1.3 Projects from around the world

The range and diversity of major PV projects around the world continues to increase, both in terms of grid-connected and off-grid projects in different regions of the world. The main projects activity during the last quarter is summarized below.

1.3.1 Europe

Stuttgart-based Voltwerk AG put into operation one of the largest solar power plants in Germany on Feb 22, 2002. Six PV arrays with a maximum performance of 600 kilowatts were inaugurated in a disused gravel pit in Soechtenau, Bavaria. Approximately 608,000 kilowatt-hours of solar electricity will be fed into the electricity grid each year.

The solar electricity will be sufficient to supply a quarter of the power for the 2,500 inhabitants in the municipality.SunTechnics GmbH constructed the plant in four months: 5,760 solar modules were installed with a total area of over 5,500 square meters. The project is funded by investors who receive a projected net yield of six per cent over a 20 year period.

In November 2001, Voltwerk AG installed the largest solar power plant in Germany, a 1.6 Megawatt installation in Markstetten and they are planning 76 kW, 610 square meter installation on the facade and roof of the new technology park Tübingen-Reutlingen in Baden-Wuerttemberg to be completed in autumn 2002.

A new 100 kW solar park is nearing completion in Oberdorf, Germany, north west of Munich. Sixty-one individual photovoltaic structures cover a 6,000 square meter plot previously reserved for agricultural use. Each PV structure has a 3.2 meter by 4 meter photovoltaic area; the modules are elevated some 2.5 meters from the ground. The PV modules were supplied by Solon AG.The modules sit on a single axis tracking structure, which means the module inclination will track the movement of the sun. When fully operational, it is anticipated that the Solar Park will produce approximately 130,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, which corresponds to the annual electricity consumption of 40 households.

The 770,000 euro system is the brainchild of two entrepreneurs, Arthur Seitz and Roland Bartsch. The two entrepreneurs want to refinance their investment through the guaranteed tariff from the electricity fed in to the grid. The network carrier must pay at least 48.1 euro cents per kWh over a period of 20 years. Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. announced the installation of the world's largest photovoltaic (PV) system integrated in a metal roof.

The UNI-SOLAR® PV laminates cover the roof on one of the main sections of the UBISA factory owned by N.V. Bekaert S.A. in Burgos, Spain. It has an installed capacity of 76 kWp. The installation will benefit from attractive remuneration provided for PV power supplied to the public electricity grid (€0.22 per kWh for large systems, €0.40 per kWh for power from systems smaller than 5kWp).

The PV roof is also partly financed by the "Ente Regional de la Energia de Castilla y Leon (EREN). In the Netherlands, a consortium of 19 parties in co-operation with Ecofys has taken the initiative to start a market project under the title: Solar House. Over the next three years, the project has the goal of impacting 1500 dwellings. The project is supported by the World Wildlife Fund. Among other pre-requisites under the program, two out of four renewable energy options (solar water heaters, photovoltaics, passive solar, heat pumps) must be used.

1.3.2 USA

Global Solar Energy Inc. has commissioned one of the world's largest photovoltaic (PV) power stations. The 1.4 Megawatt ground-mounted system will be further expanded to 2.4 MW of generating capacity in 2002. The PV power station is located near Tucson Electric Power Co.'s (TEP) Springerville Generating Station in northeastern Arizona.

TEP owns the installation, which is connected directly to the company's existing transmission line network. For the solar array, Global Solar utilized modules made of various PV technologies including crystalline silicon, thin film amorphous silicon, and thin film cadmium telluride. Thin film copper indium gallium diselenide modules could be used in the future.

Construction has started on Sun Power's $1.35 million building integrated installation for the Mt. Tam Racquet Club. It will provide a 150 kilowatt solar photovoltaic system, large enough to cover most of the club's electrical needs. Sun Power and Geothermal Energy of San Rafael will mount the PV panels directly to the roof of the Mt. Tam Racquet Club.

Sun Power has engineered special floating connectivity systems to match the expansion joints in the large roof.

The United States Postal Service dedicated the nation's largest federal roof-integrated solar photovoltaic installation at its Marina Mail Processing and Distribution Center in Marina del Rey, California. The 127 kilowatt system was built and installed by PowerLight Corporation of Berkeley, California, using solar panels produced at Siemens & Shell Solar manufacturing facility in Chatsworth, California.

A large portion of the project's cost was co-funded by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) under its Solar Incentive Program, and the Department of Energy's Distributed Energy Resources Program.

In Texas, the Upper Kirby District Foundation, Green Mountain Energy Company and Nuon announced that construction has begun on a 43 kW solar array, comprising 440 solar panels manufactured by BP Solar. The solar array will be located on the top of the Upper Kirby District Center building. The facility will be owned and operated by Nuon, the Netherlands' largest utility. Funding for the installation is through Green Mountain Energy Company's Big Texas Sun Club(TM).

Under the same program, a further 58kW solar array has been installed by BP Solar on top of The Winston School in Dallas, owned and operated by Nuon Renewable Ventures LLC. Green Mountain Energy electricity requirements has also led to the installation of a 52 kilowatt system on the roof of the BJ's Wholesale Club store in Deptford, New Jersey.

Financial support for the facility comes from the New Jersey Clean Energy Fund, established under the state's Electric Discount and Energy Competition Act, and the Virginia Alliance for Solar Electricity (VASE). The array is made up of BP Solar's Millennia(SM) thin film photovoltaic panels. The City of Santa Monica, California is proceeding with a plan to include a photovoltaic system as part of a re-roofing project of their Airport Adminstration Building. The total sloped roof area is 215 feet by 76 feet. However, only the south facing section will be available for the system, which suggests an overall area for photovoltaics of under 50% of this space.

Based on a crystalline solution, a PV system size of around 45-50 kilowatts is expected. The City of Santa Monica also issued a Request for Proposals for turnkey solar photovoltaic systems in May, 2002. With this RFP, the City of Santa Monica is soliciting proposals for the installation of three solar systems at schools within Santa Monica city boundaries.

The City estimates it can install approximately 40 kW total with this project. Systems must qualify for the State of California Emerging Renewables Buydown Program. The City of Santa Monica will recover the rebate portion of the installation cost. Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) issued a Request for Bid for the purchase of up to 1.5 Megawatts of photovoltaic modules. The requested delivery schedule is phased in to April, May and June of 2002.

There are 15 eligible bidders in the DS Bid Pool competing for at least two Master Agreements to supply cost-effective solar systems to public entities through the California Power Authority (CPA)'s Greening Public Buildings Initiative. On the table are potentially two or more contracts and 80 Megawatts of total demand over four years.

The CPA announced that twenty-six bidders (out of 28) meet the minimum eligibility requirements of the California Power Authority Request for Bid.

APS (Arizona Public Service) dedicated a new PV Plant in May. Residents of Scottsdale now can receive solar energy from the city's water campus. APS has constructed a solar electric power plant at the Scottsdale Water Campus, which will feed 300 kilowatts (kW) of solar energy. It is financed in part by APS and participating customers who as APS Solar Partners, pay $2.64 per month to have 15 kilowatt hours of their electricity needs generated by solar power.

As part of its Solar Partners program, APS plans to have 3 Megawatts of solar capacity installed by the end of 2003. This station is the latest in a long line of APS and Scottsdale solar partnerships. Other APS installations in Scottsdale include a 41 kW system (currently being expanded to 80 kW) on top of the parking structure at the City of Scottsdale's service yard.