[ Spotlight: Photovoltaics ]
to around 180,000 installed solar panels each year in 2015 and in excess of 300,000 by 2020. Manufacturers are ramping up production. Sharp,
Europe’s largest solar panel producer, has announced the creation of 300 new jobs at its European manufacturing plant in Wrexham, north Wales. Sharp has expanded production facilities at the factory and the move takes the total number of employees from 800 to 1,100. Sharp has invested in excess of £20 million in the plant. Sharp will almost double its annual production capacity
to 500MW per year by March 2011 – enough to power over 170,000 homes in the UK. An additional 3,000 panels will be produced each day – growing from 5,000 to 8,000 once the expansion is complete. According to Sharp, the UK is one of the world’s fastest-
growing markets for solar panel technology. Andrew Lee, head of international sales for Sharp, said: ‘This job creation proves that there is an appetite for solar technology in the UK and that this sector has huge growth potential, bucking the trend in the wider economy. ‘Despite growing unemployment figures and concerns
over rising interest rates and inflation, the FITs scheme led to a shot in the arm for the solar industry, and we’ve responded by creating jobs to help drive industry growth potential for UK plc.’
Growing investment Sharp is not alone. German manufacturer Solarwatt, Germany’s second-largest PV maker, has invested more than €1 million in a new automated PV line in preparation for its entry to the UK market. It has signed an agreement with Enexos in the UK to establish a distribution and supply network. Detlef Neuhaus, Solarwatt’s director of sales and
The number of ECA members that are MCS registered remains low – in the hundreds
Practical tips for PV
n Remember that to get a good output from solar panels they should be south facing and shading will have a very big effect. If 10 per cent of your panel is in the shade, you will get a drop in output far in excess of 10 per cent.
n DC circuits are unusual in domestic environments, and balancing arrays to inverter characteristics can be tricky. You need to be aware of the requirements of your local utility company for feeding back into the grid.
n Make sure that panels are properly fixed to the building structure, watch out for their weight and make sure you maintain weather resistance.
n Working with materials at height is dangerous – make sure you have adequate training.
marketing, said: ‘The key to success of the FITs scheme will be continuity. In 2009, [in the UK] PV installations totalled 6MW, whereas installations in the USA were 500MW. Both of these pale into insignificance when compared to Germany, which has installed 3,800MW.’ PriceWaterhouseCoopers estimates that installed
capacity in the UK could reach 1,000MW by 2015, and around 5GW by 2020 – this would bring UK capacity in 2020 to levels reached by Germany today. The continuity issue raised by Neuhaus is troubling
The photovoltaic market is growing rapidly, as the UK pursues its target of sourcing 15 per cent of energy from renewable sources by 2020
many in the industry. The government has announced the start of the first review of the FITs scheme. It will determine how the efficiency of FITs can be improved to deliver £40 million of savings, around 10 per cent, in 2014/15. The review will be completed by the end of 2011, with tariffs
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ECA Today March 2011
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