EU PVSEC: Sol3g Update

Concentrator PhotoVoltaic (CPV) firm Sol3g absorbed by Abengoa Solar.

When a quick search revealed a comment regarding Sol3g on the “CPV CEO Hotseat (Updated Oct 7)” Green Light blog post by Eric Wesoff for Greentech Media, my next post became clear. Already owning a 25% stake in Sol3g, S.L., Abengoa Solar, S.A. acquired additional Sol3g founder shares and gained 78%+ majority control in 2008. This July, not long after Intersolar 2009 in Munich, Abengoa Solar decided to layoff most of the Sol3g staff (~90 people) including CEO Ricard Pardell leaving about five (5) people. As the above commenter noted, Mr. Pardell is another CPV CEO Hotseat veteran. I observed something might be amiss when my follow up emails after Intersolar regarding the GiraSol GS700 and Read More >>

State of the CPV Consortium – Part 2

“Is the CPV (Concentrator PhotoVoltaics) Industry Ready to Ramp?” More CPV Myth Busting plus CPV Environmental Positives. Even as I finished the “State of the CPV Consortium” post, I knew a follow up was required to complete the State of CPV address. I begin here with the CPV forecast from the presentation by CPV Consortium Chairman/Director Nancy Hartsoch. From PV Industry Forum 2009 As you can see in the above Picasa photo, PHOTON International claims 10 MW (MegaWatts) of CPV was installed in 2008. However, Ms. Hartsoch thought this was not all High Concentration PhotoVoltaics (HCPV) but was dominated by silicon based concentrators. For instance, “Opportunities and Challenges for

Sol3g 200 kWp HCPV Santa Pola Installation Update

More Sol3g High Concentration PhotoVoltaic (HCPV) installation photos and the exact location from ELECTRICIDAD ALSANBO. From Sol3g 200 kWp HCPV installation at Santa Pola (Alicante), Spain Just before Christmas, I received an email from an Electricidad Alsanbo S.A. engineer confirming the Sol3g 200 kWp (kiloWatt-peak) HCPV installation in Santa Pola (Alicante), Spain. I mentioned the install in “Sol3g: 800 kWp High Concentration PhotoVoltaic Flix Installation Inaugurated”. The complete 1 MWp (MegaWatt-peak) hybrid photovoltaic system is designed to provide sufficient power year round for the Aquagest facility supplying water to about 30000 Santa Pola residents.

Sol3g: 800 kWp High Concentration PhotoVoltaic Flix Installation Inaugurated

Flix Solar Installation completed in September 2008 under the old Spanish Feed-in Tariff. When I saw this “Interview with Ricard Pardell, president and R&D director, Sol3g” at CPVToday.com, I was looking for an update on my earlier post, Sol3g lands 800kW High Concentration PhotoVoltaic deal with Flix Solar. With no mention of the Flix installation, I tried to contact Sol3g, S.L. President and R&D Director Ricard Pardell to get the scoop. Mr. Pardell confirmed the 800 kWp (kiloWatt-peak) Flix Solar installation was completed by the end of September under the Spanish Royal Decree 661/2007

Sol3g produces 1000th High Concentration PhotoVoltaic M40 Module “grid”

Nearing 500 kWp (kiloWatt-peak) cumulative production?

Friday, August 8, 2008, Sol3g, S.L. released “Sol3g produces its number 1000 grid” which should be up on the News (Español) section of their website soon. Sol3g states they completed their number 1000 (one-thousand) M40 Module grid from their factory in Terrassa (Barcelona) Spain (please see Sol3g inaugurates High Concentration PhotoVoltaics factory) back on July 15, 2008. Each M40 Module grid consists of fourteen (14) M40 Modules.

Photo Credit: Sol3g, S.L… Read More >>

Sol3g lands 800kW High Concentration PhotoVoltaic deal with Flix Solar

Installation scheduled for August 2008 completion.

In Sol3g signs an agreement for building an 800kW installation in Flix (Español), Sol3g, S.L. announced an agreement with Flix Solar, S.L., part of grupo Finances Personals, for an 800kWp (kilowatt-peak) High Concentration PhotoVoltaic (HCPV) installation.

Project developer Flix Solar has ordered 26,880 M40 Modules for integration with FEiNA SCP SC16 two-axis trackers at the Solar Park Ramón Escriche in Flix (Tarragona) Spain. The Solar Park Ramón Escriche has a system capacity of 8MW today on an area of 40 hectares (~98.8 acres) and is undergoing an expansion to 12MW. MPbata

Sol3g inaugurates High Concentration PhotoVoltaics factory

New 5 MWp factory in Terrassa (Barcelona) Spain8 kWp pilot plant installed at Enel in Catania (Sicily) Italy

Sol3g, S.L. today announced the inauguration of their new 800 square meter (8611 square feet) production plant with an annual capacity of five (5) MWp (MegaWatt-peak). The factory will produce HCPV (High Concentration PhotoVoltaic) M40 Modules. Here is the M40 Datasheet (Español).

Employing up to 80 workers, Sol3g could increase production capacity to 10 MWp by year end 2008. Sol3g also claims to have developed a model factory and production process with Terrassa that can be duplicated on an international basis to address local demand.

Here is the pair of

ISFOC Awards 1.3MW of Concentrator PhotoVoltaic power plants

Concentración Solar La Mancha S.L., EMCORE Corp., Arima Eco, and Sol3g submitted the winning bids.

The ISFOC, Instituto de Sistemas Fotovoltaicos de Concentración S.A. or Institute of Concentration Photovoltaics Systems, Board of Directors awarded the 13 Concentrator PhotoVoltaic (CPV) pilot power plants at their last meeting. These awards complete the tender for the second phase of ISFOC’s 3MW (MegaWatt) CPV pilot plant program detailed in the previous post, ISFOC 1.3MW CPV Power Plant tenders made public. The terse ISFOC announcement is here.

Including two (2) Spanish firms, here are the 1.3MW award details:

Concentración Solar La Mancha S.L. (ES)

Solar Light Flashes: October 22, 2007

Select Photovoltaic News Tidbits

Once again, conferences including Solar Power 2007 and 22nd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) have dominated Blog coverage since September. I have accumulated anecdotes and news about Blog staples and newer companies and topics over this time period.

Advent Solar, Inc.During Solar Power 2007, I talked to an Advent Solar spokesperson at their Hyatt Regency Ballroom stand. The spokesperson claimed the retooling of Advent’s 25MWp (MegaWatt-peak) line to 156mm (millimeter) silicon wafers would be completed by about November 2007 and ready for production in early 2008. The expectation is laid off workers will be recalled to ramp production on the retooled line.

In contrast, before Solar Power 2007, my

ISFOC 1.3MW CPV Power Plant tenders made public

GreenVolts, Sol3g, and SolFocus among the Concentrator PhotoVoltaic power plant bidders

Back on September 10, 2007, ISFOC, Instituto de Sistemas Fotovoltaicos de Concentración S.A. or Institute of Concentration Photovoltaics Systems, disclosed the companies and their bids for the installation of 1.3MW (Mega-Watts) of CPV (Concentrator PhotoVoltaic) pilot power plants in Call for tenders. These plants will be installed as part of the infrastructure of ISFOC in Castilla La Mancha – Spain as a national and international reference in the concentration photovoltaics field.

COMPANY NAME / EMPRESA

POWER / POTENCIA (kW)

PRICE / PRECIO(€/kW)

MAINTENANCE / MANTENIMIENTO (€/100kW)

Concentración Solar La Mancha S.L. (ES)

300 6000 8000

EMCORE Corp. (US)

400… Read More >>