Solar Industry Facing “Gross Oversupply”

What happens to an industry when the price of a core component suddenly drops, the credit crisis hits, countries get ready to cut important subsidies, and a new type of technology is disrupting the established players? Well, for the traditional solar industry that’s what happened in 2009. As a result, 2010 will be a year of “gross oversupply” of solar modules and significant “consolidation” according to a report from Pike Research. In other words traditional solar PV suppliers and manufacturers are facing yet another rough year in 2010.
For some of the weaker solar players that means they could get snapped up by the bigger firms, who will be looking to acquire companies that are struggling for a discount. As Pike senior analyst Dave Cavanaugh put it in a statement, there are “190 cell and module manufacturers, making consolidation of weaker competitors an inevitable outcome.”
Other large manufacturers will be looking to acquire solar project developers, solar thermal companies, and solar energy monitoring companies in a bid to diversify and vertically integrate. Late last year MEMC Electronic Materials, a company that makes silicon wafers for the solar industry, announced that it would buy up SunEdison, one of the pioneers of the solar as a service business model. About the same time National Semiconductor said it had acquired power monitoring software maker Energy Recommerce.
Competition and consolidation might not be great for the firms that have to sell on the cheap, but it will likely help the solar industry accomplish two goals: make the solar industry financially stronger, and help drop the cost of solar even closer to grid parity. Competition “will create downward pressure for module average selling prices (ASPs), which will accelerate grid parity for the cost of solar-produced power to the 2013 timeframe in many markets,” says Cavanaugh. The solar companies that will survive will offer the lowest costs per watt, have the most efficient modules and will be able to provide vertically integrated services.
But of course the solar market is still growing pretty nicely, despite the jerk in supply and demand. The solar energy market will grow 43 percent year over year in 2010 to 10.1 GW, according to Pike.

 http://earth2tech.com/2010/05/19/solar-industry-facing-gross-oversupply/

Using thin film to trap solar energy less expensive'

VADODARA: When experts from several countries converge at an international conference on ‘energy storage and harvesting' in Germany at the end of this month, an engineer from the city will be the only Indian to attend it.

Dilip Joshi, who is a superintendent engineer in GETCO, will attend the two-day conference starting on May 26, meant exclusively for people who want to encourage the use of renewable energy.

Joshi got the invite as he had presented two papers during the Photovoltaic World Conference organised by Renewable Energy World Council in USA earlier this year. "I was the only Indian who attended and presented two papers on how solar energy can be stored by using substitute material that costs much less. Over 4,000 participants attended the conference. I had sent three papers of which two got selected," Joshi told TOI.

He got good response from the organisers who have now invited him to attend yet another international conference. "I have been studying the subject of solar energy and how to reduce manufacturing cost of solar equipment. I had suggested on using a thin film, which is cheaper than the currently-used silicon, for trapping solar energy and storing it in large quantity. The film will work even in diffused sunlight and it gets solar energy through heat instead of light," Joshi said.

Joshi, in fact, even impressed investors from some countries who are now interested in setting up solar energy plants in Gujarat. "My concept was liked by representatives from some countries who are interested in investing in Gujarat. Two investors are planning to visit the state in next couple of months," Joshi added.

However, despite his good work in the non-conventional energy area, the state government hasn't done anything to support him. "I spend money from my pocket for attending these conferences. It would be good if the government helps me so that I can do more research and represent my country," Joshi said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Vadodara/Using-thin-film-to-trap-solar-energy-less-expensive-/articleshow/5895341.cms

UAE firm in $545 mn deal with Aditya Solar Power

UAE-based company Mulk Holding has announced an agreement with Bangalore-based Aditya Solar Power Industries to develop a 200 megawatt solar thermal project in the UAE.

The holding company said one of its subsidiaries, Mulk Renewable Energy, will supply and install solar thermal power plants for Aditya Solar in a deal valued at 2 billion dirhams (USD 545 million).

According to the agreement, Mulk Renewable Energy will create a joint venture with Aditya Solar to develop the project.

"The project will be implemented in two phases. Phase one will see the execution of a 40 MW plant by 2012 and the balance of 160 MW by 2013," the company said in a statement. Mulk Renewable Energy will have a 25 per cent equity stake in the first 40 MW.

"Major components will be manufactured in the UAE and exported to India for the initial phase and a full-fledged manufacturing facility of 500 MW capacity will be established in India for the next phases," it said.

Mulk Holding has invested 5 million dirhams in research and development of solar plants and expects a 500-million-dirham revenue from the first year of operation of the power plant.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/power/UAE-firm-in-545-mn-deal-with-Aditya-Solar-Power/articleshow/5777094.cms

Moser Baer makes solar breakthrough

New Delhi: Moser Baer PhotoVoltaic, the solar module manufacturing arm of Moser Baer India, has increased its thin film solar module manufacturing capacity by 20% to 50 million watts per year, thanks to a technological breakthrough.
The company, which manufactures low-cost solar modules by spraying a thin film of amorphous or non-crystalline silicon onto glass panels, said it has become the second company in the world to achieve a 7.3% conversion efficiency for its ‘thin film’ modules. The breakthrough came through research conducted at its facility near New Delhi, it said in a release.
Amorphous Silicon (a-Si) thin film panels typically have an energy conversion ratio of around 6%, meaning that they are able to convert about 6% of the sunlight falling on them into electricity. Each square foot of the Earth’s surface typically receives about 100 watt of energy.
With the increase in efficiency, its cost of production has gone down by 20% and each of its 7.5 foot long thin film module will now produce around 400 watts of electricity, up from 340 watts earlier, at more or less the same cost.
“This landmark breakthrough has been achieved by judicious optimisation of multiple layers in the device structure,” the company said in a release, adding that it will help it address “certain sections of the market” in three to six months.
The company is believed to be targeting the opportunities thrown open by the newly announced ‘National Solar Mission’. a-Si thin film manufacturers have their job cut out as other thin film technologies have already reached higher commercial efficiency levels.
First Solar, the world’s largest thin film manufacturer, claims an efficiency level of around 11% for its Cadmium Telluride based modules. Announcing its December quarter results, it also said its manufacturing costs had fallen to 85 cents per watt of peak installed capacity, 21% lower than a year ago.
While thin films are estimated to be comparable to conventional technologies on an capex per peak-watt model, they are about twice as expensive as coal when measured on the basis of each unit of power produced as they work only for 8-12 hours a day.
To be commercially attractive, solar power has to be priced at around 20 cents (Rs 9) per unit, compared to coal (around 10 cents).
Besides thin films, Moser Baer PV also has an annual capacity to manufacture around 70 to 80 million watts (mw) of crystalline silicon modules.
However, with 40-50% higher prices, the company is positioning crystalline modules primarily for export and area-constrained applications, such as rooftops.
http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_moser-baer-makes-solar-breakthrough_1359101

Germany to trim solar power subsidies on July 1

BERLIN
Germany is planning a deep cut into solar power subsidies this summer in a move aimed at lowering consumer costs, the governing coalition parties said Tuesday.
The price paid for electricity from solar panels on roofs will be cut by 16 percent and that from larger solar power stations by 15 percent starting July 1, Hans-Peter Friedrich of the governing CSU said.
Currently, the power grid owners are forced by law to buy solar power at 39 euro cents (53 U.S. cents) per kilowatt hour, while the market price is only about 5 euro cents per kilowatt hour. They are allowed to pass the difference on to consumers.
The prices were already cut by 9 percent at the beginning of the year.
The new cut is meant to bring down the subsidy's cost for consumers by euro1 billion a year, according to Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen.
The solar industry protested against the plans, saying yet another decrease would drive companies into bankruptcy and cost thousands of jobs.
The decision puts the survival of the whole industry at risk, the German solar power federation BSW said on Tuesday.
Plans to further trim solar subsidies were first presented by Roettgen in January. Initially, he had planned to make the cuts effective three months earlier, by April 1.
Germany has been heavily subsidizing solar power and other renewable energies since 2000, prompting an industry boom.
The production of photovoltaic energy rose from 32 million kilowatt hours in 2000 to 4.4 billion kilowatt hours in 2008, according to industry reports.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9E20UK80.htm

Taiwan hopes solar power plant will boost its solar energy industry

Taiwan is home to Asia's largest solar power plant. The island hopes this new facility will boost its solar energy industry.

Sitting on a two-hectare site in southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung County, the massive energy farm is equipped with 141 huge solar panels. Together, they can produce 100 megawatts of electricity each year.

Established by Taiwan's Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, the facility - which started operating last December - will help Taiwan cut its carbon emissions significantly.

Dr Chen Meng-Chu, researcher, High Concentration Photovoltaic R&D Project, said: "The plant could reduce 650 to 700 tonnes of carbon emissions if compared with a coal power plant. And it is 1,000 tonnes lower than a fuel power plant."

With more than 300 days of sunlight annually, local officials said southern Taiwan is the ideal location for developing the photovoltaic industry.

Dr Chen said: "We hope to connect nearby facilities, such as Xinda power plant and the oceanic research centre, to form a low carbon community. And we hope to better develop Kaohsiung's solar industry." 
While the solar plant is bringing more energy developments to the southern city, it also has a host of new advancements to boost its efficiency. For example, sensors can change the direction of solar panels by tracking the sun's movements.

But it comes at a higher cost. According to the researchers, the power generated by the plant costs US$8 to produce, compared to traditional solar power plants, which cost around US$3.

However, solar manufacturers in the nearby industrial park believe the price tag will come down with large-scale development and commercialisation.

Lin Wen-Chang, president, Epoch Energy Technology Corp, said: "We have a wide application of solar energy in southern Taiwan already. You can see many solar-powered lights and signs inside the industrial park."

With their sights set on the international market, manufacturers said the future looks promising.

Chang Jung-Yuan, plant manager, NanoWin Thin Film Tech Company, said: "We know the Copenhagen Conference is just over. It seems the demand will grow 45 per cent in 2010, with a 50 per cent annual increase in the following 10 years. The market size is massive."

Taiwan's solar energy industry is estimated to be worth up to US$6.25 billion by 2020. - CNA/ms  
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/eastasia/view/1032974/1/.html