The last 12 months have seen a massive increase in the number of North East homes being fitted with solar panels. But as Government subsidies are slashed by more than half, Equinox Energy’s PAUL MILLS says it’s more important than ever to make sure you pick the right people to add green energy to your home
THE last 12 months have been an exciting time for Equinox Energy. Over the next year the company’s customers will make more than 54 megawatt hours of clean, renewable electricity.
“That’s enough for almost 40,000 loads of washing and will generate almost 25,000 in income for those households,” said Paul Mills.
“But my major concern remains for people who may not be getting a good service from their installers.
“I recently witnessed a team carrying out a large installation on a house in a single day.
“The team drilled straight through the roof slates to erect the photovoltaic (PV) mounting structure and then sealed the holes with silicone.
“The advantage for the installer is that this takes a shorter amount of time. But this is not allowed under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) guidelines because over time the silicone will degrade and water may well enter the roof, directly into the timbers.
“My worry is that the householder could face unexpected large bills in the future if they have to repair or replace the roof structure.”
The Microgeneration Certification Scheme sets a range of minimum standards accredited installers must follow, with work inspected annually.
The MCS’s main guide to PV installation states “in all circumstances the building’s weather tightness must be maintained”.
Holes drilled through roofing felt or roof tiles and slates, sealed with mastic or silicone sealant, are not considered durable.
Mr Mills said to reassure customers that Equinox does not breach the rules, he sits down with each one to fully explain the work.
“Customers cannot be expected to have detailed knowledge of PV installation techniques,” he said.
“I take the time to explain to all our customers how the system will be installed and how I will ensure that their roof is at least as watertight as before I start the installation.
“I also explain how Equinox Energy only uses the highest quality components to ensure that our installations are constructed from the best materials available.
“None of the work of Equinox Energy is sub-contracted apart from erection of scaffolding. That way we have complete control of the quality of the installation from the selection of components and electrical and roofing work, to the production of the warranty pack.”
The REC panels used by Equinox Energy have just come top in the Photon 2012 test, an independent survey of electricity production by 45 different types of PV panels.
On average REC modules produced 6% more power than its nearest rival – which over the lifespan of the panels would make a significant difference to the return on the investment.
When it comes to PV installations – as in most things – Mr Mills said you really do get what you pay for.
2012年2月20日星期一
2011年11月22日星期二
China Bends to U.S. Complaint on Solar Panels but Plans Retaliation
Chinese solar panel makers plan to shift some of their production to South Korea, Taiwan and the United States in hopes of defusing a trade case pending against them in Washington, according to industry executives.
But at the same time, the Chinese industry is considering retaliating by filing a trade case of its own with China’s Commerce Ministry.
The most likely target would be American exports to China of polysilicon — a prime ingredient in solar panels — Chinese industry executives and officials said on Monday. American manufacturers exported about $873 million of polysilicon to China last year, nearly as much in dollar terms as the value of the solar panels that China shipped to the United States.
The Chinese moves come after the United States Commerce Department opened a trade case against China’s solar panel makers earlier this month, at the request of SolarWorld Industries America and six other American solar companies.
The Commerce Department said it was considering punitive tariffs of 50 to 250 percent on Chinese solar panels, based on preliminary evidence that China was “dumping” solar panels in the United States below the cost of making and marketing them. The department is also investigating whether the Chinese government is breaking international trade rules by subsidizing the export of solar panels — if such a finding was made, it could result in additional tariffs.
Having hired trade lawyers to advise them on the Commerce Department case, Chinese solar panel manufacturers are increasingly gloomy about their chances of winning it, said Ocean Yuan, the president of Grape Solar, a big importer of Chinese solar panels that is based in Eugene, Ore.
Mr. Yuan said that Grape Solar was already negotiating with several Chinese manufacturers, whom he declined to identify, to perform final assembly of solar modules in Oregon. That would be the last step in new supply chains the Chinese industry intends to set up that would start in China then run through South Korea and Taiwan in hopes of avoid any new tariffs.
But because final assembly of solar panels is relatively low-tech manual labor, any Chinese expansion into Oregon would be unlikely to add many valuable American jobs.
Currently, the only Chinese solar panel assembly site in the United States is near Phoenix and owned by Suntech Power. That plant has a capacity equal to about 3 percent of the American market for solar panels.
Even before the filing of the trade case, Suntech had begun preparations to increase output at that operation, planning to add a work shift and double the size of the factory. But that will expand the current work force to 260, from 110 now. And even then, its capacity would serve only a small fraction of the American market. By contrast, companies based in China supplied more than 40 percent of the American market for installed panels in the third quarter of this year, according to GTM Research, a renewable energy consulting firm based in Boston.
Meanwhile, the Chinese solar panel industry is seeking legal advice on filing its own antidumping and antisubsidy trade case against the United States, industry executives in Beijing said Monday.
The most likely target would be American exports of polysilicon, the main material used in making conventional solar panels, said Wang Shijiang, a manager at the China Photovoltaic Industry Alliance based in Beijing.
The manufacture of polysilicon requires enormous amounts of energy — so much electricity that it typically takes the first year of operation of the panel to generate as much power as was required to make the polysilicon in it. The process requires superheating large volumes of material in electric-arc furnaces, including the melting of quartzite rock at more than 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit.
The United States is one of the world’s largest producers of polysilicon, in states like Tennessee and Washington, because it has access to a lot of inexpensive hydroelectric power. And most of that polysilicon is exported.
China’s own polysilicon industry is controversial because it relies heavily on electricity generated by coal-fired power plants, and because weak environmental controls at Chinese polysilicon factories have resulted in toxic spills that have fouled streams and rivers.
But at the same time, the Chinese industry is considering retaliating by filing a trade case of its own with China’s Commerce Ministry.
The most likely target would be American exports to China of polysilicon — a prime ingredient in solar panels — Chinese industry executives and officials said on Monday. American manufacturers exported about $873 million of polysilicon to China last year, nearly as much in dollar terms as the value of the solar panels that China shipped to the United States.
The Chinese moves come after the United States Commerce Department opened a trade case against China’s solar panel makers earlier this month, at the request of SolarWorld Industries America and six other American solar companies.
The Commerce Department said it was considering punitive tariffs of 50 to 250 percent on Chinese solar panels, based on preliminary evidence that China was “dumping” solar panels in the United States below the cost of making and marketing them. The department is also investigating whether the Chinese government is breaking international trade rules by subsidizing the export of solar panels — if such a finding was made, it could result in additional tariffs.
Having hired trade lawyers to advise them on the Commerce Department case, Chinese solar panel manufacturers are increasingly gloomy about their chances of winning it, said Ocean Yuan, the president of Grape Solar, a big importer of Chinese solar panels that is based in Eugene, Ore.
Mr. Yuan said that Grape Solar was already negotiating with several Chinese manufacturers, whom he declined to identify, to perform final assembly of solar modules in Oregon. That would be the last step in new supply chains the Chinese industry intends to set up that would start in China then run through South Korea and Taiwan in hopes of avoid any new tariffs.
But because final assembly of solar panels is relatively low-tech manual labor, any Chinese expansion into Oregon would be unlikely to add many valuable American jobs.
Currently, the only Chinese solar panel assembly site in the United States is near Phoenix and owned by Suntech Power. That plant has a capacity equal to about 3 percent of the American market for solar panels.
Even before the filing of the trade case, Suntech had begun preparations to increase output at that operation, planning to add a work shift and double the size of the factory. But that will expand the current work force to 260, from 110 now. And even then, its capacity would serve only a small fraction of the American market. By contrast, companies based in China supplied more than 40 percent of the American market for installed panels in the third quarter of this year, according to GTM Research, a renewable energy consulting firm based in Boston.
Meanwhile, the Chinese solar panel industry is seeking legal advice on filing its own antidumping and antisubsidy trade case against the United States, industry executives in Beijing said Monday.
The most likely target would be American exports of polysilicon, the main material used in making conventional solar panels, said Wang Shijiang, a manager at the China Photovoltaic Industry Alliance based in Beijing.
The manufacture of polysilicon requires enormous amounts of energy — so much electricity that it typically takes the first year of operation of the panel to generate as much power as was required to make the polysilicon in it. The process requires superheating large volumes of material in electric-arc furnaces, including the melting of quartzite rock at more than 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit.
The United States is one of the world’s largest producers of polysilicon, in states like Tennessee and Washington, because it has access to a lot of inexpensive hydroelectric power. And most of that polysilicon is exported.
China’s own polysilicon industry is controversial because it relies heavily on electricity generated by coal-fired power plants, and because weak environmental controls at Chinese polysilicon factories have resulted in toxic spills that have fouled streams and rivers.
2011年6月22日星期三
Silver Surge Makes ‘Headwind’ for Solar in Fossil Fuel Rivalry
Soaring silver prices are hampering the solar industry’s ability to compete with fossil fuels.
Panel makers consume about 11 percent of the world’s supply of silver, the metal in solar cells that conducts electricity. The metal has appreciated 74 percent to $35.30 a troy ounce on average so far this year from $20.24 for last year.
Prices for solar cells have dropped about 27 percent this year and would be even lower if each panel didn’t require about 20 grams of silver, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. That’s pushing back the date when companies such as Solarworld AG (SWV) and LDK Solar Co. can deliver solar power at prices that are competitive with traditional energy.
“Global silver prices have gone up a lot, and solar cells use silver paste as the front-side contact material,” Shawn Qu, chief executive of Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ), which is based in China, said in an interview. “The increase of the silver costs will give us a challenge in efforts to reduce solar cell costs.”
Prices for photovoltaic solar panels were $1.49 a watt in June, compared with about $1.80 in January, New Energy Finance estimates, as manufacturers especially in China raised production and incentives were trimmed in Europe.
‘Headwind’
“Some companies are implementing measures to reduce silver consumption, but we believe rising silver prices could still act as a headwind,” Barclays Capital wrote in a note to clients.
The price of the silver paste that Canadian Solar uses to print circuits on the front of its solar cells more than tripled in the past year, Qu said. That adds about 3 cents to 4 cents a watt, or 2 percent, to the cost of the panels.
The company’s gross margins narrowed to about 15 percent in the first quarter from 17 percent in the prior quarter as the price of cells fell faster than the cost of production, the company based in Suzhou New District, China, reported in May.
A typical solar cell uses 0.10 grams of silver for each watt of generating capacity. That amounts to about 20 grams in a 200-watt panel, adding $23.52 to the cost of each panel, according to New Energy Finance. The cost for metal in each panel totals about 11 cents a watt, up from 5 cents a year ago, the London-based industry researcher estimates.
Slim Margins
Solar companies “have already seen their margins being reduced to next to nothing,” Jenny Chase, manager of New Energy Finance’s solar analysis, said in a report. “At these prices, silver accounts for around half of cell makers’ processing costs,” the roughly 18 cents it takes to turn a blank silicon wafer into a completed cell.
The surge in silver prices is squeezing margins for most solar companies, according to research by Barclays Capital. Silver prices reached a record high at $48.44 an ounce on April 28, and if it returns to that level it will account for 13 percent to 15 percent of the cost of producing each panel, the report said.
The global silver supply reached 1.06 billion ounces in 2010, up almost 15 percent from 922.2 million ounces in 2009, according to the Washington-based trade group Silver Institute.
Including advance purchases of the metal, solar companies consumed almost 11 percent of total silver production, according to Prismark Partners, a New York-based technology research company.
Solar companies and their suppliers are looking for ways to reduce the amount of silver used in cells. Canadian Solar’s Qu said his company is tweaking its manufacturing process to use thinner wiring on the front of solar cells.
Thin-Film Advantage
High silver prices may provide a competitive advantage to companies that make thin-film solar products such as First Solar Inc. (FSLR) A spokesman for Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar said the company’s cells are made with cadmium-telluride rather than the polysilicon used in typical photovoltaic cells, and do not use any silver.
The standard, 156-millimeter photovoltaic cell has about 280 milligrams of silver on the front, and a slight amount on the backside as well, said Walt Cheng, global business director for DuPont Microcircuit Materials, the unit of DuPont Co. that produces the silver metalization paste used to make the wiring.
The price of silver makes up 70 percent to 90 percent of the cost of DuPont’s paste, and the company passes on to customers fluctuations in the metal’s value. DuPont expects to introduce this year a version of its Solamet paste that reduces silver content by about 10 percent, and may eventually reach 20 percent.
“We are accelerating R&D to reduce silver content and investigate how we can effectively transfer technology internally from DuPont’s products in the automotive and display industries into photovoltaics,” Cheng said.
Smaller panel makers may have the most to lose from high silver costs.
“Solar manufacturers that are large-scale and have high- end tech can manage rising prices pretty well,” Cheng said. “Customers that are second and third tier have a harder time with higher silver prices. The strong module makers will get stronger.”
Panel makers consume about 11 percent of the world’s supply of silver, the metal in solar cells that conducts electricity. The metal has appreciated 74 percent to $35.30 a troy ounce on average so far this year from $20.24 for last year.
Prices for solar cells have dropped about 27 percent this year and would be even lower if each panel didn’t require about 20 grams of silver, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. That’s pushing back the date when companies such as Solarworld AG (SWV) and LDK Solar Co. can deliver solar power at prices that are competitive with traditional energy.
“Global silver prices have gone up a lot, and solar cells use silver paste as the front-side contact material,” Shawn Qu, chief executive of Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ), which is based in China, said in an interview. “The increase of the silver costs will give us a challenge in efforts to reduce solar cell costs.”
Prices for photovoltaic solar panels were $1.49 a watt in June, compared with about $1.80 in January, New Energy Finance estimates, as manufacturers especially in China raised production and incentives were trimmed in Europe.
‘Headwind’
“Some companies are implementing measures to reduce silver consumption, but we believe rising silver prices could still act as a headwind,” Barclays Capital wrote in a note to clients.
The price of the silver paste that Canadian Solar uses to print circuits on the front of its solar cells more than tripled in the past year, Qu said. That adds about 3 cents to 4 cents a watt, or 2 percent, to the cost of the panels.
The company’s gross margins narrowed to about 15 percent in the first quarter from 17 percent in the prior quarter as the price of cells fell faster than the cost of production, the company based in Suzhou New District, China, reported in May.
A typical solar cell uses 0.10 grams of silver for each watt of generating capacity. That amounts to about 20 grams in a 200-watt panel, adding $23.52 to the cost of each panel, according to New Energy Finance. The cost for metal in each panel totals about 11 cents a watt, up from 5 cents a year ago, the London-based industry researcher estimates.
Slim Margins
Solar companies “have already seen their margins being reduced to next to nothing,” Jenny Chase, manager of New Energy Finance’s solar analysis, said in a report. “At these prices, silver accounts for around half of cell makers’ processing costs,” the roughly 18 cents it takes to turn a blank silicon wafer into a completed cell.
The surge in silver prices is squeezing margins for most solar companies, according to research by Barclays Capital. Silver prices reached a record high at $48.44 an ounce on April 28, and if it returns to that level it will account for 13 percent to 15 percent of the cost of producing each panel, the report said.
The global silver supply reached 1.06 billion ounces in 2010, up almost 15 percent from 922.2 million ounces in 2009, according to the Washington-based trade group Silver Institute.
Including advance purchases of the metal, solar companies consumed almost 11 percent of total silver production, according to Prismark Partners, a New York-based technology research company.
Solar companies and their suppliers are looking for ways to reduce the amount of silver used in cells. Canadian Solar’s Qu said his company is tweaking its manufacturing process to use thinner wiring on the front of solar cells.
Thin-Film Advantage
High silver prices may provide a competitive advantage to companies that make thin-film solar products such as First Solar Inc. (FSLR) A spokesman for Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar said the company’s cells are made with cadmium-telluride rather than the polysilicon used in typical photovoltaic cells, and do not use any silver.
The standard, 156-millimeter photovoltaic cell has about 280 milligrams of silver on the front, and a slight amount on the backside as well, said Walt Cheng, global business director for DuPont Microcircuit Materials, the unit of DuPont Co. that produces the silver metalization paste used to make the wiring.
The price of silver makes up 70 percent to 90 percent of the cost of DuPont’s paste, and the company passes on to customers fluctuations in the metal’s value. DuPont expects to introduce this year a version of its Solamet paste that reduces silver content by about 10 percent, and may eventually reach 20 percent.
“We are accelerating R&D to reduce silver content and investigate how we can effectively transfer technology internally from DuPont’s products in the automotive and display industries into photovoltaics,” Cheng said.
Smaller panel makers may have the most to lose from high silver costs.
“Solar manufacturers that are large-scale and have high- end tech can manage rising prices pretty well,” Cheng said. “Customers that are second and third tier have a harder time with higher silver prices. The strong module makers will get stronger.”
2011年6月14日星期二
Philippines stands to benefit from ADB solar energy initiative
The Philippines stands to benefit from the Asian Development Bank’s Asia Solar Energy Initiative (ASEI), which aims to help build an impressive $9-billion, 3,000-megawatt portfolio of solar power in the region over the next three years.
According to the recent ASEI primer released by the ADB, the Manila-based lender reiterated intentions of including the Philippines on the list of countries where potential projects might be implemented next year, the second year of the program.
“The Philippines has in place some manufacturing capacity for solar panels and (there are) plans to use this to develop solar energy power generation, which has been identified as a future objective,” the ADB said.
To assist the Philippines, the Clean Technology Fund had allocated $400 million as early as November 2009 for the project (Investment Plan for Philippines), which was envisioned to include 100 MW of solar power generation.
Launched in May last year, the ASEI would make available a range of projects and knowledge sharing mechanisms to attract other development banks, commercial banks and the private sector to invest in these projects.
In addition to direct financing, ASEI would set a target of raising $500 million from donor countries to bring down the high up-front capital costs of investing in solar energy and design other innovative ways to attract private sector investment.
Based on the objectives of the ASEI, solar capacity in the Asia-Pacific region was expected to reach 1,000 MW by the end of 2011 and 3,000 megawatts by the end of its third year in May 2013.
“Today, Asia and the Pacific is characterized by very high rates of economic growth, far outpacing the global average, and continuing population growth. These two factors pose a formidable challenge to ensuring access to adequate and clean energy supplies at affordable prices, especially for the region’s national governments to meet their economies’ ever-increasing energy demands,” the ADB primer stated.
“These growing pressures, coupled with climate change and energy security considerations, are now driving the region to recognize and to promote national policies for solar energy applications amid the rapid decline in solar energy generation costs,” it explained.
Fortunately, large parts of Asia and the Pacific were said to be endowed with high levels of solar insolation and have significant solar energy generation potential for both large-scale grid and off-grid applications.
“As a decentralized form of energy, solar energy holds promise in providing power to the millions of people in the region with no access to traditional energy supplies. As an added and perhaps more important benefit, rapid and sustainable development of solar energy applications in the region is key to accelerating solar energy’s global march to achieving grid parity,” the ADB added.
An ADB study projected that energy demand for Asia and the Pacific would grow by an average of 2.4 percent until 2030, more than double the world’s average over the same period.
One of the biggest challenges confronting policymakers in the region is how to provide adequate, affordable access to clean energy for a large, growing population. Added to this are issues of energy security and pricing, especially for the poorest, as well as energy delivery, especially across diverse terrain and climate conditions, according to the ADB.
“These struggles present vast opportunities for solar energy development in the region. Solar energy also offers substantial solutions to help address the energy challenges confronting Asia and the Pacific,” the ADB said.
According to the recent ASEI primer released by the ADB, the Manila-based lender reiterated intentions of including the Philippines on the list of countries where potential projects might be implemented next year, the second year of the program.
“The Philippines has in place some manufacturing capacity for solar panels and (there are) plans to use this to develop solar energy power generation, which has been identified as a future objective,” the ADB said.
To assist the Philippines, the Clean Technology Fund had allocated $400 million as early as November 2009 for the project (Investment Plan for Philippines), which was envisioned to include 100 MW of solar power generation.
Launched in May last year, the ASEI would make available a range of projects and knowledge sharing mechanisms to attract other development banks, commercial banks and the private sector to invest in these projects.
In addition to direct financing, ASEI would set a target of raising $500 million from donor countries to bring down the high up-front capital costs of investing in solar energy and design other innovative ways to attract private sector investment.
Based on the objectives of the ASEI, solar capacity in the Asia-Pacific region was expected to reach 1,000 MW by the end of 2011 and 3,000 megawatts by the end of its third year in May 2013.
“Today, Asia and the Pacific is characterized by very high rates of economic growth, far outpacing the global average, and continuing population growth. These two factors pose a formidable challenge to ensuring access to adequate and clean energy supplies at affordable prices, especially for the region’s national governments to meet their economies’ ever-increasing energy demands,” the ADB primer stated.
“These growing pressures, coupled with climate change and energy security considerations, are now driving the region to recognize and to promote national policies for solar energy applications amid the rapid decline in solar energy generation costs,” it explained.
Fortunately, large parts of Asia and the Pacific were said to be endowed with high levels of solar insolation and have significant solar energy generation potential for both large-scale grid and off-grid applications.
“As a decentralized form of energy, solar energy holds promise in providing power to the millions of people in the region with no access to traditional energy supplies. As an added and perhaps more important benefit, rapid and sustainable development of solar energy applications in the region is key to accelerating solar energy’s global march to achieving grid parity,” the ADB added.
An ADB study projected that energy demand for Asia and the Pacific would grow by an average of 2.4 percent until 2030, more than double the world’s average over the same period.
One of the biggest challenges confronting policymakers in the region is how to provide adequate, affordable access to clean energy for a large, growing population. Added to this are issues of energy security and pricing, especially for the poorest, as well as energy delivery, especially across diverse terrain and climate conditions, according to the ADB.
“These struggles present vast opportunities for solar energy development in the region. Solar energy also offers substantial solutions to help address the energy challenges confronting Asia and the Pacific,” the ADB said.
2011年6月1日星期三
Canadian Solar to build 600 MW solar cell plant in China
Canadian Solar Inc said it would build a 600 megawatt photovoltaic cell production factory in Suzhou in Eastern China, a day after the solar panel maker announced plans to set up a wafer plant in the same area.
The company said it would build the factory with state-owned enterprise Suzhou New District Economic Development Group Corp and Suzhou Science and Technology City Development Co Ltd.
Canadian Solar, which will contribute about 61 percent of the equity, said the construction of the new factory was expected to start immediately after local permits were obtained.
Ontario, Canada-based Canadian Solar said it would increase production at the factory in 2012.
On Tuesday, Canadian Solar said it formed a joint venture to build a 600 MW wafer plant in Suzhou, with a unit of polysilicon producer GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd.
Canadian Solar shares closed at $9.85 on Tuesday on Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Vaishnavi Bala in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
The company said it would build the factory with state-owned enterprise Suzhou New District Economic Development Group Corp and Suzhou Science and Technology City Development Co Ltd.
Canadian Solar, which will contribute about 61 percent of the equity, said the construction of the new factory was expected to start immediately after local permits were obtained.
Ontario, Canada-based Canadian Solar said it would increase production at the factory in 2012.
On Tuesday, Canadian Solar said it formed a joint venture to build a 600 MW wafer plant in Suzhou, with a unit of polysilicon producer GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd.
Canadian Solar shares closed at $9.85 on Tuesday on Nasdaq.
(Reporting by Vaishnavi Bala in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
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