PES Solar 1 2019

meteocontrol Ecoprogetti Sintef Conference Call We hear exclusively from product PES caught up with CEO, Laura We hear the views of Senior We look ahead and preview the SOLAR/PV manager, Markus Holzapfel Sartore for her exclusive insight Research Scientist, Martin Intersolar Europe 2019 in Munich Bellmann – regarded by many as the most important trade fair around the globe each year As always, we are delighted to present you with the latest product & technology innovations as well as project developments and advances from a number of key mover’s and shaker’s in the market. Plus, our regular helping of opinion, industry insight & analysis. POWER & ENERGY SOLUTIONS • ISSUE 34, 2019 Managing PV Energy It will come as no surprise that the industry continues to change at an almost unrelenting rate. But it may be down to how we manage and react to these changes that shape the future of the market moving forward. From cost reduction, increased efficiency and the digitalization of data, how are we managing to keep solar PV ahead in the global energy race?

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CONTENTS Meteocontrol Ecoprogetti Sintef Conference Call We hear exclusively from product PES caught up with CEO, Laura We hear the views of Senior We look ahead and preview the SOLAR/PV manager, Markus Holzapfel Sartore for her exclusive insight Research Scientist, Martin Intersolar Europe 2019 in Munich Bellmann – regarded by many as the most important trade fair around the globe each year As always, we are delighted to present you with the latest product & technology innovations as well as project developments and advances from a number of key mover’s and shaker’s in the market. Plus, our regular helping of opinion, industry insight & analysis. POWER & ENERGY SOLUTIONS • ISSUE 34, 2019 Managing PV Energy It will come as no surprise that the industry continues to change at an almost unrelenting rate. But it may be down to how we manage and react to these changes that shape the future of the market moving forward. From cost reduction, increased efficiency and the digitalization of data, how are we managing to keep solar PV ahead in the global energy race? Editor’s note POWER & ENERGY SOLUTIONS As we move swiftly into Q2, I am delighted to bring you our first international edition of 2019, it has been a whirlwind start to the year with a number of developments globally. Directors Despite several examples of well publicised political uncertainly in a number of regions, Stuart Gillies the mood in our market seems as high as it has been for some time. Subsequently, this Mark Wilson issue is brimming with features giving us both optimism and innovation, as well as Stefann Perrigot technology advancements. Client Liaison Manager Unsurprisingly, we are looking forward with great anticipation toward Intersolar Europe Vikki Birch in Munich, which forms a part of the wider The Smarter E Europe from May 15th - 17th 2019. Have you booked your tickets yet? It’s not too late. Editor Elaine Perrigot This event continues to evolve year on year, you can see our annual preview in here, and [email protected] we look forward to seeing you in Munich. Associate Editors We continue to see lower module costs, and this will surely continue to drive deployment Stephen Pearson in the industry. We would also expect this to garner the attention of policymakers in Zachary George some of the already, and soon to be emerging markets when it comes to investing in the potential of our technology. Design Andrew Jenkins As ever, in this issue the hot topics include energy efficiency, monitoring and a plethora [email protected] of cost-saving solutions and innovations. Investments to R&D remain key and an integral part of the development of our industry moving forward. Production Paul Lawson We have some exclusive feature interviews with some of the key players in the market, [email protected] offering us their thoughts and foresight of a number of topics. As always, we also bring you several must-read technical insights, industry opinion and product developments as Sales Enquiries well as a look at some of the most exciting projects being planned and delivered around [email protected] the world. General Enquiries Sit back, relax and enjoy the read. [email protected] Elaine Perrigot Media Partnership Enquiries Editor [email protected] Advertising Opportunities [email protected] PES is published by P&G Media Ltd P&G Media Ltd PO Box 310, Bristol, BS10 5WT, United Kingdom This publication is copyright © 2017 P&G Media Ltd and may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form in whole or in part without the prior permission of P&G Media Ltd. While every care has been taken during the preparation of this publication, P&G Media cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information published herein or any consequence arising from it. From sustainably managed forests. For more information visit: www.pefc.org www.pessolar.com WWW.PESSOLAR.COM 3

CONTENTS 24 Markus Holzapfel, Product 48 PES caught up with Laura Sartore, CEO 108 Martin Bellmann is a Senior Research Manager at meteocontrol at Ecoprogetti, to get the latest from this Scientist at SINTEF. We were pleased GmbH spoke to PES about innovative manufacturer of photovoltaic to meet up with him at PES to discuss the reasons, the process and panels, who has been in our business for over some of the research developments, benefits for the industry of the 20 years. Cost reduction, reduced downtimes driven by their customers. We were certification of meteocontrol’s are always in the forefront of R&D work, as also keen to hear all about the Eco Solar Power Plant Controller well as European and safety regulations. EU project, which received massive EU investment, with excellent results Meteocontrol Ecoprogetti Sintef Conference Call 6 It’s that time of year again! We look ahead and preview We hear exclusively from product PES caught up with CEO, Laura We hear the views of Senior We look ahead and preview the the biggest and most important event on the global SOLAR/PV manager, Markus Holzapfel Sartore for her exclusive insight Research Scientist, Martin Intersolar Europe 2019 in Munich Bellmann – regarded by many as the most important trade fair around the solar calendar in 2019. The Intersolar Europe in globe each year Munich from the 15th to 17th May As always, we are delighted to present you with the latest product & technology innovations as well as project developments and advances from a number of key mover’s and shaker’s in the market. Plus, our regular helping of opinion, industry insight & analysis. POWER & ENERGY SOLUTIONS • ISSUE 34, 2019 Managing PV Energy 12 This issue’s lead feature looks further into how technological innovation and increasing It will come as no surprise that the industry continues to change at an almost unrelenting rate. But it may be down to how we manage and react investments are driving the solar tracker market – to these changes that shape the future of the market moving forward. courtesy of Niketan Arawade, Research Analyst, From cost reduction, increased efficiency and the digitalization of data, how are we managing to keep solar PV ahead in the global energy race? Adroit Market Research Comment 28 PID is being talked about more 78 Andrea Schartner, Solar Energy, 125 P eter Thiele, president of and more in our industry. Head of Communications at Tsachy Hacohen Meler, V.P. Sales & Fronius International GmbH gives PES Sharp Energy Solutions in Europe, Marketing, Vigdu Technologies LTD, an update on the progress of their 24 looks at the development of solar invited PES to come and discover the hours of sun vision. Smart solutions such module technology and renewable latest way to avoid financial losses and as continuously adjustable regulation energy in the year and decade ahead improve efficiency and their award winning Ohmpilot are edging them nearer to this goal Ask the experts 38 With innovative GPS/GSM-based 94 M atthias Mack, Director Global 16 Gordon Clements General Manager of security systems for solar panels and solar parks, viamon has made a name Alternative Energies and member of the VARTA Storage, dropped by to give PES for itself globally for protecting solar Management Board at Stäubli, came to his views on the energy storage market. parks around the world from theft. PES talk to PES about electrical connectors. A market, which he is sure will continue invited, engineer, founder and managing These small components play a crucial to grow. Systems have to evolve director Oliver Strecke, to give us his role in a long-term partnership between quickly and be adaptable to meet the insight into the company’s technology our company and the customer. This is consumers’ changing needs and there and the expanding market built on reliability, thoughtful expertise, are many combinations on offer dynamism and exceptional quality, in 72 PES was interested to find out from both products and services 20 PES met up with Stacey Delzeit, Sr Donald van Velsen, Product Manager 104 The UK’s battery storage market has Applications Engineer at Trojan, which at Kipp & Zonen, about the latest as you know is a world-famous name developments and feedback on their great potential, but the current political in batteries. Despite making batteries DustIQ. We also wanted to learn if the uncertainty in the country means that for almost 100 years, R&D continues to recent changes, following the merger many projects are being put on the back produce new, exciting and innovative with the Meteorology division of burner. In which areas does it still make products, which provide great flexibility OTT HydroMet, would make any sense to invest in storage systems? PES to the end user difference to their solutions wanted to find out more from Lawrie Wilson, Area Manager for the UK and ROI at Tesvolt, and Simon Patterson, CEO of MSP Technologies 4 PES SOLAR

CONTENTS 88 Think tank 98 h .a.l.m. GmbH help us to understand Talking point 56 Dr Omid Shojaei and Loris Barraud, how standardization efforts by 42 With over 500 GW of installed capacity, the International Electrotechnical Indeotec, explain why silicon Commission (IEC) for measuring PV photovoltaic power generation has heterojunction solar cells (SHJ) have devices have played a key role in the long since become a global industry. gained more attention during this past widespread application of this technology. Financial and economic interests decade and are seen by many as a good With the maturing and diversification of depend on the reliable production of candidate for being the next generation the PV industry new standards, which PV energy. The German PV expert, of mainstream photovoltaics. This might define power measurements beyond Solare Datensysteme, has specialized be explained as a consequence of high standard test conditions (STC) are in monitoring PV power generation solar cell power conversion efficiency at becoming more relevant since 2007 a moderate cost. The efficiency potential of SHJ solar cell is now demonstrated, Corporate focus 60 We are delighted to hear from with outstanding solar cell efficiencies exceeding 25% reported from R&D labs 32 Sputter deposition is a technology for Kees Hoogendijk & Mário Pó at EKO Instruments, as they talk us 64 Meyer Burger has been providing the surface treatment of substrates. The through the evolution of the spectral technique is based on ion bombardment measurement technology and the most accurate cell and module of a target, resulting in a vapor. One of the applications in the solar market measurement equipment worldwide for most common approaches for growing over 30 years. Solar cells and modules are thin films by sputter deposition is the use 68 An exclusive look into a key merger sold based on performance categories. of a magnetron source, in which positive Therefore, precise performance ions present in the plasma. Well known and the evolution of a new name in the measurement is critically important. Cell as direct current (DC sputtering) for market specializing in recycling and the and module inspection systems detect conductive targets and radio frequency process chain for PV possible quality insufficiencies and (RF sputtering) for nonconductive measure the performance targets. Magnetron sputtering in diverse 114 In the past decade, significant progress modes like DC, pulsed DC, bipolar and 84 An exclusive viewpoint from Coveme, RF is available on the market – An insight has been made to move the world from SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES towards a cleaner era in electricity as they give us an insight into some of production. Investment in renewables the new developments of transparent 88 We all know how important, yet difficult it and advancing technology has resulted plastic materials in frontsheets and in a decrease in the overall cost of backsheets as valid alternatives to glass can be to keep solar panels clean. Various generating renewable power. Hear the improvements have been made over the viewpoint of Aggreko years and now PV Cleaning has made a significant improvement with a new 118 K ameleon Solar is taking a refreshing mobile brush concept. PES brings you their range of easily adapted solutions and innovative approach to tackling issues in the burgeoning market of façades in PV WWW.PESSOLAR.COM 5

CONFERENCE CALL Renewable, digital, decentralized: the future of energy supply We are pleased to bring you our PES preview of Intersolar Europe 2019, the first major Solar/PV event of the year, which will take place in Munich from the 15th to 17th May. The global photovoltaic (PV) market continues to grow. According to analysts from IHS Markit, newly installed PV capacity is set to rise by 18% to 123 gigawatts in 2019, with two thirds of this capacity located outside of China. 6 PES SOLAR

CONFERENCE CALL The new installations are expected to be for decentralized systems. And the Spanish exhibition space in ten halls, The smarter E more widely distributed geographically, with government recently announced ambitious Europe is an unmissable international demand growing by more than 20% plans for the future that will see the meeting point for the energy industry. compared with 2018 in 45 countries. The country switch over to 100 percent London-based analysts predict that Egypt, renewables by 2050. Intersolar Europe brings industry trends Argentina, Spain, South Africa and Vietnam to life alone will account for 7% of the global In Germany, the installation of storage capacity added in 2019. devices will become even more attractive In June 2018, the total worldwide capacity of from 2021 as PV systems begin to lose their solar and wind energy installations reached Hybrid power plants, which see eligibility for the Renewable Energy Sources the one terawatt mark (1,000 gigawatts) – a photovoltaics, wind power and other Act (EEG) feed-in tariffs – the storage milestone for the new energy world. The renewable energies being paired with a devices will then make it possible to increase reasons behind the continuing boom are storage system, are on the rise. The world’s self-consumption. The photovoltaic varied. According to a study by the largest PV/wind hybrid power plant, a industry is driven by growth, innovation, and management and strategy consultant 160megawatt (MW) system, is currently a spirit of optimism. Deloitte, leaving country-specific subsidies being developed in the state of Andhra out of consideration, the cost of solar and Pradesh in India. Photovoltaics will contribute The best place to find out about these wind power has become comparable to or 120MW of energy, with wind power producing developments is the annual event Intersolar even lower than that of traditional energy another 40MW. The system is completed by a Europe, the world’s leading exhibition for sources in many parts of the world. battery with a storage capacity of 40MW. the solar industry. Intersolar Europe 2019 shows industry professionals the way Thanks to smart inverters and modern In Andhra Pradesh alone, combined PV/wind forward to the energy world of tomorrow, control units, solar and wind energy are able power plants with a capacity of 3gigawatts are exploring both the opportunities and the to compete with conventional energy due to be built by 2022. And Europe is also challenges expected along the way. This sources in terms of frequency, voltage and sending out positive signals. The 2018 comprehensive overview is made possible expansion. And technical developments are decision to end the minimum import price for by The smarter E Europe. accelerating the deployment of renewable photovoltaic products manufactured in China, energies: Automation and cutting-edge Malaysia and Taiwan has made solar energy The innovation hub for new energy solutions manufacturing processes are reducing more affordable in many EU countries. is Europe’s largest energy industry platform production costs. and brings together four exhibitions: In addition, Spain has abolished the ‘sun Intersolar Europe, ees Europe, Power2Drive Artificial intelligence is improving the tax’ previously collected on PV self- Europe and EM-Power. With 1,300 exhibitors accuracy of weather forecasts, which helps consumption, which provides fresh impetus across more than 100,000 square meters of to optimize the use of renewable resources. WWW.PESSOLAR.COM 7

CONFERENCE CALL Blockchain is revolutionizing the markets for present examples of how private, The Intersolar AWARD is an indicator of the green power certificates, and new materials commercial and industrial customers can innovative strength of the industry. The are improving the physical characteristics of optimize local resources, as well as exploring Photovoltaics category honors pioneering solar and wind power installations. trends in this area and discussing photovoltaic technologies and services that developments and business opportunities are propelling the worldwide success of solar There are a number of notable technical for linking decentralized energy resources energy. The smarter E AWARD was presented trends in the solar industry. Monocrystalline with the power grid. in the categories Outstanding Projects and cells and modules are achieving higher levels Smart Renewable Energy last year for the first of efficiency compared with polycrystalline time. The ees AWARD pays tribute to leading technology and are enjoying substantial products and solutions for stationary and growth. Modules with half-cut cells are able mobile electrical energy storage systems. The to reduce electrical losses by up to 75 prizes will be awarded on the 15th May 2019 at percent, and the move from 4 busbar to 6 The smarter E Forum in hall B3, booth B3.570. busbar technology has enabled as much as a 0.5 percent increase in capacity. ees Europe: Energy storage systems are on the rise Not only do new inverters convert direct current to alternating current and act as the The energy storage market is booming electronic ‘brain’ of PV installations, but they worldwide. All kinds of systems – be they are increasingly becoming a digital jack of all virtual power plants, PV power plants, or trades. Suppliers are using new digital hybrid power plants – are increasingly being platforms to combine their core expertise in coupled with large energy storage the field of PV inverters with software and installations. Continually sinking prices for cloud services. photovoltaic systems make solar power increasingly economical, and these savings Discover the new trends and technologies of create more scope for investing in the solar industry at Intersolar Europe 2019 supplementary storage solutions. The in Munich. For the first time, the exhibition is combination of PV and storage systems focusing more closely on production provides important services for supply technologies. The PV industry will be security and grid stability for the energy introducing its production solutions and world of the future. innovative manufacturing technologies in the newly built hall C1. The Intersolar Europe Conference will focus on markets, technologies and financing for PV projects. Added to market development in Europe, experts will be shining a light on markets in Africa and in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa). Attendees will also learn about new applications such as solar installations in façades, on agricultural land and on water. At the Smart Renewable Systems Conference, taking place at the same time, the spotlight is turned on intelligent energy systems, from virtual power plants and microgrids to smart markets. Experts will 8 PES SOLAR

The World’s Leading Exhibition for the Solar Industry MESSE MÜNCHEN, GERMANY From solar cells to solar power plants From inverters to monitoring From international markets to new business models Intersolar Europe: for the best overview in a dynamic market 50,000 energy experts from 160 nations and 1,300 exhibitors at four parallel exhibitions – come and be part of The smarter E Europe!

CONFERENCE CALL The latest examples of PV and energy charging stations in Germany. The connection, communication and storage combinations will be firmly in the international exhibition Power2Drive Europe automation between the people, devices spotlight at this year’s ees Europe, the presents charging solutions and and systems involved, and ensure that all of continent’s largest and most international technologies for electric vehicles and this is done at the necessary speed. exhibition for batteries and energy storage reflects the interaction between electric systems. At the ees Europe Conference, vehicles and an environmentally friendly Smart metering systems are an important participants will also discuss the impressive energy supply. precondition for efficient energy monitoring dynamics of the energy storage market, and and for energy management in industrial explain how improvements in costs and The Power2Drive Europe Conference offers enterprises, singular properties, building technologies, changes in policy and an overview of the most important market complexes and neighborhoods. From smart regulation, and innovative business models and technological trends for e-mobility in the building automation to energy management, contribute to the progress of the industry. renewable energy system. The conference EM-Power, the exhibition for intelligent provides answers as to how this energy use in industry and buildings, puts the Power2Drive Europe: Charging comprehensive charging infrastructure is spotlight on professional energy customers. infrastructure is key developing globally and where to find promising markets. Further topics include At The smarter E Europe, 50,000 trade visitors The key to the transportation transition on successful business and billing models and from 165 nations come together to explore European roads is comprehensive charging legal frameworks. new technologies and solutions for the infrastructure. Interconnecting e-mobility modern energy world. As the foremost and renewable energies is absolutely EM-Power: cost efficiency with smart industry platform, The smarter E Europe does essential, as this is the only way to ensure a metering not just bring together four energy exhibitions benefit to the climate. A number of under one roof. A single ticket will also gain companies have now announced their Digitalization is essential for the smart you entry to four conferences – the Smart intentions to enter the market. Spanish coupling of the electricity, heating and Renewable Systems Conference, Intersolar energy producer Endesa aims to install over mobility sectors. A decentralized energy Europe Conference, ees Europe Conference 108,000 charging stations within the next system which is based on renewable and Power2Drive Europe Conference – where five years. energies, and involves a multitude of you can learn more about every aspect of the stakeholders and small PV installations, renewable, decentralized and digital energy In Italy, innogy plans to install 300 charging storage devices, heat pumps and charging supply of tomorrow. stations in multi-story parking garages this points for electric cars, will only be possible year, and Deutsche Telekom is set to convert with digitalization. Intelligent measuring www.TheSmarterE.de 12,000 distribution boxes into public systems – smart meters – enable 10 PES SOLAR

International Exhibition and Conference for the Solar Industry WORLD TRADE CENTER, MEXICO CITY Reach a market with extraordinary growth potential – Mexico ranks 5th for new solar capacity by 2021 13,000 attendees – join the largest gathering of professionals in the fields of solar, renewable energy and cleantech The perfect match: Intersolar and THE GREEN EXPO® are teaming up for a sustainable Mexico Co-located Events

PES ESSENTIAL Technological innovation and increasing investments drive the solar tracker market Words: Niketan Arawade, Research Analyst, Adroit Market Research 12 PES SOLAR

PES ESSENTIAL Niketan Arawade Global energy consumption is steadily increasing, with an average increase in energy demand twice the year before. The demand was primarily met by fossil fuels, followed by renewable energy sources. In the year 2018, renewables accounted for more than 25% of global electricity supply capacity and this share is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. WWW.PESSOLAR.COM 13

PES ESSENTIAL The growing awareness about multiple solar tracking systems have become are initiative to encourage solar energy advantages of solar energy such as cost- critical components of utility-grade solar production includes the International Solar effectiveness and environmental benefits power plants. Alliance between India and France announced over fossil fuels is enabling governments to in March 2018.This alliance will primarily establish utility grade solar plants to power The solar tracker market is one of the most focus on offering subsidies to new solar national grids. In addition to rising energy lucrative market generating $3.90 billion in the power projects to increase solar demand, the falling costs of solar power year 2017 alone and expected to continue to infrastructure in India. Similar government generation and ambitious environmental grow at a cumulative average growth rate initiatives are ongoing across the regions, policies are encouraging new solar plants to close to 25% from 2018 to 2025, according to specifically in Asia, Latin America, and Africa be established. the research study published by Adroit market which will subsequently fuel the market for research in December 2018. The same study solar trackers in the respective regions. The solar trackers are a key component in specifies that the market value for solar solar power system as much as PV cells and trackers will cross $25 Billion in value by 2025. Other key factors driving the market for solar others. Initially, the fixed solar panels were trackers are consistently falling costs of solar used for only small-scale commercial or This market is directly dependent on panels and significant advancement of solar residential applications. However, as the establishing new utility-grade solar plants as technology. Internet of things (IoT) is the popularity and demand for solar energy the adoption of solar trackers for residential or major technology impacting the solar power increased, new utility-scale commercial solar commercial use is currently lower. The factors generation industry. The integration of IoT in plants were established. Such solar plants such as rising energy demand, heavy solar tracking is proving to be highly efficient required highly efficient solar tracking consumption and decreasing reserves of fossil in terms of improved field coverage and systems to ensure maximum energy output, fuels are encouraging the establishment of higher energy output. hence there was a requirement of solar new solar plants as an alternate energy source. tracking systems capable of collecting solar Most importantly, rising environmental In addition, the IoT based tracking solutions energy throughout the day irrespective of awareness and government initiatives to offer effective on-field resource the sun’s position. Ever since different type encourage the production of solar energy in management and also reduce the cost of of solar trackers and tracking systems are major countries will significantly fuel the field operations. Most leading solar tracker used to orient solar panels towards the sun at demand for solar trackers. vendors are already offering IoT based solar all hours of the day. Today, solar trackers and tracking solutions. For instance, in 2017, The most recent example of a government 14 PES SOLAR

PES ESSENTIAL ‘Other key factors driving the market for solar trackers are consistently falling costs of solar panels and significant advancement of solar technology. Internet of things (IoT) is the major technology impacting the solar power generation industry. The integration of IoT in solar tracking is proving to be highly efficient in terms of improved field coverage and higher energy output.’ NEXTracker Inc., a leading solar tech increasing and the utility sector is now Array Technologies and Soitec are second company launched TrueCapture, an shifting its focus towards renewable energy and third respectively in terms of global intelligent solar tracking system which sources from traditional fossil fuels-based market share. Other key vendors in the leverages the IoT platform. The company power generation. Governments are market include SunPower, Hao solar, claims to offer 2 to 3% more energy gains introducing stringent regulations to avoid Smarttrak, DEGERenergie, Grupo Calvino, compared to traditional tracking systems. ever-increasing carbon emission which is Powerway, Scorpius Trackers, Abengoa, enhancing the establishment of large-scale Titan Tracker, and Mecasolar. The leading In general, solar trackers are categorized into solar power plants, positively benefiting the vendors are primarily focusing on new two primary design categories; single axis, solar tracker market. product launches with technological and and dual axis. Dual axis trackers are highly mechanical advances. efficient in comparison with single-axis In terms of regional landscape, the United trackers capturing in an average 35% more States witnessed the largest installations of In the future, the vendors offering solar solar energy in the day time. Still, dual axis solar trackers in the last few years. Asia- trackers with advanced technology, long trackers are costly compared to single-axis Pacific and EMEA regions are the second and term reliability, and cost-effectiveness will ones. Adroit market research analyst third in terms of solar tracker installations lead the market. estimated that the market share for respectively. This market is also experiencing single-axis trackers was higher than dual axis strong growth in Latin America, specifically https://adroitmarketresearch.com trackers in the year 2017. in Mexico and Brazil. The Asian market is industry-reports/solar-tracker-market driven by new solar plant installations in However, the demand for dual axis trackers China, India, and South Asian countries such About Niketan Arawade is increasing consistently due to its higher as Indonesia. These countries are energy output capturing capabilities and strategically investing in new and utility- Niketan has more than 4 years’ operational efficiency despite being costly. scale solar power plants to offer ever- experience in the market research and the Recently planned solar power plants are growing energy demand, which will further consulting industry. He has been part of expected to invest primarily in dual-axis accelerate the market for solar trackers. multiple consulting and market research solar trackers. Similarly, African and Middle Eastern projects in technology, electronics, countries such as the UAE, Egypt, and automotive and energy domain. On the end user side, they are mainly used for Morocco are currently investing heavily in commercial and industrial utility-scale new solar installations. He enjoys writing about new installations. However, the consistent technologies, innovation, and developing decline in the cost of solar technology, The notable vendors in the solar tracker markets across the industries. especially of solar panels and favorable market are NEXTracker, Array Technologies, government initiatives, will boost the and Soitec. The NEXTracker held the largest He currently works for Adroit Market adoption in the residential segment. The market share in 2017, accounting for almost Research. demand for electricity is consistently one-third of global solar tracker market. WWW.PESSOLAR.COM 15

ASK THE EXPERTS: STORAGE Quality, service, reliability, integrity and innovation 16 PES SOLAR

ASK THE EXPERTS: STORAGE Gordon Clements General Manager of VARTA Storage, dropped by to give PES his views on the energy storage market. A market, which he is sure will continue to grow. Systems have to evolve quickly and be adaptable to meet the consumers’ changing needs and there are many combinations on offer. PES: Hi Gordon, welcome back to PES Solar/ first entry on the market, we added a lot of Gordon Clements PV, it’s good to talk to you again. For our new features and benefits that we subsequently readers, could you give us a brief overview of learned consumers either didn’t need, or be at the heart of the smart energy home as VARTA to bring them up to date? didn’t want to pay for. it continues to evolve. We are focussed very much on our strength as a lithium-ion battery Gordon Clements: VARTA Storage GmbH is Therefore, we quickly refined this design and company, our goal is and will continue to be: the daughter of VARTA AG specialising in the launched the modular 3-phase VARTA one L to produce efficient energy storage systems, design, manufacture and application of system. We reduced the set options and which are as open as possible both in terms lithium-ion batteries. Based in Nördlingen, tailored the system to the needs of the early of hardware and software. This is so that Bavaria, we specialise in energy storage as adopters in the market. From these two each and every third-party company well as applications such as power tools, systems we were able to learn a lot about developing applications, for smart energy garden tools, domestic appliances, robotics how the market was developing and this systems and the smart home, can quickly and and material handling systems. resulted in our first mass market product: the easily interface with the VARTA residential modular 3-phase element system. storage system. Thus, providing the user Our strength in the energy storage market is with a system that will continue to meet their that we are a battery company, with a strong The element system is based on lower cost, needs as they grow and evolve in future. brand. We have been producing batteries for higher energy density, NMC technology and in more than 130 years and lithium-ion this system, we focussed mainly on improving When providing a 10-year warranty on our batteries for over 30 years. the set options and performance. This was in system, it is not only important that we are order to meet the needs of the growing still around if our customers need us, we Our well-established brand stands for consumer market in residential storage. must future proof the systems so that they quality, service, reliability, integrity and don’t become obsolete before they reach the innovation and of course safety is our In 2016 we launched the pulse system, to end of their useful lives. number one concern. complement the 3-phase element system with a single-phase wall mounted pulse system. The Additionally, we aim to provide recycling VARTA is a B2B company. In the residential element was optimised for cost, without options for all of our customers in every storage market, we sell our products to compromising on safety or performance. region where we offer the systems for sale. wholesalers, who in turn supply the most important link in the supply chain, our So, as you can see, we have a long history in PES: How is this upturn impacting upon installers. the residential storage market and we are your business? now working very hard to develop the next Installers recommend VARTA systems to generation of products that keep VARTA in GC: Both in Europe, specifically in the DACH customers because they offer quick, easy to the lead with consumers. region and Italy, as well as in Australia we see install, high quality, safe and reliable solutions. positive signs that the business is continuing Over time these give great performance, with PES: We know that energy storage systems to grow and develop. The drivers for this vary minimal maintenance and support. are becoming increasing popular across the from region to region. There is a common world markets – what do you think is behind desire from consumers to protect themselves Currently we have over 4500 qualified this trend? against rising energy costs, to achieve some installers in the European markets and a kind of independence from energy suppliers growing number in Australia. These are GC: We firmly believe that we are at the and to integrate our system together with reinforced by our in-house service and beginning of an energy revolution not at the their Solar PV; hot water, wall box for EV and support team, who are available as required end of the story. It is clear that distributed whatever other components they currently in the unlikely event that an installer needs smart energy systems will play a big part in have and expect to have in future. our help. the future and our goal is to stay in this market for the long haul. We are well prepared to support this growth PES: What is your experience in the solar/ across all regions. We have a sales team in PV industry and is this a significant part of This trend is driven by ever rising energy place wherever we are represented and this your business? costs, reductions or even complete is complemented with the appropriate elimination of feed-in tariffs and the desire technical resources, supplemented by all of GC: VARTA Storage has been in the to be as independent as possible from the our wholesale partners in areas. Our residential storage sector since we launched utility companies. extended and growing team operates around our modular 3-phase VARTA one XL system, the clock, worldwide and are the mainstay of which is still available for sale today, in the Many players in the market will come and go DACH region in 2011. but VARTA have been in the battery business for 130 years and it is our intention to be here This original system, based on LiFePO4 for at least another 130 years. technology, was designed before the storage market really matured, and since it was our Energy storage will play a big part in this future and the residential storage system will WWW.PESSOLAR.COM 17

ASK THE EXPERTS: STORAGE VARTA pulse. The wall-mounted system is available in 3.3 and 6.5 kWh. training to operate the system. After it is installed, they can see all the relevant data our organisation, building trust with our GC: VARTA offers separate solutions for the about their system. For example, if it is partners and consumers in the VARTA brand. domestic user and the commercial/ charging or discharging, the state of charge, industrial user. what happened the days before and how PES: Tell us how your solutions differ for efficiently their whole system is operating. individuals, businesses or for industrial size The modular system works very well in the PES: Please could you tell us about the customers? residential market, as the consumer can start batteries and materials used to build these with a small system and upgrade, as their systems and why they were chosen? GC: Selection of a storage system depends on needs change and their finances allow. GC: As mentioned before, we have been in individual circumstances. It should be noted Currently we offer the free-standing 3-phase the battery business for more than 130 that the market for residential storage systems element system, from 6.5kWh to 13kWh and years and in the lithium-ion business for is made up of two distinct types of system. soon we will launch the 18kWh system. VARTA over 30 years. This is important to for the pulse the wall-mounted single-phase system end consumer to know, as the key Complete systems, as supplied by VARTA, is available in 3.3kWh and 6.5kWh versions. component in any energy storage system is make up more than 65% of the market. This the lithium-ion battery. is a plug and play system, which is fast and PES: Do you supply and fit the systems and Our knowledge and experience enable us to easy to install. In the unlikely event that there is special training needed to operate them? select the right chemistry, cell configuration are any issues during the lifetime of the and electronics, which are required to product the consumer only has to contact us GC: When we surveyed the market and manage the battery safely and efficiently and we will resolve the problem. asked our customers why they decided to throughout the product lifecycle. buy a VARTA Storage System, in more than Not only is it important to select the correct Other suppliers offer a two-box solution 65% of cases they tell us that the number components it is also very important to ensure where the battery and the inverter are one reason was because their installer that these components are tested correctly installed separately. These normally come recommended VARTA. They trust the brand both individually and collectively as a system. from two different suppliers. If there is an and understand that it stands for quality, We have a rigorous approach to this test issue later, it is possible for the consumer to service, innovation and integrity. So, this is regime which is built from years of experience be bounced from one to the other. an easy decision to make. and is designed to ensure that VARTA storage systems operate safely and efficiently under Our systems are AC-coupled and are equally We recognize the contribution that is made by every possible set of circumstances. suitable for customers who already have installers. We have trained more than 4500 Finally, the system has to be certified to both solar PV installed and want to retrofit a and invested a lot of time and money making national and international standards to give storage system. For example, when their sure they are all fully informed and well consumers the confidence they require to feed-in tariff comes to an end. equipped to make a safe, secure installation. select a VARTA system. PES: Moving into the second quarter of Green credentials are still a significant driver, Once the system is installed, the consumer 2019, what are your predictions for the but most consumers buying a storage system can interact with the system via a smartphone solar/PV industry in general and your are coming to the end of their feed-in tariff app or using the online VARTA portal. VARTA company in particular this year? and want to reduce their energy costs. As they remains connected to all systems in the field GC: As I said at the beginning, we are already have PV installed it can be an easy and can automatically monitor and record the confident that this is just the start of the decision to make, especially if there are performance of the system over time. energy revolution. Solar/PV is here to stay government incentives, subsidies to buy, tax and will continue to evolve. The market is deductions, increased tax allowances, or easy If there are any issues these will be flagged growing and we are in it to stay. VARTA will finance on offer. When we offer a solution that to our service team and can often be taken continue to be a leader in energy storage futureproofs the consumer and supports care of without disturbing our end systems for many more years to come. e-Mobility readiness and future smart energy consumer. This feature also allows us to applications, we have a winning combination. continually upgrade the systems in the field www.varta-storage.co.uk and make sure that all systems are running PES: Does the modular system work right the latest, up to date software. VARTA pulse is designed for high energy density in across the industry, why is it so attractive? the smallest space. The end consumer does not need any special 18 PES SOLAR

VARTA Energy Storage Systems Become your own Energy Supplier now! The demand on energy storage systems may vary depending on the type of building, however the desire for reliability and safety applies for all technical solutions. Visit us on booth B1.210 from 15 - 17 May 2019 at the ees Europe in Munich PULSE 3 AND 6 3,3 / 6,5 kWh Compact and handy Fully integrated system with inverter Installed in 30 Minutes 130 Years of Battery Expertise in Your Energy Storage System. www.varta-storage.com

ASK THE EXPERTS: STORAGE A plethora of batteries PES met up with Stacey Delzeit, Sr Applications Engineer at Trojan, which as you know is a world- famous name in batteries. Despite making batteries for almost 100 years, R&D continues to produce new, exciting and innovative products, which provide great flexibility to the end user. There are still more markets to conquer and they relish the challenge. Stacey Delzeit 20 PES SOLAR

ASK THE EXPERTS: STORAGE PES: Hi Stacey, we’ve been working with watering flooded batteries much easier. PES: Do you supply and fit the batteries, or Trojan Battery for a good few years now so can the customer install them? it’s great to welcome you to PES Solar/PV. With an SPWS, the overall watering time is As always, we have new readers, so could reduced, there is no need to remove the SD: Our batteries are sold through a network you give us a brief overview of the company battery caps and the correct amount of of Global Master Distributors, so Trojan to bring them up to date? water is always added. To reduce doesn’t generally work directly with maintenance requirements even further, end-users, for the sale or installation of the Stacey Delzeit: Trojan has been making flooded batteries can be replaced with batteries. Customers typically install their lead-acid batteries in the US since 1925. Our Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM), GEL and own batteries, or have a system integrator to maroon batteries have become synonymous lithium-ion batteries. These are sealed install the batteries as well as other system with quality, durability, and long life. We offer batteries and do not require watering. components. If a customer needs assistance flooded, AGM and GEL lead-acid deep-cycle with determining the proper charge batteries. Recently, we added lithium-ion PES: How is this up turn in the solar/PV parameters for their batteries we are happy batteries to our list of products. market impacting upon your business? to help. PES: What is your experience in the solar/ SD: Several OEM’s have adopted SPWS PES: Please could you tell us about the PV industry and is this a significant part of across the board for the products we supply. batteries and materials used to produce your business? The increase in AGM interest enabled us to them and why they were chosen? add a new solar AGM product line to our SD: People have been using Trojan’s portfolio. SD: Until November 2018, the only type of deep-cycle batteries in solar applications for batteries Trojan produced were lead-acid many years. Our standard ‘golf’ and ‘floor PES: Please tell us how your solutions differ batteries. This chemistry is not only tried and cleaning’ batteries were often used in solar for individuals, businesses or for industrial tested, the batteries are robust and applications because of their high quality. So, size customers? inexpensive compared to other battery several years ago we decided it made sense chemistries. Lead-acid batteries, whether to formulate and develop a product line SD: We have several different families of flooded, GEL or AGM, perform very well when specifically engineered for Solar solar products that vary in technology and they are properly maintained and charged. applications. In many PV systems, the size. See graphic below. batteries are not recharged each day, so our Late in 2018, we introduced our Trillium line solar products contain Smart Carbon™ PES: What type of products has your of lithium-ion batteries. There are several which helps the batteries perform better company typically produced for the solar/ chemistry options to choose from when under harsher conditions. PV industry to this point in time? developing a lithium-ion battery. Trojan chose to use the lithium-iron-phosphate PES: So Trojan Battery has been SD: Currently our solar line of products is (LFP) chemistry, as it is among the safest manufacturing batteries for over 90 years, comprised of lead-acid batteries. We have lithium-ion chemistries. what are the trends that are driving flooded, AGM and GEL batteries that range in technology in energy storage? capacity from around 100 amp hours up to In addition to being safe, the LFP chemistry nearly 1900 amp hours. The voltages of these also provides good performance and lifetime SD: Traditional flooded lead-acid batteries batteries range from 2 volts to 12 volts. whilst being cost effective. require periodic maintenance in the form of watering. This is a process that many We recently introduced lithium-ion batteries, PES: What is the newest exciting product customers would like to minimize or even which can also be used for solar storage. We to date? eliminate. We have developed single point currently have three different lithium watering systems (SPWS), which can be added models. The capacities range from 25 amp SD: Our Trillium batteries are the latest to most of our flooded products. This makes hours to 110 amp hours. We anticipate addition to our product line. We are very expanding our lithium range this year. excited to have these lithium-iron- * According to IEC61427 **Not tested to IEC61427 standard. Equivalent based on similar depth of discharge and temperature conditions. WWW.PESSOLAR.COM 21

ASK THE EXPERTS: STORAGE ‘We continuously strive to innovate and listen to our customers’ needs and then integrate design changes that will be most beneficial to them.’ phosphate batteries as part of our portfolio. batteries is certainly appealing. However, features such as: Smart Carbon, which Lithium chemistries are much more energy we do not see lithium batteries as being a improves performance when batteries dense than lead-acid, so for the same usable replacement for all lead-acid batteries as operate in a partial state of charge. capacity, our Trillium batteries are smaller the cost is substantially more than lead-acid and lighter. technologies. Rather, they provide an option The Maxguard® T2 Separator is our Furthermore, lithium batteries provide that will be suitable in some applications for proprietary rubber-based separator that nearly 100% of their capacity throughout some customers. We are pleased to be in a inhibits antimony transfer, while providing their entire life span, which can be up to 7 position to offer these options to robust acid channels for proper acid mixing. times longer than most lead-acid batteries. consumers, and our technical experts are Our lithium batteries (G24 model TR happy to recommend the right battery type Trojan’s Alpha Plus® Paste is our proprietary, 12.8-92) have a built-in battery for an application. high density paste formula which is management system, which ensures that engineered to deliver outstanding the batteries are not damaged should PES: What are some of the differentiating performance due to optimized porosity and charging or discharging conditions fall technologies that Trojan delivers to the crystal structure. outside of their operating parameters. market that set them apart from other PES: How will this technology improve upon batteries for this industry? These items, combined with the what is currently being used? manufacturing practices in all our US-based SD: Having a maintenance-free battery SD: Focusing on our lead-acid products, we factories, result in batteries which deliver which lasts longer, is lighter and takes up have earned our reputation by building exceptional battery performance. We also less space than traditional lead-acid batteries which consistently out-perform put a lot of time and effort into having our and out-last our competitors’ products. This batteries tested by independent 3rd party TR 12.8-92 Li-ion is accomplished by a variety of design labs to nationally recognized test standards. PES: You are of course a global player, are there any particular geographical areas where you are looking to drive further growth? SD: Certainly, the continents of Africa, South America, and India are of interest to us. PES: Moving into the second quarter of 2019, what are your predictions for the solar/PV industry in general and your company in particular this year? SD: Although it is difficult to predict what the entire solar/PV industry will come up with this year, we are determined to keep delivering exceptionally high-quality products to our consumers all over the world. We anticipate adding new products to our portfolio. Any new solutions will seamlessly integrate with existing solar/PV systems. We continuously strive to innovate and listen to our customers’ needs and then integrate design changes that will be most beneficial to them. Trojan is happy to provide any information needed. Our Technical Support can be reached by phone on +1 800-423-6569 or by email at [email protected]. For proper battery sizing visit: www.batterycalculator.com 22 PES SOLAR

ENERGIZING THE SOLAR STORAGE NEEDS OF TOMORROW. We don’t just manufacture batteries - we innovate, engineer and develop energy solutions. We provide extraordinary life, quality, and performance for all your off-grid and mini-grid applications. At Trojan Battery Company, we’re charging forward. Learn more about Trojan’s products including our new Lithium Ion solutions for renewable energy applications. tro ja n b at te r y.co m

ASK THE EXPERTS: TECHNOLOGY Grid stability, transparency and planning security The importance of reliable grid code compliance in times of increasing requirements Markus Holzapfel, Product Manager at meteocontrol PES: Welcome to PES Solar, it’s great to GmbH spoke to PES about the reasons, the process meet you. How did you end up in the solar and benefits for the industry of the certification of industry and what is your role at meteocontrol’s Power Plant Controller. meteocontrol? Markus Holzapfel: Thanks, likewise. As part of a volunteer year in East Africa, I worked on PV off-grid systems and after my studies decided to take up a career in renewable energies, with a focus on photovoltaics. 24 PES SOLAR

ASK THE EXPERTS: TECHNOLOGY At meteocontrol I work as a product manager characteristics of the control technology and our Embedded Applications department for and I’m responsible for our solutions based functions of the controller in accordance with integration into our turnkey solution, which is on one of our core products, the the relevant grid connection codes. the Power Plant Controller (PPC). blue’Log XM / XC, a combination of plant controller and data logger in one device. In simple terms, such certification ensures External project participants are DNV GL’s that the generally recognised rules of testing laboratory GL Garrad Hassan The grid integration of PV systems plays a technology have been observed by the Deutschland GmbH and DNV GL’s decisive role here, as the requirements of equipment manufacturer. certification body Germanischer Lloyd grid operators are also increasing with the Industrial Services GmbH. continuous growth of solar power generation For the industry, this creates more in our grids. transparency and planning security for grid The range of internal and external project connections and enables the operators of participants makes the project, not only PES: We would love to hear about some of photovoltaic systems to better compare the technically challenging, but also in terms of your current projects. available products on the market, as communication, and therefore also exciting. standardized testing and certification MH: Over the last 18 months and still procedures are applied. PES: It seems like a lot of people working on ongoing, the certification of our plant this one project. We are curious to know controller Power Plant Controller (PPC), PES: So just how long have you been how the verification process was carried based on the blue’Log XC, according to the involved in this? out before certification? technical connection rule medium voltage (VDE-AR-N 4110) and high voltage (VDE- MH: I first came into contact with this six MH: We are working on this topic because the AR-N 4120), valid in Germany, has taken up a years ago, when I did the testing and regulations TCR Medium Voltage (VDE-AR-N very big part of my working time. modelling of the previous product, the 4110) and TCR High Voltage (VDE-AR-N WEB’log. This was within the scope of my 4120) have been mandatory for newly From the first draft versions of these two master thesis at meteocontrol, with regard approved PV systems since 27th April 2019 regulations at the beginning of 2017, through to such a certification. and thus, already an installed capacity of 135 the product specification of our controller, to kilowatts must partly comply and more than the execution of the first prototype tests in The requirements for a PV system plant 950 kilowatts must fully comply, with the new the summer of last year, this project has not controller were even lower at that time. The requirements through certification. A simple only kept me, but also many of my colleagues previous regulations BDEW Medium Voltage manufacturer’s declaration no longer across departments, in suspense. Directive and Transmission Code from 2007 suffices, a so-called component certificate and 2008, have now been completely for the power generating system (PGS) The approach of developing our plant replaced, for example the reactive power controller is necessary. controller model-based, continuously supply for voltage maintenance in the grid, improving the quality of the software, by only made fundamental specifications. At that Before this date, each manufacturer could means of regular measurements on our time, there was no talk of requirements for confirm itself with its own declaration that in-house hardware-in-the-loop test bench, the control behaviour. Plus, simulation models the electrical characteristics and functions as well as the cooperation with an for the plant controller were still optional. of the plant controller comply to the independent, accredited test laboratory and Instead, the plant controller functionality was respective grid connection code. Until now, a certification body, were new territory for us only described using theoretical descriptions, an independent conformity assessment, by until recently, from a product point of view. in the form of block diagrams. an accredited certification body was only optional, but now it is even legally anchored PES: Certification of the plant controller PES: Do you have a designated team or in Germany, through the Electrical Properties - what exactly does that mean? department working on this? Proof Directive (NELEV). MH: The plant controller certification is an MH: Within the company, the Product PES: Is there a reason the requirements are officially recognised conformity assessment, Management and Development Embedded increasing? which proves the electrical characteristics and Systems departments in particular, are functions of this equipment. The certificate, involved in the certification process. To ensure MH: The continuous increase in the PV energy which can only be issued by an accredited product quality, colleagues from the Quality generation installed capacity in Germany, from certification body, shows the required Assurance department are also involved, as is just over 6 gigawatts in 2008 to currently more WWW.PESSOLAR.COM 25

ASK THE EXPERTS: TECHNOLOGY than 46 gigawatts, shows that photovoltaics codes with the development of the new determine the quality of the simulation model has made a major contribution to the fact that application rules for all voltage levels. is an integral part of the German certification we now boast net electricity generation of is a further quality feature. more than 45% from renewable energies. The deadline of April 27th 2019 to comply with the RfG, therefore applies to all EU member PES: Can plant operators expect a standard Power generation plants that are able to states, which is why draft versions of the solution? provide energy with the help of fluctuating revised national grid connection codes have primary energy sources, such as the sun, are been published for comments in many EU MH: Although the requirements are thus becoming more and more systemically countries in recent months. harmonised nationally, distribution system relevant and can be regarded as significant operators, for example, can demand their grid users. PES: Do you think the same priorities will be own variation of the required power plant set internationally during the characteristics, taking into account the For this reason, PV systems must also implementation period? requirements within their grid region. contribute to grid stability and provide so-called ancillary services. This includes, for MH: The RfG distinguishes between Due to this fact, we have tried to design the example, grid safety management to avoid exhaustive and non-exhaustive requirements. functional scope of our plant controller in such grid bottlenecks and the supply of reactive A kind of basic requirement is thus found in an a way that the blue’Log XC, as a standardized power to maintain the voltage in the identical form in every set of rules within the and certified controller, will continue to interconnected grid. EU, which can be supplemented at national achieve a very high coverage of national and level by further requirements. international grid connection codes. In addition to the grid operator in Germany, a solar power trader (aggregator) gets access to In Germany, for example, the focus is on the In Germany, our customer is thus able to the PV system, in a controlled way. Since 2012, trading of solar power, grid-friendly reactive meet almost all the requirements of almost there has been a need for coordination and power control modes and proof of conformity, 900 grid operators with our plant controller documentation of the control interventions. in the form of certificates, whereas the - and this through simple parameterization component certificate for the PGS controller without having to demonstrate programming The transformation of the conventional in neighbouring Austria, for example, can only knowledge. consumer into a ‘prosumer’ (producer and be used optionally for verification purposes consumer of electrical energy) also requires according to our current state of knowledge. A subsequent adaptation of the reactive an adapted reactive power control mode, in power control mode, as required by the grid order to take into account interactions PES: In your opinion what would be the operator in Germany, is thus possible, for between the generating plant and an existing added value of a German certification example, without adaptation of project- reactive power compensation system, for internationally? specific PLC programming. the customer load. The requirements are therefore becoming increasingly complex MH: From our first experiences in recent PES: There are many standard solutions. and require reliable plant control. months, internationally the fact that the plant What additional service do you offer your controller has a German certification has customers? PES: Would you say this is a purely German initially been perceived positively. However, it issue? has to be checked together, with the MH: The pure functional scope of the plant respective grid operator, whether the controller is indeed no longer sufficient, in MH: No, definitely not. With the EU measured electrical characteristics and today’s competitive landscape, to position regulation 2016/631, the European Network functions of the controller cover all itself sufficiently successfully on the market. Code (NC) ‘Requirements for Generators’ requirements of the national concretization of We are convinced that only a combination of (RfG) became directly effective for all 28 EU the RfG. The results and the report of the type user-friendly products and demand-oriented member states. Within each country of the test carried out by the accredited test consulting and planning services will provide European Union, an association was thus laboratory are also helpful in this respect and the necessary added value for our customers. given the mandate to concretize the thus represent added value outside Germany. requirements of the RfG at national level. This is the only way to enable our customers The use of simulations for verification also to efficiently and flexibly manage the grid In Germany, for example, the Forum supports our customers right from the integration requirements of their PV systems, Netztechnik / Netzzbetrieb (FNN) received planning phase in the approval procedure of PV in order to obtain a feed-in permission for this order and harmonized the grid connection systems. The fact that the model validation to their project as smoothly as possible. PES: Are you able to share your next steps with us? MH: In the coming months, we will adapt our plant controller to the needs of local grid operators, not only in Germany but also in the European markets of Spain, the Netherlands, France and Italy in particular. For the Spanish market, for example, we will seek certification for Zero Feed-In (‘Autoconsumo’), and outside Europe we will increasingly offer monitoring and control for PV systems, in particular in the Japanese and Australian markets. On the product side, we are currently working on making the commissioning process even simpler and more time-saving for our customers by implementing new technologies for controller parameterization in our blue’Log XC. www.meteocontrol.com/en/ 26 PES SOLAR

PID: the no.1 risk to PV financing Preventive vs. Corrective: what makes more “cents” ? Vigdu technologies develops and manufactures embedded & external PID solutions based on night and day mode technologies. Vigdu’s scalable cost-effective solutions are installed globally, protecting the profitability of its clients, from utility scale to residential PV systems, saving them millions of dollars annually. Please contact us to customize the best PID solution for your project. [email protected]

ASK THE EXPERTS: TECHNOLOGY How to prevent PID financial losses Vigdu P-106 PID is being talked about more and more in our industry. Tsachy Hacohen Meler, V.P. Sales & Tsachy Hacohen Meler Marketing, Vigdu Technologies LTD, invited PES to come and discover the latest way to avoid financial 28 PES SOLAR losses and improve efficiency. It seems there’s a new approach to PID, more so as the 1500V is now in play. PES: Hi Tsachy, welcome to PES Solar/PV, resolutions for PV plants. We started with it’s great to talk with you. Could you begin PID solutions, which we sell globally. We are by giving us a brief overview of Vigdu? pleased to say that our customers vary from inverters and PV module manufacturers, PV Tsachy Hacohen Meler: Established in 2014 plants owners, to EPC’s & O&M’s. and based in Israel, Vigdu concentrates on R&D and the manufacturing of optimization We supply embedded anti PID solutions with

ASK THE EXPERTS: TECHNOLOGY both day and night mode technologies. measures from the planning stage of the conductive oxide [TCO] corrosion, in N-type plant, just like inverters and modules. Instead modules, reversible, until a no-return point, It’s an exciting time for us, because at the of once non-refundable financial losses and caused by polarization due to the positive moment we are in the midst of significant physical damage had already occurred. potential and in P-type, most common C-SI & patent-protected developments for the M-SI, reversible, until a no-return point. optimization of PV plants. PES: First, for those who don’t know, could you please explain what PID is? It is a well-established fact that the higher PES: Can you explain why you believe it’s the negative voltage, the faster and more smarter and cheaper to use PID preventive THM: In short, PID is Potential Induced severe the PID degradation. measures from the planning stage? Degradation: a common phenomenon where negative potential can occur within PES: According to that, would the new THM: We know for many years PID (Potential photovoltaic modules causing current leakage. 1500V PV modules will be more likely to be Induced Degradation) severely damages the PID sensitive? performance and financing of PV plants. The more detailed description is that due to the grounded module frames a potential THM: 1500V modules are definitely more After years of experience, 2017 was the conflict between the cells, the negative pole likely to develop PID, as the negative pole turning point in both perspective and and the frame, the positive pole, can occur, voltage will be 50% higher than the 1000V execution. This is when PV developers, which leads to an electric field. The electric modules. This only shows that PID is EPC’s, PV plants owners, banks and field forces the ions to move out of the glass, expected to be more common and extreme. insurance companies, reached the through the encapsulant and into the solar conclusion, that PID damages were worse cell. Inside the cell, a short circuit of the cell We are already seeing some PV module than previously thought. They realized PID PN-Junction, leads to a decrease of the manufacturers exclude PID testing from their should be avoided by default preventive parallel resistance, followed by a drop of the datasheet and require anti PID solution to be power output and a decrease of the other PV installed, from the beginning, in parallel to module parameters. their modules. As long as the phenomenon is not detected This is also the reason we are experiencing a and treated, more and more modules will be high demand from inverter manufacturers to affected along the string. Each affected use our imbedded anti PID solution inside module decreases the total performance of their inverters. the string. PES: So, what was the old way of dealing Performance losses of over 80% and more with PID? are observed in numerous PV plants at the negative pole of strings. THM: The old way was to install the PV plant without any PID preventive measures, and PID can be found in thin-film modules, hope for the best. Sometimes it worked; other irreversible degradation called transparent times it had a significant, sometimes crushing effect on the project financing and revenues. WWW.PESSOLAR.COM 29

ASK THE EXPERTS: TECHNOLOGY PES: Can you tell us how PID influences the For the last two years, Vigdu Technologies Furthermore, project financing, bankability, project financing? has been receiving on-going orders for yield and revenue insurance, due diligence our PID preventive solution, both for new etc. are easier when PID prevention actions THM: It usually takes about two years in and existing plants, with and without have been installed from the planning stage order to clearly diagnose the PID existing PID. of projects. degradation; at the beginning when PES: Risk management must be coming PES: Presumably it acts as a type of comparing YoY yields, the PID degradation more and more into the forefront; can you ‘insurance’ or protection layer? effect can be explained by different possible tell us how? THM: Exactly, since not all the plants will be reasons, such as weather, soiling, THM: It is actually a pure risk management issue. affected by PID, and the Vigdu PID preventive maintenance, irradiation levels, LID etc. Today not only EPC companies, but also solution is a one-time, low-cost investment, investors, banks and insurance companies, the use of it as preventive measure can be Once the degradation is too severe to look at PID preventive measures from a risk easily perceived as a one-time protection explain, on-site or lab testing is carried out to management point of view. The preventive layer, or a type of ‘insurance’ for the lifetime locate the degradation source, on-site STC, approach significantly reduces the of the plant. IR, EL, IV_Curve, and third-party Lab. investment risk, and can shorten the ROI PES: Today most PV modules are PID FREE, period while increasing profits. Thus, keeping so why worry? The main problem is that by that time the PID the investment on track as planned. THM: In answer to your question, there are a can affect the overall PV plant by 10%-20%, few relevant facts. the PV modules on the negative side of the Initial PV Module 1 – Credit – PI Berlin AG Firstly, IEC62804, the standard for PID strings are already severely degraded, and testing, has no pass/fail criteria. most or all of the modules on the negative Secondly, PID FREE modules, according to the side of the strings are affected. IEC62804 standard test, undergo at best a 96-hour PID stress test under the conditions At this point in time, treating the PID and of 85°C degrees and 85% relative humidity restoring the plant will not avoid the high (‘double 85’) at +/-1,000V, while a degradation non-refundable losses. of up to 5% is considered a pass in the market norm. We haven’t seen any data which proves Even at this stage, the impact on the project that these conditions simulate 25 years of a financing and revenues can be critical, and PV module in operation. could have been prevented in advance. We also don’t think anyone is willing to give up on ~ 5% of the plant lifetime overall yield PES: Well, what has changed in the past and profit. Furthermore, it might be in two years? contradiction to the PV module manufacturers’ performance warranty. THM: Previously, PID preventive measures Thirdly, we see numerous cases that PID were taken only at PV plants using PID FREE FREE TIER 1 modules with ‘Approved’ PID modules, combined with internal testing, are extremely sensitive to PID, and in transformer central inverters, by connecting many cases are strongly affected by PID. a grounding kit. Yet, plants using string inverters or a TL central inverter were left to PV Module 1 after PID – Credit – PI Berlin AG pure chance. There were no preventative measures to combat the risk of PID, until 2017, when it became such a widespread phenomenon, which could no longer be ignored. Naturally, this raised a lot of red flags, for all those involved, as being a risk management issue. 30 PES SOLAR

ASK THE EXPERTS: TECHNOLOGY This was also proven by third party The cost of inland transportation of the old PV industry in general and your company in laboratories. modules for recycling and new PV modules particular this year? from the manufacturer’s warehouse. There are two reasons for that: first, when THM: The PV market is booming globally, and module manufacturers certify a module Installation of the new modules. the future predictions are for an installed series, through a third-party accredited lab, global capacity of 1000GW by 2020. it uses a specific BOM, yet they may use A permanent mismatch of the old and new many different BOMs during the modules in all strings. In the first quarter of 2019 Vigdu has seen a manufacturing of the same module series. significant increase in orders for PID preventive Installation of the Vigdu solution in order to measures, as the professional PV market The second reason is that overbooked order prevent further development of PID and begins to understand the expected high risk of booking, sometimes force manufacturers to recover the modules that are still reversible. the 1500V on the system PID and performance. purchase PV modules from another OEM’s. All the above costs will not be returned to the We expect to quadruple our total sales this PES: What happens when PID is detected in investor, owner, EPC etc.! year and each year after, as our sales and a PV plant without preventive measures? market potential is at exponential growth. Experience shows that PID FREE modules THM: When PID is detected the following cannot be a sufficient protection against To avoid the above-mentioned losses, a occurs: direct and indirect PID losses, especially now Vigdu PID preventive device should be with the 1500V PV modules. installed from the beginning at any PV plant. The plant has already suffered significant losses that are non-refundable. The PV PES: Moving into the second quarter of www.vigdu.com module manufacturers needs to be proven, 2019, what are your predictions for the PV by a third-party accredited laboratory that the lower production is indeed due to PID. This involves a lot of manpower hours, testing on-site and in the lab, plus other costs. The negotiations, with the module manufacturer, can in many cases take 6-24 months. It is even more complicated when the module manufacturer is also the EPC. Disassembling, packing and recycling the PID affected modules, as agreed with the module manufacturers. In the absolute majority of cases​ they​ only​ ​offer to replace ​25%​ ​of each PID affected string, which is less than half of​ the affected modules. The module manufacturer will try to replace some of the PID affected modules in order to improve the plant production to the average production in other plants, in the same geographical area, which is far from optimizing the plant. 12.8 MW PV plant ‘Nevatim 2’ of Shikun & Binui Energy Vigdu-P 106 Side WWW.PESSOLAR.COM 31

CORPORATE FOCUS Sputtering competence at a glance Sputtering plasma Sputter deposition is a technology for the surface treatment of substrates. The technique is based on ion bombardment of a target, resulting in a vapor. One of the most common approaches for growing thin films by sputter deposition is the use of a magnetron source, in which positive ions present in the plasma. Well known as direct current (DC sputtering) for conductive targets and radio frequency (RF sputtering) for nonconductive targets. Magnetron sputtering in diverse modes like DC, pulsed DC, bipolar and RF is available on the market. Due to its versatility and the possibility to photovoltaics and display industry, or systems to ultra-high vacuum deposition apply it on a large scale at low costs, sputter functional films in microelectronics. machines, applying extremely thin layers. deposition or sputtering is widely used in Importantly they have capabilities down to research and industry. Different sputter SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES and sputtering 0.2 nm for the semiconductor industry as variations are used in application fields like well as data storage, decorative coatings and high-end multilayer systems for thermal SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES has delivered in solar cell production. insulation, hard coatings and self cleaning excess of 8,000 vacuum sputtering machines windows, transparent electrodes for worldwide over the past 20 years. The Based on this experience, these systems machines range from standard sputtering offer high throughput and a high uptime of 32 PES SOLAR

GENERIS PVD CORPORATE FOCUS the machines. In-house cathode design, including magnetron development and the simulation of the different sputtering processes, are done with sputtering in-house lab equipment. A close cooperation with scientific institutes such as Fraunhofer, Inplas, Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM), University of Konstanz as well as organizations in USA, China and Singapore assure access to the latest R&D results. The range of products include systems for vertical and horizontal substrate orientation starting from small 3-dimensional parts to large glass surfaces. SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES is a renowned manufacturer of advanced thin-film deposition equipment. It is the trusted partner in the respective industry and extends its leadership in the thin-film deposition technology for these applications. The company operates as a driver of innovation in technology areas with high growth potential. SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES is a recognized supplier for new photovoltaic machine concepts and production processes for crystalline and thin-film solar cells, which increase the efficiency of solar cells and reduce their production costs. Also, in the semiconductor market it is a renowned manufacturer of advanced thin-film deposition equipment for magnetics, MRAM, thin-film head, and other semiconductor applications. The systems offer a reliable deposition of ultra-thin metallic and insulating films down to a thickness of one nanometer and below, as well as stacks of such films with very precise material thickness and high WWW.PESSOLAR.COM 33

CORPORATE FOCUS Example of system configuration uniformity specifications. An integrated exchange handling system as Al, Cu, NiV, etc. The GENERIS PVD uses an The application areas for the finishing of loads new parts and unloads the metallized inline process in which the substrates are surfaces through vacuum coating parts to an interface position. transported on specially designed carriers, technology are e.g. automobile, health or providing edge isolation simultaneously. The lifestyle industries. For medical technology, The POLYCOATER offers a reproducible layer carrier return system is located below the SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES offers machine uniformity and high deposition rates with machine under clean environmental technology for wet-chemical processes, highest quality coating and a high uptime conditions. Different automation options for coating technology processes as well as through to permanent sputtering process loading and unloading are available. injection-molding of small plastic parts control. The cycle time per metallized where high precision and extremely high substrate is less than 0.4 seconds. Typical setup of a large inline sputtering quality are required. system Inline sputtering systems of multiple Inline sputtering system for heterojunction applications solar cells Typical Performance Characteristics: The POLYCOATER from SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES is one example for a One main focus during the solar cell For transparent conductive oxide layers like sputtering production system for the fully production is the efficiency. Heterojunction ITO e.g. for HJT automatic coating of flat and 3-dimensional cell technology (HJT) achieves conversion parts. The sputtering module can be efficiencies of more than 22% as well as Parallel processing of several substrates interlinked with different innovative handling reduced manufacturing costs. concepts, which also provide the possibility Low cost of ownership and high uptime of incorporating additional production The new GENERIS PVD machine from modules: e.g. lacquering module and robot SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES is a horizontal Top down and bottom up sputtering handling systems. The system can be inline sputter tool designed for the special configurations available integrated into an existing production flow. requirements of Heterojunction cell production with coatings on both sides Sputter sequence configurable Sputtering cathodes simultaneously. The GENERIS PVD is ideally suited for challenging layer stacks i.e. TCO Full temperature control throughout the layers like ITO and AZO providing maximum whole process optical transmittance, matched refractive index, optimum electrical conductivity as Rotatable cylindrical magnetrons for highest well as charge carrier mobility, which are utilization of target material key-parameters in heterojunction cell technology. Sputter damage to the Target utilization about 80% for rotatable amorphous silicon layer stack does not occur. cathodes compared with only 30% for planar A full substrate temperature control during cathodes the whole process enables optimum layer performance at temperatures ≤ 200 °C. Sputtering materials: ITO, AZO and metals like Ag, NiV, Cu, Al etc. Rotatable sputtering magnetrons Single end and double end automation With the GENERIS PVD sputtering system, version selectable contact layers can be deposited on the front and rear of the Si-wafers without the need to The new machine utilizes an inline coating turn the wafers between coating processes process, in which the substrates are and without vacuum interruption. The transported on specially designed carriers, annealing of sputtered layers is integrated providing edge isolation simultaneously. The optionally. Also, full area metal coatings, e.g. carrier return system is located below the Al, Ag as well as CU can be deposited within machine under constant clean environmental the same system. By using rotatable conditions. Various automation options for sputtering magnetrons, highest target loading and unloading are available from utilization is achieved and offers the lowest different industrial sources. production costs. Sputtering systems for large substrates Other typical applications include anti- reflection layers, barrier layers and precursor Inline sputtering systems for large layers but also different metallic layers such substrates have been developed for the requirements in the photovoltaic industry but also for applications in large area sputtering like architectural glazing, fuel cells 34 PES SOLAR

CORPORATE FOCUS Large inline sputtering system with vertical substrate transport for thin film solar, glass & display. and display industry. Pre-treating modules for cleaning or etching Vacuum base pressure: < 1 x 10-6 mbar can be added. With its unique modular Inline sputtering systems with vertical design, the HISTARIS system is ideally suited Typical process pressure: 2 - 10 x10-3 mbar transport orientation are important in for challenging layer stacks and flexible today’s CIGS & CdTe thin-film solar cell product mixes. Temperature range for deposition: up to production. The VISTARIS system from 200°C SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES was designed to SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES also offers enhance the efficiency of thin-film solar systems with horizontal transport Usage of rotatable cylindrical magnetron cells, while cutting production costs by using orientation designed to enhance the highest utilization of target material the state-of-the-art technologies. For efficiency and cutting production costs by photovoltaic technology, SINGULUS using the state-of-the-art technologies. Sputtering material: ITO, AZO and metallic TECHNOLOGIES develops and These systems use an inline process in layers like Mo, Al, Cu, Ag, NiV etc. manufactures coating systems which can which the substrates are transported on apply special layers and layer systems on specially designed carriers or directly on a Summary: SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES’ different substrates. customized roller drive system. Different sputtering technology at a glance automation options for loading and Examples are transparent front, or metallic unloading are available. Technology developed for economic and back contact layers, as well as multilayered resource-efficient production processes. precursors with a broad range of different Typical Performance Characteristics The applications include vacuum sputtering materials. The main advantage of the system and surface engineering, wet-chemical as is that it can be used for vertical vacuum- Modular configuration well as thermal process technologies. based coating of glass substrates in the solar and display industry. The modular design Parallel processing of several substrates SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES utilizes its includes process chambers equipped with know-how in the areas of automation and rotatable magnetrons for the sputter Possibility of carrier as well as carrier free process technology in order to develop new deposition of high-performance TCO layers transport system attractive work areas with innovative or several other materials, such as metals products next to the application areas of and metal oxides. Low cost of ownership costumer goods, energy, entertainment, medical technology and semiconductor. Temperature processing before and during deposition available www.singulus.com/en WWW.PESSOLAR.COM 35

Setting a new standard in solar. A smart grid needs a smart A flexible FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) circuit microinverter—and APsystems topology which allows APsystems to make remote firmware sets the standard worldwide with changes to keep up with frequent regulatory and grid changes the YC600 and new QS1. means your systems will always be current and fully capable. And with so many data points communicated back through No solar technology has changed as dramatically in the the gateway and to the monitoring platform in the cloud, past 20 years as the inverter. Not only do inverters need to traditional powerline communication isn’t going to cut it. convert the DC energy from the panels to AC power, they APsystems’ YC600 and QS1 microinverters utilize high speed must also be intelligent, smart-grid compliant, and offer wireless Zigbee technology, which creates a local 2.4GHz multiple communication and monitoring features, including mesh network for fast and reliable data communication back Wi-Fi, cellular, Zigbee and powerline communication. They to the gateway. must also comply with a bewildering number of codes For today’s smart grid, APsystems and regulations, and frequently communicate an equally leads the industry with an exceptional amount of system data points, providing for an even smarter inverter. unprecedented level of system monitoring and analysis. With more being demanded of solar inverters than ever The before, the pressure and need to create a brilliant, cutting- edge piece of equipment at a competitive price is an better incredible challenge, and not one for the faint of heart. choice APsystems proudly takes this on this challenge every day. Our design advances and innovative circuit topology enable improved system temperature reduction and more efficient power conversion, allowing for greater density in our products and a smaller inverter footprint. Combined with Reactive Power Control (RPC) technology and roughly 30% shared components in our multi-module microinverters, our YC600 (dual) and QS1 (quad) have become the most advanced AND cost-effective MLPE products on the market. It doesn’t end there. We’ve designed the YC600 and QS1 to work together on the same cable, same circuit. The convenience of just two microinverter models and ubiquitous trunk and extension cables for every residential solar installation cuts down on your SKUs and stocking costs while increasing installation speed.

The Market Leader in Solar Microinverter Technology 60 000 550 MW 74 80 CERTIFIED INSTALLATIONS SHIPPED BY THE END PATENTS COUNTRIES ISO9001 ISO14001 OF 2018 Founded in Silicon Valley USA in 2009, APsystems has grown Today, with millions of units installed, APsystems continues to encompass three global business units with offices around to be a leader in the ever-growing solar MLPE segment and the world, serving customers in more than 80 countries with a solid corporate performer, profitable each of the past six its ground-breaking multi-module microinverters including years. APsystems EMEA is based in Rotterdam, Netherlands the QS1, a 4-module microinverter connecting PV modules up to 375 Wp each with 4 independent MPPT and 1200W AC and Lyon, France . output power. ECU-R ECU-C EMA YC600 QS1 POWERFUL I N N O VAT I O N For more information, please visit: emea.APsystems.com

ASK THE EXPERTS: SECURITY No getting away for solar thieves With innovative GPS/GSM-based security systems for solar panels and solar parks, viamon has made a name for itself globally for protecting solar parks around the world from theft. PES invited, engineer, founder and managing director Oliver Strecke, to give us his insight into the company’s technology and the expanding market. Oliver Strecke PES: Welcome back to PES Solar Oliver. We concentrations of modern technology in a are interested to hear about the security single spot naturally attract the attention of 38 PES SOLAR viamon offers, especially for operators of criminals. In concrete terms, this means that solar parks. What exactly does that mean? solar panels and valuable technology are dismantled and stolen on a large scale in Oliver Strecke: Around the globe, huge solar these huge and often remote parks. parks are continuously being built, some of them many square miles in size. Such high In many cases, these things go unnoticed for

ASK THE EXPERTS: SECURITY days. We at viamon make sure that theft is Therefore, in addition to our first product, a A special feature of the module is that it can prevented or that the thieves don‘t have a compact and powerful module for solar withstand the extreme environmental chance to enjoy their loot for long. panels, we have now also developed security conditions in a solar park and, of course, technology for cable harnesses and that it can take the energy it needs directly For this purpose, over the last 10 years we inverters. They all work based on the same from the solar panel. If the panel is exposed have developed GPS/GSM-based security principle but are adapted to the hardware to the sun, the module will emit a radio systems, especially for the protection of they protect. signal. That’s why the battery doesn’t have solar parks. Our system anticipates all to be as powerful as with our cable security-relevant scenarios, around possible PES: Can you explain this principle in protection technology. hardware thefts, in a solar park. more detail? Once disconnected, the cables no longer PES: Does this mean that you protect not only OS: The modules for the panels have a very supply electricity. For this application, we the solar panels, but also other components? small form factor and can be built into the have developed a special BatteryPack with a technology of the solar panels ex works. This particularly powerful battery. The OS: That’s exactly what it means. For is interesting for large panel manufacturers BatteryPack can provide energy for months example, the extensive cabling and inverters who want to offer their customers real added or even years. In addition, we have designed in solar parks are increasingly being stolen. value. Once connected to the panel and an alarm system that is installed centrally in The cables are interesting for the thieves activated, the module allows us to retrieve the solar park and that emits a proper alarm because of their copper core, and the this panel within seconds anywhere in the with light and sound signals when the panels, inverters can be sold directly to the world. The module detects when the angle at cables or inverters are accessed in an customers of the stolen solar panels. At the which it was mounted is changed. That unauthorized way. This puts the thieves end of the day, they just steal everything that means, it senses when it’s being dismantled. under stress – and in the best case drives isn’t nailed down. Then it sends an alarm. them away. PES: During our preparations for this interview you talked about security gaps – can you explain this in more detail? OS: Ultimately, every solar park is a single, huge security gap for us... (laughs). The location in mostly uninhabited, deserted areas, for example in Africa, Spain or South America, alone makes protection extremely complex and difficult. The thieves simply drive through the fence in a remote place, with their trucks and start to dismantle everything nearby. The endlessly long and up to three meters high panel rows even provide the best possible coverage. So, after a few hours, when the truck is full, the thieves simply drive away, and tens of thousands of euros are lost. This is exactly where our technology comes in to fill this security gap. As soon as the first panel, with its security module is moved, it reports to us and we can guide our alarm trackers to the module with an accuracy of almost one meter. This allows us to catch the thieves in the act. If they manage to escape anyway, our technology will lead us directly to their hideout. There’s no getting away. PES: Does that mean you can even recover the stolen solar equipment? How does that work? OS: Basically, we have everything you need: the panel sends us its location and we can locate the signal precisely and in real time. So, we can get in the car and go straight there. In our software, I can directly show you, for example, the location of several panels that were stolen some time ago in a solar park in the UK. Now they are sending signals to us from the African west coast and if you zoom in with Google Earth, you can even see individual panels. So that’s not the problem. The big challenges are logistics, authorities, bureaucracy and costs. As soon as recovery is more expensive than purchasing new WWW.PESSOLAR.COM 39

ASK THE EXPERTS: SECURITY equipment, it doesn’t make sense, anyway. If PES: What are the alternatives to your the modules are and in the best case also not, we can organize the recovery. technology? where the thieves are. Plus, on top of this, we can specifically compensate for weak PES: How does your service affect OS: On the one hand, of course, employing points in the parks, with an individual insurance companies and their customers? security staff. But with a park the size of a big defense strategy. city, nobody would ever think about securing OS: It affects them very much, indeed. The it with manpower. This is neither affordable To determine where and how the modules idea for our technology originally evolved in nor really feasible, considering where the will be used, we always analyze the current the environment of solar park insurers. parks are located and how they are laid out. risk situation, access routes, accessibility of the panels and combine this with our A major insurance company contacted me Currently, many park operators are also using extensive experience. about ten years ago and said: ‘We urgently cameras. New technology is constantly being need security technology. Can you think developed in this area. For example, motion PES: What do you see as the coming about developing something like this?‘ I’m a sensors, sharper imaging techniques, and so developments for viamon in the area of little proud of that – that the idea came from on. If you look closely, however, one question security? the market itself and they turned to us. arises: What does a camera actually do for me, anyway? OS: A key development will surely be seen in In any case, this insurance company had to the area of services, for example in struggle with the increasing numbers of On the one hand the devices are relatively monitoring or in the context of recovering thefts of solar panels and was looking for a expensive, and you have to set them up stolen technology. The mon in viamon stands solution, together with their customers. close-meshed, because the parks are so vast for monitoring and we are currently focusing That’s when we came in – and to a certain and offer so many possible hiding places. In on expanding this area. extent it can be said today that our addition, someone has to constantly monitor technology helps to ensure that solar parks the material or there are motion sensors – This means that we permanently monitor the are still insurable now. And for the solar park but these often give false alarms. solar parks by means of our sensors and operators it is, of course, unpleasant to call modern control centre technology. If a module their insurers regularly to report thefts – PES: And your technology? gives an alarm, we can steer our regional alarm resulting in ever-increasing premiums. trackers precisely and quickly to the scene of OS: There are no false alarms with our the crime and to the stolen panels. PES: What benefits do your customers modules. When the module is moved, it will experience – also in terms of costs, savings send a signal. Whenever a module is moved Also, for the recovery of stolen panels we are, and ROI? without our knowledge it is stolen. It’s as already mentioned, developing our services that easy. further. If the thieves escape with the goods, OS: At the end of the day, everyone always we help our customers to get their stolen looks at the figures. That’s perfectly normal Another essential difference is that: With panels back. As I said: we know exactly where and good for our business. Our technology is the camera, I can see that my technology the panels are at any point in time. definitely a financially attractive way to has actually been stolen. If, however, the secure a solar park. Especially because it can thieves escape unrecognized – a cheap ski PES: How would you describe the current be easily integrated by the manufacturers mask is enough to achieve this – the market? during the production of the panels and is equipment is lost. then connected to the panel autonomously OS: In general, there is a growing need for and maintenance-free. Even if it was hidden only 500 meters away. private security services in the solar sector With our technology we always know where because it is and will remain the most efficient alternative source of energy. Investors around the world will readily agree to this. From a certain size, a solar park is simply a perfect power plant that supplies countless households with clean energy. At least as long as the panels are still there. To keep it that way, there’s us. We have currently installed around 10,000 modules in solar panels. This means that we are already protecting around 750 megawatts of solar energy. I’m confident there is much more to come. www.viamon.com PV security solutions by viamon • Security all incl.: from 8.00 EUR/kWp • Security as a Service: from 275.00 EUR/ month/MWp • up to 50 % less costs for recovery services • up to 20 % discount on insurance premiums 40 PES SOLAR

YOU HAAVCE HBTEUENNGD!OGGEDatinInVMMtIGAeSuaCDrILnsyTLLoIi1VcElUBahE5ROrS,Y-1EOBGE7uTOeBr,HrOomO2pTAO0aeH1n1T.yH9A135C.024,5.593,4 BY VIAMON. MADE IN GERMANY: GPS-BASED GEO FENCING ANTI-THEFT SYSTEMS FOR PV SECURITY BY VIAMON. viamon is currently securing over 750 Mio. € of PV assets worldwide. Over 500 Mio. € of PV assets worldwide secured by viamon. viamon.com

TALKING POINT SDS launches new energy management system Solar-Log Base & Solar-Log WEB Enerest™ 4.0 Everything that high-performance PV monitoring has to offer With over 500 GW of installed capacity, photovoltaic power generation has long since become a global industry. Financial and economic interests depend on the reliable production of PV energy. The German PV expert, Solare Datensysteme, has specialized in monitoring PV power generation since 2007. 42 PES SOLAR

TALKING POINT Solar-Log™ data loggers and the Solar-Log breakdowns are immediately detected and energy flows. WEB Enerest™ online portal offer PV plant reported to the plant operator. monitoring and smart energy management. The highest efficiency for every operating The Solar-Log™ system is designed to Managing and controlling PV energy process efficiently implement country-specific regulations for the connection of PV plants In addition to monitoring PV yields, the energy In order for the energy management system to the grid, and to safeguard solar management system also handles other tasks, to perform its tasks, the PV plant and investments through reliable monitoring. including Smart Energy, feed-in management, inverters have to be integrated into the the integration of electrical appliances, and system. Unlike previous models, the Meeting the ever-growing requirements the monitoring of energy storage. Solar-Log Base can easily be DIN rail with new technology mounted inside the distribution box. Feed-in management is especially important The pressure for innovation is high in the PV for the continued expansion of After installation, the Solar-Log Base industry. Constantly changing regulations, photovoltaics. This involves integrating PV transfers all of the data to the Solar-Log WEB especially in the field of PV energy plants into the existing power grid so that Enerest™ 4.0 online portal. The transmitted management, require regular enhancements they can be controlled from a central point. information can then be used in a user- and new functions. friendly format. If there is a power surplus in the grid, with the In addition, the demands placed on PV plants help of the Solar-Log™ energy management The online portal performs several tasks at are constantly increasing, thus promoting system, connected PV plants can be the same time: it processes the PV plant technical progress. To meet the PV temporarily powered down. Meaning that the information and then presents it for industry’s ever-growing requirements, amount of power fed into the grid can be monitoring and error analysis, as needed. Solare Datensysteme has developed the controlled to help stabilize the grid. Moreover, Enerest 4.0 documents the energy newest generation of energy management. flows and is used to configure the integrated The all new Solar-Log Base and Solar-Log Solar-Log™ manages self-consumption of PV plants. WEB Enerest™ 4.0 will be launched in 2019. the locally produced power in order to prevent any losses for the plant operator. PV plant monitoring easily expandable Safeguarding PV yields and investments Managing and documenting energy flows The modular design of the new Solar-Log Generally, a PV plant reliably produces Base allows some functionality to be easily electricity after its initial installation. Electrical appliances such as heat pumps, expanded without requiring a new device. However, like any other technical system, heating rods, air conditioners and battery The new generation of devices consists of PV plants are not permanently free of errors systems are integrated into the energy three hardware models – Solar-Log Base 15, and malfunctions. management system to allow for their 100 and 2000. Each is designed for a different effective power consumption. range of plant sizes. The Solar-Log Base 15 is When a malfunction occurs, it is essential to designed for PV plants with up to 15 kWp. react quickly to solve the problem, otherwise Both feed-in management and smart energy there will be major losses in power management can be used independently of The Solar-Log Base 100 provides the production. The new Solar-Log Base data or in combination with one another. In both optimal functions for plants up to 100 kWp logger ensures that PV plant failures and cases, the Solar-Log™ system ensures the and the Solar-Log Base 2000 is for complex smart management and documentation of industrial plants up to 2 MW. The modular Laptop Task List WWW.PESSOLAR.COM 43

TALKING POINT Solar-Log WEB Enerest™ 4.0 – high performance in error analysis assignments and processing as simple as possible, Solar-Log WEB Enerest™ 4.0 offers design is complemented by two additional The Monitoring section provides simple and professionals an extra tool. hardware modules. The Mod I/O and MOD quick error analysis. Individual plant Red, orange and green – these three 485 provide options for expanding the information is intelligently displayed with all categories ensure that pending tasks are individual interfaces. They can be used for of the data relevant to specific errors. simply and clearly structured for every connecting additional inverters and employee. Red is open tasks, orange for integrating Smart Energy components and a The online portal calculates various values tasks that are in process and green for ripple control receiver. from the data provided for the error analysis. completed tasks. This is presented in the form of the plant The tasks can be categorized according to Quick expansion of the plant size history, daily values, current display of the their status. Essential information is included Solar-Log™ and a heat map of the in the task with the option to attach The modular hardware design is component communication. additional information. complemented by software licenses. The Summary: three, additional plant size licenses, allow Self-learning detection of plant errors The signs point towards growth for the PV plants up to 30 and 250 kWp to be monitored. industry. With smart systems, it is possible to For example, if a Solar-Log Base 100 is It is important for a plant operator to quickly help this growth become a success. When installed on a 100 kWp plant, and the building detect the cause of the problem so that it can the electricity produced from PV is used is expanded, allowing for more panels, the be effectively resolved. The new Enerest 4.0 effectively, there is nothing stopping its existing Solar-Log Base can simply be helps professionals with their work, by continuous growth. upgraded with the corresponding license to documenting the solutions to an error at the The Solar-Log’s newest generation aims for increase the plant size that it can monitor. PV plant. When the same problem happens the effective production of PV energy and Additional hardware is not required. elsewhere, the system can easily and quickly the elimination of yield losses. The new provide a possible solution. system is so versatile that it has mastered Plant management and monitoring from a the different regulations of individual professional Individual assignment of user rights countries, whilst providing all of the necessary functions. Whether it is simple Many plant owners decide to outsource plant With centralized plant monitoring, there are monitoring, feed-in power management, a monitoring to a professional. The advantage often different user groups that can only guaranteed 0% feed-in or the consumption is that when an error occurs, the error view or edit a limited number of sections or of self-produced electricity - Solar-Log™ notification is immediately sent to the right plants. Enerest 4.0 includes an offers efficient solutions for all. person so that it can be processed quickly Administration section where individual user The user was not forgotten despite the and professionally. rights can be set up. complex technology and sophisticated developments involved. The best system is In turn, this saves time on troubleshooting A user with individual rights can be assigned of little use when no one knows how to use it. and costs associated with extensive to every plant. Individual plants can be That is why the new Solar-Log™ generation downtime. assigned to plant groups and user groups. was not just developed for PV plant The settings and right assignments are operators and installers, but with their input. Solar-Log WEB Enerest™ professional possible for all segments. This includes monitoring has been completely redesigned users, user groups, plants, plant groups and www.solar-log.com/en/ and updated to work in combination with the rights. When a user clicks on a plant, all of the new hardware generation. properties are displayed. This includes the The new Solar-Log Base data logger ensures that groups of plants and the users and their PV plant failures and breakdowns are immediately The redesign was done with a clear focus on rights. This allows detailed properties to be detected and reported to the plant operator. the service providers’ requirements to generated without losing the overview. manage several plants centrally and to provide fast and self-learning error analysis. Simple and straight-forward task processing Calculating, processing and reporting data In addition to the monitoring and Enerest 4.0 is subdivided into the sections administration of the PV plants, the Dashboard, Monitoring, Task List, organization of the tasks plays an important Administration, and Billing. role in central monitoring. To keep task 44 PES SOLAR

LOGan is the Boss of Energy He always has the best solutions for PV systems • He detects loss of earnings in no time at all! • Effective use of PV surplus is a snap! • Whether component manufacturer or inverter model, LOGan knows them all, worldwide. Of course, nobody can do it better - leave it to LOGan, the Energy Boss Exhibition Munich May 15 - 17, 2019 Hall B2 - Booth 154 Solare Datensysteme GmbH • Germany • [email protected] • www.solar-log.com

WORLDYOUR SOLAR 2019OmUeTdiNaOdaWta COVERED EKO Instruments Kipp & Zonen Kameleon Solar Conference Call Meteocontrol Ecoprogetti Sintef Conference Call Studer Innotec Huawei ABB Solar IMT An exciting update for the Ruud Ringoir brings us the latest We hear exclusively from We preview of two of the We hear exclusively from product PES caught up with CEO, Laura We hear the views of Senior We look ahead and preview the Pablo Muñoz, Technical Support PES takes a look at Huawei’s Leonardo Botti talks to PES Photovoltaic in the fast lane from global PV market leading industry events Research Scientist, Martin Intersolar Europe 2019 in Munich Manager at Studer Innotec talks new, flexible PV systems for about ABB Solar's solid technical Dirk Tegtmeyer IMT scheduled for 2018 Bellmann – regarded by many as the most Mini-grid solutions home owners expertise and knowledge important trade fair around the globe each year SOLAR/PV from an industry pioneer CEO, Guust Verpaalen manager, Markus Holzapfel SOLAR/PV SOLAR/PV Sartore for her exclusive insight As ever, we bring you the latest technological & innovative As always, we are delighted to present you with the latest product & It’s that time of year again! We look ahead and preview two developments and advances from many of the industry’s technology innovations as well as project developments and advances of the biggest and most important events on the global solar key players. from a number of key mover’s and shaker’s in the market. calendar in 2018. The Intersolar Europe in Munich & the Plus, our usual dose of expert opinion, insight & analysis. Plus, our regular helping of opinion, industry insight & analysis. Intersolar North America in San Francisco 2018 Plus, enjoy our frequent offering of opinion, product advances and industry insight. POWER & ENERGY SOLUTIONS • ISSUE 33, 2018 POWER & ENERGY SOLUTIONS • ISSUE 34, 2019 POWER & ENERGY SOLUTIONS • ISSUE 32, 2018 SMARTER PV? Managing PV Energy BREAKING NEW GROUND The Industry is continuing to evolve at quite a pace. It will come as no surprise that the industry continues to change at an Are the advances in both knowledge & technology almost unrelenting rate. But it may be down to how we manage and react As the industry continues its rapid evolution, leading us toward a PV market which is becoming there are continuing technological advances to these changes that shape the future of the market moving forward. smarter by the day? From cost reduction, increased efficiency and the digitalization of data, and breakthrough developments that look how are we managing to keep solar PV ahead in the global energy race? set to shape the future of our industry SOLAR ENERGY’S ESSENTIAL MEDIA DESTINATION 24,000+ READERS EXTENSIVE ONLINE AND MOBILE REACH BIG NAME INTERVIEWS NEWS, VIEWS AND ANALYSIS UNMISSABLE FEATURES AND AGENDA-SETTING COMMENT email [email protected] today www.pessolar.com

THE MOSTEnIneHtrMHeiggrayahsldSo-leptlBaoei1nrrra,f/GgoBeeeroemroSsmtaoEhanluun4crtey3oi.o0pnes, SUSTAINABLE THING ABOUT DIESEL? THE SCANDAL. In an ever-changing world we take the promise of “Made in Germany“ seriously, with sustainable, durable and cost-efficient energy solutions. Learn more at the Intersolar / ees Europe about cutting energy costs with our innovative energy storage solutions – for example with the TS HV 70 Outdoor: Made to optimize energy costs for ev charging solutions. THE ENERGY STORAGE EXPERTS

ASK THE EXPERTS: MANUFACTURERS Flexibility, simplicity and modularity PES caught up with Laura Sartore, CEO at Ecoprogetti, to get the latest from this innovative European provider of Turnkey lines for Photovoltaic Panels production, who has been in our business for over 20 years. Cost reduction and reduced downtimes are always in the forefront of R&D work, as well as European and safety regulations. 48 PES SOLAR

ASK THE EXPERTS: MANUFACTURERS PES: Hi Laura, it’s great to have you with us Rajen Shah, Managing Director India , right Laura Sartore, CEO Ecoprogetti and left Domenico Sartore, Founder at PES Solar/PV. Would you like to begin by of Ecoprogetti telling us a little about Ecoprogetti? Laura Sartore: Well Ecoprogetti is the only company in Europe that designs and manufactures complete machines for the production of photovoltaic panels 100 % in Europe. We have been working on big projects since 1998, especially in Europe, The Middle East and India, where we have the biggest customer base. We have driven development in the PV industry, starting from the old 4’ 600µm thickness round cells, through the whole evolution of solar products arriving at today’s peak, to create production solutions for PERC, bifacial, round wire, glass glass, shingling, adhesive technology and so on. We continue to drive dynamic and advanced research, both on machine innovation and cost reduction solutions, so that we always provide the most competitive and efficient turnkey production solutions from 10MW to 1GW. WWW.PESSOLAR.COM 49

ASK THE EXPERTS: MANUFACTURERS PES: We are keen to know more about your Glass Loading Robot - ECOGLASS R the quality of the equipment raw materials, turnkey lines for the production of PV the required level of maintenance, modules. Are you able to customise these automation depending on the business needs. consumable changeover and operating to suit the customers’ needs? running costs are significantly low and the LS: Of course this is part of our core PES: What are the benefits in terms of cost operating costs, for the module producers, business, together with standard lines we and production to the end user? are very limited. make tailor made machines and tailor made production lines quite frequently. LS: Everyone thinks that the CAPEX is the The operating costs impact directly on the More and more often the module producers thing to look at when purchasing a machine, final module selling price, therefore, it is clear don’t require a standard machine, but rather but what if the OPEX is very high? Some of that the producers, who are able to control need a product that differentiates them from our competitors’ equipment have very high and reduce the running costs, are able to the competition and that maintains their operating, running and maintenance costs, have a cheaper module selling price. competitive advantage. which are felt on a daily basis their Our clients get the answers from us that customers. production costs and the final It is indeed not correct to consider only the can’t find from the competition thanks to our selling price of the PV module. So, even if the capex in the initial purchase equipment, and decennial experience, also in the PV process. CAPEX for the asset investment looks to compare only the capex between Chinese Some clients ask for flexible modules, no cheaper, the OPEX, which the module or European equipment. The ‘daily’ money glass, with innovative materials, producer has to bear are much heavier in the required to run a production line, in terms of compositions and substrates that makes the long term. operating and running costs must also be panel highly customized. We study with these considered carefully when defining the clients the best method to industrialize their Thanks to Ecoprogetti’s design solutions and investment. product, from start-up, the tests and validation and to the series production. Since the beginning, Ecoprogetti has chosen We work according to three key words: to maintain a policy of constant ‘low cost flexibility, simplicity and modularity. These spare parts and consumables’, most of the stand for the adaptability of the machines/ components which are used in our production lines to the customers’ needs, equipment are commercially available and the suitability to work with different types can also be found on the local market. A fact of cells and raw materials to produce all which is recognized and highly appreciated kind of PV modules, the simplicity of use by all our customers. and the little maintenance needed and the easiness of upgrading a production line to a For us the analysis and constant innovation in higher efficiency in a very cost-competitive the reduction of the operating, maintenance way by upgrading and working on the and running costs in our Equipment have the existing equipment. same importance as the competitive price By then using Ecoprogetti’s PV panel which we propose to our customers. manufacturing machines, customizable in whole or in part, it is possible to make a quality Ecoprogetti has its roots in a solar panel product, whilst optimizing operation costs manufacturing company, so we really and cycle times. understand the importance of keeping the Ecoprogetti’s solar panel manufacturing line running at the lowest production cost machines provide the right level of and how expensive production stops can be. High Capacity Electric Laminator - ECOLAM 10 DS We believe that the key to compete is to keep 50 PES SOLAR