SOLAR/PV Eurotron Huawei Alencon MESIA Back contact is no longer a Alison Finch brings Hanan Fishman on retrofitting Gives PES a view of the solar concept – It’s proven us digitalisation existing PV assets market in the MENA region It’s Intersolar time once again both in Europe and in the US. In this issue PES brings you our usual event previews and appetisers for 2 of the most important Solar PV shows in the world, make sure you book your tickets, see inside for details. Plus, our eagerly awaited, exclusive interviews and articles, bringing you the latest in developments, products, technology, innovation and services.POWER & ENERGY SOLUTIONS • ISSUE 30, 2017 SOLAR COMES OF AGE Have we reached peak efficiency and lowest costs or is there still more to come?
© Solar Impulse | Revillard | Rezo.ch Just imagine: photovoltaics got it off the ground. Flying around the globe powered only by solar energy! We are proud to be part of a project which achieved such impressive success. We invest all our efforts into clean, sustainable technologies. Our ambitious people make a better future come true for all mankind. We know how to efficiently turn the infinite power of the sun into energy by spanning the entire process chain from the wafer through cell production to the complete solar module. “Meyer Burger is on track into a decarbonized future.” André Borschberg & Bertrand Piccard, co-founders of Solar Impulse Meyer Burger provided the premium technology, which was used to connect the over 17,000 high-efficiency solar cells to the 269.5 m² wing panel of the Solar Impulse airplane, which collects up to 340 kWh of solar energy per day. www.meyerburger.com www.solarimpulse.com
EDITOR’S NOTEEditor’s note POWER & ENERGY SOLUTIONS A warm welcome to our first edition of 2017. The year is off to a good start in the solar/ PV industry. This issue is jam packed with articles looking at new technology, Directors innovation, R&D advances and product releases from a variety of contributors. Stuart Gillies It’s time once again for the annual Intersolar events in both Europe & in the US – as Mark Smith ever, we look ahead to these events with eager anticipation, we can expect to see Stefann Perrigot exhibitors from every sector of the industry as well as visitor’s from all corners of the Client Liaison Manager globe. We will be there of course, and hope to see you too. Vikki Birch This issue hears a lot about efficiency. Bifacial photovoltaic solar cell concepts, such Editor as p-type PERC+, n-type PERT, CIS/CIGS technology and silicon heterojunction solar Elaine Perrigot cells are all contributing to this new high level of efficient production. Companies are [email protected] making heavy investments to deliver high-performance products. These highly skilled Associate Editors innovators never cease to amaze us. Stephen Pearson R&D remains another important factor in providing top class modules and training still Zachary George remains a top priority. Highly trained, skilled workers, who are conscious and aware of Design the health and safety needs, are more efficient throughout any project, from Andrew Jenkins conception to implementation. [email protected] We take a look across a number of regions, from MENA & Asia to the US & Europe, Production very different markets with one common overriding goal. The expansion of solar/PV Paul Lawson seems never ending, which is good for our industry. Areas away from the main grids [email protected] are now being linked up to mini-grids, providing them with a reliable electricity supply. Sales Enquiries It seems that the things are set to improve further still. [email protected] So let’s make the most of it and enjoy! General Enquiries [email protected] Enjoy the Issue Media Partnership Enquiries [email protected] Elaine Perrigot Advertising Opportunities Editor [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
CONTENTS72 Back contact is no longer a 84 PES Welcome’s Alison 8 Hanan Fishman, President 48 PES brings you an concept – It’s proven Finch, Chief Marketing of Alencon Systems joins us overview of solar in the Officer, Huawei Solar for this exclusive. MENA region and a Europe forecast for 2017. 16 Tyler Ogden, Analyst – Solar, at Lux Research Inc, talks to PESComment Ask the experts10 Pia Alina Lange talks us through PV 22 Matthew Anderson, new managing 106 PES asks Gregor Reddemann, CEO waste financing matters Director of Studer Innotec, gives us at M10 Industries AG, about Kubus, his view of the changes within the innovation, sharing know-how, theConference Call company and his vision for the future. future and discovered more about this progressive company As usual, we are excited to look 122 Moritz Meixner, general manager, 68 PES talks with Dr. Michael Fuß, CEO ahead and preview the Annual h.a.l.m. elektronik GmbH, came Intersolar events in both Munich & in back to PES to catch us up on the at MBJ Solutions, as he gives us an San Francisco. developments in their high quality insight into the development of their range of testers. He is also enthusiastic spectrum of inspection systems,PES Essential about the need for R&D and training – simulation and measurement tools both of staff and the customer90 Kees van den Bos, Director at 80 We hear from Rogier Reinders, 110 PES is delighted to welcome Dieter Hukseflux Thermal Sensors, gives Global Marketing Director at The Dow us the low down on technology Manz, founder and CEO of Manz Chemical Company, as he enlightens developments and advances in AG, as he tells us more about the us on the positive effect the ownership sensor solutions. German high-tech engineering firm’s of Dow Corning’s silicones business unwavering commitment to the CIGS will have on the PV industry and the thin-film solar technology customers of both entities 102 PES hears exclusively from Patricia 54 A sunny outlook with CIGS & HJT. Darez, a director at 350renewables, Dr.-Ing. Stefan Rinck, CEO at as she puts the questions to Marc Singulus Technologies, Korevaar, physicist at Kipp & Zonen explains more4 PES Solar
CONTENTS48Think tank Talking point Corporate focus 60 PES takes a look at the latest way28 We are delighted to welcome 76 Custom integrated PV from idea to one company is offering a way to Dr. Sebastian Gatz, Head of market – we here from ECN save time, money & to be ecologically Products and Sebastian Kraneis, responsible, by using a new extrusion Communication & Marketing Manager, 94 Is storage changing the way we method – Courtesy of Breyer Meyer Burger (Germany) AG use photovoltaics? 118 We welcome back regular contributor34 We hear in more detail about 98 PES is delighted to get an insight to PES, Stäubli Electrical Connectors the important role of mounting components within the PV sector as a on the state-of-the-art and next www.pessolar.com 5 whole – Courtesy of Levasoft generation PERx technology from Mirko Meyer, Product Manager,38 Sources of contamination of thin film Meyer Burger (Germany) AG layer stacks in high-efficiency cell devices and methods to suppress cross-contamination in an OCTOPUS PECVD deposition system44 PES is privileged to bring you an overview of the differences in functionality & technology. We hear from ASD Automatic Storage Device GmbH114 PES Welcomes Antti Tolvanen, Technology Manager at Endeas Oy – read his views on all matters measurement & quality testing
COMMENT: TECHNOLOGYGreen economyAre there cheaper renewable energies out there? Doessaving the planet mean we, the consumer has to pay more?The EU has set targets and the UK is offering incentives tocompanies who meet these targets. Find out what savingsyou can make whilst doing your bit to save the planet…Saving Money Whilst Saving the Planet: generation in the nation, and as such it Why Go Solar?Solar Investment creates proportionately the largest amount of solar energy in Europe. It is surprising, There is little reason not to choose solar asIf you have been interested in saving then, that the UK government has made your renewable of choice. Even withmoney on your energy bills lately, both in surprising cuts to the solar industry. clouds overshadowing your home, thethe domestic and commercial solar rays that will continue to reach yourenvironment, you have likely already Nevertheless, incentives such as panels will still save you energy in the longlooked at all of the options available to you Renewable Obligation Certificates have run. There are two types of solar panelson the switching company side of things. become a far more attractive proposition that you can invest in, too, withWhile this can help you in the long run, for energy suppliers to make more money photovoltaic being the most popular forthere’s one thing it doesn’t achieve: from generating energy by renewable electricity conversion and solar thermal forhelping to save the planet in the process. processes. Other nations have similar cutting your water heating bills.Energy companies that rely mostly on incentives in place, but the UK offers afossil fuel energy are often the cheapest significant investment for companies willing If you are in the UK, you will be pleased toproviders, and opting to turn to renewables to meet the specified annual obligation know that going solar does not mean thatcould alleviate some of the damage your levels. On the domestic side, too, there has you have to remain with the same energyproperty could do to the environment. been a growth in incentives due to the supplier throughout your use of solar Feed-In Tariff scheme, which sees panels. In fact, with multiple energyThe EU has been aiming for a target of 20% property-owners receive a monetary companies complying with the Feed-Inof its energy to come from renewables incentive for every kwH produced and the Tariff scheme, you can continue to supplyacross all member states, including a further ability to sell back their excess energy to the national grid and save money without20% of cuts to greenhouse gases and the national grid. stressing about being unable to switch to acarbon production. States are required to be cheaper energy bill. Saving money – andcollectively meeting these targets by 2020. It is no surprise, then, that the UK has continuing to save the environment.2014 saw a huge 15.3% of all energy coming become as much of a hub for solar energyfrom renewables across the EU, meaning as it has. Go through any township and Choosing a 4kW system could, on average,that there could very realistically be targets you will see a number of properties with save the average household up to £8,000met across the board if further attention is solar panels on the roofs, with a forecast over 20 years of use with the Feed-In Tariff.paid to renewables. This includes our own by The Imperial College that 10million That is only on the monetary side of things,investments into the potential of solar. homes will have photovoltaics installed by 2020. This has been a significantA Look inside Solar Investments investment and push for cleaner energy, and with around 4% of carbon emissionsLooking at the UK in particular for solar falling in 2014 from the previous year.potential, you may be wondering how such Could the EU continue to follow in similara gloomy island holds such high stakes in footsteps? Quite possibly.the solar energy market. It remains themost popular form of renewable energy6 PES Solar
COMMENT: TECHNOLOGY “It is no surprise, then, that the UK has become as much of a hub for solar energy as it has”however. You could potentially see your you are considering selling your property thirds of Brits owning a smartphone, andproperty being able to cut back on up to on. Not only this, but depending on your now our homes can be connected to our1,900kg of carbon dioxide every single year. location, you could see more savings. devices too. Using a smart meter in tandemEvery solar system that is added to Those using solar PV in the South of with your solar panels will allow you toproperties across Europe is helping to put England can see more profit than those in reduce your electricity consumption andpennies back in pockets and protect the the North, and in the EU more sun-blessed further reduce the carbon emissionsfragile environment we have created. It is nations could benefit even further from harming the planet by controlling yournot necessary to invest in solar, but having extensive solar use nationwide. energy consumption remotely. An in-homerenewables be part of your energy scheme display (IHD) provides up-to-date real-timecould, potentially, save more than just your Extra Incentives after Installation information on gas and electricitywallet’s linings. consumption in pounds and pence, as well Not only will users gain a monetary income as units of energy, encouraging users toThings to Consider before Purchasing from the installation of solar panels through reduce their usage. the Feed-In Tariff Scheme and theOf course, every renewable form of energy electricity savings made, but households Certain models are so technologically– including solar PV – has to have its more can stand to reduce their carbon emissions advanced that they can learn thewary factors for buyers. The economy is even further by continuing to invest in household’s behaviour and will implementever-changing, and as such, there could be energy saving products throughout the energy saving reductions on the owner’shighs and lows to the money spent and home once their photovoltaic panels are behalf. The UK Government plans for everysaved on your systems over time. installed. By using less energy, households home and business in the UK to have a will be able to reap the rewards of the smart meter for electricity and gas by theAs electricity prices rise, you may find more panels and reduce the need to pull end of 2020 as part of the EU’s targets toof your money made from tariffs and solar electricity from the national grid. By reduce greenhouse gases, and with eachenergy production going towards the installing low cost, low maintenance LED smart device user’s energy usage beingfunding of the rest of your home’s energy. bulbs in your home your energy reduces by between 5 and 15% in the firstWith a forecast 2.6% increase each year, consumption will reduce drastically. LED year of using an energy monitor it’s nothis could end up being far higher than first typically use 90% less energy than their wonder this is a popular choice withanticipated. The initial investment in solar filament predecessors. When you consider government and households alike.panels, too, can seem a steep hill to climb. that typical light bulbs account for 10-20%A new solar panel system could cost you of an electricity bill, replacing these seems Carbon Reductionsbetween £5,000 - £8,000 but, in hindsight, like the obvious choice. and Monetary Incentivesthis figure used to be far higher, so you areultimately saving more money than those Gone are the days of the dull glow of low Having attractive incentives for buyers aswho purchased in the last decade. energy bulbs, struggling to light a room for both supplier and national government can minutes at a time until they’re warm. Today be what makes all of the difference in theEU member states are all subject to their modern LED bulbs can save you £7.50 per game of renewables. Energy and carbonown rates of inflation. Currencies are bulb and lasts up to 50,000 hours, over 10 neutral targets must be met, and solar PVconstantly fluctuating, as are national years of low energy light. That’s fifty times appears to be the way to go for manyeconomies. Export tariffs in particular are longer than filament bulbs, and 20 times people, most notably in the UK. If trendsoften subject to a higher rate of inflation, longer than Halogen. continue, how much more carbon could wewhich is currently projected at around 2% see being reduced, and how much moneyin the UK, which is yet another factor to be Of course, those who have solar panels could potentially be saved by the typicalaware of when investing. installed will possibly already have an homeowner? It is all up in the air with interest in their energy consumption, but for fluctuating rates – but one thing is forNevertheless, you could actually see far those who do not monitor their energy certain. Solar PV and government incentivesmore benefits from using solar panels. usage closely a secondary measure worth to reduce carbon are here to stay.Studies have shown that solar panels can installing after solar panels is a smart meter.actually increase the value of your home if In Britain, we love technology with two www.glasgowboilerservice.com www.pessolar.com 7
COMMENT: TECHNOLOGYThe Science andEconomics of RepoweringWords: Hanan Fishman, President, Alencon SystemsNew multi-megawatt solar installations are growing rapidly,which is great news for the environment and the economy.With that growth comes falling prices, both for powerpurchase agreements (PPAs) and solar gear including PVmodules, inverters and other equipment. Hanan Fishman But what about the people reading this application is their more granular maximum article who got into large scale solar earlier power point tracking or MPPT. For those8 PES Solar in the game, with PV plants now between unfamiliar with this term, MPPT refers to the five and ten years old, or perhaps even technique for determining the maximum older? How are your PV assets performing amount power a PV module can produce. now? It’s quite likely there is significant untapped potential in those assets that Central inverters generally offer one could provide you increased returns on maximum power point tracker for the your existing portfolio by boosting yield and entire PV array that feeds into them. For decreasing operating costs. example, say a 500 KW PV array has 84 strings connected to a central inverter with There is sound science behind how you can one MPPT (MPPT can also stand for do so, the application of which will have maximum power point tracker or the some very significant economic benefits. software and hardware that actually does the maximum power point tracking). That Turning your central inverter into a means the central inverter looks at each string inverter string in the array as if they were the same from a power production perspective. The One of the great debates in the solar problem, particularly in aged PV plants, is industry at the moment is the one over that those strings are anything but the central versus string inverters. Settling this same in this regard. This lack of similarity debate is beyond the scope of this article. is called mismatch. What is in the scope of this article is explaining that one of the arguments string Mismatch can occur on a day to day basis inverter advocates make in favor of their due to issues such as cloud cover or
COMMENT: TECHNOLOGY ‘Retrofitting with string level optimization can also provide a number of qualitative benefits beyond just yield improvement.’uneven panel soiling. Those mismatch the more granular MPPT adding anywhere assets. In Europe, these incentives comeissues are typically more pronounced in from 5 to 15% more power produced for a in the form of feed in tariffs. Thisresidential systems i.e. most larger systems plant that is suffering from excessive symbiotic effect clearly makes retrofits onare not built in shady places. What can be degradation related mismatch. older PV assets a very attractivepronounced in older utility scale systems is economic proposition.mismatch in MPPT characteristics due to The economics of utility scale PVuneven degradation that has occurred over retrofitting O&M advantagesthe years. Degradation refers to the amountthe performance of a solar panel decreases Once you understand the yield benefit, you Retrofitting with string level optimizationover time. can quickly determine the economic impact can also provide a number of qualitative of such an investment in your plant. In benefits beyond just yield improvement.Uneven degradation, which invariably understanding the economic impact of an Appropriately equipped string leveloccurs as panels deteriorate, means over optimizer retrofit, you essentially need to optimizers can also provide a numbertime, those 84 strings we referred to above know a few parameters: the incremental operations and maintenance (O&M)start to behave very differently and those value to you of each additional kilowatt hour benefits. For example, optimizers could bedifferences mean you could be leaving a of energy produced, the amount of equipped with on-board arc and groundsignificant amount of energy production additional energy the retrofit will yield and fault detection, which can inject a higher“in the array.” If you think of harvesting of course the cost of the retrofit, inclusive of level of safety into a plant. Again, this isenergy as akin to harvesting an agricultural installation cost. Based on these factors, more important in older plants whereproduct like corn, you could think of having you can quickly model the return on conductors are that much old and moreone MPPT for a field of degraded panels investment of such a proposition inclusive susceptible to such issues. Additionally, ifas analogous to leaving quite a bit of of any tax equity considerations such as an optimizer is galvanically isolated, it canoverripe or underripe corn in the field after accelerated depreciation. create a force field of sorts between thea harvest. PV and the inverter, shielding the inverter What’s interesting about PV retrofit from any harmful faults that might occur inBy retrofitting your plant with a string level opportunities is that they provide the the array. String level optimization alsooptimizer, you can mitigate this problem by highest ROIs to PV plants whose generally entails string level monitoring, soperforming MPPT at the string level. In this performance they are best poised to plant owners can have much moreway, you will be sure to “optimize” the yield improve. As stated above, older plants granular visibility into the performance ofof your plant. suffering from any variety of panel their PV plant. mismatch issues will generally have higherIn scientific terms, the best way to describe value power purchase agreements and/or The solar industry has sustainability builtthis effect is to look at the total power other arrangements that create incentives into its ethos. Retrofitting existing PVproduced by adding up the power for production. For example, in the U.S. assets would seem an activity decidedlyproduced by the individual MPPTs of each states such as a Massachusetts and New consistent with such a view, though doingstring versus the MPPT of the entire array Jersey have very favorable solar so also has a very sound scientific andpreviously controlled by the inverter’s single renewable energy credit programs economic basis.MPPT. When doing so, you see the total (SRECs) which create a strong incentive topower produced is measurably higher, with produce more power from existing PV www.alenconsystems.com www.pessolar.com 9
COMMENT: RECYCLINGPV waste financing– an acyclic phenomenonWords: Pia Alina Lange, Head of Public Affairs & Communications Working at the world’s first take-back and WEEE compliance scheme for photovoltaic modules, PV CYCLE staff are often confronted with the question of why pay for something that has not yet occurred. Pia Alina Lange While about 9 million tonnes of photovoltaic A high-volume market, PV modules are sold – or PV – modules had been installed in and installed in millions to contribute to a10 PES Solar Europe by the end of 2015, only an estimated fast transition from traditional electricity 0.3% have become waste today. PV CYCLE production to renewables. With a technical – as the largest service provider in the market lifetime of 20 and more years, the time span – has collected and treated the vast majority of product use and waste generation differs of these waste modules, coming from significantly from most other products transport or installation damage as well as falling under the Waste Electrical and from severe weather conditions or warranty Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive cases. More than 99% of today’s sold however. Future waste management and modules continue perfectly to generate green long-term financing are hence crucial solar energy as expected. aspects of PV waste management today. Yet, European authorities require that Information published by PV CYCLE in 2016 importers and manufacturers based in their shows the financing regulations applied in countries foresee financial provisions for the 28 EU states and to the detriment of PV waste management based on the entire companies and owners, all PV-relevant business volume that they sell into the member States – from Germany, France and market. Financing obligations can go from Italy to the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK financial guarantees and trusts to clearing – implemented different financial models to houses or waste fees at the time of sales. manage current and future waste streams in Some countries go as far as to combine their countries. trusts with reductions on feed-in-tariffs to ensure that the financing of collection, Italy is the only one in the Union, to apply a transport, treatment, recycling and disposal hybrid product classification that entails of end-of-life PV modules is truly quite diverging financial rules and operational guaranteed at any time. procedures for waste holders and WEEE producers (manufacturer/importers).
COMMENT: RECYCLING‘In a joint call for due diligence in PV WEEE compliance, PV CYCLE and leading PV companies calculated thatabout 50% of the UK and more than 90% of the Dutch PV market were not compliant in 2014’Producers finance all new, as well as historic today applied in Europe’s WEEE legislations1: future treatment of appliances currentlyhousehold waste, through their membership being sold (Advanced Recycling Fee):with a compliance scheme. However the • Compliance Cost (CC). Producers this means that the future recyclingend-of-life costs, for modules before 2015, finance activities in the system, bearing costs for each appliance is estimated ininstalled in projects bigger than 10 kW, must costs for management of all WEEE, both advance and paid upfront by the endbe borne by the waste holder directly. historical and new waste by either joining user when buying the appliance.Moreover, all modules must be registered a compliance scheme or financing their Otherwise the recycling fee representswith a serial number and a guarantee. own take back system. and is calculated as a share of actual costs of recycling for WEEE arisingAdditional waste management financing is • Compliance Cost & Visible Fee (CC&VF). (Shared Recycling Fee): this means thatrequired for PV modules benefiting from Producers finance activities in the recycling costs currently arising arepublic subsidies under Conto Energia I-V system, bearing costs for management of shared on appliances being sold.to ensure sustainable waste treatment in new WEEE by either joining a compliancethe future. scheme or financing their own take back While the Compliance Cost (CC) model is system. They also bear costs for broadly applied throughout the EU, theBelgium and France opted for an management of historical WEEE but they 2007-study concluded that it does notaccreditation model, granting only selected use a visible fee on the invoice to get necessarily provide “the best economiccollective or individual waste management money back from final users. and environmental outcome”.schemes the right to collect and manage amandatory environmental fee which is due • R eimbursed Compliance Cost (RCC). PV CYCLE data confirms that the VF/RCCon every newly sold PV module. All Producers finance activities in the countries Belgium and France quicklyoperational activities pertaining to end-of- system, bearing costs for management of achieved high compliance rates after thelife modules are executed by these WEEE by either joining a compliance entry into force of their PV WEEE obligations,schemes too. scheme or financing their own take back while the Netherlands and the UK still score system. They also bear costs for relatively high in the free-rider ranking. In aAt the other extreme of WEEE management management of WEEE but they use a joint call for due diligence in PV WEEEmechanisms, Germany, the Netherlands visible fee to get money back from final compliance, PV CYCLE and leading PVand the UK apply an open-market principle users in respect to both historical and companies calculated that about 50% of thewith dozens of different waste treatment new WEEE management costs. UK and more than 90% of the Dutch PVand compliance providers. To ensure sound market were not compliant in 2014.financing across the solutions, Germany • R ecycling Fee (RF). Final users, whenrequires a financial guarantee on the entire buying new equipment, bear costs for With the aim of ensuring both a levelannual turnover; the UK put in place a the management of WEEE. There is no playing field for industry actors and highmarket share obligation, calculated by the involvement of Producers. Recycling financial certainty for end-users andEnvironment Agency and based on the fees could be used to raise funds for society, PV CYCLE offers PV-dedicatedannual UK WEEE collection target for consultancy to help reduce the overallPV modules. 1 Executive summary, Management of WEEE complexity in the PV WEEE market – also or & Cost Models across the EU - Could the EPR especially because of the multifoldA study done by the Department of principle lead us to a better environmental policy?, financing mechanisms. The initial questionEconomics Management & Industrial 2007, page 4, Federico Magalini / Department of of waste financing in the PV industry isEngineering at the Politecnico of Milan and Economics Management & Industrial Engineering expected to remain vital however.the University of Technology in Delft Politecnico di Milano & Jaco Huisman / Design foridentified four main financing principles Sustainability Research Group, Delft University of www.pvcycle.org Technology www.pessolar.com 11
CONFERENCE CALLIntersolar EuropePES brings you previews to the Intersolar shows, kicking off resources becoming more and morewith the Intersolar Europe and followed closely by Intersolar important. Instead of large-scale,US. These shows reflect the expansion of solar energy centralised nuclear and fossil fuel poweracross the globe and bring you the latest technology, stations, in the future, the energy supply willinnovation and a chance to meet the regular players in the be secured by millions of decentralisedmarket and new ones. Prepare to be wowed. renewable energy plants and storage systems as well as consumers acting asIntersolar Europe 2017: Showcasing the Europe will once again be accompanied by what are known as prosumers.future of the energy industry ees Europe, the continent’s largest and most visited exhibition for batteries and energy Supply structures are also set to changeThe international solar market is booming. storage systems. in this new energy world. The mainMarket researchers from Mercom Capital challenge here is ensuring anhave put the global rise in photovoltaics for At both exhibitions, the industry sheds light uninterrupted flow of energy despite the2016 at 76 gigawatts. Southern Europe is on topics such as energy generation, varying availability of renewable power. Aone of the sunniest regions in the world, storage, grid integration and energy modern infrastructure and reliable storagemaking it the perfect location to drive management, smart renewable energy as facilities are therefore the cornerstone offorward the global energy transition and well as innovation in the photovoltaics (PV) this development, supported by anfurther promote solar energy growth. and storage industry. Around 1,200 intelligent network of the various key exhibitors and 40,000 trade visitors from 160 players, such as power generators andAnd as the world’s leading exhibition for the countries are expected to attend this year. storage facilities. Together with eessolar industry and its partners, Intersolar Europe, Intersolar Europe has become aEurope will serve as a source of inspiration Towards the new world of energy platform for this new energy world.from May 31–June 2, 2017 in Munich formanufacturers, distributors, service The global energy industry is currently The Smart Renewable Energy specialproviders and suppliers. This year, Intersolar evolving, with electricity from renewable exhibit, hall B2, booth B2.140, sheds light on this area. Here, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the project partners of the Helmholtz Association – the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ) – will12 PES Solar
CONFERENCE CALLpresent how new methods and technologies presiding over the conference as the most important and globally recognisedfit into the future energy system. Their chairman. In his current role of activity award in the industry. A look back atinfrastructure platform Energy Lab 2.0 manager at the Swiss research and previous award topics is a good indicator ofinvestigates the complex interplay of the development center CSEM, Centre Suisse how the industry has evolved over thecomponents of future energy systems. d’Electronique et de Microtechnique or decade. The first few years focused on Swiss Center for Electronics and ways of increasing efficiency and quality,On June 1, this topic will also feature at the Microtechnology, he is responsible for the while attention turned later to componentSmart Renewable Energy Forum, hall B2, performance of PV systems as well as optimisation. In 2016, the industrybooth B2.131, which will address concepts storage system and grid integration. increasingly addressed digitalisation, aand technologies for a smart, trend that has continued with some forcedecentralised energy landscape on each Dr. Alet is a member of the Steering into 2017.day of the exhibition. Committee of the European Technology and Innovation Platform Photovoltaics, For the first time, the Outstanding SolarAlongside the exhibition: Intersolar where he leads the platform’s activities on Projects category is being expanded toEurope accompanying program grid integration. With his extensive include the new topic Smart Renewable expertise in energy generation, storage and Projects. The ceremony begins on May 31,The topic will additionally be taken up by the management for the new energy world, he 2017 at 5:00pm at the Innovation andIntersolar Europe Conference being held on is well-placed to ensure that the conference Application Forum, hall A4, booth A4.530.May 30 and 31, also in Munich. A variety of covers a wider range of relevant topics.sessions at the conference will discuss Storage technology for the globalstrategies for sustainably shaping the new A decade of the Intersolar AWARD: energy transitionenergy world. 1,300 guests and 200 experts Anniversary and reflection of an entirefrom all over the world are also set to industry This year, ees Europe will be held indiscuss new business models and financing conjunction with Intersolar Europe for theopportunities, the operation and 2017 sees the Intersolar AWARD celebrate fourth time. The success story of themaintenance of large-scale PV power plants a milestone birthday. For the tenth year in a continent’s largest and most visitedand the situation of the global market. row, the organisers are honouring exhibition for batteries and energy storage pioneering ideas and new approaches with systems is impressive: It began in 2014 withFor the first time, Dr. Pierre-Jean Alet is 48 exhibitors and 2,100m2 of exhibition space. Just two years later, in 2016, a whopping 212 exhibitors flocked to Munich to present their innovations across 12,500m2 – a growth rate of almost 500%! The success of ees Europe continues unabated: In 2017, the exhibition space will grow to 17,500m2 and the organisers are expecting 270 companies from around the globe. Around 430 of the roughly 1,200 exhibitors at ees Europe and Intersolar Europe will present energy storage technology. This rapid development is due in part to changes in the market. According to the German Solar Association (BSW-Solar) the number of solar storage systems installed in Germany reached 52,000 in 2016 – representing a growth of 20,000 compared with the previous year. The market research company EuPD Research estimates the EU market for PV storage systems in private households will amount to 861 million euros in 2020. Sales around the world could reach around seven billion euros by 2022 according to Global Market Insights. This growth is also fuelled by falling storage system prices. By the second half of 2016, for example, lithium ion storage devices were some 15% cheaper than they had been at the beginning of 2015. The reason for this is that several major companies from the automotive industry have joined the storage battery market and are setting up large-scale production facilities. A turnkey solar power storage system now costs 40% less than it did three years ago. It is especially lucrative for homeowners with new PV systems to store energy produced on site and use it themselves instead of relying on utility companies. www.pessolar.com 13
CONFERENCE CALLThe current market environment is therefore batteries and solutions for systems The special exhibit E-Mobility &ideal for ees Europe. This year, the event integration of mobile storage devices. Renewable Energy, hall B1, booth B1.170,will focus on the topics of self-consumption highlights the significance of electric carsin residential and commercial buildings, Bloomberg New Energy Finance anticipates for the energy mix and transport of thelarge-scale storage systems and grid over 100 million electric vehicles on the future. It will be introducing vehicleintegration as well as battery safety and road worldwide by 2030 – reason enough to concepts, innovative charging solutionsglobal storage markets. Another area of put this topic on the agenda of the ees and current business models forfocus in 2017 is E-mobility. Conference and create a dedicated special sustainable e-mobility. Intelligent exhibit: E-Mobility & Renewable Energy. technology allows excess electricity fromees Europe and ees Europe Conference photovoltaic systems to charge electricput E-mobility on the agenda Attendees at the ees Europe Conference will vehicles, for example. have the opportunity to learn about currentAs the global storage industry expands to market developments and government ees Europe is also honouring the bestnew application areas, all signs in the incentive programs in Europe as well as innovations again this year. The organisersenergy storage market point to mobility. global hotspots for stationary and mobile are set to present the ees AWARD for theThe dominance of stationary storage storage systems. The conference will also fourth time running, with recognition goingdevices is a thing of the past. Demand for discuss storage integration, types of battery to pioneering solutions for mobile andelectric vehicles is growing, prompting electric and hybrid vehicles as well as stationary electricity storage along themore and more automotive manufactures to vehicle-to-grid concepts. entire value-added chain – fromoffer models with increasingly powerful components to production to concrete applications and business models. The ceremony takes place on May 31 at the Innovation and Application Forum. Wave of innovations for a new world of energy The more attractive solar power and its storage become and the more people support the energy transition globally, the more likely it is that innovations are implemented and developed. New business models, products and solutions are emerging almost daily, and the industry is prospering. Intersolar and ees Europe shine the spotlight on pioneering concepts – and 2017 will be no different. Visitors are invited to see and discuss the future of the energy supply up close, taking inspiration home with them. www.intersolar.de/en www.ees-europe.com14 PES Solar
PART OF THE INTERSOLAR GLOBAL EXHIBITION SERIES COMMENT: TECHNOLOGYThe World’s Leading Exhibition for the Solar IndustryMesse München, Germany The unique meeting point for the global solar industry Success guaranteed: 1,200 exhibitors – 40,000+ visitors – 160 countries A dynamic marketplace with a global reachco-located with Top information for your visit in Munich, Germany! www.pessolar.com 15
PES ESSENTIAL SOLAR COMES OF AGE Words: Tyler Ogden, Analyst – Solar, Lux Research Inc16 PES Solar16 PES Solar
PES ESSENTIAL As photovoltaics emerge as the leading generation source of the future, with installations topping wind for the first time in 2016, the underlying production machine has reached maturity. Until relatively recently, in the early 2010’s, uncertainty remained around the prospects of competing photovoltaic technologies. Thin-film companies championed CIGS and CdTe to sweep in an age of low-cost solar, while other options also seemed viable.Tyler Ogden Hitting the supply chain from two ends As a result, only a handful of companies still pursue high concentration photovoltaics, A brief stint of hype-driven venture capital with Canadian-based Morgan Solar only poured into start-ups developing a range of now installing its first large-scale project in organic photovoltaics, which they claimed Ontario, after 10 years of operation. would lead to multitudes of surfaces Meanwhile, the last few organic covered in photovoltaic material, for photovoltaic developers have pivoted away pennies. Others still envisioned a from lofty dreams of omnipresent proliferation led by the combining optical installations as 3GSolar and G24 systems with expensive, high efficiency, Innovations target integration with multi-junction cells in high concentration consumer electronics and wireless photovoltaic concepts. Despite strong electronic networks. commitments to research and development in these areas, the crash in polysilicon Finally, thin-films have not become the prices quashed these prospects and dominant technology, but do retain a fair radically shifted the potential for disruption. market share of roughly 8% championed by Solar Frontier and First Solar. In a market with a clear winner, seeing rapid levels of growth, opportunities for innovation are no longer those aiming to go head-to-head with crystalline silicon. However, technologies that target a narrower piece of the supply chain and are synergistic with silicon stand to reap extraordinary gains. The existing crystalline silicon supply chain is built upon decades old technology, having seen only minor tweaks to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. Precursor polysilicon is still crystallized into ingots that need to be cut down into useable wafers. Cells are still metallized with silver busbars and strung together with aluminum tabs. Modules are still packaged using ethylene vinyl acetate encapsulation, glass, and polymer backsheets. Recent trends in PERC cell architecture and glass-glass modules are incremental shifts. However, a more dramatic shake-up is taking shape as two start-ups – 1366 Technologies and Oxford Photovoltaics – aim to disrupt the established supply chain, targeting different ends. www.pessolar.com 17
PES ESSENTIALFrom three to one: the simplicity of surpassed conversion efficiency records The company’s goal is to develop akerfless wafering over the past two years. monolithic, tandem cell in which a perovskite layer would be applied as part ofIn Bedford, Massachusetts in the U.S., 1366 The cell and module manufacturer known the cell production process, on-top of theTechnologies is far along its way in for pioneering the PERC (passivated emitter silicon architecture. Oxford PV believes thisdeveloping a novel process to reshape how rear contact) architecture is clearly satisfied approach is the only economical solutionmulticrystalline wafers are produced. The with increasing efficiency of cell’s using a for a perovskite-silicon tandem cell, incompany’s approach – dubbed Direct DWS wafer from 17.7% in March 2015 to contrast to a mechanically connectedWafer Solidification (DWS) – yields a 19.9% in March 2017. Given that PERC tandem, in which two parallel cellstandard, drop-in 180 µm thick wafer, adoption has proliferated in the industry, production lines would be required: one forstraight from a molten mass of silicon. adoption of 1366’s wafers is a much a perovskite cell and one for the silicon cell. needed differentiator for Hanwha Q Cells. Only at the end of the line would thePolysilicon feedstock is melted down in a Successful market adoption through completed perovskite cell be placed on-topfurnace from which it is then surface cooled Hanwha Q Cells could lead to a significantly of the silicon cell.with a high degree of precision – to create larger supply agreement in the future,three-dimensional structures or even write accelerating 1366’s scale-up. Unlike 1366 Technologies, Oxford PV is farone’s name in the wafer. The benefits of from seeing any market adoption of itsDWS can be captured through counting the Meanwhile, German-based Wacker – one of process, as it is still in early stages ofsteps: polysilicon-to-wafer equals one vs. the largest polysilicon producers in 2016 – development. The company has just begunpolysilicon-to-ingot-to-bricks-to-wafers made a $15 million equity investment in construction of a demonstration plant in theequals three. DWS wins in simplicity. 1366 in mid-2016, promising to supply old Bosch plant in Germany where it will polysilicon and apply its technical expertise produce tandem cells to supply as proof ofThe advantages of a reduction in steps can to further develop the DWS process. These concepts to potential customers.be further quantified: 1366 believes it will be two relationships bolster 1366 Technologiesable to achieve a cost of $0.35 per-wafer, momentum, pushing it closer to a Oxford PV has already demonstrated aless than half the cost of wafers produced confrontation with incumbent multi- 23% efficient tandem cell and hopes towith the incumbent process. This is a direct crystalline wafer producers and reducing reach above 25% by the end of 2018. Whileresult of reduced energy consumption final module costs by 12%. questions remain around the durability andthrough process simplification and an stability of perovskite, Oxford presents aincrease in silicon utilization by reducing Reining in a promising new material compelling option to upgrade existing cellkerf losses associated with sawing. lines to produce a cell breaking the silicon Across from 1366 at nearly the other end of efficiency barrier.Any excess silicon is thrown back into the the production line stands Oxford PV. Butmolten silicon and reused in the next instead of proposing to simplify the Re-envisioning photovoltaicssolidification. With a low-cost drop-in wafer production process, Oxford is offering tooption, 1366 has an immediate route to add complexity. The company is developing 1366 Technologies and Oxford PV both aremarket adoption, as cell manufacturers will a novel tandem cell architecture that proposing a reshape of the silicon module.be able to source DWS wafers without any couples conventional crystalline silicon cell Both are produced in two concurrentmodifications to their production lines. architecture with a perovskite layer. visions of disruption. While they are both targeting opposite ends of a productionDespite the potential, 1366 is presenting to Perovskites have re-inspired the line, it is not clear whether the twothe industry, a radical and encompassing imagination of the photovoltaic industry, technologies will ever come together.shift in upstream production, which is far having been the subject of countlessfrom realization and the company has a conversion efficiency breakthroughs in 1366’s process is only applicable forlong path ahead of it before dominating academic labs around the world. While it is multi-crystalline silicon production whilewafer production. possible to produce a stand-alone Oxford’s will likely best be suited for perovskite module similar to incumbent mono-crystalline to yield the highestThe company is currently constructing a thin-films, Oxford PV is pursuing an efficiency. As such, each will exist in two250 MW facility in New York, U.S. with approach that would directly compete with different worlds, falling well in-line toprojected completion by the end of 2017. crystalline silicon modules and also perpetuate the trends we see today.Amounting to only 0.3% of global wafer complement them.production, DWS is certainly not a Multi-crystalline silicon costs are sinkingdisruptively, worrying shockwave. Plans to The fundamental concept is that the upper lower and lower, leading to continualreach gigawatt scale production are highly perovskite layer can be tuned such as to record breaking low cost solar tariffs whiledependent. Nonetheless, the company is absorb the blue portion of solar spectrum mono-crystalline silicon offers highestablishing strong connections, within the more efficiently than the crystalline silicon performance options for distributedindustry, to prove the performance of its layer. Meanwhile, green and red light will installations. While these two companieswafers and refine its processes. pass through the perovskite layer and be aim to redefine production, their potential absorbed by the silicon cell. Oxford PV, for success is because they fall withinOver the next five years, 700 MW of its along with other developers and academics, these established trends in the matureproduction is locked-up with Hanwha Q believe this can result in a cell with an industry of photovoltaics.Cells, its historical technology development efficiency above 30% – surpassing thepartner, with whom it has successively physical limit of silicon efficiency of 28%. www.luxresearchinc.com18 PES Solar
PART OF THE INTERSOLAR GLOBAL EXHIBITION SERIES PES ESSENTIALNorth America’s Most-Attended Solar EventMoscone Center, San Francisco Network with more than 18,000 peers and 550 exhibitors Hear it here first! Learn from 220 speakers at our highly acclaimed conference Get informed: PV, smart renewable energy, energy storage & solar heating/coolingco-located with Register now! www.pessolar.com 19
CONFERENCE CALLIntersolar North AmericaCelebrating its 10-year anniversary, service to the California solar community. Intersolar North America has been locatedIntersolar North America will once again be Intersolar, CALSEIA and SEMICON will for 10 years in California, the epicenter ofthe first major solar event of the year. It party in grand style at the largest solar technology innovation and cutting-edgetakes place July 11-13 at the Moscone networking event ever at AT&T park, home solar policy. Intersolar funds local marketCenter in San Francisco, and is co-located of the San Francisco’s major league development through policy and industry-with ees North America and SEMICON baseball team. With the financial support it focused educational campaigns,West. These combined events bring receives from Intersolar, this is CALSEIA’s fundraising activities with CALSEIA and intogether professionals from the solar, largest fund raising event of the year. collaboration with other regionalenergy storage and semiconductor organizations. Due to the nature of itsindustries to share knowledge and Intersolar is the solar event most trusted for global solar platform operating on fourinnovation, network, and accelerate its intent to foster innovation and curate continents, the event draws industrybusiness goals. With its consistent growth high-quality speakers, exhibits and decision-makers from more than 80to 18,000+ attendees in 2017, Intersolar connections. From the biggest names in countries around the world.North America is the most-attended solar solar to startups, nonprofits, students andevent in North America. under-represented members of the solar As the premier solar exhibition and community, all participants add to the conference, Intersolar North America isThis year Intersolar will celebrate its 10th vibrancy and excitement of the event. known for delving into the hottest solarAnniversary in conjunction with its long Attendees meet face-to-face with the trends of the day, including smart renewabletime event partner California Solar Energy market leaders, founders, policymakers, energy, the rise of project finance, theIndustries Association (CALSEIA), also and downstream professionals that matter intersection of energy storage and electriccelebrating an anniversary – its 40th year of to their business. vehicles, and local and national policy trends20 PES Solar
CONFERENCE CALLinfluencing the growth of the sector. In addition to Intersolar North America, ees energy storage and electric vehicles, and North America is also co-located with local policies that are influencing theIn partnership with ees North America, SEMICON West at Moscone Center, growth of the sector. Smart renewableIntersolar North America hosts off-site bringing professionals from the solar, energy that integrates software, solar andspecial events for attendees. The proceeds storage and semiconductor industries storage will also play a prominent role infrom the events go to local solar advocacy together all within one week and in one city. this year’s exhibition and conference.group and longtime Intersolar partners, likeCALSEIA, NorCal Solar, and others. The events are located in the heart of the ees North America, in conjunction with energy storage industry – California. With Intersolar North America, also providesMore than 550 exhibitors and more than a mandate to achieve 50 percent off-site special events for attendees. Tours,18,000 visitors participated in Intersolar renewable energy by 2030, California leads group runs, and sailing trips all help toNorth America in 2016. The conference and the country in energy storage policy create a networking environment focusedexhibition program featured 39 sessions with innovation and technology development. on energy storage and supportive ofmore than 260 speakers and 22 workshops. Thus far, California has deployed 73.2 business goals. Many of these events megawatts of energy storage – far benefit the solar and energy storageees North America surpassing any other state. advocacy work of key ees partners such as the California Solar Energy Industriesees North America is the first major energy Featuring a highly curated exhibition and Association (CALSEIA) and the Northernstorage event of the year, July 11-13, 2017 conference, ees North America highlights California Solar Energy Association.in San Francisco, California. Co-located both longstanding market leaders andwith Intersolar North America, ees North emerging innovators. In just one year, ees North America is part of the ees globalAmerica brings together more than 18,000 participation in the exhibition has grown by exhibition series. Together with ees Europeprofessionals from the fast-growing energy over 120 percent and is expected to in Munich, ees South America in Brazil, andstorage and solar industries. Participants continue that trajectory in 2017. With ees India in Mumbai, ees events arehave the opportunity to discuss the latest conference speakers from leading and represented on four continents and covertrends in the entire value chain of innovative up-coming companies, participants can the international energy storage industry.battery and energy storage technologies, expect to learn about the hottest trends inshare ideas and network with fellow energy the energy storage industry, including the www.intersolar.usstorage enthusiasts and professionals. rise of project finance, the intersection of www.ees-northamerica.com www.pessolar.com 21
ASK THE EXPERTSRobust anddurable off-gridThere is a change at the top at Studer Innotec and PES metup with the new managing director, Matthew Anderson toget his vision of the future from his office in Switzerland. Matthew Anderson PES: Welcome to PES Solar/PV intentionally focused on the applications it magazine. Thanks for talking with us. knows best: battery based systems. Now,22 PES Solar Would you like to begin by explaining a as battery storage increases in grid little about the background of your connected applications, our products are organisation and how you currently seeing a huge increase in applications. serve the solar/PV industry? Over the coming decade, we expect the Matthew Anderson: Studer Innotec was products supplied for off-grid, poor grid, founded in 1987 by Mr Roland Studer in and grid-connected applications to Valais, Switzerland. Mr Studer recognised a continue to merge. There are many need for high-quality power electronics for companies that arose from grid-connected off-grid power applications and began by applications. It is a steep learning curve to supplying solutions for off-grid residences get the intricacies of controlling a battery in the Alps. The products quickly gained a right. Our 30 years of experience help us to reputation for their reliability and be ahead of the competition. robustness, and Studer Innotec began exporting internationally and to a wide PES: You are the new Managing Director range of markets including grid back up, of Studer Innotec as of May 1st 2017, mobile, telecom and industrial applications. taking over the day-to-day management of the company from Roland Studer who As the PV industry grew, and grid- is retiring. Congratulations. connected PV became the largest market at the start of the century, Studer Innotec MA: Thank you. I am excited to have been given this opportunity and am looking
ASK THE EXPERTSElectrification of temple community, South Korea. Photo credit: Royal Engineering.forward to leading the company in the years applications where it may not have been in size of the battery and PV array needed,to come. I have had a smooth transition the past. and reducing the CAPEX and OPEX costsperiod, gradually taking on my new of the installation.responsibilities over the last months as I PES: Can you tell us more about yourwas already working within the company as solutions for off-grid applications? For example, the Battery Lifetime Optimisera Sales Engineer. function (BLO) helps end users learn to use MA: In nearly all cases, off-grid means off the energy available in their system whileI am pleased to say that Mr Studer will the beaten path. It is therefore imperative preventing the battery from excessiveremain with the company; both as a that an off-grid installation is designed to damage. This algorithm makes a bigmember of our board and as the company be as robust and durable as possible as difference in the performance of the system.owner. any service required is time consuming and expensive. Studer Innotec’s 30 years of experiencePES: You provide your systems to focused on off-grid applications allows usseveral industry sectors, which is the Our solutions for off-grid applications to have attention to these details.most important market for Studer include products for Solar Home SystemsInnotec? Where and how does solar fit ranging in size from a few hundred watts to PES: Are you able to give us more detailsinto the mix? a few kilowatts and hybrid Systems up to on any current projects and/or about 100 kilowatts. developments that Studer is currentlyMA: We export 90% of our products involved with?outside of Switzerland. Globally, 70% of our The battery is the most expensiveproducts are used in solar applications. component in the system. Our products MA: Over 20% of Studer’s operatingGiven the dramatic drop in PV module are designed to protect the battery, budget is allocated to Research &prices over the past decade, increasingly ensure quality power supply and be as Development. We are continually improvingPV is used for back-up and mobile efficient as possible, thereby reducing the our existing product lines by adding more www.pessolar.com 23
ASK THE EXPERTSCentralised solar street lighting installation, Egypt. Photo credit: Hammer Electric S.A.E.features and accessories. For example, this agreements with local grid operators, MA: We see growth around the world, butspring we are releasing new features for allowing the back-up system to reduce varying geographically by market segment.enhanced solar priority with lithium electricity costs without having to cycle the In Europe, the self-consumption marketbatteries, and a software tool to simplify battery at night. continues to grow. For mini-grid andcommissioning of hybrid systems. back-up solutions, we see strong growth in PES: What makes your products stand all the developing world: South America,PES: We understand that you provide out amidst the competition and how do Africa, and Asia.tailor made solutions, how does this you intend to stay one step ahead?work and are there cost implications to PES: There have been significantthe customer? MA: Studer Innotec is relatively small changes in the political landscape, with compared to some other competitors. We BREXIT and Donald Trump in theMA: Something that differentiates Studer do not try to do everything. Instead, our Whitehouse, how do you think these willfrom other manufacturing companies in our vision is to excel in the markets in which we affect the current trade agreements?markets is our proximity to our clients. If a are present, providing robust and cost-client has a question for Studer, they speak effective solutions for the long-term. Our MA: If there is a tendency of increasingto their primary contact. There is no hotline proximity to our clients, as already protectionism globally, that is not good forto call, no automated voice asking you to mentioned, allows us to stay in tune with international trade in general. However, notpress 3 for tech support. Our sales market requirements and continue to being part of the European Union,engineers are open to discussing technical provide innovative solutions. Switzerland has experience establishingissues, and we can create special versions bi-lateral trade agreements around the world.of our products to meet specific needs. To PES: We are intrigued by your So, if new trade deals are needed, I believereduce the added cost of special versions, opportunities for product training. To the Swiss government will be able to movewe incorporate them into our product whom do you offer training, when, quickly to ensure we are able to effectivelyportfolio for use by other clients. This is a and where? get our products where they are needed.fundamental part of our R&D process toensure our products meet market MA: Studer offers product and after sales Looking on the bright side of things, it seemsrequirements. service training at our headquarters and the growing momentum for political action to factory in Switzerland, as well as abroad at fight climate change has reached a turningPES: What about back-up storage, how our partners’ facilities and training centres point such that success is not hinging uponkey a topic is this to your company around the world. We have à la carte a global consensus. Those countries thatcurrently? And why? training opportunities ranging from half a choose to avoid greening their economy day, to multiple days. Those who can travel now, will be left behind in the future.MA: Many of the regions where we see the to our factory in Switzerland enjoy thelargest growth are in emerging markets that opportunity to have a full tour of our R&D Studer Innotec is committed to promotinghave chronic grid shortages. In these and production facilities, as well as the sustainable and universal energy access allregions, many of which have an excellent chance to meet more of the Studer team. over the world with products manufacturedsolar resource, a back-up system from with 100% renewable energy andStuder Innotec with PV reduces the reliance PES: Speaking from a global standpoint, conceived to exceed expectations.on the grid. In India, for example, Studer which geographical regions do youproducts are certified for net-metering anticipate being key for Studer Innotec www.studer-innotec.com/en/ as we move into 2017?24 PES Solar
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Powerful innovation.Proven reliability. IT ALL STARTS WITH INNOVATION.A smart grid needs smart inverters – and APsystems is setting the As a leading manufacturer in advanced Module Level Powerstandard worldwide. Electronics, APsystems always assures its customers that itsOur new generation of YC600 dual-module microinverters provides systems comply with regional and local grid regulations andReactive Power Control features for optimized performance, certifications. Leveraging its certification department, APsystemsadjusting the power factor of each unit to utility requirements, has already been approved on numerous certifications requiredfacilitating PV integration into the Grid and ensuring maximum to access targeted markets worldwide, including ARN 4105, CQC,efficiency. CSA, CE, SAA, and ETL, but also VDE126-1, G83-2, NRS 0972-1It’s the innovation you’ve come to expect from APsystems, the and EN50438 certifications.company that revolutionized the residential Module Level Power With 50% of its global workforce dedicated to product engineering,Electronics (MLPE) segment with the YC500, the first-ever dual- design and development and 10% dedicated to quality and productmodule microinverter and installers’ choice – then did it again verification, the company does not compromise in quality to reachwith the YC1000, the world’s first true 3-phase, 4-module unit for excellence in performance standards for its products and leadingcommercial applications and still the top seller in its product class. market recognition worldwide.But it’s not enough to be the first. You need a commitment to be the Thanks to smart engineering, APsystems microinverters havebest, and APsystems reliability is leading the pack. 30 percent fewer components than competing brands, leading toOn the APsystems production line, quality is given top priority through higher reliability and lower costs at every point in the production andstrict and systematic quality production procedures, including distribution chain.Automatic Optical Inspection (AOI), Functional Check Tests (FCT), Multi-module offerings like the groundbreaking YC500i microinverter,and burn-in testing for early-life failure identification. The whole designed and built for today’s high-output modules, compound theproduction process is not simply restricted to a finished product savings while increasing solar harvest for customers.coming off the line. To ensure optimum performance in any kind of With a broad and growing product portfolio, APsystems offersclimate, and reduce the possibility of failure in any conditions which installers intelligent, affordable microinverter solutions, plug-and-may be experienced in the field, APsystems products go through power features and hassle-free installation.numerous and rigorous Quality & Reliability Verification Tests and Today, with hundreds of thousands of units installed in more than 80simulations, including a high-low temperature test, salt spray test, countries around the globe, APsystems installations have producedwaterproof test, drop test and vibration test. more than 130 GWh of clean, renewable energy. APsystems hasAPsystems uses Kanban, 5S, Six Sigma principles and JIT inventory also been a solid corporate performer, profitable each of the past fivemanagement, as well as ISO 9001 certified processes. years as a leader in the growing MLPE segment. Innovative and reliable, powerful and proven – that’s APsystems. YC600 YC1000 YC500dual-module with Reactive Power Control quad-module, three phase for dual-module for residential applications commercial applications
Est utati aut volorro endunt lam, APsystems microinverters serve Built-in safety and complianceautA qguloabtaulsl,eaodffeicriiansadpvaanncoesdam multiple PV modules—cutting with local grid regulations acrossincsiposlamr micsritoindvoelroterr treecmhnqoulaomgy installation time by 50% or more the whole EMEA region.quisaenrtviinugnctiubsetorummersasinpemraoreuthman over competing brands.qui8o0pctouur?ntArcieesp.uditas. emea.APsystems.com
THINK TANKHeterojunction solarcells go bigWords: Dr. Sebastian Gatz, Head of Products and Sebastian Kraneis,Communication & Marketing Manager, Meyer Burger (Germany) AGDriving the development of high performance heterojunction Fewer process stepssolar cells from R&D up to industrial mass production. PESasks Meyer Burger to bring us up to date on the continuous HJT solar cell production differentiatesimprovement which is enabling high efficiencies and itself from standard solar cell manufacturingreduced costs. processes by having fewer process steps compared to standard solar cell processes.At the UN Climate Change Conference in Higher efficiency Other n-type silicon cell concepts add evenParis in December 2015, a climate more steps to reach efficiencies aboveagreement was signed by 194 countries. HJT is an appealing solar cell concept that standard. While n-PERT cells need aSubsequently, these ratifying countries have combines thin amorphous silicon layers double diffusion of dopants into theset ambitious clean energy goals for the with mono-crystalline silicon wafers. In material, the p-n junction of a HJT cell isyears to come. In order to keep up with the combining the advantages of amorphous done together with the surface passivationresulting growing demand for photovoltaic and crystalline cell technologies, maximum in one PECVD step.products, PV manufacturers along the entire cell efficiencies are achieved. Consistentvalue chain are expanding their production optimization of HJT equipment and HJT mass production with Meyercapacities tremendously. When acquiring PV processes has resulted in a current median Burger’s HELiAmanufacturing equipment, the focus lies on cell efficiency of > 23%.reducing production costs and increasing Meyer Burger developed its HELiA HJT cellenergy yield. The HJT cell design process is bifacial by coating system which has become the key nature. The backside cell efficiency is process equipment for high volumeWith this in mind, Meyer Burger has above 90% of the front side efficiency and production of HJT solar cells. PECVDdeveloped the industry-proven better than the backside efficiency of other intrinsic as well as doped amorphous siliconHeterojunction Technology (HJT) and in cell concepts. HJT 72-cell modules with layers are deposited with a thickness of 5-10doing so is setting the industry standard in best-in-class energy yield reach nm. In a second tool, PVD layers for thethe field of solar cell coating. Meyer Burger outstanding > 450 W in operation. Surface deposition of the Transparent Conductiveis continuously improving the HJT passivation through thin amorphous silicon Oxide (TCO) layer are deposited. With theproduction process, today achieving an demonstrates surface recombination industry-proven and mass productionimpressive > 23% in cell efficiency with velocities below 1 cm/s with process compatible HELiA tool, a median cellminimal production costs by reducing the temperatures below 200°C. The low efficiency of > 23% can be reached. For cellnumber of manufacturing steps compared temperature coefficient (-0.25%/K) provides manufacturers, HELiA is therefore the perfectto standard cell processes. an additional benefit in output power. basis to enter the premier PV power league. Key findings of HJT production Meyer Burger itself operates a HJT production line with HELiA at its core at its technology and product site in Hohenstein-28 PES Solar
THINK TANKFigure 1: Meyer Burger’s HELiA PECVDErnstthal, Germany. Meyer Burger’s own Figure 2: Meyer Burger’s HELiA PVDHJT line offers customers and researchpartners an impressive example of the Figure 3: IV-data for HJT efficiencies with as-cut thicknesses from 120 µm up to 180 µm. By increasing waferhighly scalable and stable HJT process thicknesses, the losses in open circuit voltages Voc are compensated by the gain in short circuit current Isc.steps on the one hand and the long-termpotential for continuous innovative progressof HJT, on the other hand.Following on, a few key findings from theHJT bifacial cell production in Hohenstein-Ernstthal are presented. In particular, theinfluence of the as-cut silicon waferthickness, the new PECVD tool concept,the bulk resistivity, the silicon bulk qualityand the process optimization of up- anddownstream processes are discussed.Equal cell efficiency regardless of waferthicknessAnalysing different wafer thickness splits,based on the same wafer material from 180(150 µm on cell) to 120 µm (90 µm on cell) inas-cut thickness were tested at cell level.The results in figure 3 show that thinnercells have increased open circuit voltagesVoc and decreased short circuit current Isc,whereas no difference in FF among allthickness groups could be observed.The cell efficiency in all thickness groups isequal due to the compensation of Voc gainsand the losses of Isc. This shows clearly thata wafer thickness of 90 µm is not a decisivefactor for HJT. There is even more potentialto produce cells thinner than 90 µm.Decreased equipment costs with PECVDconceptThe novel HELiAPECVD tool concept results inimproved cell efficiency of 0.2%abs. Astrong increase in Isc and FF and only minorVoc losses have been determined. Ratherremarkable is the fact that at the same timethe equipment costs could further bedecreased by 25% compared to thereference process. www.pessolar.com 29
THINK TANKImpact of bulk resistivity on cell Figure 4: IV-data for HJT efficiencies, comparing baseline with new developed PECVD process. There is notefficiency only a median efficiency gain of 0.2% abs. but also a lowering in CapEx of about 25%.Evaluating the impact of the bulk resistivity Figure 5: IV-data for HJT efficiencies with two different silicon wafer suppliers.on the wafer material, two ingots withdifferent resistivity distributions werequalified on cell level. A n-type bulkresistivity adapted to the Meyer Burger HJTcell structure results in an 0.25%abs.improved cell efficiency featuring a strongincrease in FF and slightly improved Voc. Nochanges in Isc could be noted.Influence of wafer material on cellefficiencyThe selection of the right silicon wafermaterial enhances cell efficiency by up to0.45%abs. The Si bulk quality andcharacteristics of Meyer Burger’scustomer’s (supplier B in figure 5)commercial wafers are continuouslyoptimised leading to a strong increase in FFas well as an improved Voc.This relationship emphasises the importanceof a reasonable incoming materialqualification check. By further improvingsilicon quality, HJT cell efficiencies profitfurther since surface recombination doesn’tlimit the solar cells performance.Process improvements resulting inexcellent efficienciesAt the end of 2016, all advantages of theprocess improvements described wereintegrated in an optimisation run. The tacttime recipes for 2400 cells/hour throughputin each tool and automation systems wereused. Nearly 2000 wafers were processed.Within each group, slight changes inprocess parameters were made to establishbest process conditions. In this run 47.3%of the cells were measured at > 23% andtwo split groups even achieved medianefficiencies over 23.1%. The champion cellshowed an efficiency of 23.4% with opencircuit voltage of 738 mV, short circuitcurrent of 9,52 mA and a fill factor of 81.5%.30 PES Solar
THINK TANKHJT small scale production with Meyer Figure 6: HJT median efficiency data for optimization of up- and downstream processesBurger’s HELiUS Figure 7: Meyer Burger’s HELiUS Figure 8: HELiUS HJT champion cell efficiencyComplementing the mass production toolHELiA, Meyer Burger also offers a smallscale HJT tool called HELiUS. HELiUS forkey PECVD and PVD processes is used byresearch institutes and within R&D facilitiesin PV companies to familiarise themselveswith HJT and to work on optimising theirsolar cell process flow in order to pave theway for the promising HJT PV market.HELiUS offers scalable PECVD and PVDprocesses either as a modular batchconcept or as an inline system. WithHELiUS, a record efficiency of 23.7% hasbeen reached with 6” wafers.Combining HJT and IBCBy combining HJT with the InterdigitatedBack Contact (IBC) approach, solar cellefficiencies are even higher. Meyer Burgercustomers have reported to have reachedefficiencies of > 25% with HELiUS and IBC.The IBC approach benefits primarily fromthe fact that the entire metallization isshifted to the back of the cell and thus theentire cell front side participates in theenergy generation.However, it should be noted that thisapproach results on the one hand in a muchmore complex process flow and, on theother hand, no standard system can beused for interconnection into the module. Inaddition, an IBC approach is usually at theexpense of bifaciality.SummaryMeyer Burger is constantly driving theoptimisation of its high-efficiencyHeterojunction Technology, enabling peakperformance, setting industry standardsand providing comprehensive solutions forthe economic fully integrated massproduction. Beside unleashing higherefficiencies, HJT development goes alongwith lowest LCOE.Several process parameters have beeninvestigated to amend the best knownpractice leveraging the advantages of theresearch. The as-cut wafer thickness showsno direct impact whereas the novel toolconcept, a decreased n-type bulk resistivityand the wafer material have a tremendousinfluence on cell efficiency. Nevertheless,this is only a snap-shot of the latest resultsas development continues to progress. www.meyerburger.com www.pessolar.com 31
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THINK TANKStatics – a missing linkin PV projectsIn general mounting components play a minor role across financially ruin an installer. Imagine this on athe PV sector as a whole. Most of the focus is on PV commercial scale, with aerodynamicmodules, electricity and annual yield. Compared to the key systems; each storm would be a nightmarerole of these components, this is somehow astonishing. for every installer.Additionally, there are daring improvements, for flat-roofs forexample, where there has been far reaching development As an installer or planner is not usually aover the past five years. structural engineer and as changes in project design need to happen quickly,As the development of new components for precisely where to position them. Another reliable software and transparentpitched roofs has slowed down, the amount one is that most planners and installers visualisation, together with extensiveof damaged installations has increased. seemed to operate well estimating the project reports, are essential. The goalThis leads on directly to the root cause and type of fixation, rail and layout, based on has to be to serve these demands as acertainly won’t be found in the lack of their experience. kind of by-product of the regular projectproper components. design process. Today both EUROCODE and its nationalApart from inappropriate installation, in annexes and US Building Code require a So, what does software need to takesome cases, the lack of proper calculation detailed calculation of statics, but a huge into account?of the measurements of the mounting number of planners are still estimating –components can be easily identified as the which is a horrendous conception, as they Some software vendors follow areason. There are a couple of reasons are responsible for repair and indemnity. generalisation approach, where rows arewhich explain this problem. One is historic, regarded as a static unity. Nature showsthe German DIN, where only the Keeping the residential sector in mind, us that this is not accurate and thus notcalculation of fixations per m2 was having to repair just a small number of safe enough.required. The result did not tell the installer defected installations, could possibly The only serious approach is to take each individual roof installation. The wind and snow forces have their effects on the modules, as individual parts of the installation. Depending on the location of a module on the roof, the forces will be34 PES Solar
THINK TANKdifferent. EUROCODE and US Building of single components. This gives the user the installation from shifting or upliftingcode define how these roof-zones need to the opportunity to change components, and flying off the roof.be calculated, according to the dimension change layout or general design. In the endof the building, roof type and pitch of roof. the installer or planner needs to have an ‘all Several institutes have wind tunnels where green’ plan of the actual project. it’s possible to measure the properties andThese forces need to be calculated, behaviour when wind is applied. Theaccording to the project location and On pitched roofs, a detailed calculation results give amount of ballast, dependingthe national codes applicable to the and visualisation for single layered on project location, building dimensions,project location. projects or smaller projects might be a module location and number of modules task for software, which can be run locally connected to each other. Some years ago,The model takes in to consideration that the on a computer. the results defined just a few roof zones,modules transfer these forces to mid- and where today the demands, due to higherend-clamps. The clamps transfer these Larger projects and cross-braced layout needs, have compelled these institutes toforces to the module rails and then they are lead to a significant higher amount of find more differentiating approaches. Moresent to either fixations or to cross-brace- calculations, which should be done by roof zones and the distribution of ballast toconnectors, when a cross-bracing up-to-date web technology topologies, as modules, which technically would notmounting layout is in use. Then the in this case the calculations will take on a need any.cross-brace-connectors transfer the forces multi-core server. Here, multi-threadedto the base rails, which then transfer these calculations on 48 or more processors will So, besides the high accuracy in calculatingto the fixations. On pitched roofs the give results in a fraction of a second. ballast for these installations – in order tofixations are the last calculation point. The prevent installations from sliding or fromtotal result shows if the roof structure s In contrast to mounting components for flying off the roof – today, the level ofcapable of supporting all loads. pitched roofs, where a physically complexity has reached a level, where penetrating connection is present, manual calculations, even using pre-The verification for each component has to aerodynamic systems for flat-roofs are an scripted Excel, are impossible for abe done taking in to account it’s position in example of innovation inside practical use.the installation. The result of these photovoltaics. Actually, it is the onlycalculations needs to lead to either the installation on flat-roofs, without any The Austrian company Levasoft, withpositioning or number of components or to penetration. Here, just putting ballast offices in Klagenfurt, offers the Solar.Pro.the indication and visualisation of overload inside the mounting structure will prevent Tool and uses a unique approach to design www.pessolar.com 35
THINK TANKand calculate aerodynamic systems. have to be part, due to seismic reasons. mentioned above. In addition, allLinear algebra with a highly efficient calculation results can be part of thesolver, run on a dedicated 48 core Another reason forcing a differentiated project report, just by pressing a buttonmachine. A solver is a piece of approach to calculation can be found on and by selecting the desired option. Themathematical software, which ‘solves’ a modern roofs. Calculation results of some fullest detail of structural properties andmathematical problem. General solvers wind-tunnel certificates, older than five the calculation results are mandatory totypically use an architecture to decouple a years, will prompt the designer and put the planner, the installer and theproblem’s definition from the strategy used installer to put more than 200KG ballast on customer in the best position, when itto solve it. (Wikipedia). each corner of a generator field. On many comes to reliability. modern roofs this is just not possible. TheThe linear equation is filled with constraints, building itself often has either a low total Public buildings are a special case. Here,parameters and demands. The load reserve, a low point load reserve or its before contract and build – in some areas,mathematical content of this equation is isolation is too soft to bear loads higher after the installation is complete – anthen sent to the solver. Multi-million than 60 Kilo Pascal. independent structural engineer needs tooptions, where ballast and what type of re-calculate the installation, in order to giveballast needs to be placed in which specific So, it can be regarded as an absolute official approval. Having a highly detailedlocations are arise easily – even with matter of course, that planners should and meaningful project report will speed upsmaller project sizes. Parallel calculation on experience the proper, fast and the approval time and will also reduce costs.48 cores is done in just seconds. differentiated calculation of statics as kind of by-product of their regular The summary of all points – laid out aboveA great benefit of this approach is that it design-process. – leads us to say guessing times are over.also gives the user the option to include PV projects nowadays are demanding theeconomic factors. How expensive is a Furthermore, meaningful operation and extensive calculation of statics, in order toballast tray, purchased, shipped, brought display of results should be implicit. The meet required standards, to remainon the roof, placed and filled with ballast? display of results needs to be transparent, competitive and to be reliable. This can onlyHow about total costs, when different types because understanding a result be achieved by using a software, which isof ballast are used, such as stones and automatically leads to proper installation capable of giving statics as a by-productdifferent sizes of ballast-trays? Even and an adequate handling of changes, during the design process and whichphysical fixations, their costs and static applied to either improve the installation or delivers almost any kind of output,properties can used as a part of the linear to just make it happen. transparency and detail.equation. For example, in California, they Solar.Pro.Tool offers all the points www.solarprotool.com/36 PES Solar
In-Roof Facade Elevation Systems Car PortPitched Roof Project Design Ground Mount HTML5 High Performance Penetration Aerodynamic Systems Ballast WebApp 1 Statics & Ballast2R Pitched Roof Bending Moments & Torque Elevated Systems Inverter Layout E-Designer Output & Reporting Consumers Simulation of Yield BatteriesDo You Use a Pocket Calculator -To Find the Best in a Multi-Milllion?At Levasoft, we are taking the calculation of statics Solar.Pro.Tool is using cloud-computing to calculatevery seriously. The nature of Solar.Pro.Tool is to deliver these multi-million possible variants in just a fractionstatics in the most sophisticated, accurate and of a second.transparent way to do this as a background-service. Use Solar.Pro.Tool for your complete project-designIt just happens, while you are designing - and it and be welcomed to safe and easy.happens very fast.Solar.Pro.Tool - The Most Complete AdvancenessLevasoft GmbH | Sterneckstr. 6 | A-9020 Klagenfurt | www.solarprotool.com | +43 720 35 19 20
THINK TANKContamination sourcesand eliminationThe ongoing trend to push high-efficiency PV cell devices to higher efficiency levels is moreand more accompanied by the adaption of semiconductor device fabrication standards. Oneof the reasons is the rising sensitivity of p-i-n PV cell structures of thin film layer stacks tothe impact of impurities, which may be increasingly harmful with respect to the properfunctionality of the layers themselves or their surface interaction.Therefore, suitable measures have to be Sources of contamination industry will serve as a guideline inimplemented to suppress such film structuring the contamination sources1.contamination in the manufacturing Since the cleanliness of the device The following table shows the survey.process. From the equipment point of fabrication process will receive anview, it is highly desirable to avoid ever-increasing attention it is useful to 1 Baltzinger, Jean-Luc, Delahaye, Bruno: Con-potential contamination sources upfront identify the impurity sources and their tamination monitoring and analysis in semicon-and to implement efficient treatments for present and future significance. The ductor manufacturing. Altis Semiconductor,avoiding so-called memory effects. research work done by the semiconductor France. Article published in book “Semiconductor Technologies”, InTech 2010.One such successful design is Indeotec’sPECVD Mirror Reactor, specifically for Foreign or unwanted materials Parasitic reactionsmanufacturing HJT devices. It eliminates 1 Impurities contained in fluid: 4 Impurity products originated by reactivethe need for wafer flipping and soremoving the potential flipping automation Gases, chemicals materialscontamination source. 2 Impurities originated by tools: 5 Corrosion, dissolution of tools partsAdditionally, Indeotec successfully tested a Corrosion, outgassing, handlingplasma treatment method which means it’s 3 Particles:possible to process the intrinsic and thesubsequent doped a-Si:H layer in one Suspension within fluids, abrasionreactor, which could reduce the number ofrequired deposition chambers by half. Table 138 PES Solar
THINK TANKFigure 1: Principal graph of impact of dopant contamination at the quantum Figure 2: Principal graph of impact of dopant contamination at the I-Vefficiency of a HJT cell device characteristics of a HJT cell deviceIn terms of transport of the contaminants Particle contamination, item 3, will have an in the QE curve and will be also clearlythese phenomena have to be considered: impact if the deposited tool parts have not visible in the I-V plots, see figures 1 and 2. been cleaned properly or the cleaningBrownian movement cycles were too long. Such cleaning A contaminated interface between the bulk processes, for example dry etching with Si and the intrinsic a-Si:H layer results in anConvection NF3, may be carefully monitored in the insufficient carrier separation and thus a production and may become more critical less efficient collection in the PV cellMolecular diffusion with rising efficiencies. device. The special effect of boron contamination is known from the single-Electromagnetic diffusion Impact of cross-contamination at the chamber device deposition of amorph/ device properties micromorph silicon thin film p-i-n layerFor the PECVD deposition of the intrinsic stacks. However, the effects are differentand doped a-Si:H thin films, it was observed For an HJT structure with an i-p layer at the on HJT cell architectures and thethat predominantly surface contamination top and an i-n layer stack at the bottom the treatments of boron contamination cannoteffects by dopants showed a remarkable critical contamination takes place when the be adopted straight away.impact on the device film quality. Such intrinsic layer is deposited at the silicondopants remained (1) in the equipment at the bulk layer, but the dopants, which remained Treatment approach and resultsreactor chamber walls, or (2) were carried on at the chamber walls from the previouswith the supporting tray. In table 1 above this deposition cycle or even in the tray, will be Indeotec tested various dopant removalis shown in 2 and 5. In the future and with incorporated in this layer also. Such treatment approaches of dry cleaning,efficiency levels rising, item 1, process gas incorporation leads to a considerable drop including a plasma chamber treatmentpurities, may be considered more. procedure, which is inexpensive and shortFigure 3: Graph of minority carrier lifetime. Test 1 shows the 2nd run after non- Figure 4: Graph of VOC illustrating the difference between the treated andtreatment of the chamber. Test 2 shows 4 deposition cycles, with chamber non-treated reactor chamber treatment in between. Kindly note that thetreatment in between the cycles passivation recipe was not optimized for these tests. www.pessolar.com 39
THINK TANKFigure 5: Chart of the process steps for the multi-cycle, long-term treatment test for both the deposition For obtaining real I-V curve parameters andchamber and the wafer carrier ultimately, efficiency data, all cell devices were completely processed: top andenough, in terms of an acceptable treatment repetition cycle, the minority carrier lifetime bottom PECVD layers, top and bottom TCOtime between the deposition runs. is almost one order of magnitude lower deposition, contacting. Plus, for the last (figure 3). The VOC is reduced by 10 -15% deposition cycle of the series (test run #100)An initial test comprising a couple of (figure 4). In contrast, when the chamber the wafer supporting tray, which had beendeposition cycles had the objective to treatment is applied, the curves of the coated as many times as the reactor walls,identify immediate effects of a potential lifetime overlap almost completely, which was replaced by a new one, in order tocross contamination originated by the indicates an efficient removal of the identify a potential difference. Between thereactor walls. For this purpose, the critical impurities. This was monitored for 4 cycles cycles 1-99 the tray was also treated. Thei-p deposition sequence was selected. in a row, Figure 4. complete test sequence is illustrated inTest 1 was conducted as follows: figure 5.between 2 cycles the PECVD chamber A second tests series should confirm thewas not treated. Test 2 had this effectiveness of the dopant removal For the PECVD process step – passivatingprocedure: for running 4 cycles in a treatment for both sources, reactor walls and device generation – the Minority carriersequence, the chamber was treated in and the supporting tray. The deposition of lifetime was measured and evaluated, thebetween the depo cycles. an i-p-deposition stack was monitored and implied values of VOC (iVOC) and fill factor repeated 100 times in order to detect (iFF) derived. The compound summary ofAll tests were executed in an OCTOPUS II potential impurity accumulation effects, minority carrier lifetime results arePECVD system using one PECVD chamber. which may occur in the long run. It is illustrated in figure 6.The results show an immediate and assumed that after 100 runs there will be asignificant reduction of the key parameters wall cleaning of the reactor by etch removal. Across all 100 runs the values of the lifetimealready in the 2nd deposition cycle; when In an optimised production environment, remained at a consistently stable level. Athe reactor wasn’t treated before, see this may be further prolonged in order to slight improvement could be observedfigures 3 and 4. Immediately, in the tweak the overall uptime. when a clean tray was used for run #100. No immediate or gradual degradation of the passivation characteristics could be seen, no accumulation of contaminants was monitored. Obviously, the applied treatment method removes any potential dopant contaminants from both the reactor walls and the tray in a highly efficient way. The further processing of the precursors to complete PV cell devices, was conducted with the objective of obtaining real, comparable I-V and efficiency data and to confirm the trend which was detected during the passivation step. Figure 7 illustrates the results for the VOC as a representative value. The measured data confirms consistently stable and high parameter levels. Again, this set of parameter measurements confirms the effectiveness of the dopant removal methods.Figure 6: Box plot of minority carrier lifetime trend for the marathon test. The Figure 7: Plot of VOC data points for the 100-test (series 2). The data pointstreatment procedure maintains the LT levels throughout all runs. for the VOC from the initial test (series 1) illustrate the immediate and drastic effect of non-treatment.40 PES Solar
THINK TANKFigure 8: Chart of the distribution graphs of iVOC and iFF for processed wafers having different texturing recipes and/or various wafer suppliersFigure 9: Schematic image of a closed-type RF reactor The treatment method, which was investigated, is applicable to closed reactorSince this treatment has been applied in the Specific OCTOPUS system design designs only. However, since even closedstandard process routine for HJT cell features for supporting the suppression PECVD reactor design concepts arearchitectures, several thousand of wafers of cross contamination manifold, the specific reactor type shouldhave been processed, including a variety of demonstrate its suitability by a test asdifferent texturing recipes and different With reference to table 1, item 2, impurities described above. A principal image of awafer suppliers. Figure 8 shows the originated by tools, there are some closed reactor design shows figure 9.statistical distribution of the parameters OCTOPUS design features worthiVOC and iFF. The high mean values highlighting and which definitely support Risk of contamination by internal handling:demonstrate the robustness of the the suppression of potential crosscontamination removal treatment across contamination effects. Being one of the advantages of thethe board. proprietary Mirror Reactor concept, which Adaption of investigated treatment to other allows the deposition from the top in one PECVD reactor systems: reactor and from the bottom in a second reactor, the OCTOPUS system design doesFigure 10: schematic drawing of Mirror Reactor principle incl. carrier loading not need any extensive wafer handling or flipping automation, hence any potential contamination risk by wafer touching simply does not exist, see figure 10. Risk of contamination by tray-carrying-on: Another advantage of the Mirror Reactor in terms of risk reduction of contamination is related to the exposure of the wafer- carrying tray. Provided that the tray is always fed in to the system with the same side facing up, the tray being coated from previous cycles, will never see the “wrong” plasma deposition side, i.e. the side with potential i-p coatings. Please note that boron will always be removed between cycles, as described above, will never face the plasma side of the i-n coating and vice versa. Any coating mixture of i-p and i-n stacks by several cycles on the carrier is completely avoided with this design. Impact of OCTOPUS design features and ACCT (Anti Cross Contamination Treatment) on the Cost-of-Ownership bill System footprint and system utilisation, the specific share of time during which the tool actually adds value to the product, are two of those key tool parameters, which define www.pessolar.com 41
THINK TANK the system productivity. Figure 11 illustrates how and to which extent the Mirror ReactorFigure 11: Overview of OCTOPUS cost reduction features Concept and the ACCT method influence these parameters in a beneficial way. The OCTOPUS design innovations combined with the Anti Cross Contamination Treatment ACCT result in a superior system utilization rate beyond 75%, a benchmarking value for PECVD systems of this kind, see figure 12. The conversion cost analysis for the Cost-of-Ownership of a PECVD system of normalized throughput (2400 wafers/hr nominal) provides the following result, figure 13. Conclusion The investigation of potential harmful cross contamination by dopants reveals that a highly efficient removal treatment method was found and applied, which successfully suppresses degradation effects due to incorporation dopant impurities into intrinsic layer surfaces. This could be confirmed by a long-term test run showing no sign of any impact even after 100 cycles. The ACCT treatment method and the OCTOPUS design features, especially of the Mirror Reactor, provide a very reliable PECVD equipment solution to the PV cell market, which successfully demonstrated the suppression of potential cross contamination risks even in a volume production scale. As a further benefit we could demonstrate to deposit i-p and i-n layer stacks, respectively, in a single reactor, which reduces the number of deposition chambers by half and thus remarkable reduces system footprint and inherited CAPEX. www.indeotec.com Figure 12: Comparison of the utilization rate between the OCTOPUS and a Figure 13: Comparison of the conversion cost-of-ownership for the PECVD competitive PECVD system process of a HJT cell42 PES Solar
Octopus III PECVD Cluster Deposition System for Heterojunction Cell DevicesREACTOR MIRROR TOPREACTOR MIRROR BOTTOM Anti Cross-Contamination Treatment NO wafer flipping LESS handling complexity 2F4ro0m0 cells/hr www.indeotec.com [email protected] Phone: +41 32 545 30 24
THINK TANKIndustrial power storagesystems: the technologymakes all the differenceAll power storage systems allow you to store energy for later In conventional power storage systems,use as needed, regardless of when the power was cells are connected in series. Since it wasgenerated. However, differences in functionality and technically impossible to change this untiltechnology have considerable impacts on the actual use and recently, this concept has remainedeconomic efficiency of such systems. PES brings you the unchallenged for too long. The possibility oflatest up to date information to help you make your choice. connecting storage system cells entirely in parallel marks a real paradigm shift for power storage. “To understand the extent to which parallel connection has affected and indeed improved the design, operation and performance of a power storage system, you need to look at the numerous problems posed by series connection,” explains44 PES Solar
THINK TANKWolfram Walter, the inventor and developer of “A system repaired in this way will never longer necessary, for example, to installparallel connection in power storage systems function properly again. The worst-case matching cells with identical states ofand Managing Director of ASD Automatic scenario here would see the failure of a charge and health – quite the opposite:Storage Device GmbH (Umkirch, Germany). single cell render the entire storage system Almost any cell can be connected. As the“Because the fact that all of these problems not just sluggish but in need of being circuit board is mounted onto one orare solved in one go really underlines the replaced in full,” says Wolfram Walter. “This multiple cells connected in parallel, eachinnovative advance made here.” fundamentally calls into question whether it one can be controlled separately and is worth investing in series-connected adjusted by inputting a few parameters intoProblems with conventional power power storage systems at all.” the connected cell. This control methodstorage systems Designing within tight parameters makes it possible to combine completely Direct current from battery cells must be different cell types, capacities andWhen configured and designed with technologies in one power storage system.series-connected cells, power storage transformed into alternating current orsystems only function at their best when alternating voltage in order to supply The second significant advantage of thematching battery cells are installed. downstream systems and consumers from technology used here, known as Pacadu, isMatching here actually means almost a stationary battery storage system. its scalability: It not only creates the generalidentical; that is to say that the cells used The inverter installed for this requires a possibility of easily increasing or reducingare from the same batch from the same specific voltage on the battery side, which battery size, without interrupting operation, atmanufacturer, are the same model and have is typically between 24 and 60 volts. This any time and at virtually any point after beingan identical internal resistance, state of voltage can be attained with a chain of commissioned, but also offers reserves forcharge and state of health. around 14 to 20 cells, depending on the cell both capacity and output. No other power chemistry and the type of inverter used. storage system offers this kind of flexibility.When new and equipped with cells which This significantly limits the capacity design Power storage system in action:fulfil all these requirements, a series- of storage systems – both fundamentally offshore platformconnected storage system functions and subsequently. The self-sufficient and thus unmanned gassmoothly – at least at first. For with every Once a conventional series-connected processing platform P11-E from Oranje-single charge and discharge process, the storage system has been designed, it is Nassau Energie B.V. (ONE B.V.) is locatedstorage system moves further away from the practically impossible for it to be further approximately 50 km from the Dutch coast.ideal conditions described above. Each cell adjusted or subsequently scaled, as the set Up and running since November 2016, thisused in the storage system undergoes its input voltage of the inverter also determines gas processing platform is one of the firstown individual ageing process, which means the minimal and maximal number of cells. platforms to be powered predominantly bythat the state of charge and state of health of “Even foreseeable or planned changes that renewable energy. An ASD power storagecells within a storage system gradually vary exceed the original output or capacity of a system connected in parallel works inmore and more. The usable capacity of the storage system whose size has already harmony with the photovoltaic installationsoverall system therefore constantly and been configured cannot be achieved in a and wind turbines there.significantly decreases once commissioned. way that will last using conventional In addition to production facilities, the technology,” adds Wolfram Walter. platform is furnished with a shelter for eightThe weakest cell determines overall The solution: connect cells in parallel people, a helicopter landing deck and aperformance The possibility of connecting cells in five-tonne crane. The continuous load from storage systems in parallel creates consumers is around 2 kW; power isThis is because the weakest cell of a considerable freedom in the choice of cells produced by five wind turbines, each withseries-connected storage system and the composition of batteries. In an output of 1 kW, and a solar installationdisproportionately affects the overall contrast to other storage systems, it is no with an output of 15 kWp. If the PVperformance of the entire system. If a single installation and wind turbines fail to supplycell in the system is operating at only 60% enough power, a power storage systemof its initial capacity, for example, then thecapacity of the entire series-connected cellblock also drops to 60% – altogetherirrespective of the condition of the overallsystem. The first battery cell to reach its100% full charge terminates the chargingprocess of the overall system; otherwise,that cell would be destroyed.The same applies to the cell which reachesits final discharging voltage first. It stopsthe entire block from discharging, likewisein order to avoid being destroyed. As thecells gradually arrive at different states ofcharge and health, a block is more likely torun into difficulties the more chargingcycles it has completed.The useable capacity in the system thereforesteadily continues to decrease. If a cell haslost so much capacity that it significantlylimits the system, it cannot be exchanged fora new cell due to the requirements of thesystem, as then neither the capacity, nor theinternal resistance nor the state of health ofthe new cell would match the older cellsremaining in the system. www.pessolar.com 45
THINK TANKcontrolled by Pacadu with a capacity of 192 extremely reliable equipment. After all, the little use for a run-of-the-mill standardkWh and an output of 60 kW supplies the autonomous operation must be able to run storage system. After all, for a storageplatform with power. without any interruption. system to be economically viable, it needs to be the correct size to meet the needs of theIn this off-grid system, a diesel generator The power storage system meets this business. And this design specificationonly steps into function as a substitute grid requirement and as a result, there is no depends on the purpose of the storageand charge the power storage system need to keep back-up equipment in system – in the case of the power storageduring periods of calm or if sunshine hours reserve: This is only possible by connecting system on the offshore platform above, forare limited. The output of the diesel the battery in parallel, which maintains the example, this meant an unusually highgenerator had to be 60 kW so that it is capacity and performance at a consistently output despite comparatively low base load.capable of supplying the fire extinguishing high level by preventing any weak modulessystem with sufficient power, should an from impairing the entire system, as The fact that a power storage systememergency arise. explained above. means that less power needs to be bought from the public power grid, if a source ofThe power storage system has been What is more, the storage system allows for energy is available, is one advantage. Yet,specially designed for an output of 60 kW so-called hot swapping, where system even if no power is generated on site, a– which is exceptionally high given the base components or modules can be exchanged power storage system can be very useful inload of around 2 kW– in order to keep the during ongoing operation. “Interfaces for other ways, such as when a companyoperating time of the diesel generator as platform control even make it possible to wants to be able to independently supplylow as possible for each charging process. take readings and perform maintenance power to core processes for a certainThis is because the economic operation of remotely,” explains Andreas Jansen, Control amount of time. To give a simple example: ifthe generator reduces consumption, saving and Automation Supervisor at ONE B.V. a power storage system preventscosts in several respects – not least “From the commissioning of the platform, machinery critical to production frombecause the diesel consumed must be the ASD storage system has functioned as coming to a standstill, such an investmentdelivered by a supply vessel. steadily and resiliently as expected.” would pay off after the first power outage.An extraordinary system for an Every industrial power storage system Power storage systems can also preventextraordinary project has unique requirements major damage and extensive clean-up work, as would occur if an injection mouldingOperating a platform in the North Sea – Any industrial enterprise planning to machine came to a sudden halt. Any processespecially an unmanned platform – requires purchase a power storage system will have where a disruption would be unacceptable or directly lead to significant costs must be identified and taken into consideration when designing the storage system. What is more, power storage systems safeguard power supply as they can quickly and easily cover any temporary increase in demand. “This kills two birds with one stone because, in addition to safeguarding supply, storage systems also enable what is known as peak shaving, i.e. avoiding peak loads when drawing power from the public grid,” explains Wolfram Walter. He believes power storage systems will more than likely grow in importance and popularity. “After all, they help balance power generation and consumption, and in doing so, they offer more than just the potential to reduce energy costs.” www.asd-sonnenspeicher.de46 PES Solar
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PES ESSENTIALSolar in the MENA regionAcwa Power Night Sun Sife ElAminePES brings you an overview of leaders. It even led to a downward revision growth in a 1-year period.solar in the MENA region in of the Feed-in tariff in Egypt and revives the2016 and a forecast for 2017. debate of the usefulness of Feed-in tariffs MESIA expects to see the following trends versus competitive bidding in the MENA in 2017:2016 was a record breaking year for solar in region. On an unsubsidized basis, solar PVthe Middle East. With record low tariffs on without storage is now one of the cheapest 1. Start of construction of mega-PV plants:Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s sources of electricity available – it costs after the award of DEWA’s Phase III(DEWA) 800 MW Phase III project and Abu less than unsubsidized nuclear, LNG and project and the bid for ADWEA’s SweihanDhabi Water and Electricity Authority’s diesel used for off-grid power. Based on project, 2017 will be characterized by the(ADWEA) Sweihan project, we could call it a IRENA’s projections, solar PV LCOEs are start of the implementation of these twosuccessful year for large scale solar on the expected to continue to decrease going landmark projects in the Middle East.Arabian Peninsula. Record low tariffs below forward, but whether it will continue to drop3 US$ cents per kWh attracted worldwide as rapidly is subject to debate. 2. Decreased cost for solar equipment:press attention. MESIA expects solar equipment prices to Rooftop solar kicked off in the UAE with further decrease: (a) solar panels pricesThese low prices have changed the approximately 6 MW up and running by the are expected to drop further in 2017, (b)perception of policymakers and industry end of 2016. It is expected the rooftop 1,500 volt inverters become market market in the UAE could reach 70 MW in standard, widely adopted, and thus 2017. This would mean more than tenfold cheaper, and (c) further consolidation on the balance of plant will drive costs further48 PES Solar
PES ESSENTIAL down through economies of scale. aggressive pricing strategies is to be put and Pakistan will keep driving growth for to the test in terms of who will reach the large-scale solar power plants.3. Increased cost of debt for new projects: lowest tariffs in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, infrastructure and more particularly Oman, and Kuwait. 7. Pick-up in battery storage solutions: solar renewable projects, including solar PV PV without storage is at grid parity; so far and CSP benefitted largely from the low 5. Low oil and gas prices: consistently low solar PV’s main utility is to act as a cost of funding environment resulting to medium oil and gas prices will not fuel-saver. Solar PV without storage does from quantitative easing initiatives. With slow down solar growth in the GCC; it is not allow saving on capacity payments quantitative easing being scaled back rather the opposite. Due to dramatically payable to conventional power plants. and interest rates on the rise, renewable reduced income from oil sales, Saudi The importance of reliable base load energy tariffs will be affected more than Arabia announced a hike in gasoline, power from solar resources is highlighted conventional tariffs in the absence of a diesel, and natural gas and electricity by the increased importance of storage fuel component. prices for consumers, which will improve on a number of projects: CSP or hybrid solar power’s competitiveness. (CSP + PV) solutions across the region. In4. V ery low LCOE offers across Middle East 2017, we also expect to see further and North Africa: we will continue to see 6. Energy independency: with solar PV adoption of storage solutions (e.g. solar Independent Power Projects (IPP) LCOEs still below current market prices batteries, pumped hydro, etc.) across the bids and Engineering, Procurement and for oil and LNG and at par with natural gas Middle East. Storage and demand Construction (EPC) contracts with very based power generation, net energy response solutions provide additional low LCOEs in 2017. The reality of such importing countries, like Jordan, Morocco, www.pessolar.com 49
PES ESSENTIALGhadir Shaar Floating City flexibility to the transmission system and Indeed, during the World Future Energy 50MWp installed. allow peak load curbing. Summit in Abu Dhabi in January 2017, Saudi Arabia announced its ambitious plan Cost of electricity generation from8. Growth in commercial & industrial to have 9.5 GW of renewables renewables has always been the key factor, rooftop solar: lower prices for solar and commissioned by 2023. The first 300 MW especially in the competition between increasing electricity rates will further solar is to be expected before the end of rooftop solar vs. subsidized conventional lead to the adoption of distributed solar 2017. Jordan will tender another 200 MW gas based energy sources. In Abu Dhabi for in 2017, mainly rooftop. One important solar PV, and Kuwait will soon launch the instance, with a partial removal of subsidy, driver for this market will be financial request for prequalification for a large the local utility tariff has changed from 15 institutions becoming more comfortable scale solar park at Shagayah. fills/ Kwh to 31 fills/Kwh. to provide long term financing for industrial and commercial rooftops. We As far as rooftop solar is concerned, there Although 2016 is possibly the best scenario see the market further picking up in is still some work to be done on the for solar, when you have the solar panel Jordan, Kuwait, Palestine, Pakistan, and regulatory side in most markets. Most prices coming in at record levels, the the UAE. notably, for rooftop solar to take a challenge still is getting the customers substantial market share we will need to confidence in having a rooftop solar plant.9. Small-scale distributed generation see government regulators do their part As more and more solar projects are initiatives: regulation, like net metering, or and adopt policies that promote solar deployed and commissioned in the region, deployment targets, as defined in Dubai’s energy, e.g. through net metering schemes. this perspective on solar rooftops will new Solar Shams program, which makes Regional financiers and bankers need to be change and the demand will increase. solar mandatory for all rooftops in 2030, further educated on innovative and will push distributed solar power sustainable ways of financing rooftop solar. DEWA’s net metering policy has been quite generation. Jordan has been advancing The first steps have been taken, but still a landmark; this has now made industrial small scale distributed PV in 2016. We more work remains to be done. and commercial scale solar rooftop have seen RFPs from universities, projects feasible for building owners and libraries, etc. Rooftop solar is proving to be an important investors and payback of around 5years are contributor to this energy demand with becoming the norm.2017 will lead to a further roll-out of solar consumers large and small receiving moreenergy in the MENA region. The UAE will and more, both the financial and We can’t fail but to notice increasing trendscontinue leading the industry, with the environmental benefits. in the implementation of roof top solarimplementation of 2 mega solar PV energy schemes in the Middle East.projects awarded and 1 CSP project up for Information disclosed by DEWA in Dubai,tender in the first half of 2017 in Dubai. We UAE, showed that in December 2016 over Recently, a number of very large rooftopwill see more large scale projects popping 90 MWp of projects were filled under solar plants were announced in Dubaiup across the entire Middle East, e.g. NOC stage while 4.8MWp was connected which include:Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. Large to the grid. So 2017 will be a boom yearscale solar is pretty much on-track. with the rooftop market probably reaching • A 1.5 MW system deployed to Jebel Ali Power Station50 PES Solar
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