushed appearance.

Contact Details: Akeena Solar 16005 Los Gatos, Boulevard Los Gastos, CA 95032 United States Tel: +1-408-4029400 Fax: +1-408-4029400 Website: http://www.akeena.net/cm/Home.html


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Amonix Incorporated

Amonix Incorporated is a world leader in integrated high-concentration photovoltaic (IHCPV) systems. Since the early 1990s, Amonix has field-tested several IHCPV generating systems throughout the United States. As a result of extensive field experience, early system designs were modified to enhance reliability and reduce manufacturing costs. Amonix's current generation of IHCPV systems represents a commercially viable product that generates electricity reliably and efficiently from the sun.

Amonix has focused on utility-scale applications for solar generating systems. When deployed in bulk, the levelized energy costs associated with IHCPV can be very competitive with other generating options. The systems can be deployed as part of a centralized solar farm or used in distributed applications. Some of the key attributes associated with Amonix's IHCPV system include:

• High-efficiency, with overall system efficiencies approaching 18%;

• Tracking that allows systems to capture approximately 30% more energy than fixed photovoltaic systems;

• No water requirements, ideal for arid locations;

• Minimum land requirements;

• Scalability that allows systems to be used for distributed applications or for large, centralized generation.

Amonix Incorporated was established in 1989 and is a designer and proprietary manufacturer of patented high-performance photovoltaic (PV) solar cells and PV power generation systems. Amonix's solar cells and PV systems have demonstrated unprecedented performance for both space and terrestrial applications. In 1994, Amonix received the prestigious R&D 100 award for world-record performance of a commercial silicon solar cell with an efficiency of greater than 26.5%.


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Amonix is located in Torrance, California, just minutes from LAX and the Port of Los Angeles. Its professional staff has more than a hundred years of combined experience in the semi-conductor arena. Amonix is the fastest growing high-concentration PV system manufacturer in the world. Its products provide reliable and environmentally clean electric power for both on-grid and off-grid applications.

Contact Details Amonix Incorporated 3425 Fujita Street Torrance, California 90505, USA Tel: +1-310-325-8091 Fax: +1-310-325-0771 Web Site: www.amonix.com


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ArcticSolar AB

ArcticSolar AB was founded in 2001 and has increased its production volume of modules steadily since the start to approximately 8 MW during 2005. The modules produced at ArcticSolar are sold in Germany under the Alfasolar label.

Contact Details: ArcticSolar AB - Gällivare Företagscentrum P.O Box 840 SE- 98228 GÄLLIVARE Sweden Tel: +46-0-970-140-50 Website: http://www.arcticsolar.se/


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Asia Silicon Co., Qinghai

Asia Silicon is developing a state-of-the-art polysilicon plant in Qinghai with production capacity targets of 2,000 metric tons by July 2008 and more than 6,000 metric tons by the end of 2010. The plant will use the trichlorosilane-based advanced Siemens production process.

Asia Silicon is working with Suntech to supply silicon with a total value of $1.5 billion over a seven-year period. The contract provides for the delivery of a volume range of poly-silicon each year at fixed prices, using a take-or-pay approach, with delivery beginning in the second half of 2008. A predetermined annual price reduction curve will provide Suntech with high purity poly-silicon at prices lower than any of Suntech's other contracts.

Contact Details: Asia Silicon Co 220 Montgomery Street, Suite 1000, San Francisco, CA 94104 United States Tel: +1-415-684-1020 Website: http://cleantech.com


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ASE Americas Inc

ASE's origins date back to 1974 when Tyco Laboratories and Mobil Corporation joined forces to begin developing advanced silicon solar cells. Although Mobil Solar Energy Corporation began selling around the world in 1981, by 1986 a strategic decision was made to focus exclusively on the US utility market. In 1994, Mobil Oil Corporation decided to exit the photovoltaic industry and in July of that same year, ASE GmbH of Germany acquired 100% of Mobil's technology and assets.

Today, the company is employs more than 160, many of whom worked for Mobil Solar. ASE Americas reached a company milestone in 1995 by breaking the 1 MW per year production rate. In 1996, it was the fastest growing manufacturer, increasing production over 50%, ending the year having shipped 3 MW.

The company is the supplier of choice when situations demand the utmost in safety, reliability, and performance, such as utility, military, and telecommunications applications. Proprietary photovoltaic crystal growth technology incorporates high material utilization with an environmentally benign manufacturing process to create a high quality, low cost panel. From the world's largest commercial solar panel to individual solar cells used in module assembly plants around the world, ASE Americas is reinventing the way electricity is created and used.

Much of ASE Americas' production line is automated, beginning with its crystal growth operation. The company has continually introduced improvements in manufacturing technology to increase solar cell and module efficiency. Throughout cell processing and module manufacturing, ASE Americas has replaced most batch processes with more efficient continuous processing. Instead of wet processing found in the semiconductor industry, ASE Americas uses environmentally benign procedures, ensuring a product safe for the environment.

Contact Details: ASE Americas, Inc 4 Suburban Park Drive Billerica,


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Massachusetts 01821, USA Tel: +1-800-977-0777 Fax: +1-781-275-7470

AstroPower Inc

Headquartered in Newark, Delaware, AstroPower is the world's largest independent manufacturer of solar electric power products, and one of the world's fastest growing solar electric power companies. AstroPower develops, manufactures, markets, and sells PV solar cells, modules, panels, and systems for generating solar electric power. Solar electric power systems provide a clean, renewable source of electricity in both off-grid and on-grid applications.

With a product line ranging from electricity-producing products sold at retail to the mini-cells used in calculators, AstroPower produces solar cells for homes and businesses. It has also unveiled a line of solar cells that can be embedded in the roofs of new homes. The company remains one of the lowest cost producers of solar cells.

In 2004, GE Energy acquired the US business assets of AstroPower. With its acquisition of AstroPower, GE Energy added solar power to its growing family of renewable energy options. AstroPower has developed, manufactured, marketed, and sold a range of solar energy products including solar cells, modules, and panels, as well as its SunChoice™ pre-packaged systems.

Contact Details AstroPower Inc Solar Park, Newark, DE 19716-2000, USA Tel: +1-302-366-0400-180 Fax: +1-302-368-6474 Web Site: www.astropower.com


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Atlantis Energy Inc

Atlantis Energy Systems, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of custom BIPV modules, serving customers in North America and abroad. Atlantis has two US factories. The original plant in Exmore, VA, is the primary manufacturer of SUNSLATES®, a solar electric roof tile. The plant in Poughkeepsie, NY, is a state-of-the-art facility that features North America’s largest glass laminator. Atlantis has supplied custom panels to many major public buildings including one – the California Transit Authority Building in LA – that won the prestigious Pritzker Prize for architecture.

Sunslates® are advanced photovoltaic products that allow the roof of a home to serve simultaneously as both a roof and a power plant. A typical installation of 216 Sunslates® (about 300 square feet / 28 square meters) covers from 60% to 80% of a home’s power needs. The roof can be installed by any roofer and the electrical work can be done by any qualified electrician.

Atlantis Energy Systems also produces custom glass panels built specifically for the job at hand. These usually consist of PV cells in a glass sandwich, a layer of glass, a layer of PV cells, and another layer of glass. The potential for this product is nearly endless. It has been used as a facade, an entire roof, a skylight, an atrium, or even as an aesthetic installation.

Contact Details Atlantis Energy Inc 9275 Beatty Dr. Suite B Sacramento, CA 95820, USA Web Site: www.atlantisenergy.org


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Baodiang Tianwei Yingli Green Energy Solar Company

Yingli is a vertically integrated company, which was founded in 1998 and started production in 2004. Yingli covers the entire PV industry value chain from the manufacture of multicrystalline polysilicon ingots and wafers, PV cells, PV modules and PV systems to PV system installation.

Yingli is currently one of the largest manufacturers of PV products in China with an annual production capacity of 200 MW of polysilicon ingots and wafers, 200 MW of PV cells and 200 MW of PV modules. By 2008 the company expects to produce 400 MW and 600 MW by 2010.

Yingli Solar has developed state-of-the art production lines for wafers, cells and modules, with state support and western technology. It manufactures through its principal operating subsidiary Baoding Tianwei Yingli New Energy Resources Co. Ltd.



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Big Sun Energy

Founded in 2006 by a group of enthusiastic and talented semi-conductor elites, BIG SUN dedicated itself as one of the pioneers for environmental protection and has rapidly developed into a leading solar energy company.

The core business of Big Sun is the design, production, and sales of high-quality solar cells. The company’s aim is to boost renewable and affordable energy around the world in order to benefit the environment and our next generation.

BigSun Energy started production of solar cells early in 2007 and has production capacity of 30 MW, due to increase to 90 MW in 2008.

Contact Details: BigSun Energy No.458-9, Sinsing Rd., Hukou Township , Hsinchu County 303 , Taiwan (R.O.C.) Website: www.bigsun-energy.com


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BP Solar International

BP Solar International (formerly Solarex), a wholly owned subsidiary of British Petroleum, is one of the world's largest solar power companies. The company designs, manufactures, supplies, and installs photovoltaic cells and modules that provide power for homes, remote villages and facilities, commercial offices, and industrial equipment. BP Solar also provides cost estimation, logistical management, remote monitoring, and training services. In 1999, Solarex was acquired by BP Corporation North America, Inc. and changed its name to BP Solar International, Inc.

The company’s leading customers include Ericsson, NEC, and Telstra. In an effort to expand its presence in the US, BP Solar plans to sell its home solar power systems at Home Depot; complete installation services will also be available through Home Depot.

BP Solar International has four major manufacturing plants located in Madrid, Spain, Sydney, Australia, Frederick, USA, and Bangalore, India. Current production capacity is more than 90 MW, and the company aims to increase this to over 200 MW by the end of 2006.

Recently, Wal-Mart Stores announced the installation of the first solar power system introduced in May 2007 purchased from BP Solar. The 623.7kW solar system is part of a major purchase of solar power by Wal-Mart Stores from various solar power providers including BP Solar.

The company’s product portfolio includes:

Heavy Duty Frames: BP’s corrosion-resistant frames are constructed to withstand wind speeds in excess of 200Km/h (125 mph) in typical ground-mounted applications. The frames are available in clear anodized (silver) or bronze anodized (dark bronze) finishes;

Tempered Low Iron Glass: For BP’s crystalline product, tempered low iron glass provides better impact resistance and better light transmission, allowing the generation of more electricity;


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EVA Encapsulation: Decades of experience show clear encapsulated insulation enhances solar cell performance and provides proven weathering protection;

Anti-Reflective Coating: Increases the efficiency of BP’s modules by reducing the quantity of light that is reflected away from the module;

Reliable Outside Bussing: BP’s proven module design puts bus bars outside frame and cell areas, improving module reliability;

Quick Connect DC Connectors: Innovative connectors make wiring modules together easy, speeding installation, eliminating wiring errors, and saving costs;

Laminate Options: Many BP Solar products can be purchased as laminates, enabling easy integration of products into third party solar electric systems or directly into building structures;

High Capacity Junction Box: BP’s proven junction box design provides reliable electrical connections for metric and non-metric conduit or cable fittings and enables series or parallel array connections;

Versatile Small Module Options: BP’s small crystalline modules (65W and below) offer dual voltage and a wide range of frame options.

Contact Details: BP Solar International, Inc. 630 Solarex Court Frederick, MD 21703 Tel: 301-698-4200 Fax: 301-698-4201 Web Site: www.bpsolar.com


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Canadian Solar Inc.

Founded in 2001, Canadian Solar Inc. (CSI) is a standard solar module and specialty solar module and product company, serving customers located in many markets across the globe. CSI is incorporated in Canada and conducts all of its manufacturing operations in China. The company produces standard silicon panels and has a silicon recycling facility in China.

Canadian Solar, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, development, manufacture, and marketing of solar module products that convert sunlight into electricity for various uses. Its products include a range of standard solar modules built to general specifications for use in various residential, commercial, and industrial solar power generation systems.

The company also designs and produces specialty solar modules and products based on customers’ requirements. Its specialty solar modules and products consist of customized

modules that its customers incorporate into their own products, such as solar-powered bus stop lighting, and complete specialty products, such as solar-powered car battery chargers. In addition, the company implements solar power development projects, primarily in conjunction with government organizations to provide solar power generation in rural areas of China.

It sells standard solar modules to distributors and system integrators, and specialty solar modules and products directly to various manufacturers, who integrate these solar modules into their own products or sell and market them as part of their product portfolio. Canadian Solar offers its products to customers located in various markets worldwide, including Germany, Spain, Canada, Korea, and China. The company was founded in 2001 and is based in Markham, Canada.

Contact Details: Canadian Solar Inc. 675 Cochrane Drive East Tower 6th Floor Markham, ON L3R 0B8


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Canada Tel: +1-905-530-2334 Fax: +1-905-530-2001 Web Site: http://www.csisolar.com

Canon

Canon has a pilot plant with a production capacity of 10 MW and a roll-to-roll process in Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, where the triple junction a-Si/a-SiGe/a-SiGe solar cell was developed. In 2003, Cannon reported a new development: triple junction a-Si/μ-Si/ μ-Si solar cell with 13.4% stable efficiency on 0.8 m2 area.

Contact Details: Canon Inc. 30-2 Shimomaruko 3-chome Ohta-ku Tokyo, 146-8501 Japan Tel: +81-3-3758-2111 Fax: +81-3-5482-5130 Web Site: http://www.canon.com


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Central Electronics Ltd.

CEL is the largest manufacturer of solar cells, modules and systems in India and was a pioneer of solar PV in the country. The company is also a significant manufacturer of other electronics for the railways of India. CEL is a public sector enterprise under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology. Its solar products have been qualified to International Standards C503/IEC1215 by the European Commission, Joint Research Centre, and ISPRA of Italy.

Contact Details: Website: http://www.celindia.co.in/


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China Solar Power (Holdings) Ltd.

China Solar Power (Holdings) Ltd. (CSP) has formed a three way alliance with Tano China Capital Management Inc (TCCMI) and ULVAC Inc of Japan. With the establishment of this alliance, CSP enters the thin film solar module market in China. The aims of the strategic alliance are to both develop CSP into the leading manufacturer of thin film solar modules in China and to enhance ULVAC´s position as a leading provider of thin film photovoltaic production lines worldwide.

CSP has prioritized thin film technology, believing it to be the solar feedstock of the future. The company plans to build its first plant in Yantai, China, to capitalize upon low manufacturing costs and to form a presence in what most industry observers believe will become the largest PV market in the world. CSP's plant, relying upon tandem junction technology, will be among the first and largest of its kind in Asia. The project's initial two manufacturing lines will have a rated annual capacity of 50 MW, which is expected to be upgraded to 64 MW within a short time. In the second phase of the collaboration, CSP plans to buy a complete turnkey thin film PV fabrication plant from ULVAC, the dominant supplier of manufacturing equipment to the world's largest PV module manufacturers.



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China Sunergy

China Sunergy Co., Ltd. (China Sunergy) is engaged in designing, developing, manufacturing and selling solar cells. It manufactures solar cells from silicon wafers utilizing crystalline silicon solar cell technology to convert sunlight directly into electricity through a process known as the photovoltaic effect. It sells its solar cell products to Chinese and overseas module manufacturers and system integrators, who assemble its solar cells into solar modules and solar power systems for use in various markets. During the year ended December 31, 2007, it produced both monocrystalline and multicrystalline silicon solar cells. In addition to standard P-type solar cells, it commenced commercial production of selective emitter cells, an improved version of the P-type solar cells in 2007.

China Sunergy is owned by CEEG and produces monocrystaline and polycrystaline cells for sale to module manufacturers.

Sunenergy is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Contact Details: China Sunenergy No. 123 Focheng West Road Jiangning Eco. & Tech. Dev. Zn Nanjing, JNG 211100 China Tel: +86-25-52766688 Fax: +86-25-52766882 Website: http://www.chinasunergy.com


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China Xianjiang SunOasis Ltd.

SunOasis is a manufacturer of solar cells, panels, inverters and solar thermal products such as water heaters. It company was founded in August 2000 in Urumqi, the capital of the far western Chinese region of Xinjiang.

The company is active in trying to develop the solar resources of the Xinjiang desert for grid-connected power.



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CSG Holding

CSG Holding Co.,Ltd. (CSG) is principally engaged in the manufacture and sale of float glass, engineering glass and fine glass, as well as provision of solar energy services. The Company is headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China. During the year ended December 31, 2007, the Company obtained approximately 46%, 32% and 13% of its total revenue from its float glass, engineering glass and fine glass businesses, respectively. In 2007, approximately 75% of the Company's revenue was from the domestic market. The Company's overseas markets include Hong Kong, the United States and Australia. As of December 31, 2007, the Company had 19 major subsidiaries.

CSG Holding, a Chinese glass manufacturer has announced that it will build a 1,500 ton polycrystalline silicon factory in Hubei. Construction will take 18 months, with technology from a Russian research institute. Further phases are expected to increase capacity to 4,500-5,000 tons.

Contact Details: CSG Holding 1 Nanbo Building Industrial Road Section 6 Shekou Shenzhen, SHZ 518067 China Tel: +86-755-26860666 Fax: +86-755-26692755 Website: http://www.csgholding.com


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Deutsche Solar AG

Deutsche Solar AG, a 100%-subsidiary of SolarWorld AG, is one of the biggest global producers of mono- und multicrystalline silicon wafers for photovoltaics. For more than twelve years, we have been manufacturing silicon wafers in Freiberg, Saxony at the foot of the Erzgebirg mountains, in immediate proximity to Dresden, the regional capital of Saxony. The Freiberg location has a more than 50-year-long tradition in silicon processing. Currently, approximately 750 employees work for Deutsche Solar AG in Freiberg.

By the end of 2006, Deutsche Solar AG had a production capacity of 220 MW, which will be increased to 350 MW by the end of 2008 and later to 500 MW.

Contact Details: Deutsche Solar AG Postfach 17 11 09587 Freiberg/Sachsen Germany Website: www.deutschesolar.de


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Ebara Solar

Ebara took the Westinghouse dendritic web process into pilot production but was closed down in 2002. In 2003 the assets were purchased and renamed Solar Power Industry Corp., with plans to have produced 30 MW by the end of 2005.



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Elkem

The Norwegian ferroalloy producer Elkem is a world leader in supply of metallurgical grade silicon, which is used for a variety of purposes. It delivers special products to customers in the chemicals, electronics and aluminum industries worldwide. Silicon from Elkem is alloyed with aluminum to produce cast aluminum parts, or can be processed by the chemicals sector for a number of products from sea plants, cosmetics and electrical insulation materials, lubricating oils and other synthetics used in car manufacturing, part of which is used as feedstock for solar cells.

The company intends to start commercial production of solar grade silicon within the next few years. Elkem Solar (ES) was established in 2001 to work on technology and business development in the feedstock area. In partnership with ASiMI LLC (Advanced Silicon Materials Incorporated) they have launched a Joint Venture in the United States; Solar Grade Silicon LLC, producing granular polysilicon feedstock.

Elkem Solar AS, in Kristiansand in southern Norway, has developed a new metallurgical process for refining metallurgic grade Si into solar grade Si. A pilot plant unit with a capacity of some tons per week was started in August 2005.

Contact Details: Elkem AS Hoffsveien 65 B, P.O. Box 5211, Majorstuen NO-0303 Oslo, Norway Website: www.elkem.com


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Entech Inc

Entech Inc. is a high-technology solar energy company. Entech's patented concentrating systems produce electricity from sunlight for both space and terrestrial applications. Terrestrial applications vary in size from 1-kilowatt remote power units, using the SunLine product, to large multi-MW utility power plants, using the SolarRow product. Space applications include the award-winning 2.5 kW SCARLET array on the NASA/JPL Deep Space 1 spacecraft, which had a spectacular rendezvous with Comet Borelly in September 2001.

Entech is the world's leading manufacturer of concentrating photovoltaic solar systems. In addition to electrical output, Entech systems can also produce hot water or other thermal energy outputs.

Entech, with a 20-year solar energy heritage, is headquartered in a specially designed facility in Keller, Texas in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Entech's facility includes a laboratory, cleanroom, and manufacturing and office areas. Entech has established outstanding domestic and international partnerships to manufacture and deliver terrestrial and space photovoltaic hardware.

Contact Details: Entech, Inc 1077 Chisolm Trail, Keller, Texas 76248, USA Tel: +1-817-379-0100 Fax: +1-817-379-0300 Web Site: www.entechsolar.com


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EPV Energy Photovoltaics Inc

(EPV) designs and manufactures PV modules and integrated manufacturing systems. One of the principal shareholders is the utility company MVV Energie AG, Germany.

EPV currently offers two main product lines, amorphous silicon thin film modules of several varieties, and the amorphous silicon photovoltaic module Integrated Manufacturing System - the bundled package of EPV's proprietary manufacturing technology with specially designed equipment for the production of high quality, low cost modules. The modules can be used in applications like remote and grid-tied power stations, as well as for building integration (BIPV) and consumer and industrial electronic products.

Three research topics are currently under investigation:

• Improvement of the existing tandem junction amorphous silicon (a-Si) modules from 38 W (5% efficiency) to 73 W in 2007 (10% stabilized efficiency). The main problem is the degradation of the modules and, as with their Japanese competitors, EPV is working to improve the stabilized efficiency by introducing an a-Si/μ-Si tandem solar cell structure

• Development of new photovoltaic materials such as micro-crystalline silicon (μ-Si)

• Development of processing techniques to produce copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) modules that are potentially capable of having twice the efficiency of a-Si modules EPV SOLAR announced $77.5 Million of new financing on June 20, 2007, for the expansion of its thin-film photovoltaic module manufacturing capacity. EPV intends to expand capacity by approximately 85 MW per year for the next several years. Several U.S. states and European countries are currently in negotiation with EPV SOLAR for manufacturing capacity expansion.

Contact Details: Website: www.epv.net


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ErSol

ersol is a German wafer and solar cell manufacturer, based in Erfurt, which specializes in silicon-based photovoltaic products. The company consists of the divisions Silicon, Wafers, Solar Cells and Modules. It has been listed on the German stock exchange since 30 September 2005 and on 19 December 2005 its shares were admitted to the TecDAX. The enterprise was founded in 1997 as ErSol Solarstrom GmbH & Co. KG.

Production in 2006 doubled to 40 MW from 20 MW in 2005.

ErSol Solar Energy AG Erfurt, Germany was founded in 1997 and develops multi and monocrystalline silicon solar cells as well as thin film modules.

In late 2004, the ErSol Group expanded its activities to include modules, inverters and other components. These were transferred to Aimex-Solar GmbH, a 100% owned subsidiary.

The company has four production plants in Arnstadt and Erfurt in Germany and at Camarillo in California. A further expansion of the business is planned with the joint venture company Shanghai Electric Solar Energy AG Co. Ltd., Shanghai, China (SESE Co. Ltd.), which was established in 2005 and in which ErSol AG holds a 35% interest.

Contact Details: ersol Solar Energy AG Wilhelm-Wolff-Straße 23 99099 Erfurt Germany Tel: +49-361-2195-0 Fax: +49-361-2195-1133 Website: www.ersol.de/en


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Ertex Solar

A new subsidiary company of Ertl Glass (known for safety glass or insulation glass production etc) specializes in production and distribution of building integrated PV modules. The company uses a new laminated glass production technology.

RKG Photovoltaik, since 2004, produces PV modules. The company is closely linked to GREENoneTEC, European's market leader in solar thermal collectors. Various other companies are manufacturing components for modules and BOS-components like batteries, inverters, or mounting systems.

Contact Details: Website: http://www.ertex-solar.at/cms/startseiteeng


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Evergreen Solar

Evergreen Solar is a developer and manufacturer of photovoltaic (PV) modules - the engines of solar electric systems - used in remote power and emerging grid-connected markets. The PV modules produced by Evergreen Solar are distinctive in their appearance because they incorporate proprietary crystalline silicon technology known as String Ribbon. This technology offers an innovative approach to manufacturing dependable and cost-effective PV modules. The company, formed in 1994, is financed by institutional investors who specialize in growing successful energy and high-technology companies. Evergreen Solar's senior management team and staff are steeped in photovoltaic and related industry experience, with specific expertise in the scientific development, manufacturing, and marketing of PV products and processes. Evergreen Solar is located in Marlboro, Massachusetts (USA), along the Route 495 high-technology highway west of Boston. Its manufacturing facilities contain state-of-the-art equipment for crystal growth, cell processing, and module lamination. The company maintains strong ties to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including the active involvement of String Ribbon's inventor, Professor Emanuel Sachs.

Company’s revenues for 2006 were US$103.1 million, compared to US$44.0 million for 2005. Revenues increased substantially year-over-year since sales of product manufactured by EverQ did not commence until 2006. Worldwide sales of product manufactured with Evergreen Solar's String Ribbon technology, which includes revenues of EverQ, were US$107.0 million for 2006 compared to US$43.6 million for 2005.

The company’s product description is:

Sunplicity™ Flat Roof Mounting System: Sunplicity is a non-penetrating mounting system designed to mount Evergreen EC-100 series modules on flat roofs of five-degree pitch or less. Held in place by its own weight and an aerodynamic cowling system, the Sunplicity system means fast, cost effective installation - allowing installers to get the job done more efficiently and cost effectively than ever before.


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Cedar Series Photovoltaic Modules

Comes with factory-installed wires, connectors, and bypass diode(s);

• Predictable, reliable, long-term performance;

• Each module is individually tested to ensure field performance meets or exceeds specifications;

• Solar cells are matched to reduce internal losses and the possibility of hot spots;

• Rugged, durable anodized aluminum frame makes for strong, stable mechanical mounting;

• Industry standard EVA (Ethyl Vinyl Acetate) and Tedlar™ construction protects solar cells from mechanical and environmental stress;

• String Ribbon™ polycrystalline solar cells outperform thin films and achieve comparable performance to bulk crystalline technologies while using half as much silicon;

• The proprietary cell fabrication process is among the most environmentally friendly in the business.

Contact Details Evergreen Solar, Inc. 138 Bartlett Street Marlboro, MA 01752-3016 USA Tel: +1.508.357.2221 Fax: +1.508.229.0747 Web Site: www.evergreensolar.com


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Ever-Q

Ever-Q was founded in July 2005 in Thalheim as a joint venture of Evergreen Solar / USA, Q-Cells AG / Germany and REC of Norway. Production started in 2006 and reached 15 MW. Total production capacity started at 30 MW and has since been increased to 90 MW. EverQ manufactures solar power products with its proprietary, low-cost String Ribbon(TM) wafer technology.

Contact Details: EverQ GmbH OT Thalheim Sonnenallee 14-24 06766 Bitterfeld-Wolfen Germany Tel: +49-03494 / 66 64 - 0 Fax: +49-03494 / 66 64 - 1011 Website: www.everq-gmbh.de


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First Solar

First Solar produces a “thin film” Cadmium Telluride product on a glass substrate and is the first of the next generation PV companies to come public.

First Solar, Inc. announced in 2007 that it has entered into new long term module supply agreements with Babcock and Brown, Australia, and Ecostream Switzerland GmbH, a subsidiary of Econcern BV, which focuses on developing solutions for sustainable energy supply. The new agreements increase contracted module volume by a total of 557 MW, allowing for additional sales of around $1 billion over the period 2008 to 2012.

To meet the demand forecast from the sales contracts, construction of a fourth manufacturing plant in Malaysia with four production lines, will take place bringing the total number of production lines to 16 for the Malaysian Manufacturing Center. The new plant is scheduled to start production in the second half of 2009.

Contact Details: First Solar 350 West Washington Street, Suite 600 Tempe, AZ 85281 United States Tel: +1-602-4149300 Fax: +1-602-4149400 Website: www.firstsolar.com


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Free Energy Europe S.A.

Free Energy Europe develops thin film hydrogenated amorphous silicon PV modules. The manufacturing plant located in Lens in the north of France has a manufacturing capacity of 1 MW per year (3 shifts). The company manufactures glass / glass laminate, polymer frame (size: 31cm x 92cm) PV modules having a STC initial power of 14 W, 12 V (smaller sizes of 5 W and 7 W are also produced).

Contact Details: Website: http://www.freeenergyeurope.com/


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GT Solar

GT Solar, a specialist in automated manufacturing and sensor-based process control, is a leading manufacturer of integrated turnkey photovoltaic (PV) fabrication lines and PV manufacturing equipment for solar electricity-producing wafers, cells, and modules. GT Solar Technologies is a division of GT Equipment Technologies, Inc. based in Nashua, NH (USA), and it employs around 80 people. The company received the Small Business Administration's New Hampshire Exporter of the Year Award for 2002. In 2006, GT Solar expanded its presence in China by the formation of a wholly owned foreign enterprise, GT Solar (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

In March 2007, GT Solar signed a US$49 million contract to sell polysilicon reactors to the Russian company, Nitol Group. GT Solar’s reactors and silicon tetrachloride converters would be installed at Nitol’s production facility in Irkutsk, Siberia. Later in July 2007, GT Solar received a US$40.7 million order from Soltech, S.A. in Patras, Greece for a turnkey line of equipment capable of making 30MW of solar wafers, cells and modules annually. The equipment includes GT Solar’s new DSS450 furnace, which produces 400kg to 450kg silicon ingots, and also Atlas tabber/stringers, which arrange rows of solar cells for placement in solar modules.

The company’s product offerings are as follows:

Turnkey Fabrication Lines

WAFFAB™ for multi-crystalline PV wafers;

CELFAB™ for high efficiency PV solar cells;

MODFAB™ for PV module manufacturing.

GT Solar designs turnkey PV fabrication lines that fully meet customers' performance specifications.


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Standard Equipment

DSS/HEM Furnace - the new world standard for multi-crystal growth;

Tabber/Stringer - world's leading processor for sheet silicon cells;

GT-PFX100 - ribbon flux station ;

GT-PVSCAN 8000 - high-speed optical scanning system;

GT-WEX 1000 - automated wafer etching wet bench;

GT-CTX - manual and automated cell testing.

Custom Equipment

EFG Growth Furnace - Edge-defined film fed growth furnace;

Dendritic Growth Furnace - High output mono-crystalline ribbon furnace.

Research & Development

SoG Silicon Feedstock Production;

Crystal Growth Modeling.


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Contact Details: GT Solar 243 Daniel Webster Highway Merrimack, NH 03054, USA Tel: +1-603-883-520 Fax: +1-603-595-6993 Web Site: www.gtsolar.com


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Kyocera

Kyocera Solar is a subsidiary of Kyocera International. The company develops and sells solar-powered electric systems, catering to rural homes, recreational vehicle sites, remote telecom and pipeline monitoring equipment, and traffic signal locations. It also sells integrated system packages directly to industrial users (product manufacturers, utilities, and corporate and government entities); it further provides products and support to a global network of more than 1,500 distributors and dealers with components, packaged systems, engineering, technical support, project management, sales aids, literature, and training, mostly in the US. With operating headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz. and regional sales centers in the U.S., Brazil and Australia, Kyocera Solar, Inc. serves thousands of customers in both developed and developing regions.

In April 2005, Kyocera transferred its domestic sales division for solar energy products (which handles sales of solar power generation systems for use by domestic public sector industries) by means of a corporate split to Kyocera Solar Corporation (KSC), a consolidated subsidiary of Kyocera. The company aims to expand sales of solar-related products to domestic public sector industries.

Scheduled for completion in early 2008, Kyocera’s new facility in the Tijuana Industrial Park will consist of a two-story plant encompassing 223,000 square feet of production space, plus a 28,000-square-foot facility extension connecting the new factory to an existing Kyocera plant. When fully operational, the additions will more than quadruple Kyocera’s production capacity for solar modules in Tijuana – from a current capacity of 35 MW per year to 150MW by the end of March 2011. The additions are part of a four-year plan to expand Kyocera’s global manufacturing capacity for solar modules, which are produced in Mexico, the Czech Republic, China and Japan. By the end of March 2011, these four sites will possess combined annual capacity to produce 500 MW of solar modules ― enough to create 3.5-kilowatt solar-electric generating systems for 142,000 homes per year. The company will invest an estimated US$250 million in plant and equipment during the course of the expansion effort.


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Contact Details: Kyocera Solar 7812 E. Acoma Scottsdale, AZ 85260, USA Tel: 480-948-8003 Fax: 480-483-6431 Web Site: www.kyocerasolar.com


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Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

Japan-based Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has recently begun sales of lead-free solar panel modules to overseas markets. Mitsubishi Electric solar power products include photovoltaic modules that gather energy from the sun and release it as electricity that can power a home or office. Through solar power technology Mitsubishi Electric is promoting widespread use of renewable energy.

Mitsubishi Electric photovoltaic modules are designed for both commercial and domestic applications suitable for grid-connected systems and offer both high performance and reliability. These polycrystalline PV modules are manufactured to the strictest engineering guidelines to meet international quality standards (UL 1703, IEC 61215, TÜV Safety Class II).

In 2006, Mitsubishi Electric announced the introduction of two models of photovoltaic inverters to the European market. The inverters, which convert the DC current from solar cells to AC for power grid use, have one of the highest conversion efficiency (Max. 96.2%) and input voltage (Max. 700V) ratings in the industry, and were displayed at the Intersolar 2006 exhibition in Freiberg, Germany, Europe’s largest solar products trade fair.

Contact Details: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation 6-3 Marunouchi, 2-chome, Chiyoda-ku Tokyo, 100-8086, Japan Tel: +81-3-3210-8580 Fax: +81-3-3210-8583 Web Site: http://global.mitsubishielectric.com/


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Photowatt International

Photowatt International, a subsidiary of Matrix Solar Technologies, founded in 1979, manufactures photovoltaic wafers, cells, and modules in Europe. The company holds about five percent of the international silicon cell technology market. It is vertically integrated, producing ingots from silicon to make plates, cells, and multi-crystalline modules, and it is certified by world-renowned organizations (PV GAP, CE, ISO 9002, EQNET, UL, ESTI, TÜV, and IECQ among others).

Its Bourgoin-Jallieu facility near Lyon, France, has a capacity of 25 MW and employs over 550 employees. The company reported strong growth over the past five years. It has systems and marketing partners in regions including Mauritania, Thailand, Nigeria, Philippines, Burkina Faso, and Morocco.

The company’s product portfolio includes:

Modules: A complete range of modules from 12 to 230 W made of glass/Tedlar® or bi-glass, guaranteed for 25 years and meeting the most demanding international standards in terms of quality;

Solar Kits: A turnkey system that enables consumers to produce their own electricity. This kit contains modules, frames, inverter, and all the components required for simple, fast installation;

Systems Business: Photowatt is both a components designer and developer of solar cell solutions. Photowatt's complete systems cover design and supply of the equipment through to user training;

Cells: 4, 5 and 6-inch, high-output cells with a silicon nitride anti-reflection coating and BSF. (101.5x101.5mm - 125.50x125.50mm - 150x150mm).

Contact Details: Photowatt International 33, rue Saint-Honoré


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Z.I. Champfleuri 38300, BOURGOIN-JALLIEU France Tel: +33(0)4 74 93 80 20 Fax: +33(0)4 74 93 80 40 Web Site: www.photowatt.com

PowerLight Corporation

PowerLight Corporation is the US’ leading designer, manufacturer, and installer of grid-connected solar electric systems and energy efficiency services. Founded in 1991, PowerLight's distributed generation products produce reliable, affordable, clean power for businesses and government agencies worldwide. The company has been ranked among the top 500 fastest growing privately held companies for the past five years by Inc. Magazine. PowerLight has worldwide offices and a full line of commercial solar electric products and energy services.

PowerLight Corporation has products and services to install large-scale solar electric generation at any suitable site. The company develops and installs complete systems, ensuring reliability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. In 2007, PowerLight completed construction of Mungyeong SP Solar Mountain, a 2.2 MW solar electric power plant in Mungyeong, Korea. The plant is comprised of 10,500 panels and covers an area of approximately 43,000 square meters. Earlier, PowerLight entered into an agreement with Agrupacion Solar Llerena-Badajoz 1, A.I.E. and Solarpack Corporacion Tecnologica, S.L., to design and build a solar electric power plant in Llerena, Spain. The plant is expected to generate approximately 4.8 MW of peak power.

The company has following products:

PowerGuard® - Solar Electric Systems for Flat Roofs: PowerLight's PowerGuard is a complete, pre-engineered system, easy to install and practically maintenance free. The patented,


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lightweight photovoltaic roofing assembly generates clean, reliable electricity while reducing a building's energy load and peak demand costs. Available in flat or angled tile arrays;

Solar Electric Systems for Sloped Roofs: This solar electric system is specifically engineered for any sloped roof structure. Sloped roof systems are ideal for asphalt shingle and metal roofs;

PowerTracker™ Solar Electric Tracking Systems: PowerTracker systems are ideal for large, unused open areas adjacent to facilities. PowerLight's PowerTracker systems track the sun from east to west, generating maximum energy from a photovoltaic (PV) system;

PowerShade™ - Solar Electric Carport Systems: PowerShade is an ideal solar electric system for parking lots adjacent to facilities; it accommodates both continuous and multi-level structures. This ground-mounted photovoltaic system delivers onsite electric power while providing premium shading;

System Performance Display Kiosks: Kiosk System Performance Display for customers who wish to showcase the performance of their solar system in a building's lobby or other public space, PowerLight offers Sun Dial, a real-time display kiosk. Sun Dial is designed to communicate information on the solar system to site visitors by displaying performance data in an attractive, intuitive format.

Contact Details: PowerLight Corporation 2954 San Pablo Avenue Berkeley, CA 94702, USA Tel: +1- 510-540-0550 Fax: +1- 510-540-0552 Web Site: www.powerlight.com


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Sanyo Electric

In 1994 Sanyo Electric, Japan combined forces with US’ Solec to improve its presence in the solar energy industry. Both companies hold numerous patents and access proprietary advances. Solec was a pioneer in developing improvements in crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) technology. Today nearly all high-power PV applications utilize crystalline silicon single crystal cells and photovoltaic modules.

Sanyo Electric outlined plans to double solar cell production at its plant in Osaka Prefecture, Japan by 2005. With this expansion, the company became the second largest solar cell manufacturer in Japan. With Shimane Sanyo Industrial Co., a Sanyo subsidiary, capable of producing 63 MW, the Sanyo Group increased its annual capacity to 133 MW. Sanyo has also outlined plans to manufacture the industry’s highest cell conversion efficiency, 19.5%, in mass production. Sanyo has invested considerably in photovoltaic R&D and brought about a number of important advances in this field.

Contact Details: Sanyo Electric 970, East 236 Street Carson, California 90745 Tel: 310-834-5800 Fax: 310-834-0728 Web Site: www.sanyo.com


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Sharp Electronics

Sharp is the #1 manufacturer of solar cells worldwide with nearly as much generating capacity as the next three manufacturers combined. The corporation is a global leader in solar energy production, and its new facility will specialize in assembly of mono crystalline and poly crystalline solar modules for residential and commercial installations. Annual production for 2004 reached a total of 20MW, but the company plans to double this capacity to meet the rising European demand for photovoltaic, as the third step in its global strategy to satisfy increasing demand for solar products across the world.

In March 2005, the company announced plans to release two models of newly developed crystalline thin-film photovoltaic modules and nine models of polycrystalline and single-crystal photovoltaic modules. Sharp is also establishing a System Design Centre to carry out design and construction of solar power generation systems. In addition, it is also enhancing its sales network.

In June 2007, Sharp installed solar modules for the largest commercial solar electricity system in the US at Google’s corporate headquarters in Mountain View, California. In addition to roof-mounted arrays, the system also features a new structure that encompasses two carports under which employees can park.

Contact Details: Sharp Electronics 282-1 Hajikami, Shinjo-cho, Nara Prefecture 639-2198, Japan Tel: +81 745 63 3579 Fax: +81 745 62 8253 Web Site: www.sharp.co.jp


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Shell Solar

Shell Solar provides complete solar systems for grid-connected or remote power applications. Research and development activities, together with its manufacturing sites and internationally famous research institutes, contribute to the improvement of products. Shell Solar products are marketed in 75 countries through a global network of professional distributors and sales partners.

Shell Solar manufactures and sells Shell PowerMax® solar panels, an excellent performing range of panels with high energy yields. Part of the Shell PowerMax range is the leading Shell thin-film technology, CIS (Copper Indium Diselinide).

Shell Solar provides solar PV energy solutions for two distinct market segments: Grid-connected Solar Systems (small home systems to multi MW applications) and off-grid solar systems (for industrial PV applications like telecoms and remote residential systems).

Shell Solar has a wide range of photovoltaic panels that can be used across a variety of applications, including grid-connected, industrial, and remote habitation.

Grid power applications: Shell PowerMax solar panels deliver maximum power and reliability for grid power applications. The Shell PowerMax Ultra range offers up to 175W maximum power backed by a 25 year limited power warranty. The Shell PowerMax Plus range offers up to 160W maximum power backed by a 20-year limited power warranty. The new Shell PowerMax Eclipse thin-film range enables elegant solutions without compromising on performance.

Remote power applications: Shell PowerMax solar panels deliver maximum power and reliability for remote power applications. The Shell PowerMax Ultra range offers up to 175W maximum power backed by a 25-year limited power warranty for all modules above 50W. The Shell PowerMax Plus range offers up to 50W maximum power backed by a ten-year limited power warranty. Shell CIS thin-film products are no longer manufactured for off-grid applications.


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In 2006, Shell and Saint-Gobain Glass Deutschland GmbH, announce their joint venture to begin solar power panel manufacturing based on advanced CIS (copper indium di-selenide) technology. The joint venture was recently approved by the European Commission. The new entity AVANCIS KG will commence construction of the production facilities with operations likely to commence in 2008 in line with current notification procedure. The initial annual capacity of the plant will be 20 MW with options for rapid expansion. When built, the plant will manufacture solar panels, which when installed would power an equivalent of around 6,000 European households additional per year with clean energy. Generating the same amount of electricity from a coal-fired power plant would release about 14,000 tons of CO2 per year.

Contact Details: Shell Solar Industries 4650 Adohr Lane Camarillo CA 93011, USA Tel: +1 805 482 6800 Web Site: www.shell.com/solar/


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Siemens Solar

Siemens Solar Industries L.P, headquartered in Camarillo, Calif., is a member of the Siemens Solar Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of photovoltaic cells and modules. SSI, an award-winning developer of photovoltaic technology, is one of the largest suppliers of solar panels in the US. Siemens Solar is comprised of Siemens Solar GmbH in Munich, Germany (a joint venture of Siemens AG and Bayerwerk AG); Siemens Solar Industries, a limited partnership in Camarillo, California; and two joint ventures, Siemens Showa Solar Ltd. in Singapore, and Showa Solar Energy K.K. in Tokyo, Japan. With a market share of 20%, the Siemens Solar Group is the world's leading company in the photovoltaic industry.

Contact Details: Siemens Solar Industries PO Box 6032 Camarillo, CA 93011 Tel: 805 482-6800 Web Site: www.siemenssolar.com


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Spire Corporation

Spire Corporation is a diversified technology company providing innovative solar energy manufacturing equipment and solar systems, biomedical devices, and optoelectronic components. Spire develops, manufactures, and markets highly engineered PV module manufacturing equipment, and provides advanced surface treatments for the biomedical industry. The company is also the world's leading supplier of the manufacturing equipment and technology needed to manufacture solar PV power. Spire’s manufacturing equipment and SPI-LINE™ turnkey production lines meet the needs of small manufacturers relying mostly on manual processes to the largest PV manufacturing companies in the world. Approximately 80% of 2004’s world PV module production came from factories furnished with units of Spire equipment.

Spire Corporation reported revenues for 2006 of US$20 million, a 10% decrease from US$22.4 million for 2005. Net loss for 2006 was US$8.1 million compared with net income of US$44,000.

In 2007, Spire received a contract from Martifer Solar S.A., a division of Martifer Group, located in Oliveira de Frades, Portugal, to provide a fully automated turnkey 50 MW module manufacturing line. This will be the first fully automated module line installed in Portugal and make it one of the most advanced in the world. The line will consist of Spire photovoltaic module manufacturing equipment and an integrated automation system, including robotics. Spire will be responsible for integrating the entire line, and will be collaborating with a world leader in automation / robotics on this project.

Spire has been manufacturing solar energy equipment since 1980, longer than any other company, and experience enables Spire to lead the market in technology and innovation. Spire pioneered the solar manufacturing equipment industry and continues to be the #1 choice of more than 90% of the photovoltaic module manufacturing companies around the world. The company’s turnkey production line includes:

SPI-LINE Module Production: Utilizing manufacturing equipment and technological expertise, Spire offers assembly lines for building integrated or facade modules. Automation and transfer


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systems are included to handle large-area modules. SPI-LINE Module Production Lines can be purchased for annual productions ranging from 5 MWs to 50 MWs and beyond.

Spire ensures its customers uninterrupted production by also supplying module materials. Materials include solar cells, laminating materials, glass, and other necessary components needed to produce high quality PV modules.

Spire's production lines are fully supported by process technology, spare parts, training, field service, extended equipment warranty, and optional service contracts. Complete training in process technology, installation, operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting is included.

Contact Details: Spire Corporation 1 Patriots Park Bedford Massachusetts 01730-2396, USA Tel: +1-781-275-6000 Fax: +1-781-275-7470 Web Site: www.spirecorp.com


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SunPower Corporation

SunPower Corporation designs, manufactures and delivers high-performance solar electric systems worldwide for residential, commercial and utility-scale power plant customers. SunPower high-efficiency solar cells and solar panels generate up to 50% more power than conventional solar technologies and have a uniquely attractive, all-black appearance. With headquarters in San Jose, Calif., SunPower has offices in North America, Europe and Asia. SunPower is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. With an R&D team that is committed to developing the highest performance, lowest cost solar cells, the company aims to set new standards for performance, value, and appearance within the rapidly growing solar PV market.

SunPower's annual revenue for 2006 was US$236.5 million, a three-fold increase from 2005 revenue of US$78.7 million. GAAP net income for 2006 was US$26.5 million, compared to a 2005 GAAP net loss of US$15.8 million. Non-GAAP net income for 2006 was US$36.1 million, compared to a 2005 non-GAAP net loss of US$9.7 million.

The company has the following product offerings:

Solar Cells: SunPower Corporation A-300 solar cell is designed without highly reflective metal contact grids or current collection ribbons on the front of solar cells. This feature enables the company’s solar cells to be assembled into solar panels that exhibit a more uniform appearance than conventional solar panels. The A-300 solar cell has a rated power value of 3.1 watts and a minimum conversion efficiency of 20%. In addition to higher efficiencies, SunPower’s solar cells also have higher energy delivery per watt than many other solar cells;

Solar Panels: SunPower's SPR-200 solar panels are uniformly black, designed to blend into the environment. The company believes that solar panels made with its solar cells are the highest efficiency solar panels available for the mass market because A-300 solar cells are more efficient relative to conventional solar cells. When the company’s solar cells are assembled into panels, more power can be incorporated into a given size solar panel;


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Specialty Products: SunPower is a leading manufacturer of high-performance silicon-based imaging detectors. Since 1993, SunPower has offered specialty products designed, developed, and manufactured for a wide range of applications and markets.

In September 2007, SunPower was awarded a cost-shared, three-year cooperative agreement by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the "Grid-Competitive Residential and Commercial Fully Automated PV Systems Technology" Project. Under the cooperative agreement, SunPower is expected to receive US$8.5 million in federal funding through the completion of its first project budget period, which will be implemented through August 31, 2008. Upon successful completion of key project milestones and sustained execution of a viable business strategy, as much as US$16.2 million in additional funding will be made available for continued project implementation through June 30, 2010.

Contact Details: SunPower Corporation 430 Indio Way Sunnyvale, CA 94085, USA Tel: +1-408-991-0900 Fax: +1-408-739-7713 Web Site: www.sunpowercorp.com


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TerraSolar, Inc.

TerraSolar develops, manufactures, and markets solar power products for residential, commercial, and industrial markets worldwide. TerraSolar's unique PV amorphous silicon (a-Si) technology is the lowest-cost solar electric energy available today. Its development of advanced materials builds a cost/performance advantage into the next generation of solar technology.

In 2005, Terra Solar announced the installation of a pilot amorphous silicon (a-Si) module manufacturing facility in New Jersey. The facility has a 2.5MW per annum capacity. The Company plans to use the equipment to optimize its transparent PV window and to help establish parameters for production of a substantially larger size substrate for the next generation of PV modules. With this additional equipment, the Company is now in position to demonstrate a manufacturing process for copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS)-based thin-film PV modules on a 2 by 4 foot glass substrate.

The company has the following products:

Inverters: Terra Solar inverters range from 1.5kW to 50kW in capacity and are ideal for any application, from residential and small commercial installations to utility-scale power projects. Designed for both stand-alone and utility interactive applications, these inverters provide a multitude of functions and capabilities with easy-to-use controls and diagnostic capabilities. Terra Solar inverters are among the most cost-competitive on the market today;

Modules: Terra Solar is a leader in the manufacture of multi-function amorphous silicon (a-Si) photovoltaic modules. These thin-film modules have inherently lower manufacturing costs and a superior performance-to-cost ratio than conventional crystalline modules. Terra Solar modules are produced with high quality glass-to-glass encapsulation methods, providing long-term strength and durability;

Solar Home Systems: Terra Solar Home Systems are offered in powers of 50W, 100W, 200W, 400W, 1kW, and 1.5kW. The systems have 12-volt lead acid battery storage in multiples of


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1kWh and include a DC fluorescent light with ballast, optional 12 VDC TV/VCR combinations, optional computer, and radiotelephone;

Water Pumping System: The company’s solar-powered water pumping systems are able to supply water for a few cattle or a whole town. Terra Solar water pumping systems are more efficient and less expensive than other alternatives and make on-site trouble-shooting easy. These systems can be either grid-tied or stand-alone.

Contact Details: TerraSolar, Inc. 44 Court Street, Tower B Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA Tel: +1-718-422-0100 Fax: +1-718-422-0300 Web Site: www.terrasolar.com


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United Solar Ovonic

United Solar Ovonic is a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD Ovonics) (NASDAQ: ENER). Building on technology pioneered by ECD, United Solar Ovonics is a world leader in thin-film amorphous photovoltaic (PV). The company’s high-volume production equipment is the world’s largest and most advanced machine for the manufacture of thin-film amorphous silicon alloy solar cells and related products.

Because of characteristics unique to United Solar Ovonic solar cell technology, such as light weight, ruggedness, and flexibility, it is ideal for building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) roofing systems for residential and industrial uses. ECD Ovonics and United Solar Ovonic hold the basic patents covering the continuous roll-to-roll manufacturing of thin-film amorphous silicon alloy multi-junction solar cells and related products.

United Solar Ovonic has a 25MW annual capacity manufacturing plant, and plans are in place to expand manufacturing capacity by building an additional plant to house a second 25MW machine.

Contact Details: United Solar Ovonic 3800 Lapeer Road Auburn Hills, MI 48326, USA Tel: 248-475-0100 Fax: 248-364-0510 Web Site: www.uni-solar.com


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Appendix

APPENDIX

Figure 28: Parabolic Trough

Source: Greenpeace

Figure 29: Central Receiver or Solar Tower

Source: Greenpeace


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Appendix

Figure 30: Parabolic Dish

Source: Greenpeace

Figure 31: Photovoltaic Roof System

Source: SEIA


275

Appendix

Figure 32: Cost of PV to Consumers & Manufacturing Shipments

Source: SEIA

Figure 33: A Schematic Arrangement of a PV Cell

Source: Institution of Engineering & Technology


276

Appendix

Figure 34: Solar Parabolic Trough System Combined with Fossil Fuel Firing to Generate Electrical Power



277

Appendix

Figure 35: Arrangement of a Central Receiver Solar Thermal System


Figure 36: A Solar Pond Arrangement



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Appendix

Table 10: Early Solar Thermal Power Plants

Source: Greenpeace


279

Appendix

Table 11: Comparison of Solar Thermal Power Technologies

Source: Greenpeace


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Glossary

Table 12: Cost Reductions in Parabolic Trough Solar Thermal Power Plants

Source: Greenpeace

Figure 37: Integrated Solar/Combined Cycle System (ISCC)

Source: Greenpeace


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Glossary

GLOSSARY

Absorber: In a photovoltaic device, the material that readily absorbs photons to generate charge carriers (free electrons or holes).

AC: See alternating current.

Activated Shelf Life: The period of time, at a specified temperature, that a charged battery can be stored before its capacity falls to an unusable level.

Activation Voltage(s): The voltage(s) at which a charge controller will take action to protect the batteries.

Adjustable Set Point: A feature allowing the user to adjust the voltage levels at which a charge controller will become active.

Alternating Current (AC): A type of electrical current, the direction of which is reversed at regular intervals or cycles. In the United States, the standard is 120 reversals or 60 cycles per second. Electricity transmission networks use AC because voltage can be controlled with relative ease.

Acceptor: A dopant material, such as boron, which has fewer outer shell electrons than required in an otherwise balanced crystal structure, providing a hole, which can accept a free electron.

AIC: See amperage interrupt capability.

Air Mass (sometimes called air mass ratio): Equal to the cosine of the zenith angle-that angle from directly overhead to a line intersecting the sun. The air mass is an indication of the length of the path solar radiation travels through the atmosphere. An air mass of 1.0 means the sun is directly overhead and the radiation travels through one atmosphere (thickness).

Ambient Temperature: The temperature of the surrounding area.

Amorphous Semiconductor: A non-crystalline semiconductor material that has no long-range order.

Amorphous Silicon: A thin-film, silicon photovoltaic cell having no crystalline structure. Manufactured by depositing layers of doped silicon on a substrate. See


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Glossary

also single-crystal silicon and polycrystalline silicon.

Amperage Interrupt Capability (AIC): Direct current fuses should be rated with a sufficient AIC to interrupt the highest possible current.

Ampere (amp): A unit of electrical current or rate of flow of electrons. One volt across one ohm of resistance causes a current flow of one ampere.

Ampere-Hour (Ah/AH): A measure of the flow of current (in amperes) over one hour; used to measure battery capacity.

Ampere Hour Meter: An instrument that monitors current with time. The indication is the product of current (in amperes) and time (in hours).

Angle of Incidence: The angle that a ray of sun makes with a line perpendicular to the surface. For example, a surface that directly faces the sun has a solar angle of incidence of zero, but if the surface is parallel to the sun (for example, sunrise striking a horizontal rooftop), the angle of incidence is 90°.

Annual Solar Savings: The annual solar savings of a solar building is the energy

savings attributable to a solar feature relative to the energy requirements of a non-solar building.

Anode: The positive electrode in an electrochemical cell (battery). Also, the earth or ground in a cathodic protection system. Also, the positive terminal of a diode.

Antireflection Coating: A thin coating of a material applied to a solar cell surface that reduces the light reflection and increases light transmission.

Array: See photovoltaic (PV) array.

Array Current: The electrical current produced by a photovoltaic array when it is exposed to sunlight.

Array Operating Voltage: The voltage produced by a photovoltaic array when exposed to sunlight and connected to a load.

Autonomous System: See stand-alone system.

Availability: The quality or condition of a photovoltaic system being available to provide power to a load. Usually measured


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Glossary

in hours per year. One minus availability equals downtime.

Azimuth Angle: The angle between true south and the point on the horizon directly below the sun.

Balance of System: Represents all components and costs other than the photovoltaic modules/array. It includes design costs, land, site preparation, system installation, support structures, power conditioning, operation and maintenance costs, indirect storage, and related costs.

Band Gap: In a semiconductor, the energy difference between the highest valence band and the lowest conduction band.

Band Gap Energy (Eg): The amount of energy (in electron volts) required to free an outer shell electron from its orbit about the nucleus to a free state, and thus promote it from the valence to the conduction level.

Barrier Energy: The energy given up by an electron in penetrating the cell barrier; a measure of the electrostatic potential of the barrier.

Base Load: The average amount of electric power that a utility must supply in any period.

Battery: Two or more electrochemical cells enclosed in a container and electrically interconnected in an appropriate series/parallel arrangement to provide the required operating voltage and current levels. Under common usage, the term battery also applies to a single cell if it constitutes the entire electrochemical storage system.

Battery Available Capacity: The total maximum charge, expressed in ampere-hours, that can be withdrawn from a cell or battery under a specific set of operating conditions including discharge rate, temperature, initial state of charge, age, and cut-off voltage.

Battery Capacity: The maximum total electrical charge, expressed in ampere-hours, which a battery can deliver to a load under a specific set of conditions.

Battery Cell: The simplest operating unit in a storage battery. It consists of one or more positive electrodes or plates, an electrolyte that permits ionic conduction, one or more negative electrodes or plates, separators between plates of opposite polarity, and a container for all the above.

Battery Cycle Life: The number of cycles, to a specified depth of discharge, that a cell


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Glossary

or battery can undergo before failing to meet its specified capacity or efficiency performance criteria.

Battery Energy Capacity: The total energy available, expressed in watt-hours (kilowatt-hours), which can be withdrawn from a fully charged cell or battery. The energy capacity of a given cell varies with temperature, rate, age, and cut-off voltage. This term is more common to system designers than it is to the battery industry where capacity usually refers to ampere-hours.

Battery Energy Storage: Energy storage using electrochemical batteries. The three main applications for battery energy storage systems include spinning reserve at generating stations, load leveling at substations, and peak shaving on the customer side of the meter.

Battery Life: The period during which a cell or battery is capable of operating above a specified capacity or efficiency performance level. Life may be measured in cycles and/or years, depending on the type of service for which the cell or battery is intended.

BIPV (Building-Integrated Photovoltaics): A term for the design and

integration of photovoltaic (PV) technology into the building envelope, typically replacing conventional building materials. This integration may be in vertical facades, replacing view glass, spandrel glass, or other facade material; into semitransparent skylight systems; into roofing systems, replacing traditional roofing materials; into shading "eyebrows" over windows; or other building envelope systems.

Blocking Diode: A semiconductor connected in series with a solar cell or cells and a storage battery to keep the battery from discharging through the cell when there is no output, or low output, from the solar cell. It can be thought of as a one-way valve that allows electrons to flow forwards, but not backwards.

Boron (B): The chemical element commonly used as the dopant in photovoltaic device or cell material.

Boule: A sausage-shaped, synthetic single-crystal mass grown in a special furnace, pulled and turned at a rate necessary to maintain the single-crystal structure during growth.

Btu (British Thermal Unit): The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of


285

Glossary

one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit; equal to 252 calories.

Bypass Diode: A diode connected across one or more solar cells in a photovoltaic module such that the diode will conduct if the cell(s) become reverse biased. It protects these solar cells from thermal destruction in case of total or partial shading of individual solar cells while other cells are exposed to full light.

Cadmium (Cd): A chemical element used in making certain types of solar cells and batteries.

Cadmium Telluride (CdTe): A polycrystalline thin-film photovoltaic material.

Capacity (C): See battery capacity.

Capacity Factor: The ratio of the average load on (or power output of) an electricity generating unit or system to the capacity rating of the unit or system over a specified period of time.

Captive Electrolyte Battery: A battery having an immobilized electrolyte (gelled or absorbed in a material).

Cathode: The negative pole or electrode of an electrolytic cell, vacuum tube, etc., where electrons enter (current leaves) the system; the opposite of an anode.

Cathodic Protection: A method of preventing oxidation of the exposed metal in structures by imposing a small electrical voltage between the structure and the ground.

Cd: See cadmium.

CdTe: See cadmium telluride.

Cell (battery): A single unit of an electrochemical device capable of producing direct voltage by converting chemical energy into electrical energy. A battery usually consists of several cells electrically connected together to produce higher voltages. (Sometimes the terms cell and battery are used interchangeably). Also see photovoltaic (PV) cell.

Cell Barrier: A very thin region of static electric charge along the interface of the positive and negative layers in a photovoltaic cell. The barrier inhibits the movement of electrons from one layer to the other, so that higher-energy electrons from one side diffuse preferentially through it in one direction, creating a current and


286

Glossary

thus a voltage across the cell. Also called depletion zone or space charge.

Cell Junction: The area of immediate contact between two layers (positive and negative) of a photovoltaic cell. The junction lies at the center of the cell barrier or depletion zone.

Charge: The process of adding electrical energy to a battery.

Charge Carrier: A free and mobile conduction electron or hole in a semiconductor.

Charge Controller: A component of a photovoltaic system that controls the flow of current to and from the battery to protect it from over-charge and over-discharge. The charge controller may also indicate the system operational status.

Charge Factor: A number representing the time in hours during which a battery can be charged at a constant current without damage to the battery. Usually expressed in relation to the total battery capacity, i.e., C/5 indicates a charge factor of 5 hours. Related to charge rate.

Charge Rate: The current applied to a cell or battery to restore its available capacity.

This rate is commonly normalized by a charge control device with respect to the rated capacity of the cell or battery.

Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD): A method of depositing thin semiconductor films used to make certain types of photovoltaic devices. With this method, a substrate is exposed to one or more vaporized compounds, one or more of which contain desirable constituents. A chemical reaction is initiated, at or near the substrate surface, to produce the desired material that will condense on the substrate.

Cleavage of Lateral Epitaxial Films for Transfer (CLEFT): A process for making inexpensive Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) photovoltaic cells in which a thin film of GaAs is grown atop a thick, single-crystal GaAs (or other suitable material) substrate and then is cleaved from the substrate and incorporated into a cell, allowing the substrate to be reused to grow more thin-film GaAs.

Cloud Enhancement: The increase in solar intensity caused by reflected irradiance from nearby clouds.

Combined Collector: A photovoltaic device or module that provides useful heat energy in addition to electricity.


287

Glossary

Concentrator: A photovoltaic module, which includes optical components such as lenses (Fresnel lens) to direct and concentrate sunlight onto a solar cell of smaller area. Most concentrator arrays must directly face or track the sun. They can increase the power flux of sunlight hundreds of times.

Conduction Band (or conduction level): An energy band in a semiconductor in which electrons can move freely in a solid, producing a net transport of charge.

Conductor: The material through which electricity is transmitted, such as an electrical wire, or transmission or distribution line.

Contact Resistance: The resistance between metallic contacts and the semiconductor.

Conversion Efficiency: See photovoltaic (conversion) efficiency.

Converter: A unit that converts a direct current (dc) voltage to another dc voltage.

Copper Indium Diselenide (CuInSe2, or CIS): A polycrystalline thin-film photovoltaic material (sometimes

incorporating gallium (CIGS) and/or sulfur).

Crystalline Silicon: A type of photovoltaic cell made from a slice of single-crystal silicon or polycrystalline silicon.

Current: See electric current.

Current at Maximum Power (Imp): The current at which maximum power is available from a module.

Cutoff Voltage: The voltage levels (activation) at which the charge controller disconnects the photovoltaic array from the battery or the load from the battery.

Cycle: The discharge and subsequent charge of a battery.

Czochralski Process: A method of growing large size, high quality semiconductor crystal by slowly lifting a seed crystal from a molten bath of the material under careful cooling conditions.

Dangling Bonds: A chemical bond associated with an atom on the surface layer of a crystal. The bond does not join with another atom of the crystal, but extends in the direction of exterior of the surface.


288

Glossary

Days of Storage: The number of consecutive days the stand-alone system will meet a defined load without solar energy input. This term is related to system availability.

DC: See direct current.

DC-to-DC Converter: Electronic circuit to convert direct current voltages (e.g., photovoltaic module voltage) into other levels (e.g., load voltage). Can be part of a maximum power point tracker.

Deep-Cycle Battery: A battery with large plates that can withstand many discharges to a low state-of-charge.

Deep Discharge: Discharging a battery to 20% or less of its full charge capacity.

Depth of Discharge (DOD): The ampere-hours removed from a fully charged cell or battery, expressed as a percentage of rated capacity. For example, the removal of 25 ampere-hours from a fully charged 100 ampere-hours rated cell results in a 25% depth of discharge. Under certain conditions, such as discharge rates lower than that used to rate the cell, depth of discharge can exceed 100%.

Dendrite: A slender threadlike spike of pure crystalline material, such as silicon.

Dendritic Web Technique: A method for making sheets of polycrystalline silicon in which silicon dendrites are slowly withdrawn from a melt of silicon whereupon a web of silicon forms between the dendrites and solidifies as it rises from the melt and cools.

Depletion Zone: Same as cell barrier. The term derives from the fact that this microscopically thin region is depleted of charge carriers (free electrons and hole).

Design Month: The month having the combination of insolation and load that requires the maximum energy from the photovoltaic array.

Diffuse Insolation: Sunlight received indirectly as a result of scattering due to clouds, fog, haze, dust, or other obstructions in the atmosphere. Opposite of direct insolation.

Diffuse Radiation: Radiation received from the sun after reflection and scattering by the atmosphere and ground.

Diffusion Furnace: Furnace used to make junctions in semiconductors by diffusing


289

Glossary

dopant atoms into the surface of the material.

Diffusion Length: The mean distance a free electron or hole moves before recombining with another hole or electron.

Diode: An electronic device that allows current to flow in one direction only. See blocking diode and bypass diode.

Direct Beam Radiation: Radiation received by direct solar rays. Measured by a pyrheliometer with a solar aperture of 5.7° to transcribe the solar disc.

Direct Current (DC): A type of electricity transmission and distribution by which electricity flows in one direction through the conductor, usually relatively low voltage and high current. To be used for typical 120 volt or 220 volt household appliances, DC must be converted to alternating current, its opposite.

Direct Insolation: Sunlight falling directly upon a collector. Opposite of diffuse insolation.

Discharge: The withdrawal of electrical energy from a battery.

Discharge Factor: A number equivalent to the time in hours during which a battery is discharged at constant current usually expressed as a percentage of the total battery capacity, i.e., C/5 indicates a discharge factor of 5 hours. Related to discharge rate.

Discharge Rate: The rate, usually expressed in amperes or time, at which electrical current is taken from the battery.

Disconnect: Switch gear used to connect or disconnect components in a photovoltaic system.

Distributed Energy Resources (DER): A variety of small, modular power-generating technologies that can be combined with energy management and storage systems and used to improve the operation of the electricity delivery system, whether or not those technologies are connected to an electricity grid.

Distributed Generation: A popular term for localized or on-site power generation.

Distributed Power: Generic term for any power supply located near the point where the power is used. Opposite of central power. See stand-alone systems.


290

Glossary

Distributed Systems: Systems that are installed at or near the location where the electricity is used, as opposed to central systems that supply electricity to grids. A residential photovoltaic system is a distributed system.

Donor: In a photovoltaic device, an n-type dopant, such as phosphorus, that puts an additional electron into an energy level very near the conduction band; this electron is easily exited into the conduction band where it increases the electrical conductivity over than of an undoped semiconductor.

Donor Level: The level that donates conduction electrons to the system.

Dopant: A chemical element (impurity) added in small amounts to an otherwise pure semiconductor material to modify the electrical properties of the material. An n-dopant introduces more electrons. A p-dopant creates electron vacancies (holes).

Doping: The addition of dopants to a semiconductor.

Downtime: Time when the photovoltaic system cannot provide power for the load. Usually expressed in hours per year or that percentage.

Dry Cell: A cell (battery) with a captive electrolyte. A primary battery that cannot be recharged.

Duty Cycle: The ratio of active time to total time. Used to describe the operating regime of appliances or loads in photovoltaic systems.

Duty Rating: The amount of time an inverter (power conditioning unit) can produce at full rated power.

Edge-Defined Film-Fed Growth (EFG): A method for making sheets of polycrystalline silicon for photovoltaic devices in which molten silicon is drawn upward by capillary action through a mold.

Electric Circuit: The path followed by electrons from a power source (generator or battery), through an electrical system, and returning to the source.

Electric Current: The flow of electrical energy (electricity) in a conductor, measured in amperes.

Electrical Grid: An integrated system of electricity distribution, usually covering a large area.


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Glossary

Electricity: Energy resulting from the flow of charge particles, such as electrons or ions.

Electrochemical Cell: A device containing two conducting electrodes, one positive and the other negative, made of dissimilar materials (usually metals) that are immersed in a chemical solution (electrolyte) that transmits positive ions from the negative to the positive electrode and thus forms an electrical charge. One or more cells constitute a battery.

Electrode: A conductor that is brought in conducting contact with a ground.

Electrodeposition: Electrolytic process in which a metal is deposited at the cathode from a solution of its ions.

Electrolyte: A nonmetallic (liquid or solid) conductor that carries current by the movement of ions (instead of electrons) with the liberation of matter at the electrodes of an electrochemical cell.

Electron: An elementary particle of an atom with a negative electrical charge and a mass of 1/1837 of a proton; electrons surround the positively charged nucleus of an atom and determine the chemical properties of an atom. The movement of

electrons in an electrical conductor constitutes an electric current.

Electron Volt (eV): The amount of kinetic energy gained by an electron when accelerated through an electric potential difference of 1 Volt; equivalent to 1.603 x 10^-19; a unit of energy or work.

Energy: The capability of doing work; different forms of energy can be converted to other forms, but the total amount of energy remains the same.

Energy Audit: A survey that shows how much energy used in a home, which helps find ways to use less energy.

Energy Contribution Potential: Recombination occurring in the emitter region of a photovoltaic cell.

Energy Density: The ratio of available energy per pound; usually used to compare storage batteries.

Energy Levels: The energy represented by an electron in the band model of a substance.

Epitaxial Growth: The growth of one crystal on the surface of another crystal. The growth of the deposited crystal is


292

Glossary

oriented by the lattice structure of the original crystal.

Equalization: The process of restoring all cells in a battery to an equal state-of-charge. Some battery types may require a complete discharge as a part of the equalization process.

Equalization Charge: The process of mixing the electrolyte in batteries by periodically overcharging the batteries for a short time.

Equalizing Charge: A continuation of normal battery charging, at a voltage level slightly higher than the normal end-of-charge voltage, in order to provide cell equalization within a battery.

Equinox: The two times of the year when the sun crosses the equator and night and day are of equal length; usually occurs on March 21st (spring equinox) and September 23 (fall equinox).

Extrinsic Semiconductor: The product of doping a pure semiconductor.

Fermi Level: Energy level at which the probability of finding an electron is one-half. In a metal, the Fermi level is very near the top of the filled levels in the partially

filled valence band. In a semiconductor, the Fermi level is in the band gap.

Fill Factor: The ratio of a photovoltaic cell's actual power to its power if both current and voltage were at their maxima. A key characteristic in evaluating cell performance.

Fixed Tilt Array: A photovoltaic array set in at a fixed angle with respect to horizontal.

Flat-Plate Array: A photovoltaic (PV) array that consists of non-concentrating PV modules.

Flat-Plate Module: An arrangement of photovoltaic cells or material mounted on a rigid flat surface with the cells exposed freely to incoming sunlight.

Flat-Plate Photovoltaics (PV): A PV array or module that consists of non-concentrating elements. Flat-plate arrays and modules use direct and diffuse sunlight, but if the array is fixed in position, some portion of the direct sunlight is lost because of oblique sun-angles in relation to the array.


293

Glossary

Float Charge: The voltage required to counteract the self-discharge of the battery at a certain temperature.

Float Life: The number of years that a battery can keep its stated capacity when it is kept at float charge.

Float Service: A battery operation in which the battery is normally connected to an external current source; for instance, a battery charger which supplies the battery load< under normal conditions, while also providing enough energy input to the battery to make up for its internal quiescent losses, thus keeping the battery always up to full power and ready for service.

Float-Zone Process: A method of growing a large-size, high-quality crystal whereby coils heat a polycrystalline ingot placed atop a single-crystal seed. As the coils are slowly raised the molten interface beneath the coils becomes single crystal.

Float-Zone Process: In reference to solar photovoltaic cell manufacture, a method of growing a large-size, high-quality crystal whereby coils heat a polycrystalline ingot placed atop a single-crystal seed. As the coils are slowly raised the molten interface beneath the coils becomes a single crystal.

Frequency: The number of repetitions per unit time of a complete waveform, expressed in Hertz (Hz).

Frequency Regulation: This indicates the variability in the output frequency. Some loads will switch off or not operate properly if frequency variations exceed 1%.

Fresnel Lens: An optical device that focuses light like a magnifying glass; concentric rings are faced at slightly different angles so that light falling on any ring is focused to the same point.

Full Sun: The amount of power density in sunlight received at the earth's surface at noon on a clear day (about 1,000 Watts/square meter).

Gallium (Ga): A chemical element, metallic in nature, used in making certain kinds of solar cells and semiconductor devices.

Gallium Arsenide (GaAs): A crystalline, high-efficiency compound used to make certain types of solar cells and semiconductor material.

Gassing: The evolution of gas from one or more of the electrodes in the cells of a battery. Gassing commonly results from


294

Glossary

local action self-discharge or from the electrolysis of water in the electrolyte during charging.

Gassing Current: The portion of charge current that goes into electrolytical production of hydrogen and oxygen from the electrolytic liquid. This current increases with increasing voltage and temperature.

Gel-Type Battery: Lead-acid battery in which the electrolyte is composed of a silica gel matrix.

Gigawatt (GW): A unit of power equal to 1 billion Watts; 1 million kilowatts, or 1,000 megawatts.

Grid-Connected System: A solar electric or photovoltaic (PV) system in which the PV array acts like a central generating plant, supplying power to the grid.

Grid-Interactive System: Same as grid-connected system.

Grid Lines: Metallic contacts fused to the surface of the solar cell to provide a low resistance path for electrons to flow out to the cell interconnect wires.

Harmonic Content: The number of frequencies in the output waveform in addition to the primary frequency (50 or 60 Hz.). Energy in these harmonic frequencies is lost and may cause excessive heating of the load.

Heterojunction: A region of electrical contact between two different materials.

High Voltage Disconnect: The voltage at which a charge controller will disconnect the photovoltaic array from the batteries to prevent overcharging.

High Voltage Disconnect Hysteresis: The voltage difference between the high voltage disconnect set point and the voltage at which the full photovoltaic array current will be reapplied.

Hole: The vacancy where an electron would normally exist in a solid; behaves like a positively charged particle.

Homojunction: The region between an n-layer and a p-layer in a single material, photovoltaic cell.

Hybrid System: A solar electric or photovoltaic system that includes other sources of electricity generation, such as wind or diesel generators.


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Glossary

Infrared Radiation: Electromagnetic radiation whose wavelengths lie in the range from 0.75 micrometer to 1000 micrometers; invisible long wavelength radiation (heat) capable of producing a thermal or photovoltaic effect, though less effective than visible light.

Input Voltage: This is determined by the total power required by the alternating current loads and the voltage of any direct current loads. Generally, the larger the load, the higher the inverter input voltage. This keeps the current at levels where switches and other components are readily available.

Insolation: The solar power density incident on a surface of stated area and orientation, usually expressed as Watts per square meter or Btu per square foot per hour. See diffuse insolation and direct insolation.

Interconnect: A conductor within a module or other means of connection that provides an electrical interconnection between the solar cells.

Ion: An electrically charged atom or group of atoms that has lost or gained electrons; a loss makes the resulting particle positively charged; a gain makes the particle negatively charged.

Irradiance: The direct, diffuse, and reflected solar radiation that strikes a surface. Usually expressed in kilowatts per square meter. Irradiance multiplied by time equals insolation.

I-Type Semiconductor: Semiconductor material that is left intrinsic, or undoped so that the concentration of charge carriers is characteristic of the material itself rather than of added impurities.

Joule: A metric unit of energy or work; 1 joule per second equals 1 watt or 0.737 foot-pounds; 1 Btu equals 1,055 joules.

Junction: A region of transition between semiconductor layers, such as a p/n junction, which goes from a region that has a high concentration of acceptors (p-type) to one that has a high concentration of donors (n-type).

Junction Box: A photovoltaic (PV) generator junction box is an enclosure on the module where PV strings are electrically connected and where protection devices can be located, if necessary.

Junction Diode: A semiconductor device with a junction and a built-in potential that passes current better in one direction than the other. All solar cells are junction diodes.


296

Glossary

Kilowatt (kW): A standard unit of electrical power equal to 1000 watts, or to the energy consumption at a rate of 1000 joules per second.

Kilowatt-Hour (kWh): 1,000 thousand watts acting over a period of 1 hour. The kWh is a unit of energy. 1 kWh=3600 kJ.

Lead-Acid Battery: A general category that includes batteries with plates made of pure lead, lead-antimony, or lead-calcium immersed in an acid electrolyte.

Light Trapping: The trapping of light inside a semiconductor material by refracting and reflecting the light at critical angles; trapped light will travel further in the material, greatly increasing the probability of absorption and hence of producing charge carriers.

Line-Commutated Inverter: An inverter that is tied to a power grid or line. The commutation of power (conversion from direct current to alternating current) is controlled by the power line, so that, if there is a failure in the power grid, the photovoltaic system cannot feed power into the line.

Liquid Electrolyte Battery: A battery containing a liquid solution of acid and

water. Distilled water may be added to these batteries to replenish the electrolyte as necessary. Also called a flooded battery because the plates are covered with the electrolyte.

Load: The demand on an energy producing system; the energy consumption or requirement of a piece or group of equipment. Usually expressed in terms of amperes or watts in reference to electricity.

Load Circuit: The wire, switches, fuses, etc. that connect the load to the power source.

Load Current (A): The current required by the electrical device.

Load Resistance: The resistance presented by the load. See resistance.

Low Voltage Cutoff (LVC): The voltage level at which a charge controller will disconnect the load from the battery.

Low Voltage Disconnect: The voltage at which a charge controller will disconnect the load from the batteries to prevent over-discharging.


297

Glossary

Maintenance-Free Battery: A sealed battery to which water cannot be added to maintain electrolyte level.

Majority Carrier: Current carriers (either free electrons or holes) that are in excess in a specific layer of a semiconductor material (electrons in the n-layer, holes in the p-layer) of a cell.

Megawatt (MW): 1,000 kilowatts, or 1 million watts; standard measure of electric power plant generating capacity.

Megawatt-Hour: 1,000 kilowatt-hours or 1 million watt-hours.

Minority Carrier Lifetime: The average time a minority carrier exists before recombination.

Modified Sine Wave: A waveform that has at least three states (i.e., positive, off, and negative). Has less harmonic content than a square wave.

Modularity: The use of multiple inverters connected in parallel to service different loads.

Module Derate Factor: A factor that lowers the photovoltaic module current to

account for field operating conditions such as dirt accumulation on the module.

Multicrystalline: A semiconductor (photovoltaic) material composed of variously oriented, small, individual crystals. Sometimes referred to as polycrystalline or semicrystalline.

Multijunction Device: A high-efficiency photovoltaic device containing two or more cell junctions, each of which is optimized for a particular part of the solar spectrum.

Multi-Stage Controller: A charging controller unit that allows different charging currents as the battery nears full state-of-charge.

Nickel Cadmium Battery: A battery containing nickel and cadmium plates and an alkaline electrolyte.

Nominal Voltage: A reference voltage used to describe batteries, modules, or systems (i.e., a 12-volt or 24-volt battery, module, or system).

N-Type: Negative semiconductor material in which there are more electrons than holes; current is carried through it by the flow of electrons.


298

Glossary

N-Type Semiconductor: A semiconductor produced by doping an intrinsic semiconductor with an electron-donor impurity (e.g., phosphorus in silicon).

N-Type Silicon: Silicon material that has been doped with a material that has more electrons in its atomic structure than does silicon.

One-Axis Tracking: A system capable of rotating about one axis.

Operating Point: The current and voltage that a photovoltaic module or array produces when connected to a load. The operating point is dependent on the load or the batteries connected to the output terminals of the array.

Overcharge: Forcing current into a fully charged battery. The battery will be damaged if overcharged for a long period.

Packing Factor: The ratio of array area to actual land area or building envelope area for a system; or, the ratio of total solar cell area to the total module area, for a module.

Parallel Connection: A way of joining solar cells or photovoltaic modules by connecting positive leads together and negative leads together; such a

configuration increases the current, but not the voltage.

Passivation: A chemical reaction that eliminates the detrimental effect of electrically reactive atoms on a solar cell's surface.

Peak Sun Hours: The equivalent number of hours per day when solar irradiance averages 1,000 w/m2. For example, six peak sun hours means that the energy received during total daylight hours equals the energy that would have been received had the irradiance for six hours been 1,000 w/m2.

Peak Watt: A unit used to rate the performance of solar cells, modules, or arrays; the maximum nominal output of a photovoltaic device, in watts (Wp) under standardized test conditions, usually 1,000 watts per square meter of sunlight with other conditions, such as temperature specified.

Photocurrent: An electric current induced by radiant energy.

Photoelectric Cell: A device for measuring light intensity that works by converting light falling on, or reach it, to electricity,


299

Glossary

and then measuring the current; used in photometers.

Photoelectrochemical Cell: A type of photovoltaic device in which the electricity induced in the cell is used immediately within the cell to produce a chemical, such as hydrogen, which can then be withdrawn for use.

Photovoltaic(s) (PV): Pertaining to the direct conversion of light into electricity.

Photovoltaic (PV) Array: An interconnected system of PV modules that function as a single electricity-producing unit. The modules are assembled as a discrete structure, with common support or mounting. In smaller systems, an array can consist of a single module.

Photovoltaic (PV) Cell: The smallest semiconductor element within a PV module to perform the immediate conversion of light into electrical energy (direct current voltage and current). Also called a solar cell.

Photovoltaic (PV) Conversion Efficiency: The ratio of the electric power produced by a photovoltaic device to the power of the sunlight incident on the device.

Photovoltaic (PV) Device: A solid-state electrical device that converts light directly into direct current electricity of voltage-current characteristics that are a function of the characteristics of the light source and the materials in and design of the device. Solar photovoltaic devices are made of various semiconductor materials including silicon, cadmium sulfide, cadmium telluride, and gallium arsenide, and in single crystalline, multicrystalline, or amorphous forms.

Photovoltaic (PV) Effect: The phenomenon that occurs when photons, the "particles" in a beam of light, knock electrons loose from the atoms they strike. When this property of light is combined with the properties of semiconductors, electrons flow in one direction across a junction, setting up a voltage. With the addition of circuitry, current will flow and electric power will be available.

Photovoltaic (PV) Generator: The total of all PV strings of a PV power supply system, which are electrically interconnected.

Photovoltaic (PV) Module: The smallest environmentally protected, essentially planar assembly of solar cells and ancillary parts, such as interconnections, terminals, [and protective devices such as diodes]


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Glossary

intended to generate direct current power under unconcentrated sunlight. The structural (load carrying) member of a module can either be the top layer (superstrate) or the back layer (substrate).

Photovoltaic (PV) Panel: Often used interchangeably with PV module (especially in one-module systems), but more accurately used to refer to a physically connected collection of modules (i.e., a laminate string of modules used to achieve a required voltage and current).

Photovoltaic (PV) System: A complete set of components for converting sunlight into electricity by the photovoltaic process, including the array and balance of system components.

Photovoltaic-Thermal (PV/T) System: A photovoltaic system that, in addition to converting sunlight into electricity, collects the residual heat energy and delivers both heat and electricity in usable form. Also called a total energy system.

Polycrystalline Silicon: A material used to make photovoltaic cells, which consist of many crystals unlike single-crystal silicon.

Power Conversion Efficiency: The ratio of output power to input power of the inverter.

Power Density: The ratio of the power available from a battery to its mass (W/kg) or volume (W/l).

Power Factor (PF): The ratio of actual power being used in a circuit, expressed in watts or kilowatts, to the power that is apparently being drawn from a power source, expressed in volt-amperes or kilovolt-amperes.

Primary Battery: A battery whose initial capacity cannot be restored by charging.

P-Type Semiconductor: A semiconductor in which holes carry the current; produced by doping an intrinsic semiconductor with an electron acceptor impurity (e.g., boron in silicon).

Pulse-Width-Modulated (PWM) Wave Inverter: A type of power inverter that produce a high quality (nearly sinusoidal) voltage, at minimum current harmonics.

Rated Battery Capacity: The term used by battery manufacturers to indicate the maximum amount of energy that can be withdrawn from a battery under specified discharge rate and temperature. See battery capacity.


301

Glossary

Rated Module Current (A): The current output of a photovoltaic module measured at standard test conditions of 1,000 w/m2 and 25�C cell temperature.

Recombination: The action of a free electron falling back into a hole. Recombination processes are either radiative, where the energy of recombination results in the emission of a photon, or nonradiative, where the energy of recombination is given to a second electron which then relaxes back to its original energy by emitting phonons. Recombination can take place in the bulk of the semiconductor, at the surfaces, in the junction region, at defects, or between interfaces.

Rectifier: A device that converts alternating current to direct current. See inverter.

Regulator: Prevents overcharging of batteries by controlling charge cycle-usually adjustable to conform to specific battery needs.

Reserve Capacity: The amount of generating capacity a central power system must maintain to meet peak loads.

Ribbon (Photovoltaic) Cells: A type of photovoltaic device made in a continuous process of pulling material from a molten bath of photovoltaic material, such as silicon, to form a thin sheet of material.

Sacrificial Anode: A piece of metal buried near a structure that is to be protected from corrosion. The metal of the sacrificial anode is intended to corrode and reduce the corrosion of the protected structure.

Satellite Power System (SPS): Concept for providing large amounts of electricity for use on the Earth from one or more satellites in geosynchronous Earth orbit. A very large array of solar cells on each satellite would provide electricity, which would be converted to microwave energy and beamed to a receiving antenna on the ground. There, it would be reconverted into electricity and distributed the same as any other centrally generated power, through a grid.

Sealed Battery: A battery with a captive electrolyte and a resealing vent cap, also called a valve-regulated battery. Electrolyte cannot be added.

Semiconductor: Any material that has a limited capacity for conducting an electric current. Certain semiconductors, including silicon, gallium arsenide, copper indium


302

Glossary

diselenide, and cadmium telluride, are uniquely suited to the photovoltaic conversion process.

Series Connection: A way of joining photovoltaic cells by connecting positive leads to negative leads; such a configuration increases the voltage.

Series Controller: A charge controller that interrupts the charging current by open-circuiting the photovoltaic (PV) array. The control element is in series with the PV array and battery.

Series Regulator: Type of battery charge regulator where the charging current is controlled by a switch connected in series with the photovoltaic module or array.

Series Resistance: Parasitic resistance to current flow in a cell due to mechanisms such as resistance from the bulk of the semiconductor material, metallic contacts, and interconnections.

Silicon (Si): A semi-metallic chemical element that makes an excellent semiconductor material for photovoltaic devices. It crystallizes in face-centered cubic lattice like a diamond. It's commonly found in sand and quartz (as the oxide).

Solar Constant: The average amount of solar radiation that reaches the earth's upper atmosphere on a surface perpendicular to the sun's rays; equal to 1353 Watts per square meter or 492 Btu per square foot.

Solar Cooling: The use of solar thermal energy or solar electricity to power a cooling appliance. Photovoltaic systems can power evaporative coolers ("swamp" coolers), heat-pumps, and air conditioners.

Solar Energy: Electromagnetic energy transmitted from the sun (solar radiation). The amount that reaches the earth is equal to one billionth of total solar energy generated, or the equivalent of about 420 trillion kilowatt-hours.

Solar-Grade Silicon: Intermediate-grade silicon used in the manufacture of solar cells. Less expensive than electronic-grade silicon.

Solar Resource: The amount of solar insolation a site receives, usually measured in kWh/m2/day, which is equivalent to the number of peak sun hours.

Solar Spectrum: The total distribution of electromagnetic radiation emanating from the sun. The different regions of the solar spectrum are described by their wavelength


303

Glossary

range. The visible region extends from about 390 to 780 nanometers (a nanometer is one billionth of one meter). About 99% of solar radiation is contained in a wavelength region from 300 nm (ultraviolet) to 3,000 nm (near-infrared). The combined radiation in the wavelength region from 280 nm to 4,000 nm is called the broadband, or total, solar radiation.

Solar Thermal Electric Systems: Solar energy conversion technologies that convert solar energy to electricity, by heating a working fluid to power a turbine that drives a generator. Examples of these systems include central receiver systems, parabolic dish, and solar trough.

Storage Battery: A device capable of transforming energy from electric to chemical form and vice versa. The reactions are almost completely reversible. During discharge, chemical energy is converted to electric energy and is consumed in an external circuit or apparatus.

Substrate: The physical material upon which a photovoltaic cell is applied.

Subsystem: Any one of several components in a photovoltaic system (i.e., array, controller, batteries, inverter, load).

Thermophotovoltaic Cell (TPV): A device where sunlight concentrated onto a absorber heats it to a high temperature, and the thermal radiation emitted by the absorber is used as the energy source for a photovoltaic cell that is designed to maximize conversion efficiency at the wavelength of the thermal radiation.

Thin Film: A layer of semiconductor material, such as copper indium diselenide or gallium arsenide, a few microns or less in thickness, used to make photovoltaic cells.

Tracking Array: A photovoltaic (PV) array that follows the path of the sun to maximize the solar radiation incident on the PV surface. The two most common orientations are (1) one axis where the array tracks the sun east to west and (2) two-axis tracking where the array points directly at the sun at all times. Tracking arrays use both the direct and diffuse sunlight. Two-axis tracking arrays capture the maximum possible daily energy.

Transformer: An electromagnetic device that changes the voltage of alternating current electricity.

Tunneling: Quantum mechanical concept whereby an electron is found on the


304

About the Publisher

opposite side of an insulating barrier without having passed through or around the barrier.

Ultraviolet: Electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range of 4 to 400 nanometers.

Underground Feeder (UF): May be used for photovoltaic array wiring if sunlight resistant coating is specified; can be used for interconnecting balance-of-system components but not recommended for use within battery enclosures.

Vented Cell: A battery designed with a vent mechanism to expel gases generated during charging.

Vertical Multijunction (VMJ) Cell: A compound cell made of different semiconductor materials in layers, one above the other. Sunlight entering the top passes through successive cell barriers, each of which converts a separate portion of the spectrum into electricity, thus achieving greater total conversion efficiency of the incident light. Also called a multiple junction cell. See multijunction device and split-spectrum cell.

Volt (V): A unit of electrical force equal to that amount of electromotive force that will cause a steady current of one ampere to flow through a resistance of one ohm.

Voltage: The amount of electromotive force, measured in volts, that exists between two points.

Wafer: A thin sheet of semiconductor (photovoltaic material) made by cutting it from a single crystal or ingot.

Watt” The rate of energy transfer equivalent to one ampere under an electrical pressure of one volt. One watt equals 1/746 horsepower, or one joule per second. It is the product of voltage and current (amperage).

Waveform: The shape of the phase power at a certain frequency and amplitude.

Zenith Angle: The angle between the direction of interest (of the sun, for example) and the zenith (directly overhead).

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