BUSINESSNEWS
UK becomes fastest growing solar market
THE SUN is rising on the United Kingdom’s solar market in 2010, as attractive government incentives make it the world’s fastest-growing country for Photovoltaic (PV) installations this year, according to iSuppli Corp. Installations of PV systems in the United Kingdom will amount to 96 Megawatts (MW) in 2010, up an astounding 1,500 percent from 6 MW in 2009. While the country’s growth will start from a nearly negligible level in 2009, the expansion will dramatically outpace the growth of the next fastest- growing nation—Spain—which will rise by approximately 730 percent in 2010.
“When you think of weather in the United Kingdom, London fog comes to mind more readily than bright sunshine,” said Dr. Henning Wicht, senior director and principal analyst for iSuppli. “However, things definitely are looking brighter for the solar market in the United Kingdom in 2010, as the country has adopted attractive Feed-in-Tariffs (FIT) to promote PV adoption.”
While growth in the United Kingdom is expected to slow down from such a blistering rate after 2010, PV installations will continue to rise in the 50 percent range for each year through 2014 due to the country’s recently announced FIT scheme. Extensive use of FITs has helped Germany to become the world’s leading country for PV, with 3.8 Gigawatts (GW) worth of installations in 2009. However, Germany government’s move to reduce FITs will cool off growth in the country from 2012 on. The overall goal of the United Kingdom’s program is to encourage smaller, distributed, self- generation in an effort to reduce CO2 emissions and to contribute to the renewing of the U.K. energy park. The United Kingdom is using above-market FIT rates to incentivize PV adoption. The average residential price for electricity in the United Kingdom is currently 0.12 pounds per kilowatt hour (kWh). A residential PV system of up to 4 Kilowatts (KW) in size can earn 0.36 pounds for every generated kWh that is consumed
solar UK
by the owner itself or 0.39 pounds for every kWh fed into the grid or 0.48 pounds per kWh for self-consumption.
According to the United Kingdom’s Department of Energy and Climate Change, a typical household that installs a well-positioned 2.5 Kilowatt (KW) system could save 140 pounds per year on its electricity bill. Installations conducted since July 2009 can retroactively qualify for the tariff. Returns on Investment (ROIs) for advantageous residential projects can approach 12 percent, iSuppli calculates. iSuppli’s initial estimate is that the U.K. PV installation market will reach 214 MW in 2012 and 501 MW in 2014. This assumption is modeled after the ramp rates of other countries and by accounting for the United Kingdom’s level of insolation, or the amount of sunlight it receives.
Growth in North American solar power plant market
STRENGTHENING its presence in the U.S. market for solar power plants, Concentrix Solar GmbH, a supplier of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems and a division of the Soitec Group has launched a U.S.-based subsidiary, hired additional industry professionals and won listing from the California Energy Commission. Concentrix Solar’s utility- scale power plant technology is proven and commercially ready for large scale deployment with all the key capabilities in place for increasing the company’s business in the U.S.
“With the development and growing importance of solar farms in the U.S., the time is right for us to form our U.S. venture,” said Hansjorg Lerchenmuller, CEO of Concentrix Solar. “Due to our CPV technology’s extreme efficiency, modularity and flexibility, we are prepared to meet the needs and challenges of the
growing U.S. market.”
The company’s new U.S. subsidiary - Concentrix Solar, Inc. - is based in San Diego, where Concentrix Solar installed a CPV demonstration system in July 2009 to test its solar modules under California’s climate conditions. Since its installation, the 6-kilowatt system has proven exceptional performance, achieving 25 percent efficiency in generating electricity.
After evaluating the market potential for Concentrix Solar’s CPV technology, the
company decided to open this first U.S. office which will be led by new general manager of business development, Clark Crawford. Previously, Crawford led sales and marketing efforts at CPV systems supplier Amonix, Inc. He has a successful track record of securing large-scale commercial orders of CPV systems, and brings his extensive experience in the solar energy market to Concentrix Solar.
As Concentrix Solar expands its presence in the U.S., the company’s multi-junction CPV module has achieved a listing with the California Energy Commission (CEC). This listing is vital to doing business in California and a key step in financing commercial projects with customer companies and state energy utilities. Concentrix Solar’s CX-75 module has now been listed by the CEC after testing at TUV Rheinland Photovoltaic Testing Laboratory LLC in Tempe, AZ.
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www.solar-pv-management.com Issue V 2010
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