[Luckenwalde (Teltow-Fläming), Germany]

Construction has resumed on the 1 MWp (MegaWatt-peak) solar farm.

While I was in Hamburg attending EU PVSEC, the article, “Auf der Mülldeponie Frankenfelder Berg sind die ersten Solarmodule installiert” (~“At the Frankenfelder hill landfill, the first solar modules have been installed”, Google English) by Uta Franke for the Märkische Allgemeine, was brought to my attention. The article mentions 8000 Nanosolar photovoltaic modules will be installed at the solar farm (Solarkraftwerk Deponie) though about 7000 were first planned.

However, it did not matter. I had hatched plans to visit Luckenwalde again even before the 09.09.09 “Nanosolar Completes Panel Factory, Commences Serial Production” announcement. I left a clue for the astute in a tweet about taking the ICE train to Berlin last Saturday. The ICE trip from Hamburg only took 1 hour and 36 minutes to reach Berlin’s main train station (Hauptbahnhof). Even on the Autobahn, it is impossible to drive that fast in traffic!

After meeting my cousin at the Luckenwalde train station, we drove straight over to the Nanosolar 1 MW solar farm site located at the retired landfill. As you can see in the Picasa Slideshow below, what I had heard when researching Nanosolar surprises in CIGS Photovoltaic parking survey was true. Construction has indeed resumed and I guesstimate less than seven (7) percent of the modules have been installed. No one was at work on the project site Saturday.

From my photos and direct observations, I cannot be certain these are Nanosolar modules. I have not seen one up close like Tom Cheyney (“EU PVSEC short takes: Talking CIGS turnkey, eyeballing a Nanosolar panel, and more”). At a distance, I found the module color to be more grayish than black. The modules do appear to fit the touted 2m (meter) length mentioned in the white paper, The Nanosolar Utility Panel™: An Overview of the Technology, and the datasheet (!), Data Sheet, Nanosolar Utility Panel™.

Which leads to the observation that Nanosolar: Photovoltaic Hindsight Insights? had the two (2) square meter module size correct using the trusty Märkische Allgemeine as the source. So the information Nanosolar CEO Martin Roscheisen provided in rebuttal to Greentech Media and driving the updated Nanosolar: Photovoltaic Hindsight Insights? REVISED post was in fact disinformation.

Per the Nanosolar Utility Panel datasheet, the Maximum Rated Power ranges between 160W – 220W (Watts), so 8000 modules would have a system capacity of 1.28 MWp to 1.76 MWp, higher than the project’s stated 1 MWp. Oops, was that intended as a surprise?

After completing a walk half way around the Deponie, a quick survey of the Nanosolar GmbH module factory was in order. With almost no cars present, production at the fully automated module factory did not appear to be underway. Was the supply of Nanosolar CIGS solar cells exhausted during the regular workweek?

Outside of a few more Nanosolar signs, I saw the new truck driveway as well as a new dock building for shipping and receiving. In addition, the small module mounting structure had been removed and the factory back lot appears to have been prepared for a construction project. Is Nanosolar building additional parking, planning for expansion, or erecting a photovoltaic array to partially power their module production? The answer will have to wait until the next investigation.

I am having a hectic week, and EU PVSEC has generated voluminous content and fodder for Blog posts before Solar Power International towards the end of October.