Solar energy: Major project goes Online

January 9th, 2004 saw one of the world's largest solar power plants in Neustadt, Germany join the grid. A total of 2 megawatts of environmentally friendly electricity will be generated over an area of some 70,000 m2 (7 hectares) – corresponding to the size of seven soccer fields. This is enough to continuously power 700 households.

At the heart of this project are around 7,000 high-output ASE-300-DG-FT modules made by RWE Schott Solar, rated best of its class by the German consumer watchdog Stiftung Warentest in 1999. 'With our entry into the renewable energy sector, we expect to make a long term contribution to clean energy supply.', says Dr. Udo Ungeheuer, Chairman of the management board at Schott Glas. The modules are attached to gabions, special baskets filled with stone that are considered ecologically valuable biotopes.

The plant will be run by Pfalzsolar GmbH, a 50:50 joint venture between RWE Schott Solar GmbH and Pfalzwerke Projektbeteiligungsgesellschaft mbH based in Neustadt. Pfalzsolar is responsible for the planning, installation and financing of the photovoltaic systems. The Neustadt project is the first for this company and was planned and installed on a former military base in a record time of just 6 months.

The particularly fine summer last year provided operators of solar plants with an average 10 percent higher yield. The Neustadt location – in one of Germany's winegrowing regions – promises continual profitability, as the average solar radiation is well above 1,000 kWh per m2 each year. There are also sunny times ahead for photovoltaics in the political arena. Due to the widespread consensus regarding photovoltaics as part of the law governing renewable energies, a solid political basis has been created for the solar energy sector.

Web: http://www.schott.com

Pilkington Energy Efficiency Trust Aids Research

Converting a higher proportion of the sun's energy into a useful source of electricity and heating would go a long way to reducing our dependence on the fossil fuels being blamed for global warming. That is why the Pilkington Energy Efficiency Trust (PEET) believes that support for solar energy research is so important - and is why the Trust is now aiding new research at Nottingham University's School of the Built Environment.

While the power of the sun provides vast quantities of emissions-free energy, converting it into useful amounts of electricity has continued to defy generations of scientists and engineers. Photovoltaic (PV) cells convert at best only 12 per cent of the incident solar energy and many commercial systems struggle to reach 5 per cent.

Professor Saffa Riffat and his colleagues at the School of the Built Environment believe they can achieve a step-change in this conversion performance - simply with better use of existing technologies. By combining Fresnel cells which concentrate solar radiation and compound parabolic concentrators (CPC), conversion efficiency can be increased dramatically. However, this is only part of the story.

With glass panel curtain walling being used for more and more architectural applications - not just offices, but also hotels and even residential buildings - PV panels can be used as part of the building's facade. Yet the sun gives both light and heat: concentrating one increases the other and excess heat gain can cause considerable problems in the building fabric.

Professor Riffat and his team, however, are turning this apparent disadvantage into a benefit. The concentrator assembly is connected to a heat exchanger and the excess themal energy is carried away to refrigerator units on the roof of the building. This can then be used to drive cooling plant. In winter, excess heat can be used to warm the building interior instead.

In this way, the solar radiation can provide not only PV electricity, but also heating and cooling for the building's interior. Overall then, this approach, if successful, will increase the solar energy conversion rate by an order of magnitude.

'Some aspects of this project are very innovative,' said Professor Riffat. 'The main focus of the research, however, is to show how a more imaginative combination of existing technologies can produce a dramatic increase in the efficiency with which we can use solar energy. Energy from the sun is a clean, inexhaustible and non-polluting source of power if we can just find out how to capture it more effectively. And that has surely to be of interest to anyone who follows the debates about climate change and air quality.'

The project's aims fit well with the goals of the Trust. 'This is a perfect example of the kind of project we want to support,' said Rick Wilberforce, Secretary of the Pilkington Energy Efficiency Trust. 'It provides a solid groundwork for the practical solutions that move us closer to a low carbon economy. This kind of research offers us the promise of being able to tackle climate change much more effectively in the immediate future.'

Wacker Expands Polysilicon Capacity at Burghausen, Germany

Wacker meets growing demand for solar cells by expanding polysilicon production at its Burghausen plant in Germany. Solar-grade silicon capacity will rise to 2,600 metric tons a year from mid-2004. Thanks to a specially modified deposition process, Wacker will supply the photovoltaic industry with exactly the right starting material for solar cells at low cost.

Wacker will expand existing production operations (construction work is scheduled to start in September 2003) and set up an additional pilot line for solar-grade silicon pellets. Production capacity at Wacker's Burghausen will then reach almost 5000 metric tons of polysilicon annually through silicon deposition from trichlorosilane. Polysilicon is supplied internally to Wacker Siltronic (at the Burghausen site) and to external manufacturers of hyperpure silicon wafers and solar cells.

Construction work on the new pilot facility for solar-grade silicon pellets has already started. Commissioning is scheduled for the second half of 2004. As a result, Wacker will be able to exploit new process options for producing silicon crystals for the photovoltaic industry.

The facility will manufacture about 100 metric tons/year of solar-grade silicon pellets from trichlorosilane via the fluidised-bed process. Pellets offer specific advantages: they are suited to continuous crystallisation processes and reduce the production costs of solar-grade silicon.

Wacker is investing a total of EUR 40 million in the Burghausen expansion project. The investment will ensure enough capacity for solar-grade silicon regardless of prevailing semiconductor trends. The project will create 30 new jobs at Burghausen.

For the last fifty years, Wacker has produced hyperpure polysilicon for the semiconductor market. Since 2000, Wacker's polysilicon operation has also focused on the photovoltaic industry – where demand for solar cells is growing. Customers for Wacker's solar-grade silicon include all leading manufacturers of solar cells worldwide.

Web: http://www.wacker-silicones.com

Despite its Foggy Reputation, San Francisco Turns to the Sun

Within the next few months, the roof of San Francisco's Moscone Convention Centre will be covered with 65,000 sq ft of photovoltaic panels. The installation will be the first project implemented as a result of Proposition B, a ballot initiative approved by city voters in November 2001. The measure authorised $100 million in bonds to finance use of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in city and county-owned buildings.

The $7.4-million Moscone project, which includes installation of a 675-kw photovoltaic array and $3.2 million in other efficiency measures, is expected to slash the convention centre's annual utility bill by $639,000, according to Vote Solar Initiative, a locally based organisation that promotes a national transition to alternative energy sources.

The Moscone panels will generate at least 825,000 kwh each year, according to Daniel Shugar, president of PowerLight Corp., Berkeley, the system's designer and installer. The power will be used immediately within the building. Since optimum generation occurs during daytime hours in the summer, coinciding with peak demand, a storage system is unnecessary, he says.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is monitoring solar energy potential in the city, and is collecting data at several locations to determine optimum sites for future installations. Despite the city's tendency to fog, data shows that several neighborhoods receive 90 to 95% of the sunshine in California's Central Valley, says Fred Schwartz, commission manager of advanced and renewable technologies. 'Sacramento just lost bragging rights,' he says.

On the basis of the collected data, SFPUC is planning a second photovoltaic installation-a 300-kw array for the roof of a city-owned and operated wastewater treatment plant in Hunter's Point.

Solar technology - Power from Solar Energy

With their new joint venture RWE Schott Solar GmbH, the partners RWE Solutions and Schott have launched an ambitious project in the field of solar technology that has a good potential for growth in the long term.

RWE Schott Solar GmbH, Alzenau, commenced operations on October 1, 2002. RWE Solutions AG, Frankfurt am Main, and Schott Glas, Mainz, have combined all their terrestrial photovoltaic activities into this joint venture. RWE Solar GmbH and its U.S. subsidiary ASE Americas, Inc. together with the U.S. company Schott Applied Power Corporation have been integrated into the new company. The European Commission on Competition Policy has since approved the merger without any restrictions. RWE Solutions and Schott have equal rights in managing the joint venture.

Pooling the activities
'By pooling our solar activities we intend to expand the leading position of RWE Schott Solar in a dynamic photovoltaic market,' explained the CEO of RWE Solutions Heinz-Werner Binzel and Schott Executive Vice President Dr. Udo Ungeheuer. 'The top position of the RWE Solutions subsidiary in solar technology will be strengthened by Schott's know-how in materials research and production as well as its global presence.'

RWE Schott Solar GmbH claims to be the market leader in Germany and ranks sixth in the world market. 'With the substantial expansion of production capacities and this partnership with Schott, we are aiming to significantly increase our market share,' says Dr. Winfried Hoffmann, one of the joint Managing Directors of RWE Schott Solar.

The activities in the field of high-performance solar cells for aerospace applications were transferred to an independent organisation. RWE Space Solar Power GmbH is wholly owned by RWE Solutions AG.

Everything from a single source
RWE Schott Solar GmbH will be involved in various product areas of solar technology: silicon wafers, solar cells and modules for the terrestrial market as well as thin-film modules based on amorphous silicon.

In 2001 the company generated sales of 96 million euros with more than 550 employees. With its 60-MW 'SmartSolar-Fab' in Alzenau, the company opened an integrated production facility for wafers, solar cells and modules in August 2002. Capacities at the Alzenau site will soon be quadrupled.

Web: http://www.schott.com

Wilson Brings a Bright Future to Buildings Across the UK

Brian Wilson, Minister for Energy, has brought the reality of solar power to eight new projects across the UK.

The medium and large scale projects, which represent 350 kW have each won a share of a £1.32 million Government grant and are the first to be approved under the DTI's £20 million Major Photovoltaic (PV) Demonstration programme.

The projects include Ford's centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence at Dagenham and Peabody's roof refurbishment on social housing block in North London. There are also medium sized projects such as the Transport interchange at Vauxhall Cross and a primary
school in Wales.

Brian Wilson, Minister for Energy, said:

'Solar power is turning into a real energy source for the UK. These eight new projects add to the hundreds of solar houses and buildings which the Government has already helped get off the ground. There are now a whole range of buildings, from leisure centres and schools to
business parks and modern flats which have the new high tech photovoltaic roofs.

'It is now crucial that British manufacturers of solar equipment start to build a supply chain for the growing solar market. I want to ensure that the UK revolution in renewable energy brings with it UK jobs.'

The Government expects to create a £2 billion a year market for renewable energy by 2010. The main driver for this will be the renewables obligation which will put an obligation on electricity suppliers to supply ten per cent of their electricity from renewable sources. In addition a £260 million support programme has been provided over the next three years.

The bidding process opened at the end of May this year with 16 applications coming forward. The next call for bids is due out soon with a deadline of October.

Contact for further information on the PV Major Demonstration Project is Energy Saving Trust, Kirk Archibald on 020 7222 0101, or the free phone hotline 0800 298 3978,

website www.solarpvgrants.co.uk

List of Projects:

Peabody Trust - Priors Estate, Kings Cross, London
The Peabody Trust, London's largest charitable housing trust, is renovating a series of three blocks of flats in the Prior's Estate. As part of the renovation new pitched roofs with integrated
photovoltaics will be installed. This will improve energy efficiency and weather-tightness of the roofs. The base design of the roofs is a standing-seam metal roof that will be enhanced by the addition of amorphous thin film sheets to the roofs. The projects will be part of a European-wide project called Resurgence that aims to have an installed capacity of 3GW of electricity in Europe by 2010.
- 100 kWp
- BP Solar thin film amorphous modules
- Installer to be confirmed
- DTI grant £322,061

Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence - Training Centre in Rainham, Essex
CEME is a collaborative partnership between industry, the Ford motor Company, Barking College and Havering College to build a new centre for high quality education and basic skills training. The new CEME building will incorporate many sustainable features including photovoltaic power generation, wind turbines, rainwater collection and charging points for electric vehicles. The main buildings will also be built using low embodied energy materials such as timber. The photovoltaic array will form a highly visible and public entrance to the building. A second photovoltaic array will be incorporated into a walkway.
- 100kWp
- BP solar monocrystalline modules
- DTI grant £357,603
- Installer to be confirmedYsgol Gynradd Gwaun Cae Gurwen, Ammanford, Wales - School
Ysgol is a primary school in Wales. The system will be installed over the pitched roofs of the existing buildings and will be a total size of 10.08kWp. The system will be used to educate the pupils on the use of sustainable energy and will also be very visible within the village. The school has recently completed a full energy study and has been awarded Eco-school status by the local education authority.
- 10.08kWp
- Kyocera Polycrystalline panels
- Installer: Dulas Limited
- DTI grant: £36,666

Environ - Housing in Braunstone, Leicester
Environ are a locally based environmental charity that is involved with Leicester Housing Association in the refurbishment of houses in the Braunstone area of Leicester as part of the Braunstone '6 streets' project. The refurbishment of the houses will include the installation of cavity wall and loft insulation, the fitting of condensing boilers and low energy light bulbs. These measures will be co-funded by London Electricity. Additionally, 50 houses facing due
south will be fitted with 1.7kWp of Redland polycrystalline roof tiles. The buildings will be monitored by DeMontfort University as part of their energy studies course.
- 70kWp
- Redland polycrystalline roof tiles
- Installer: Sundog Energy Limited
- DTI grant: £321,042

Peabody Trust - Pembury Estate, Hackney, London
The Pembury estate consists of old Victorian tenement blocks in need of re-roofing. The basic roof design was a traditional tiled roof and will be replaced by solar shingles on a plywood decking. Additionally, the buildings will be refurbished to a highly energy efficient standard. This is part of a large scale photovoltaic reroofing programme called Resurgence, through which the Peabody Trust are aiming to install a total of 350kWp of photovoltaic roofing.
- 15.181kWp
- Unisolar triple junction amorphous silicon thin film
- Installer: To be confirmed
- DTI grant: £65,510

Transport for London - Vauxhall Interchange, Broadway, London
The overall design concept of the interchange is a sculptural ribbon undulating down the length of the bus station providing shelter with a landmark prominence. The Ribbon canopy will offer continuous shelter from rain and wind. The interchange is part of a programme to deliver an integrated public transport system. The 29.4kWp photovoltaic system will be integrated into the ribbon canopy and will be used to provide lighting services for the interchange. The
system will use the latest technology, a hybrid thin film and monocrystalline modules that offer the highest efficiency currently available.
- 29.4 kWp
- Sanyo hybrid amorphous thin film/monocrystalline panels
- Installer: Solar Century
- DTI grant: £103,983

Tai Cartrefi Cyf - Burry Port, Carmarthenshire, Wales
Tai Cartrefi Cyf will build a new elderly care home in Burry Port consisting of 38 flats and communal areas. The building will consist of two blocks connected by walkways. An 18kWp monocrystalline photovoltaic system integrated into the roofs of the walkways. The new buildings have been designed to a very high environmental standard and will be timber-clad with high insulation levels and mechanical heat recovery.
- 18kWp
- Naps monocrystalline panels
- Installer to be confirmed
- DTI grant: £61,791

St Paul's Catholic College - Burgess Hill, Sussex
St Paul's Catholic College are building a new college building in Burgess Hill, Sussex as part of their expansion. The school will have three small systems on different buildings totalling 10.5kWp. The systems will be used to aid the teaching of renewable energy at the college.
- 10.5kWp
- Redland photovoltaic tiles
- Installer: Sundog Energy Limited
- DTI grant: £55,24

SoloSun - solar energy only a panel away

Ubbink's new SoloSun is an easy-to-fit, affordable photovoltaic (PV) panel which allows households to generate clean power and cut the cost of electricity bills in the process.

The pre-formed solar panel is delivered with an integral flashing system for quick and easy roof installation and comes complete with an inverter to convert the generated energy into electricity for the home. Once fitted, SoloSun requires no maintenances as regular rainfall keeps the panel clean.

The PV panel, with a peak power of 110 watts, operates in all weather but is particularly effective in direct sunlight. For optimum results, the SoloSun should be fitted on a south-facing roof. Furthermore, Ubbink's solar panel has been designed to feed excess energy directly back to the National Grid, resulting in an additional saving.

Ubbink' s SoloSun is available in panels measuring 1328 x 710mm.

www.ubbink.co.uk

Wilson Welcomes First Installations Under £20M Solar Roofs Programme.

Work on the first home to be fitted with solar roof-slates under a Government initiative to encourage the use of solar power in the UK was completed today. Minister for Energy Brian Wilson last week visited the offices of Solar Century, the UK's largest solar electric
solutions company, responsible for installing the roof under a #20m Government scheme designed to increase the number of domestic solar power - or photovoltaic - installations in the UK ten fold by 2005.

Mr Wilson said:
'It is very encouraging that the first PV slates under this scheme have been installed on ordinary homes. Thousands of homes and offices across the UK are now set to be powered by solar power under the £20m programme announced in March. We are offering grants to both the public and private sectors to install systems on new or existing buildings'.

The funding for the solar roofs was made available through the DTI's Major Photovoltaics Demonstration Programme (PV MDP). Last month, the first nine applications for small-scale projects were agreed, including the first home in Dover, Kent. The first call for proposals
for medium and large-scale projects is currently open with a closing date of the end of this month.

Solar Century are one of 15 installation companies to be accredited to fit solar roofs under the PV MDP. This installer accreditation scheme together with an approved product list is intended to ensure that only good quality installations are subsidised under the programme.

Other solar initiatives recently announced by Brian Wilson include the domestic and large-Scale Field Trials:
£4m for sun-powered social and private housing developments across the UK, representing 380 houses, flats and bungalows.
£4m for the installation of solar systems on large-scale public buildings.
Mr Wilson, who toured the Solar Century offices and saw the latest in PV technology being demonstrated, also praised the recent announcement by Solar Century and Npower of a partnership to offer an innovative financing package to domestic and business PV installers.

Public Enquiries: 020-7215 5000
Textphone (for people with hearing impairments): 020-7215 6740
Web: http://www.dti.gov.uk

Photovoltaics: Sunny Times

The acquisition of America’s Applied Power Corporation provides Schott with a ticket to a market with good long-term growth potential, writes Anne Hardy, Science Journalist, Frankfurt, Germany for Schott.

The goals are ambitious. By the year 2010, Schott aims to be the number one or number two player among suppliers of photovoltaic systems. The new Schott subsidiary has more than 20 years experience in the market, which can now be combined with the parent company’s well-developed global sales network.

Why photovoltaics? This is an obvious question for those who know Schott as a manufacturer of special glass. ‘The photovoltaics market is growing at a rate of 20 to 25 percent a year,’ said photovoltaics segment manager Michael Harre. ‘This offers Schott good opportunities for development. For a start, photovoltaics has a lot to do with glass and glass handling. This new business is also an excellent fit with our Vision 2010, the core purpose of which defines that we will improve how people live and work through expert solutions. And finally, photovoltaics is now a global market. Schott’s international network puts us in a very good position to tackle the market.’


Specialist in Photovoltaic Arrays

Schott Applied Power Corporation (SAPC) is already a leading supplier of photovoltaic systems in the United States. As a system integrator, the company develops and markets individual complete systems. The components, such as photovoltaic modules, batteries and DC-AC inverters, are purchased from various suppliers. From the earliest years of its existence, SAPC has belonged to a small group of companies selected by the US government to carry out publicly-funded photovoltaic projects. Today the Schott subsidiary is known for its many years of experience but also for its broad range of products and services. Larger past projects include the electrification of rural areas in Brazil, turnkey systems for the operation of telecommunications systems, the conversion of solar energy into electricity for buildings connected to a municipal power supply and consumer goods applications (e.g. for private mobile homes and cabin cruisers).


Solar Power - makes Economic Sense

The economic efficiency of photovoltaic arrays is often underestimated. 'One of the reasons is that we generally only think of state subsidized projects such as the '100,000 Roof Program'in Germany,'says Harre. In fact it is hard to conceive the on-grid share (connected to public utilities) of the market without subsidies. In so doing, people overlook the many off-grid applications. These arrays actually are cheaper than the costs associated with connection to the grid. Examples include parking meters, emergency telephones and traffic signs on motorways, as well as telecommunications networks.

In a vast and thinly populated continent like Australia, photovoltaic generators are also used in telecommunications as they are considerably more durable than diesel generators. Solar powered generators usually have an operating guarantee of 25 years. ‘Two thirds of the photovoltaic market is also attractive from a purely economic point of view’, states Harre. This also guarantees companies operating in this business a certain degree of autonomy from political decisions. In the long term the trend is towards environmentally friendly energy. According to a study carried out by Shell, the climate protection target to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions can only be achieved by supplying half of the world’s energy requirements with renewable energy by the year 2060.

A large market for photovoltaics is opening up in the structurally weak countries of the Third World. Here solar energy offers the only possibility of providing billions of people with electricity for lighting, refrigeration and communications - and that without placing additional burden on the environment. This too is an important reason for Schott's commitment to photovoltaics. SAPC’s experience in this area provides an excellent foundation. It has already carried out several projects in rural areas in Brazil, Mexico, India, Bolivia, Kenya and Sri Lanka.


Competence in Glass and Coating

From the technical point of view, Schott’s expertise in the development, production and coating of glass make the photovoltaics business very attractive. Although the conventional silicon wafer technology will continue to dominate the market in the foreseeable future, in the long term, experts see a trend towards thin film solar modules which promise to be significantly less expensive to make. These consist of glass or metal panels several square meters in size, onto which a layer of semiconductor material only a few micrometers thick is applied. In this way large size solar cells can be produced quickly and with low material and energy usage. These cells still lack efficiency (approx. 8%) but research is currently concentrated on increasing this. The efficiency of screen printed solar cells is 12 to 15 percent. The thin film technology shows potential for good long term growth.

SHADE Award First Prize
Solar shading in a redevelopment of London's Cannon Street station
By Henry Kong

Henry Kong's architecturally ambitious project uses louvres in a ventilated cavity and atrium roof to provide 'fractal shading' tailored to occupant needs.

'Traditionally, individual control of shading has been hampered because architectural uniformity was seen as important. The 'fractal shading'concept celebrates diversity with a wide range of colours and orientations in the shading array,'explained BRE's Dr Paul Littlefair, one of the Award organisers. 'With this sort of shading, occupants wouldn't be made to feel the odd ones out if they wanted to open their louvres.'

The judges liked the 'playful and light'building and the way the shading worked well with the architectural idea of sloping planes. They also praised the attention to detail; issues like shading from reflections in the river water, and the need for internal shading between different parts of the complex building, were included. At night the closed louvres could double as an advertising screen visible across the River Thames.


SHADE Award second place design
Solar shading for an office building next to Cardiff Bay
By Eftychia Eliopoulou

Eftychia Eliopoulou's design for an office building next to Cardiff Bay incorporates striking diagonally sloping louvres to shade the main west facade of the building.

The louvre design is the result of her own painstaking analysis using the Welsh School of Architectureís heliodon. The building face is serpentine in plan, and therefore the optimum angle for the louvres varies along it, generating a boldly patterned facade. The louvre framework is set apart from the windows to provide wind shelter on this exposed site. Within the building atrium, however, the louvres are set inside the glass outer skin to enhance stack effects; air rises as it meets the warm louvres, providing a flow for natural ventilation.


SHADE Award third place design
Solar shading in a terraced housing scheme
By Nikki Hilton

In section, each three-storey house in Nikki Hilton's terraced housing scheme is designed around a double walled timber frame which zigzags to form the floors and alternate outer walls. Timber louvres are built into this frame to provide shading, and privacy at street level. At the top of the south facing garden facade, the timber frame forms an overhang to provide protection against summer sunlight.

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Photovoltaic systems: Turning Light into Power

The most important component in a photovoltaic array is the solar cell, where light is converted into electricity. About ten to 100 cells form a module. Depending on the electrical output required, several modules are coupled together into a solar generator. In this way arrays with capacities ranging from a few milliwatts to several megawatts can be set up. The costs incurred can be divided half and half between the photomodule and the coupling into an integrated system.

SHADE Award Winners

The winner was Henry Kong for his innovative design for the solar shading of a redevelopment of London's Cannon Street station.

SHADE Award second place design: Solar shading for an office building next to Cardiff Bay by Eftychia Eliopoulou

SHADE Award third place design
Solar shading in a terraced housing scheme by Nikki Hilton